Your First PC?

[grandslammer]

Well, remember when you got your first pc? Weren't you so excited that you didn't know what to do? LITERALLY! All we did was peruse AOL for hours on end...

They say you always remember your first girl, but frankly there are some things I've forgotten about her. But I think I remember nearly everything about my first PC.

I got mine just as the pentiums were coming out. Of course, mine was a 486DX2 - 66mhz.

Back then, knowing absolutely nothing at all about computers,I paid approx $2000.00 for this machine.

Cyrix 486DX2-66
780MB HD (uh huh...)
8MB ram (whew!)
14.4 modem (I'll bet a lot of you've never even heard of them, huh?)
2X CD-ROM (!)
Dot-Matrix printer
Video Card with a full 1MB of vid ram
Stereo Speakers (really!)
and of course, the ubiquitous 15" SUPER vga
Win 3.11 for Workgroups
And I thought this was de BOMB!

So, there you have it, what was your first machine?

Mike P.


[This message has been edited by grandslammer (edited 10-28-1999).]

[This message has been edited by grandslammer (edited 10-28-1999).]

[JW310]

Well... it was a while ago, but I think I can remember some of it... This was back before I had input as to what computer to buy...

A Packard Bell 16MHz 386 with...
40MB hard drive
1MB RAM
Windows 3.1
3.5" & 5.25" floppy drives
don't know about video card/ram...

That's about as much as I can remember about it... it had to have been a good 6 or 7 years since we got it.

JW

[daveleau]

It was 86 or 87 and I bought a TRS-80 that had an external 5.25 floppy. I had to upgrade my computer to a 16K memory to run the floppy. It had a Technics 15" TV for a monitor.

It was a while before I got my first 'real' computer, if you want to call a mac that. It was a Classic 2 B&W all-in-one w/ a 60MB HD.

[C.C.]

First "real" computer.....a Commodore 64...ah yes, those were the days......
C.C.

[This message has been edited by C.C. (edited 10-28-1999).]

[jokostel]

ibm xt.....!

[RobRich]

I'm like jokostel, I started with an XT system.

Laser XT 8086-1 10mhz with external math chip
640kb memory
2 720kb 3.5inch floppies
cga graphics card
14 inch cga monitor

Around $1000 US when I bought it. Look what you can buy now for that same amount!

[awwall]

Circa 81-82

CPM Machine Made by SUPERBRAIN and was called SuperBrain.

Entire machine was self-contained.

8080A Processor
12" B/W Monitor
64k memory
dual 150k single-sided floppies
(learned real quick how to knotch other side and make "flippies")

Ran Digital Research CPM
Came with Microsoft MBASIC and 8080A Native Compiler and standard CPM software.

Those were the days..If you wanted to run something, you wrote it. Amazing what one could do in 64k with machine code.

[deep_sky]

well yes you can do alot with machine code but it is tedious and that is why we have high-level languages now to make life easier *grins*

[Toadman]

Ah yes.... my first love....

Tandy 1000TL
4 mb RAM
20mb HD, EGA monitor

One of the first PC's to have DOS built in.
No boot disk required. Came with Deskmate, one of the first GUI's before Windoze.

[Ed_S]

Tandy Color Computer - 1983 - Original grey case version. Came with 4K ram, used TV for display & cassette tape for storage. Later added too many options to list, but the biggest I remember was the thrill of getting first disk drive. Great machine, still have it, still works.

Back then "upgrade" really meant modify. Open it up & start soldering! Quite a challenge & lots of fun. Simple memory upgrade meant pry out the chips. Tandy would never recognize mine now! Todays machines are just too simple, haven't made my own circuit for years now & never see any true DIY plans anymore, just slap in a part. No fun there!

[john robbinson]

grandslammer that was my exact setup except HPdeskjet 400 just last lastwinter 6 months ago paid $250. although thats still my main printer.

[800XL]

All these new systems, hehe.

Atari 400 followed soon after by an Atari 800XL, Indus GT disk drive, Atari 1050 Disk drive, 1010 Tape drive, 1020 printer.

I moved up to an IBM PC (no stinking XT). 64k RAM on the mobo, 2 megs on a Tall Tree memory board (704k to DOS, WOOHOO!), 20MB Microp MFM drive, CGA color video, mouse systems optical mouse (Intellimouse Explorer's Great-grandpappy), and an Epson FX-100 wide carriage printer.
I've got the parts to take this system up to a 286 on a Microsoft upgrade card with 2 more megs of RAM, 2 GB SCSI disk on a Future Domain SCSI card, and a second Tall Tree board with 2 more megs of RAM for 4 Megs of RAMDisk. Add the Soundblaster for sound and an 8bit VGA card, SpaceQuest I will scream.