Anybody else have "old" computer gear that still works great?

Hi everyone.

Like most people, I've been gradually upgrading my systems in order to keep up with the technology. But I have to admit, there's one part of my setup that I haven't changed in fourteen years -- my Yamaha YST-M15 speakers and subwoofer. I remember when I first bought them -- I couldn't believe how good the sound was that was coming out of my computer at the time. I guess since then I haven't seen any reason to get rid of them. They worked great then, and they work great now. I've never had any problems with them, and the audio quality is, IMO, top-notch. I know that these days computers and sound cards are capable of surround sound, but when it comes to gaming, that has never been very important to me. I don't know ... is that something I should invest in? My Sound Blaster Audigy would support it, but I've never taken advantage of it.

How about you guys? Any similar stories to tell about your equipment?

My Micro Innovations Turbo Trak Keyboard, Model Number: KB400i, S/N 014100094467.
I can't tell you how old it is specifically, since I haven't owned it since the day it was built, I acquired it from a shed full of computer junk years ago, and somehow this keyboard was the only thing that still worked, what interested me most about it is the Fn control button, and when you glance around the keyboard you will see various controls to accommodate the button, such as "Power" which just turns the computer off......properly though so there isin't any "Windows did not shut down properly" on the next power on, a "Sleep" button which puts the computer to sleep, so there is no advanced control there, a "Wake" button, which wakes the computer from sleep, and lastly, the F11 key has a lock on it so if you hold the Fn key and then the F11 key the keyboard locks and you can't use it until you hold the buttons again. Other than that it is your basic 101-105 button keyboard.

I know that in some cases a keyboard can be one of those things that once you find one you like, it's hard to let go. For a while there a coworker of mine was still using this IBM keyboard with a PS/2 connector simply because he loved the clickety-click feel that the keyboard had.

I just upgraded my system with a new motherboard and AMD Phenom II X6 1100T CPU, but I decided to keep my Gigabyte Aurora case. I bought it four years ago, but it's still serving me well.

msdos622wasfun said:

They worked great then, and they work great now. I've never had any problems with them, and the audio quality is, IMO, top-notch. I know that these days computers and sound cards are capable of surround sound, but when it comes to gaming, that has never been very important to me. I don't know ... is that something I should invest in? My Sound Blaster Audigy would support it, but I've never taken advantage of it.

It would only be worth it if you upgraded to a quality 5.1 setup.

Quality 2.1 speakers trumps yum-cha 5.1. (5.1 gaming is undeniably good, but quality is better)


I don't have any old gear left, although I do regret throwing away some of my old keyboards.

It's only since I've gotten back into mechanical keyboards that I realise I used to have some gems.

Well, I still have a 20-year-old Panasonic Business Partner sitting here that used to be my sister's ... 8088, monochrome, 20 MB hard drive, 5.25" and 3.5" floppies. It used to have Lotus 1-2-3 and WordPerfect on it, but I recently cleaned up the hard drive so that now the only thing on there is DOS. Actually, it has a nice keyboard with a good feel to it. But I don't know what the heck to do with this thing! Recycle it? Can it be used as a point-of-sale terminal? :)

msdos622wasfun said:

I know that in some cases a keyboard can be one of those things that once you find one you like, it's hard to let go. For a while there a coworker of mine was still using this IBM keyboard with a PS/2 connector simply because he loved the clickety-click feel that the keyboard had.

I just upgraded my system with a new motherboard and AMD Phenom II X6 1100T CPU, but I decided to keep my Gigabyte Aurora case. I bought it four years ago, but it's still serving me well.

Off topic: actually that's another reason why i like it, the taller keys that stick out of the keyboard are easier for my long, skinny, slender fingers to manage while i'm mashing buttons all day typing up things. (I have really girlie hands for being a guy) also i enjoy the audible "clack clack clack" as compared to the "tic, tic, tic." of my laptop's keyboard.

On Topic: I also have this Packard Bell PS/2 mouse, model number: FDM:610. and some kinda number labeled BPCS: # 160075. Its fun to use when I want a little bit of retro-ness in my day, but half the time I forget that its only a 2 button mouse with no wheel, so it gets kinda frustrating while scrolling through documents, and I can't use it for very long, the ball is original and it doesn't handle very well.

I have several leftover keyboards as well from systems that I used to use in the past. Back in the Windows 95 era, I bought my first Microsoft Natural keyboard, and I fell in love with that. I've been using their ergonomic input devices ever since, but just this past couple of weeks when I upgraded my system, I decided to go with a Logitech G510 keyboard and a Razer Imperator mouse. I never thought I'd buy a keyboard or mouse that was meant for gaming, but I'm glad I did, because I really like these a lot.