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anybody remember "high-end desktops" in the 1990s?



 
 
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  #1  
Old April 19th 19, 06:05 AM posted to alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt
[email protected]
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Posts: 220
Default anybody remember "high-end desktops" in the 1990s?

When I was at uni, the department had some SPARCstations and AlphaStations
with 512 MiB of RAM. I got a job with a geophysical company and they were
running Red Hat Linux (the really old stuff before they added
"Enterprise" to the name and started the version numbers all over). They
had brand new Pentium III PCs, but I can't remember the other specs.
Windows 95 was limited to 768 MiB, but Windows NT4
could have done 4 GiB of RAM. I can't recall seeing such a beast in those
days. Maybe aerospace and oil companies would have had some expensive
workstations for their boffins.
  #3  
Old April 19th 19, 02:23 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt
Flasherly[_2_]
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Default anybody remember "high-end desktops" in the 1990s?

On Fri, 19 Apr 2019 11:56:01 +0200, Filip454
wrote:

They
had brand new Pentium III PCs, but I can't remember the other specs.
Windows 95 was limited to 768 MiB, but Windows NT4
could have done 4 GiB of RAM. I can't recall seeing such a beast in those
days. Maybe aerospace and oil companies would have had some expensive
workstations for their boffins.


Was that in 1999? More like late 90s then.


All I remember is non-stop upgrades from 4.77Mhz 8088's and onwards,
which was what I first started to build computers, personally,
probably slowing down on plenty of build, flip-'n-sell, update and
resell boxes, around 1GHz or early AMD XP CPUs. I sold my first XT
to the owner an electronics repair store. It was then made by a car
manufacturer now, and I'd heavily modified it upon the realization I'd
be needing more -- newer, faster and better -- to go where I was
going.

The thing I remember about Windows 95 was hardware available at the
time. I suppose it was no less was buggy than at times before, but
Windows 95 was neither anything to write home about in terms of
stability, at least on MBs and components then available;- In fact,
if anything, W95 was more advanced than an industry counterpart of
hardware.

It wasn't until Windows 98, probably SE, that I can remember remarking
to myself, how much better hardware had become in terms of improved
wider reliability and positive performance.

Perhaps that would be as if running Microsoft NT core technology for
the first time, but in terms of a relative perspective for software,
with NT's then new "crash-guard" which helped a lot in terms of
errantly-written programming, or, more importantly, with a more
polished and reliable computer field state available, by the time of
XP, as compared to 98. (I never ran with an interim NT4.0 system for
any experience there.)

It was "my market" largely up unit then. I remember when BestBuy and
CompUSA began by introducing a likes of E-Machines. I could see
people changing, their excitement leaving, before a face of mass
retailing, when the a prospect of owning a computer wasn't exciting
anymore. People became less sincere, didn't need to at least appear
to be, with the assurance an affordable chain-store computer brand.

Researching components parts for build assembly, promoting them was
fine up until then. After, I realized it never was as important, as
it seemed to me at the time, when people didn't have a cheaper
E-Machine option. I was just fulfilling a cheap service on good
builds, because they knew they'd get a good deal without anything else
that affordable available then available to them (a custom Dell or
Gateway build was Big Bucks).

They had their own reasons indeed for owning one, though, in a manner
of time and manner of "going online", it was then less about a broader
cross-section of what computers are capable. Same as it ever was,
IOW, a reductive convenience of greatest applicability.
  #5  
Old April 19th 19, 04:41 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt
Ant[_3_]
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Default anybody remember "high-end desktops" in the 1990s?

For me, I had to keep upgrading because of computer games. I don't play
them anymore so I still use my decade old desktops. :P
http://zimage.com/~ant/antfarm/about/toys.html for my list.
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  #6  
Old April 20th 19, 02:23 AM posted to alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt
Flasherly[_2_]
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Posts: 2,407
Default anybody remember "high-end desktops" in the 1990s?

On Fri, 19 Apr 2019 10:41:45 -0500, NT (Ant) wrote:

For me, I had to keep upgrading because of computer games. I don't play
them anymore so I still use my decade old desktops. :P
http://zimage.com/~ant/antfarm/about/toys.html for my list.

Games is entirely another story. A story with even less leeway. Don't
get me wrong, but the game industry is about a huge representation
when you walk through Mr. Joe Blow's Average Household Door. But,
there's also another reason why you don't see CompUSA and E-Machines
anymore. There was saying, a realization in those stores among people
selling their cheap pre-assembled builds. It was a saying said with
sarcasm: Games make or break 'em. Later, though, past W95, W98 -- it
was the Golden Age of Computers running XP -- either for 1) games or
2) desktop PC social media -- before Dick Tracy Android wrist watches
for cloud subscriptions became [what it was intended] a vulgarisation
of computing.
  #7  
Old April 28th 19, 08:24 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt
RayLopez99
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Posts: 897
Default anybody remember "high-end desktops" in the 1990s?

On Friday, April 19, 2019 at 9:24:06 AM UTC-4, Flasherly wrote:


All I remember is non-stop upgrades from 4.77Mhz 8088's and onwards,
which was what I first started to build computers, personally,
probably slowing down on plenty of build, flip-'n-sell, update and
resell boxes, around 1GHz or early AMD XP CPUs. I sold my first XT
to the owner an electronics repair store. It was then made by a car
manufacturer now, and I'd heavily modified it upon the realization I'd
be needing more -- newer, faster and better -- to go where I was
going.


Yes, I did the same thing, buying DC computers from the government and flipping them, about the same time Michael Dell was doing that, but without his success. My business partner was skimming off the top and I decided to get into a white collar profession which was more lucrative. But what might have been...

RL
  #8  
Old April 29th 19, 01:19 AM posted to alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt
Flasherly[_2_]
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Posts: 2,407
Default anybody remember "high-end desktops" in the 1990s?

On Sun, 28 Apr 2019 12:24:10 -0700 (PDT), RayLopez99
wrote:


Yes, I did the same thing, buying DC computers from the government and
flipping them, about the same time Michael Dell was doing that, but
without his success. My business partner was skimming off the top and
I decided to get into a white collar profession which was more
lucrative. But what might have been...

-
I was selling to a ready enough market, except it wasn't as much
profits. I'd basically break even over the momentum of advancements in
technology. A free roller-coaster ride: learn to buy both correctly
for expanding capabilities, as well applicability in the latest
advancements. Always save receipts. There were lots of people
interested in buying in on that. As well interesting situations where
there would benefit from an upgrade. Helped one guy, rubbing elbows
at the state capitol, who received regular digital death
registrations. The storage considerations were unique, but he knew
exactly what to do, beyond that, in finding undeclared monies for
probate purposes. Others could be less appreciable, less specialized
suites of office computers, networks and terminals, where intent and
goodwill might go somewhat farther overall. But, yes, I also been in
the large rooms stacked with government computers left from updates
for easy pickings.

All I wanted, though, was to build the greatest possible computer, see
how it works, and sell it to cover what doing it over again by then
entailed when new technological challenges changed to enter into the
market. Like I said, I got away with enjoying it for some time, more
or less until CompUSA and BestBuy entered a ready PC market of
convenience for dealings with people other than me.

Then they'd come up to me to me with their E-Machine(TM) hard and
software issues. I'd shrug my shoulders: My research covered both
the hardware, to apply for that contingency, as well as software. Why
would someone think I'd find of interest researching crap that went
into their pre-assembled, cat-hairball of a build, because they found
a storefront cover appeal more appealing than my build?
 




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