My brother still runs my first computer, a Compaq 4160 with 4 GB hard-drive, 150 MHz and Windows95. He still likes to play Wolfpack and Flying Corps.
I’m not really spoiled. I just got this computer in February but it’s just a little ol’ eMachine. $300 and perfectly fine for Sims 2 and the internet.
I’ve got 2 PC’s. Both custom built.
My main has an i7 920 quad core CPU OC’ed to 3.9 Ghz. An ATI HD 5870 Video card and 6 gigs of RAM. 2 1 TB hard drives in RAID and runs windows 7. It’s my main workhorse where I do most of my general computing and gaming.
My second PC is a home theater build hooked up to my HDTV. It runs a 3 core AMD processor, has 4 gigs of RAM and 1.5 TB of hard drive space, also running windows 7. I watch live TV, streamed/downloaded content, blurays, etc. It handles all our TV watching experience.
So I’m very spoiled.
Not really. It has 640 kb of RAM (with the Six-Pack) and 2 MB of extended RAM (with RAMPage). It take 10 minutes for the thing to boot because it runs a parity check on all of the RAM.
I can run an original SimCity application on it and let it run on autopilot for 24 hours. I can run the latest SimCity on autopilot on a new laptop accomplish the equivalent time change in seconds.
Are you doing that air-cooled? My Alienware’s running at 3.2 Ghz with it’s factory liquid cooling, but that was set using intel’s OC utility and factory RAM, I’ve had no real desire to push it harder.
When you write the checks for all of it out of your account came back and we will talk.
Yep air cooled. I believe I have a coolermaster 212, not sure though. Temps go as high as 68-70c on full load, but no higher.
I’d classify myself as moderately spoiled. I like my computers, but can’t afford to go too nuts.
Right now our main computers are an intel iMac that’s maybe 1.5 years old (it’s at the mercy of two 7 year old girls and I just replaced the keyboard), an HP 17" laptop that’s 3.75 years old and…drumroll…a just-delivered HP Pavilion Elite desktop, 24" monitor and Propellerhead Recordwaiting for me at home at this very moment…I’m dyin’… (3GHz AMD Phenom II 945 Quad-Core, 8GB DDR3 RAM, 1TB Hard Drive, Blu-ray, etc. )
I also have a Dell desktop with a cre@mware soundcard up at my dacha that runs virtual instruments through Sampletank and Cubase (with odd situation of being able to hear the sound but the sequencer won’t record the midi). Plus screamin’ 26k if I’m lucky dial-up internet.
In mothballs I have a pizzabox Macintosh PPC 6100 that won’t boot up, a G3, and a Dell laptop.
I’ve tweaked my ENIAC so it only takes up half the house. Air conditioning bills still suck, and it’s damned-near impossible to find quality vacuum tubes nowadays, but my kid enjoys chasing the moths that gather 'round, so I guess it all averages out.
My bandwidth’s paid for by the taxpayers.
are you aware of this? http://www.grc.com/pdp-8/SBC/SBC6120_Brochure.pdf
Solid state hard drives have spoiled me. I just got a VAIO with Win7, 8 gigs of RAM and a 128GB SSHD and am amazed at the responsiveness and instant-on capability. It goes from cold to ready in about 8 seconds. I don’t think I’ll ever go back to HDDs. I’m very disappointed to see that SSHD are still not a widely available option when configuring most laptops.
For those that haven’t had the pleasure, it’s like comparing today’s televisions that turn on almost instantly to those of yesteryear where you sat watching a blank screen for 60-90 seconds while all the tubes inside heated up.
I’m spoiled rotten by this point. My boss knows computers are my main hobby, so I get an upgrade every year as a christmas bonus. Last year I got a Core i5-750 build with 4 GB RAM and a Geforce GTX 260 graphics card. It’s very, very nice.
I’m with the ‘tend up upgrade every 3 years’ crowd. Usually some piece of hardware fails, and by the time I’ve replaced that, I am also replacing 3 pieces adjunct to it, and it goes from there. 
I only upgrade operating systems when I must, though. I’d be happy with Win98 if it were still compatible.
Exactly, those ain’t your computers buddy 
Unless I get to claim my customers machines…
Oh, SURE they are. I’m a taxpayer, too!
Put it together over the weekend and I’m feeling pretty spoiled right now.
Forgot to mention the 23" LCD monitor(compared to the old 17" CRT).
Pulling the stuff I want to keep off the old machine really points up how slow it is.
I’ve recently gotten a new motherboard, good CPU 3.4GHz Phenom II x4 , a radeon 5750 graphics card, and a new hard drive. I used some stuff from the computer that died after one year of use just as 2010 was starting. I can enjoy my computer again.
I was using a P4 with 35G hard drive I got out of a TIVO somebody was given away on Craigslist, and a low end video card. Components on that motherboard have been failing one by one. I didn’t know if I should cry in frustration or kick it to pieces. I didn’t kick it to pieces or I’d have had no computer access.
I’ve always built my own machines from components, and upgrade them piecemeal as my needs change, so my computers are always a rag-tag collection of parts of varying age. Sometimes I’m way behind the times, other times I’m cutting edge.
I also tend to have a lot of computers. Right now I’ve got my desktop, my wife has a desktop, and my daughter has a laptop. I’ve also got a home theater PC, and a home server PC. They’re all networked, mostly with Cat 5e hard connections rather than Wi-Fi (the laptop is wi-fi). I’ve also got an older laptop set up by the piano for MIDI applications, and I have my own work laptop which is set up on its own desk in the house on a docking station, and I’ve got my iPad.
My daughter’s laptop is the newest machine in the house, other than the iPad. I got a great deal on an Asus monster laptop with a quad-core processor, graphics acceleration, 4GB ram, and a high-res 1920 X 1080 display, and I wanted it to last her through high school, so I got her a good one.
The other machines are generally Pentium dual core computers with 2 or 4 GB of Ram. I’ve got 2 TB of storage in the home server, 1 TB in the home theater PC, 2 TB in my computer, and 1TB in my wife’s computer. You’d think that would be lots of storage, but somehow I’ve managed to fill a whole lot of it up. All of this stuff is at least a couple of years old now, with the exception of a couple of TB drives I got for cheap maybe six months ago.
My biggest ‘splurge’ of late was that I bought a new ATI Radeon 5770 graphics card at Christmas, and two Dell 22" monitors to go with my main 24" monitor on my own PC, so I could have a triple-monitor gaming setup. It’s very cool. Total outlay, about $600.
A few months ago, I would have said I’m not spoiled. I was running an old laptop, and hubby had a computer that was pieced together. We bought new computers with our tax refund this year: I have a brand spanking new HP laptop. It’s the first time I’ve ever had a new computer.