Re: age required for classic comp
By: Grant Weasner to All on Fri Apr 04 2025 15:32:34

I'm wondering the age a computer should be to be considered classic?

Ask 10 different people, you'll get 10 different answers.

For me, I'd say anything before Intel's Core I series CPUs, which puts it before 2009.
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I'm wondering the age a computer should be to be considered classic?

Ask 10 different people, you'll get 10 different answers.

For me, I'd say anything before Intel's Core I series CPUs, which puts it before 2009.

I tend to agree with the pre-core series. To me its not so much about age, but more about architecture changes. Which makes me wonder how long it would take to get to the next step. I feel even with the core series, you can still use modern operating systems, and can still use most software for a good period of time. I imagine the next leap is when dedicated AI hardware is integrated into our systems, and operation can be handled with AI, and I am not just talking about copilot with windows.
I also feel the same way about game consoles. I still consider the HD era (aka PS3 and up) to be not classic, and would take quite some time before it is considered "classic". Again I think Ai in game consoles will be the next step, and not just graphic frame generation, but how the game is played, like customized story lines for each different player.

Lloyd (neoshock) sysop @ Vintage Pi BBS
vintagepi.asuscomm.com

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On 04 Apr 2025, Grant Weasner said the following...

I have some desktops.

I'm wondering the age a computer should be to be considered classic?

for P3/AMD stuff there were boards that had AGP, PCI _AND_ ISA still.. incredibly versatile for DOS with a Sound Blaster 16 and then on up to Windows 98 for some earlier Windows games.

i would draw the line at the availability of an ISA slot i think

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Re: age required for classic comp
By: Grant Weasner to Mortar M. on Sat Apr 05 2025 16:22:23

Lately there has been a lot of interest in the classic/retro computers...

Absolutely. I first noticed it back when the The C-64 Maxi came out a two-three years ago. Since then I learned about various hardware/software projects, emulators and, of course, BBSes. I currently have a Commander X16 (C-64/128 work-a-like) and and N-Go (ZX Specturm Go clone). I'm hoping a hardware Amiga clone comes along, that's my next target.
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Hello Grant!

El viernes 04 de abril de 2025, Grant Weasner le escribió a All:

I have some desktops.
I'm wondering the age a computer should be to be considered classic?

Umm... depend. 10 or 15 years old must be suficient, but classic original is 286, 386 and 486. Is my opinion. :)

Saludos!
Fercho.-
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Re: age required for classic comp
By: Grant Weasner to Mortar M. on Tue Apr 08 2025 20:25:27

I havent seen the momentum on X16 system for me to justify a purchase, or maybe its just because I rarely have the time for fun things.

I'd say the latter as there's plenty of momentum. Suggest you check out the Commander X16 forum site at commanderx16.com/forum/. A lot of the same people also hang out on Discord and there's a Facebook group, so there's plenty of discussions goin' on. The first iteration, the Developer's Board has proven very popular, so much so that a second, more compact, version is in development.

In terms of retro and X16 being a new system, with a retro feel, I think the downside is that there isn't all the historical stuff for it that brings retro back to life.

There's a reason for that. The creator of the CX16, David (forgot last name), A.k.a., The 8-Bit Guy, wanted to build his 8-bit "dream machine". A modern-day take on the 8-bit computers of the 80s, and the Commander X16 was the result. Check out his Cammander X16 playlist on his YouTube channel. He explains it in more detail, plus you can follow the evolution of the product.

Mortar, what are you doing with your X16? What creative visions do you see your X16 doing?

Right now it's still in the box, though I have taken it out and looked it over. Right now my place is in a state of disarray, which needs to be dealt with first. As to intended use, nothing specific. I'm not a big gamer so I'll be focusing more on the creative side of things; programming, music, graphics, etc.
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Re: age required for classic comp
By: Grant Weasner to Fernando Miculan on Tue Apr 08 2025 20:31:55

Hi, Grant.

I think 8080, 8088, 268, 386, 486 are there. I was happy to hear that i568 core 1 is there, just because I have one of them :).

I think early Pentiums are fair game - I have an early Dell laptop with a Pentium I in it, and it's hard to find software that runs on it any more. I pretty much had to go with an i386 NetBSD release to get something that a) booted and b) had package available.

BobW
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Hola Grant!

El martes 08 de abril de 2025, Grant Weasner le escribió a Fernando Miculan:

I think 8080, 8088, 268, 386, 486 are there. I was happy to hear that
i568 core 1 is there, just because I have one of them :).
My wife looked up the price of the motherboard for the Dell Optiplex
GMT 5133, and that alone was $179. I'm not trying to sell my old
gear,
but some day I'm sure she will have to deal with my pile of old
computers.
I really wish I had some of my old system, 8088, 386, 486, apple IIc.
The 386dx I had, I upgraded to the 486, so really I had the case of
the 386dx with a 486 in it.

Of course!. The 586 and Pentium would also be considered classic computers. Actually, one sets the boundary between what's classic and what's not according to their own perspective. :)
Sorry, but my english is not good. :(

Saludos!
Fercho.-
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On 09 Apr 2025 at 09:24p, Fernando Miculan pondered and said...

Hola Grant!

El martes 08 de abril de 2025, Grant Weasner le escribió a Fernando Miculan:

I think 8080, 8088, 268, 386, 486 are there. I was happy to hear that i568 core 1 is there, just because I have one of them :).
My wife looked up the price of the motherboard for the Dell Optiplex GMT 5133, and that alone was $179. I'm not trying to sell my old gear,
but some day I'm sure she will have to deal with my pile of old computers.
I really wish I had some of my old system, 8088, 386, 486, apple IIc. The 386dx I had, I upgraded to the 486, so really I had the case of the 386dx with a 486 in it.

Of course!. The 586 and Pentium would also be considered classic computers. Actually, one sets the boundary between what's classic and what's not according to their own perspective. :)
Sorry, but my english is not good. :(

Saludos!
Fercho.-

I would consider a "classic computer" to be any computer which is, both in terms of hardware and software, quite different to what is running today, and is able to run old hardware and software which modern computers cannot. So I wouldn't consider my old desktop computer from 2009 "classic" as its not really that different to computers today, but the DOS PC's, which can run Windows 98, DOS, OPL3 midi and the like are, because they can do things new computers can't.

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