My PC's: A history of Dakka's time playing PC games

I guess you could call it that. Here's all the PC's I've had over the years (including family PC's that weren't technically mine). I'll try to recall the details as best I can. Also something of an age test, proof that I am over 30 years of age :)

IBM Intel 286-pased PC (x2)

These were the first sort-of family computers we had (I supposed technically it was the TI-99/4A but that was more of a game console). They were actually issued by my dad's employer and he used them for work, but he had a few games on them. Initially Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune and Family Feud (and Leisure Suit Larry, but I wasn't allowed to play for reasons you can probably figure out) which I was terrible at. The first one had an amber screen monitor with a (built into the monitor!) 5.25" floppy drive (remember floppy disks? Hell, remember 5.25" floppies?) while the second one had a 3.5" floppy drive and color monitor. They didn't even run Windows. They ran MS-DOS (Remember DOS? The last remnants of DOS can be found in modern Windows as the Command Prompt), and an early one at that (no later than v3.3). The second one got a couple more games added to it. There was a Space Invaders-esque shooter called Galactix, which basically had to be reinstalled every time I ran it, and Eye Of The Beholder 2: The Legend Of Darkmoon (based on Dungeons & Dragons), which after a time just quit. So not a great gaming experience, but you have to start somewhere. I'm not sure what happened to the first one, but my dad gave the second one to someone else in the family who upgraded it to DOS 6.22 and even installed Windows 3.1 (which ran very poorly).

Packard Bell Intel 486-based PC

This was the first family computer (in the days before everyone got their own) my mother bought after my parents divorced. I believe it was my freshman year of high school (so 1994) and that was part of the reason she got it, that it would be a helpful tool for school. This was the family computer through my high school years.It ran an Intel 486 DX2 running at 66 MHz (Yes, MHz, there was a time before GHz speed multi-core processors) with 4 MB of RAM (yep, we didn't have GB of RAM at the time), later upgraded to 8 MB, a 420 MB hard drive (no GB hard drives either? Damn! Wait, those are in TB now...), a 2x CD-ROM drive, and a 14.4 kbps modem (You see, kids, back before broadband internets, we had to use a device called a modem, which dialed a phone number through your land line to the service provider... wait, you don't know what a land line is either? Ah, forget it...). This was still before discrete GPU's were a thing. I think it had a Cirrus Logic video chip. It ran MS-DOS 6.20 and Windows For Workgroups 3.11. While it came with a few games, the most notable of which was one called Mega Race, this is the system where I got started PC gaming and began to morph into the computer geek standing before you typing this blog today. The first PC games I ever purchased were Falcon 3.0 (which led to getting the full Falcon Gold package that Christmas) and the shareware for a little game you might have heard of called DOOM (remember shareware? OK, kids, back then we didn't really have Internet and free downloadable demos and such. Shareware was basically getting a demo for a small fee. DOOM shareware, which contained the first of 3 4 episodes, cost $5). I added more games down the line, to my mother's dismay. Warcraft II, TIE Fighter, and Mechwarrior 2: Mercenaries, plus the demo of Duke Nukem 3D (included on the disc with the very first issue of boot magazine, the precursor to the excellent MaximumPC). Unfortunately it was tough getting to play on a computer that had to be shared with everyone else, plus it aged pretty quickly. I had a few games that I bought that I pretty much never played due to aging hardware (Betrayal In Antara and Blood come to mind. I think I left those with a friend).

Side note: I remember spending around $70 on a shiny new 33.6 kbps modem towards the end of this computer's usefulness. We were using AOL and I figured this would help out, you know, faster speeds and all. First, Packard Bell apparently used motherboards with insanely tight expansion slots (this was the old ISA architecture, for the record). Even tapping it with a hammer didn't help. Second, once we finally got the damn thing in, I was never able to get it to work. These were the days before Plug and Play (well, technically Plug and Play existed, but it was in its infancy so it wasn't too reliable), so you often had to manually deal with I/O conflicts. It had a conflict with the old modem, unsurprisingly, but I couldn't just go and rip it out as it was also the sound card. So money wasted. thanks, Packard Bell.

Gateway Intel Pentium-based PC

My dad got this in 1996. It ran a Pentium processor clocking in at 166 MHz (insanely fast at the time), with 16 MB of EDO RAM, a 2 GB hard drive (if memory serves anyway), a 4 MB Matrox Millenium GPU (THIS IS A THING NOW!), a 28.8 kbps modem, and either a 4x or 8x CD-ROM drive. It ran Windows 95, the last Windows OS where DOS mattered (it was still hanging around in Windows 98 but it was barely relevant).

