Whats considered Retro with PCs?

Tekxpert · 16th December 2010, 9:54 AM

Hi, just wondering where the "cut off time " for a PC being considered Retro to be appropriate for this forum?
Moderators maybe make this a sticky or something?

pyrexia · 16th December 2010, 10:08 AM

id say most here would probably consider anything before the pentium series as retro... so 486 or earlier, IMO.

in other words, anything that was primarily dos based and not windows (95) based.

Tekxpert · 16th December 2010, 10:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pyrexia

id say most here would probably consider anything before the pentium series as retro... so 486 or earlier, IMO.

in other words, anything that was primarily dos based and not windows (95) based.

Thats where the problem is. Seems to be up to the individual. There is a thread on here > http://forums.overclockers.com.au/sh...d.php?t=921494
discussing a PIII box, yet it attracts interest.

pyrexia · 16th December 2010, 11:01 AM

yeah fair enough.

personally i wouldnt consider that retro at all, i mean its running 3d games and various applications i generally wouldnt recognise as being retro.

it would be sort of like saying a ps2 is retro, just doesnt sit right.

_the_duke_ · 16th December 2010, 11:01 AM

Anything that's dual core or less.

Tekxpert · 16th December 2010, 11:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by _the_duke_

Anything that's dual core or less.

Single core maybe?

azzachaz · 16th December 2010, 11:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by _the_duke_

Anything that's dual core or less.

lol.

How about 100Mhz or less?

Daft_Munt · 16th December 2010, 12:03 PM

Not this debate again.

Best definition I found in that thread was:

Quote:

Originally Posted by SLATYE

I consider pretty much anything that you can't (easily) buy new to be retro, as long as the reason you can't buy them new is that they're outdated.

TaXy DriVar · 16th December 2010, 12:29 PM

Perhaps we need two definitions ..

1. Retro - Pre 1994
2. Old School - Pre 2000

wildemere · 16th December 2010, 12:31 PM

I would say it depends on your age.

For me its the early Pentiums when I was stuck on a 486DX.

For others its the earlier machines...

HeXa · 16th December 2010, 12:34 PM

retro to me means childhood systems.... so 25-30 years old at least

DonutKing · 16th December 2010, 1:16 PM

Yeah I personally don't think that Pentium 2's and 3's count as retro. Otherwise I would have posted a thread about my Voodoo 2 SLI rig

A P2/P3 can still run WinXP if you throw enough RAM at it and that's hardly retro. (I believe you could run XP on a first gen Pentium but you'd jhave to be keen

)

Even Pentium 1's are still pretty common second hand, at dumps, on the side of the road etc. But as soon as you go to 486 it starts getting a lot harder to track parts down, and harder still the earlier you go. 486 era type stuff that is dissimilar enough from modern machines in terms of the hardware standards they used and the OS, that they should count as retro IMHO. They are about 15-16 years old or more and there are probably people actively participating in this forum who weren't even born then.

Phido · 16th December 2010, 1:46 PM

Antique = Pre 1980
Classic = Pre 1990
Retro = Pre 1995
Old school = pre 2000
Obsolete = pre 2005

I choose those dates for a reason.

*PC as we know them appeared basically 1980.
*Classics were still primative dos or B&W macs or 90's dying off (Amiga).
*1995 released Win95 which completely shaped the landscape. Before 95 few people would have put more than 4Mb of ram in a machine, post 95 lots did. Plug and play existed.
*2000 saw w2k exist and really push out non nt based PC setups
*2005 saw the modern age of computing really exist. Sockets from 2005 are still being used and cpu's that fit those sockets.

Tekxpert · 16th December 2010, 1:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daft_Munt

Not this debate again.

Best definition I found in that thread was:

Thats in the context of consoles & other non PC stuff.

Mau1wurf1977 · 16th December 2010, 1:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeXa

retro to me means childhood systems.... so 25-30 years old at least

Spot on!

16th December 2010, 9:54 AM	#1
Tekxpert Awaiting Email Confirmation Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Port Sorell, TAS Posts: 329	Whats considered Retro with PCs? Hi, just wondering where the "cut off time " for a PC being considered Retro to be appropriate for this forum? Moderators maybe make this a sticky or something?

16th December 2010, 10:08 AM	#2
pyrexia Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Sydney Posts: 47	id say most here would probably consider anything before the pentium series as retro... so 486 or earlier, IMO. in other words, anything that was primarily dos based and not windows (95) based. Last edited by pyrexia; 16th December 2010 at 10:10 AM.

16th December 2010, 12:29 PM	#9
TaXy DriVar Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Dural Posts: 399	Perhaps we need two definitions .. 1. Retro - Pre 1994 2. Old School - Pre 2000 __________________ Atari 2600 -> Sega Megadrive II -> Nintendo 64 -> Sega Dreamcast -> Xbox -> Xbox 360 -> Xbox 360 Slim 386sx25 -> Pentium 100 -> P166MMX Laptop -> P3 600MHz -> P4 2GHz -> P4 3GHz -> C2D E8400 -> Core i3 2100 -> Core i5 3570k Gameboy Colour -> Gameboy Advance SP -> Nintendo DS -> Sony PSP

16th December 2010, 1:16 PM	#12
DonutKing Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Tweed/Gold Coast Posts: 499	Yeah I personally don't think that Pentium 2's and 3's count as retro. Otherwise I would have posted a thread about my Voodoo 2 SLI rig A P2/P3 can still run WinXP if you throw enough RAM at it and that's hardly retro. (I believe you could run XP on a first gen Pentium but you'd jhave to be keen ) Even Pentium 1's are still pretty common second hand, at dumps, on the side of the road etc. But as soon as you go to 486 it starts getting a lot harder to track parts down, and harder still the earlier you go. 486 era type stuff that is dissimilar enough from modern machines in terms of the hardware standards they used and the OS, that they should count as retro IMHO. They are about 15-16 years old or more and there are probably people actively participating in this forum who weren't even born then. Last edited by DonutKing; 16th December 2010 at 1:20 PM.

16th December 2010, 11:01 AM	#4
pyrexia Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Sydney Posts: 47	yeah fair enough. personally i wouldnt consider that retro at all, i mean its running 3d games and various applications i generally wouldnt recognise as being retro. it would be sort of like saying a ps2 is retro, just doesnt sit right.

16th December 2010, 11:01 AM	#5
_the_duke_ (Taking a Break) Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Hey Dadelaide Posts: 5,205	Anything that's dual core or less.

16th December 2010, 12:31 PM	#10
wildemere Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Newcastle Posts: 271	I would say it depends on your age. For me its the early Pentiums when I was stuck on a 486DX. For others its the earlier machines...

16th December 2010, 12:34 PM	#11
HeXa Member Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Canberra, ACT Posts: 7,836	retro to me means childhood systems.... so 25-30 years old at least