# Worth of old computers **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 12, 2002, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worth-of-old-computers/113565 "2002-06-12T01:55:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![reprise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea666f/32.png) [@reprise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/reprise)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2002, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worth-of-old-computers/113565/21 "2002-06-13T06:59:53Z")
I could still kick myself for not buying the table version of the original Pacman at a second hand store for $AUD25 10 years ago. I didn’t buy it at the time because my son was into Mega-drives and Mega-drives only then and I figured it would just sit around collecting dust. Now, of course, he wants to kill me for not buying it - and for getting rid of the original Nintendo handheld games… ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2002, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worth-of-old-computers/113565/22 "2002-06-14T18:54:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Derleth \* > \*\*Like what? Segmented memory? I know something about Intel chips, but this planned obsolescence is something I’ve never heard of. \*\* It wasn’t really planned obsolescence. It was more like they only expected to sell a few tens of thousands of the 8086’s, based on their own history and the market at the time. Intel really thought its future was in the iAPX 432, and since you are probably saying “the what?” you can see how well that worked out. Instead, the x86 architecture took off in a way that surprised just about everybody, including Intel. The 432 kinda sorta evolved into the i960 which is used in embedded applications quite a bit, but if you go to intel’s web page you will easily see that the x86 line is definately their flagship. When I said the x86 architecture was kludgy I was basically thinking of the segmented memory, an opcode set built to be basically compatible with the older 8080 (instead of something newer and better), and the goofiness concerning the A20 line. The 8086 only had 20 address lines numbered A0 to A19, but it could make an address that was 21 bits long, so A20 just got lost. Modern PCs do the same thing. They have an A20 gate so that when your fancy shmancy Pentium 4 is in 8086 mode (like if you boot to a dos prompt) then it too loses the A20 bit. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2002, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worth-of-old-computers/113565/23 "2002-06-14T22:54:55Z")
I once bought a PocketPC. It’s cute with 256k memory & built in MS works. Now they came out with another computer with the same name. BTW, I got a letter from our trash people they are charging $15-20 to accept a monitor or tv now, too much E-waste they said. ---
**Author:** ![Berkut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a88e57/32.png) [@Berkut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Berkut)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2002, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worth-of-old-computers/113565/24 "2002-06-14T23:14:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sam Stone \* > \*\*Here are some sample auctions to show you what prices can be like: > [http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2030183203](http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2030183203) \*\* Holy Crap! An Amiga 3000 Tower! I still drool over those things. That is the top-of-the-line in Enhanced Chip Set Amigas. If I had one of those and an Amiga 4000/040 tower, I would be in heaven. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2002, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worth-of-old-computers/113565/25 "2002-06-15T03:15:59Z")
Several months ago, I bought a working, near-mint condition NeXTStation Color Turbo, with color monitor, on eBay for $150. When it was first introduced, the NeXTStation Color Turbo sold for $8,000. ---
**Author:** ![miatachris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@miatachris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/miatachris)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2002, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worth-of-old-computers/113565/26 "2002-06-15T19:52:04Z")
One of my life’s real pleasures is a game of \* Star Raiders\* on my Atari 800XL. Or, _R.C. Pro-Am_ on the NES or _Pilotwings_ on the SNES. IMHO, home video game technology left me behind after the Super NES. That’s the newest console I own. The newer ones are simply too complex for me. I just got the Atari/Midway cart for the SNES the other day - the port of _Asteroids_ is fantastic. Ah, the simple pleasure of _Combat_ on the Atari 2600. If I had the room, and I thought my wife wouldn’t leave me, I’d have real, coin-op, stand-up video games. But I don’t, and she probably would. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worth-of-old-computers/113565.md?page=1)