My time on this computer was limited. While an intelligent person, my work ethic in school, well, sucked. So I was often heavily restricted on video game time outside of summer. Still, I managed to get some games on there. Mechwarrior 2 (with the Ghost Bear's Legacy expansion), Quake, and Police Quest 4 come to mind. My dad had Fury3, Eurofighter 2000 and Myst (I hate Myst). I think I had worked my way up to Star Colonel in MW2 (yes, that stood for Mechwarrior 2 years before Modern Warfare 2 came out. Deal with it). Anyway, my first online gaming experience came on this PC, in the form of Multiplayer BattleTech:Solaris.

eMachines AMD Athlon-based PC

My mom got this after I graduated high school. It rocked an AMD K6-2 at 300 MHz (later upgraded to the 350 MHz version), 32 MB of SDRAM (later upgraded to 96 MB and then 128 MB), a 2 MB ATi 3D Rage  GPU (later upgraded to a 16 MB 3dfx Voodoo 3), a 2 GB hard drive (later had a 20 GB drive added in), a 24X CD-ROM drive, and a 56k modem. It ran Windows 98. I don't think I had too many games on here, mainly Baldur's Gate, but after my brother got it he used it as a gaming system. Quake II and Quake III were featured. I believe he had the original Thief as well.

Compaq Pentium-based Laptop PC

Bought this cheap off ebay. Pentium 133 MHz, 16 MB RAM, 1 GB hard drive. Swappable floppy drive and 4x CD-ROM. Mostly played old DOS games on it. Sound didn't always work.

Compaq Intel Pentium II-based Laptop PC

My mother bought this sometime after the emachines. I'm having a hard time remembering the specs, which is sad since I used to have it, but I think it was a Pentium II at 333 MHz, 156 MB of SDRAM (which is a weird number, I know, but for some reason that's what happened), a 10 or 20 GB hard drive, CD-ROM, and a 56k modem. I messed around with it a bit but mostly stayed away from gaming. Probably explains why I can't remember the specs/

IBM Pentium II-based PC

My then-girlfriend's father had this while we were living with him. Pentium II 400 MHz (I think), 64 MB of SDRAM, 2 MB ATi 3D Rage II (later added in a 4 MB 3dfx Voodoo as a strict 3D card. Yes, that's how it was done then). I forget how big the hard drive was, and how fast the CD-ROM drive was, plus a 56k modem. I added an external CD burner as well. It ran Windows 98.

Starcraft, X-Wing, TIE Fighter, and X-Wing Alliance, especially notable as this is when I began online multiplayer for real (joining The Rebel Alliance, originally as DashRendar01, then changing my name to Solid_Snake). I also had MechCommander, Diablo and a few other games.

HP Pavilion Intel Pentium 4-based PC

Aha! Now I remember the model! This was truly my first computer, as I bought it myself. I even remember the date: September 11, 2001. I think the towers had just fallen. Anyway, this was something of a mistake, as, possibly being distracted by the days events, I walked into CompUSA and bought more or less the first package we came across. It had a Pentium 4 running 1.3 GHz, 128 MB of PC600 RDRAM (Remember RDRAM?), later upgraded to 256 MB, a 32 MB nVidia TNT2 (later upgraded to a 32 MB GeForce 2 MX400, then a 64 MB GeForce 2 MX400. I'll explain in a bit), a 40 GB hard drive, a 48x CD burner and 16x DVD-ROM (remember when mulitple optical drives were a thing? Hell, they aren't necessarily even standard anymore), and a 56k modem. It ran Windows Millenium, later upgraded to Windows XP. It also included a 17" monitor, printer, keyboard (which I actually still have) and mouse.

This computer did give me some problems. The original had a sticky power button, and one day it stuck completely. I had just upgraded to 256 MB of RAM and to the 32 MB GeForce 2. My girlfriend asked why I replaced a 32 MB graphics card with a 32 MB graphics card and had to explain that not all GPU's are created equal. Anyway, so I had a replacement plan with CompUSA. I brought it in and had a replacement within a week. Unfortunately, it was back to stock. So I trudged on with the replacement as-is until the hard drive failed. The next replacement got the upgrades, albeit with a 64 MB GeForce 2.

It was also briefly used as a Freelancer server.

Dell Dimension 4600 Pentium 4-based PC

Not only the model, but the number too! My soon-to-be-wife helped me get this shortly before our first anniversary. Pentium 4 3.0 GHz with Hyper-Threading, 1 GB of PC2700 SDRAM (later upgraded to 2 GB), 80 GB hard drive (later adding a 40 GB hard drive as well), 128 MB nVidia GeForce FX 5200 (later upgraded to a 256 MB GeForce 6600), a Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS sound card, 19" CRT monitor (it was 19" CRT, 17" CRT or 15" LCD. Which would you have chosen?), keyboard (which I still have) and mouse (I do tend to go through mice). Also a 48x CD burner and 16x DVD-ROM. Ran Windows XP. Notable as the last computer I purchased with a floppy drive and modem. At the time I couldn't quite bring myself to give them up, and they were cheap options. Of course, I ended up never using them. The floppy drive was eventually removed as I needed its power adapter for the second hard drive. I eventually bought a 1 TB external hard drive as well.

