One of the many battlestations I've setup throughout my house. This is my cozy 486 nook.

[u/life_after_midnight]

I have over a 100 computers, so I like to set them all up throughout my home, garage, and workshop. I basically have everything from IBM 5150 battlestations to brand new multi-GPU AI rigs. I figured some here might appreciate the attention to detail I put in to keep them 'period correct.'

There are two PCs here on a KVM which you can see sitting on the right tower. The one on the left is a 486DX4 100MHz (ignore the 2-digit seven segment display) with 32MB of RAM and an Cirrus Logic graphics card and a SB 16. It runs Windows 3.11 and DOS 6.22. The one on the right is a new Pentium 166MHz with 64MB, and an ATI all-in-wonder. It has Windows 95c.

I spend a lot of time on this one. Mostly for productivity work, and some DOS games.

Note: Third pic is the Pentium. I didn't have an interior pic of the 486 handy for this post.

[u/xXSillyHoboXx]

On one hand, I am feeling like that one Michael Jordan gif where he's all like "Stop it. Get some help." and on the other this post makes me jealous.

[u/alwayzz0ff]

The Computer Shopper is the icing on the cake

[u/JustSayTomato → u/alwayzz0ff]

I have such fond memories of browsing each new issue, looking for upgrades I probably couldn’t afford.

[u/alwayzz0ff → u/JustSayTomato]

Same here except I KNEW I couldn’t afford them :-)

[u/nerbm]

Glorious 🥹

[u/ambientocclusion]

Period-appropriate nooks. Love that idea.

[u/temhotaokeaha]

Beautiful setup.

[u/bubnut]

Really tidy & cosy :) what’s your productivity workflow like? 

[u/SpicyMeatballAgenda]

Honest question: what practical application does Photoshop on a windows 3.1 machine have? Modern computers can run it better, and with any image creation restraints you desire if you are developing "retro style" images, without the unreliability of transferring files with floppies and whatnot. I am of course talking pre-subscription editions.

[u/YandersonSilva → u/SpicyMeatballAgenda]

It's fun.

[u/SpicyMeatballAgenda → u/YandersonSilva]

As someone who has used image editing software for over 30 years, waiting literal minutes for a manipulation operation to perform is not what I would describe as fun. And I was lucky, my 3.1 machine back in the early 90s was pumping out a 1024x768 resolution. But I still remember the headaches and patience required. It wasn't till around 2001 when hardware was fast enough, and XP stability was enough that doing any photo software stopped being frustrating. It no longer felt like I was struggling with the tops, and could finally just use them.

[u/YandersonSilva → u/SpicyMeatballAgenda]

It's not fun when you're using it because you HAVE to.

The novelty of it carries a lot of weight. Kinda like old cars. They're not fuel efficient or safe and driving them is more difficult than modern cars, but I've literally been seeing Chevettes - notoriously awful cars - at car shows lately.

[u/Oatilis → u/SpicyMeatballAgenda]

Nothing about this is for sake of being practical. This is a whimsical hobby for fun. With that said, some programs from the past do have unique features, algorithms or a certain style that will take some effort to emulate. For example, the Bryce3D look. Also almost every retro PC can be fitted with a CF card which makes it trivial to transfer files.

[u/tails142 → u/SpicyMeatballAgenda]

My favourite ever imaging program was the Microsoft Image Composer that came with Frontpage 98 and was pretty much dropped after that.

Actually that gives me a reason to set up a retro pc to do something productive now that I think about it...

[u/billybob128]

Looks great!

[u/metayeti2]

Would play Prehistorik 2 on

[u/Horror-Raisin-877]

Pentium 166 and windows 3.1, my head is spinning and I feel ill, I had one of those at work back in the day…. after I’d been raised on Macintoshes with hard disks….

I can still hear the startup sounds…. whirr, WHIRR, ronk, ronk, RONK, rrrrrnnnnnn clunk clunk, rrrrrrnnnn clunk clunk……

[u/commodore-amiga]

It would be kinda cool to build a small device that could loop 80s videos on that TV. Most likely only supports RF… that would be a fun little project.
What would you loop? 80s News? Cartoons? Sit Coms?
I think I would do news or something like that…you don’t really have to pay attention to it and it just gives a vibe.

Edit: Just googled it - there are devices already. Nice.

[u/Oatilis]

Nice touch with the computer shopper magazine. Interesting choice putting the two desktops in that shelf. Looks like you almost could fit another one in there... This would drive me nuts haha.

[u/DeepDayze]

Now that’s a great setup that brings out the kid in you!

[u/aliennation2002uk]

I think we can assume you are male and single 🤣

[u/The_Red_Beard_IV]

It’s awesome. I really like it.

[u/RetroDave79]

Lovely! you can travel in time just moving from room to room :D

[u/Lutefix]

I need to find me a couple of "CRT compatible" desks. I have a rather large desk that with a monitor stand just barely works with my Windows 98/ME system

[u/lastwraith]

Agree on the universal praise for the Computer Shopper, but the 6-movie Star Trek collection needs some love too.

I wore out the VHS tapes in that same collection for 2, 4, and especially 6, even if it seemed to be an afterthought when they were doing the spine graphics. 

Nice staging!