Post your favourite all time desktop

I've loved every computer I've owned. I'm not sure which is my favorite, but I really loved my Mac Mini. It was so small and attractive, and it was pretty fast for the time. It was also very affordable when it came out, compared to other Macs at least. I also really love my current PC - it's a custom build, and I think it's probably the fastest PC I've ever built relative to the technology available at the time. Specs: Core i7 3.06Ghz, 8GB SDRAM, 1TB HDD, 320GB HDD, GeForce GTX 560 Ti. I continue to be impressed by how fast this thing is. Also, having 1TB of storage is pretty awesome. I don't even bother to clear my Downloads anymore.

 

My first computer that I could call my own was an iMac G4. it was the 15" model with 800MHz G4, 256mb ram. My parents gave it to me for Christmas during my 2nd high school year, 2006 I think, and I loved that computer. I upgraded the ram and replaced the dvd drive, my first upgrades/replacements were done on this computer. After I sold it, I felt nostalgic and bought the 20" 1.25GHz model, which I plan on holding on to. I think this has been my favorite desktop.

My current desktop is a custom pc. Im a broke college student so I built the best that I could for under $200, which is a 2.4GHz core 2 quad, 6gb ddr2 ram and an Nvidia GeForce 9800GT. Not the best, but it runs 3D modelling programs fine and thats all I needed. Unfortunately my power supply fried and had to downgrade graphics card because the temporary supply cant handle that much load. Its all packed in an HP chassis that I had to modify to fit the motherboard, but over all its the best computer I've owned... Only thing I can complain about is that the graphics had to be downgraded, and also that its not a mac but I probably wont be getting a new mac for a long time.

 

My first built PC was a 286-12Mhz machine with a whole 1MB RAM, 512K Oak VGA card (800x600 in 256 colours...), Joystick card and a 52MB Hard Drive. Had a nice 7 segment display which changed with the Turbo button from 8 to 12 Mhz. Although I changed that to say HI and LO.

I think my favourite machine was a machine I built from spare parts that I picked up cheaply from work, 386DX-40 motherboard, 4 MB RAM, 120MB Hard Drive, 8 Bit Aztec Soundcard, 8bit MDA graphics card and 1MB Trident VGA card and topped off with a 2x speed CD-ROM.

Although I do remember making up a Cyrix 6x86 PR 133+ machine from parts again, although then I added a Power VR card and then had fun trying to find games that would run on it...

 

First Pc I ever had was a 1990 IBM tower (dont know the model) it had a intel 80486 with 64mb ram running windows 3.1.1 was my dads old main workstation before he upgraded to a Pentium MMX (this was around 1994-5).

For modern stuff, I it would have to be anything thats slick in design that was custom built. Any thing corsair makes i like so has to have alot of that in it.

for laptops either thinkpad or a macbookpro as they suite my usage habit's well (im quite clumsy so needs to be well made)

 

Absolutely jealous of the 20" iMac G4. I've been looking around to find one locally and for a good price, but so far, no dice. They're hard to come across.
Plus, the C2Q is a pretty nice build for under $200. 6GB DDR2 is quite a bit!

Plus I love the people here who had a computer with a turbo button. I came after the generation of turbo buttons, but I've tried them out. Just plain awesome.

 

I wouldn't call it a favorite (more like hurl machine out of nearest open window kinda favorite), but seeing as we're all going on about our first PC's...

Unfortunately mine wasn't one lovingly built by myself, with all my 'mad' skills, knowledge, blood, sweat and tears. It was one of those horrid off-the-shelf ones, built by a UK horror-story by the name of 'Tiny Computers'. I'm sure if you're from the UK you remember how crap they were. Thankfully they went under a couple of years later, along with the equally shit 'Time Computers'.

Purchased in mid-2000, the system (naturally) ran Windows 98, and consisted of a Pentium III 700MHz with 128MB RAM, 30GB Fujitsu Hard-drive, internal 56k MODEM, DVD drive (all running off a Microstar Micro-ATX mobo).
Also came with a 17" LG monitor (rebadged 'Tiny'), 600dpi scanner, Lexmark Z32 Printer, MS keyboard/ mouse (rebadged 'Tiny'), lots of shit bundled software (that thankfully came in separate boxes and wasn't pre-installed), and a desk with a swivel chair.

Well, the feckin' thing didn't even work when we got it, so they sent one of their technicians round to fit a new mobo. Finally get to use it, and discover the monitor had what looked like a cluster of dead pixels in the lower-right of the screen. Yes, somewhere, someone managed to get dead pixels into a CRT monitor, wonderful! Monitor went back, got a new one.

All's as well as it can be (with Windows 98), then the hard drive packs up about a year later. Turns out it's one of the dodgy Fujitsu ones that had a tendency to commit suicide after about a year's use - which was nice as it was just out of warranty (probably by a few seconds). Some info on the drive failures >here<

In the end the system gradually morphed into a Pentium 4, and then I found no reason to keep a PC and got a decent spec laptop instead. Everything else gradually disappeared and I think the only thing that's survived all the changes is the desk (albeit top shelf slightly bowed-in by the weight of the 17" monitor). The chair broke, the monkey got choked, and they all went to Heaven in a little row-boat...

 

Ha. I never buy pre-built systems, with the iMac I'm getting in a week and that Dell DesktopI'm dying to get as the only exceptions. My parents bought a pre-built once, and refused to listen to me and let me build them one. They ended up getting a Pentium D when the Core i series had just come out. The thing was more expensive than a C2D custom I could've made, and didn't even have dedicated graphics.
Eventually I got fed up with them getting fed up about it so I purposely sabotaged the thing and pretended it was a hardware failure. I used the biggest word-salads I've ever conceived.
I ended building them a new one, and I still don't like it. The GTS 250 that I bought for my old desktop a while ago was used to save cash, and the thing sounds like a server. I've really got to get them a new card.

Also like the rhyme at the end. How inventive.

 

Time Computers! Eugh, worse OEM in existence, almost as bad as eMachines after 2001. About the chair that broke, Grey folding type right? I sat down on that thing one day and it snapped at the welds, I wasn't even as fat as I am at that point. Typical bundle crap.

 

Yeah I got my 20" iMac G4 on ebay just before they started to go back up in price so I got it cheap. Then I put in a 500gb sata hard drive, 2gb ram (they max at 1gb according to apple but if they use DDR, they can do 2gb), internal bluetooth 2.1 (bluetooth 1.0 was a built to order option but the intel iMacs with 2.1 chips have the same connection so I used the better, newer bluetooth chip and it works perfect), and airport extreme so its pretty upgraded. I don't personally use it though, its just sitting to the side looking nice next to a classic macintosh.

 

More or less the same story here. Parents refused to stomp up part of the cash for a self-built one, as they thought I'd break everything! I had just done a PC repair and maintenance course at college too!

The little rhyme at the end there is inspired by >this< :cool-new:

Ha, yes it was definitely a grey coloured one of the folding variety. I almost landed sideways on the cat when it broke! Everyone came running up the stairs to see what had happened - I was not amused, and neither was the cat!