HP Pavilion Pentium 3-based PC

Got this when my mom no longer needed it. Pretty much the same as my other HP, but with a 933 MHz Pentium 3 and PC100 SDRAM. I added in a GeForce MX-4000 card as well. Ran Windows Millenium but upgraded to Windows XP.The only PC I've killed in a fit of rage (it was pissing me off and I slammed my fist onto it. Did you know hard drives are sensitive to shock? I do).

Dell XPS M170 Pentium-M based Laptop PC

I helped a friend of mine purchase this as his first new computer in several years. It has a Pentium-M 2.2 GHz processor, 2 GB of SDRAM, a 256 MB nVidia GeForce GTX 7800M GPU, a 120 GB 7200 RPM hard drive, 16x DVD burner, and a 17" 1920x1200 screen. Runs Windows XP Professional. This computer eventually became my wife's when my friend opted to buy an Alienware laptop several months later (never got my hands on that one though). It was pretty solid for a while, though one of the weakness of laptops (limited ability to upgrade) eventually caught up to it. Had a couple of issues that Dell covered under warranty (not impressed with their customer service btw) when first, one of the fans went out and it would overheat (took 2 weeks of telling this to Dell before they finally said the fan and heatsink needed to be replaced. Duh.) and after that the GPU failed (Dell was much more agreeable this time). We still have it although it doesn't see much use anymore (I may start using it here and there as it's the only Windows XP system we have now).

Gateway DX4300 AMD Phenom II-based PC

This is a computer my friend got as a backup when his other computer was down for repairs. He gave it to me when I built him a new system. It has an AMD Phenom II x4 running at 2.66 GHz (it's a quad core, my first multicore system) with 8 GB DDR2 SDRAM, a 1 TB 5400 rpm hard drive, an ATi Radeon HD 3200 (upgraded to an 896 MB nVidia GeForce GTX 260) and a 16x DVD burner. It runs Windows 7. This eventually became my oldest son's computer while he was living with us and is now sort of my youngest so's computer (he uses it to watch WALL-E every night) and is the guest gaming computer.

Gateway LX Series Intel Core 2 Quad-based PC

This was my friend's computer after he got rid of his Alienware. It briefly became my wife's computer to replace the aging laptop. It has a Core 2 Quad 2.66 GHz, 8 GB DDR2 SDRAM, a 650 GB hard drive and a nVidia GeForce GT 120. It ran Windows Vista. It started having an issue with randomly rebooting so it's been cannibalized.

Omega Game Tech Ed Mk.I Intel Core i5-based PC

First system I ever built. My friend decided he was all set with off-the-shelf desktops and wanted a custom built system. So we took to Newegg. It has an Intel Core i5-750 2.66 GHz with 8 GB DDR3 1600 SDRAM, 1.5 TB Western Digital Caviar Black 7200 RPM hard drive, 1280 MB GeForce GTX 470 graphics card, all on top of a Biostar motherboard, powered by a Cooler Master 600W power supply, with a DVD burner, all wrapped up in a Lian Li aluminum mid-tower case (with side window and blue LED front fan). Runs Windows 7 Home Premium. I eventually added in a Cooler Master Hyper 212+ CPU cooler with 2 fans and overclocked the CPU to 3.3 GHz, although it apparently didn't stick (I blame the crummy motherboard. Lesson learned). This was my PC for a time when my friend decided he wanted a laptop as his backup computer, and is my wife's current system.

Omega Game Tech Ed Mk.II Intel Core i7-based PC

Second system I ever built; based on a Maximum PC design. My friend wanted an upgrade, so to Newegg we went. Ordered an Intel Core i7-2600 (sadly not the 2600K which allows overclocking) with 8 GB of DDR3 1600 SDRAM, a 2 TB Western Digital Caviar Black hard drive, a 120 GB OCZ Vertex 2 SSD, a 1280 MB nVidia GeForce GTX 570, all on top of an Asus motherboard, powered by a Corsair 750W 80-plus Gold certified power supply, all wrapped up in a Cooler Master HAF 922 mid-tower case with a Blu-Ray/DVD burner combo drive. Ran Windows 7 Professional. Eventually became my PC (which I am still using) when my friend decided he wanted another laptop instead. Not the same computer when it started; the stock CPU cooler crapped out and was replaced by a Rocketfish cooler (best I could do on short notice), the SSD died within a few months (never replaced, since it was a nice performance boost but was not mission critical), the hard disk failed (replaced by a 1 TB Seagate Barracuda 7200 RPM hard drive; not a big deal since I still have the external drive), and it runs Windows 7 Ultimate (which I had purchased for a PC that was ultimately never built).