A mixture of brand-new and expertly refurbished used parts. My classic computers are a little more special than the others you see here on . Mine come with new and refreshed versions of their old operating systems, and come loaded with lots of fun games and useful software.
I have been building PCs for the last 23 years and have built over 300 computers in my career. I used computers like these back when they were new and relevant and have intimate knowledge and experience of how they work.
This computer:
Is another historical Dell Optiplex. This computer was manufactured in either 1997 or 1998. It's a fantastic DOS, 2D Windows, and light 3D classic gaming PC. I finally got to experience the joy of socketing one of the extremely rare VRAM expansion chips for the ATi Rage Pro Turbo on the motherboard, doubling it's VRAM from 4 to 8MB. It's the little things. This chip can handle some light 3D gaming like QuakeGL, and Croc 2 with hardware acceleration, but it's really a 2D gaming powerhouse.
Working DOS REALMODE sound from the integrated crystal audio chip. PS/2 mouse support in DOS from CuteMouse.
The case is a bit rough on the exterior. There is discoloration, scuffing/marks, cracks, and broken/missing pieces. There is a crack in the front panel bottom left, the plastic hooks that secure the side panel were all broken off in the past and the side panel hangs somewhat loose, one of the plastic dividers for the optical drive bays is missing.
There was some surface rust on the inside of the secondary power supply fan grille on the case which I scoured with brass, but discoloration remains.
The plastic dell exhaust fan mount was broken and unrepairable, and the original exhaust fan was dead. These plastic fan mounts are always bad on these late 90's Dells. I drilled four small holes in the steel frame so that a new fan could be mounted with zip ties. I would have liked to have given it screw holes, but the double-layered nature of the steel frame in this area made that impossible.
The BIOS does not properly recognize the new exhaust fan and displays a "fan failure" warning on every boot for about 3 seconds, despite the fan being functional.
The inside of the case is in otherwise very good condition and clean.
This PC did not have a CPU when I found it and I installed a Pentium II 400 sourced from . The case has a PIII badge.
The ATX Specialty:
Upgraded to modern SATA solid-state storage in place of the original HDD. This provides a quantum leap of response time, speed, and reliability that simply must be experienced in person.
Running Windows 98 SE with the Plus! 98 addition. Mainly cosmetic items from the plus package are installed such as desktop themes and screensavers. Plus also included several now-redundant programs such as mcafee antivirus which I have NOT installed. Includes Peanuts, Doonesbury, Cathy themes etc.
My Win98 PCs are also upgraded with the USB driver system from Windows Millennium, which allows them to access USB storage drives like a modern PC. So long as those drives are no larger than 136GB, and formatted in FAT32. Not sure how to do this? A simple text guide is included.
I installed a USB 2.0 expansion card to this PC, providing 4 extra USB ports, and high-speed data transfer.
ATX LEGACY COLLECTION 98 SE Plus!-Intel Pentium II 400Mhz CPU-80MB SDRAM-ATi Rage Pro Turbo AGP 2X 8MB GPU-120GB AData SATA SSD via Brand-New SATA/IDE Converter-Crytal PnP ISA Audio-3Com 10/100 LAN-Iomega Zip 250 Drive-DVD-ROM/CD/RW Drive-Floppy Disk Drive
-A huge wealth of Windows and DOS games pre-installed with no CDs required to play. (see WILL NEED:
-A computer monitor with a VGA connection. I recommend older square-aspect models. I do not recommend using a TV even if it has a VGA port. I do not recommend using a VGA converter of any kind.
-A PS/2 port mouse and/or keyboard will be needed to log on to Windows 98 for the first time. USB peripherals do work with Windows 98 but you will need a PS/2 model to log in for the first time. You can also use a serial mouse. I do not recommend using a PS/2 converter of any kind.
If you need a PS/2 mouse and/or keyboard I sometimes have these to include, just leave me a message with My computers are only guaranteed to work as they are. That means with the operating system and hardware that they came with. I make no guarantee, written or implied, that this PC will be compatible with any piece of hardware or software other than what is included at purchase unless otherwise stated.
^^^INDUSTRIAL CUSTOMERS, YOU NEED TO CONTACT ME BEFORE PURCHASE, YOU NEED TO READ THE ABOVE TEXT.^^^
If you intend to use this PC to run an old industrial machine, software, or interface with expansion cards YOU NEED TO CONTACT ME BEFORE NOT ASSUME ANYTHING IS INCLUDED THAT IS NOT PICTURED. IF IT IS NOT PICTURED. IT IS NOT INCLUDED.***
TV CUSTOMERS: IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBLITY TO READ THE LISTING AND FIND OUT FOR YOURSELF IF THE TV HAS A REMOTE, CAN TUNE DIGITAL CHANNELS ETC. MANY OLDER TELEVISIONS CANNOT TUNE DIGITAL CHANNELS, YOU NEED TO READ THE LISTING.
***PLEASE SEND ME A MESSAGE BEFORE YOU FILE A RETURN!!!***
It's so easy to get frustrated and assume something doesn't work. Trust me, it's usually something simple that can be handled in a few messages.-If you message me before leaving neutral or negative response I will solve your problem and make you a happy customer.
-Any separate shipping charge you see is the exact estimate I'm getting from FedEx for the size and weight of the package to be shipped to your ZIP code.
-If you are buying an item as a gift for a friend, please change your shipping address to your friend's address before finalizing your purchase. I can only ship to the address provides to me.
-Any photo of a working screen is a real photo of the actual item for sale and is not simulated.
OFFERS:
-Please only send me an offer if you can make a prompt payment.
-Please do not send me offers at or around half of my asking price, that is a non-starter.
-I do not price match with low-effort sellers with poor presentation selling untested items.
SHIPPING:
-DO NOT choose local pickup with the intent to negotiate international or other special shipping arrangements that were not offered in the listing. I will cancel your order.
-If you pay for expedited shipping I will do my best to ship your item ASAP despite any stated handling time. (Please message me as does not notify me when expedited shipping has been chosen on an order.)
-Please do not assume I am at fault if your item arrives damaged. We will both never know how it was treated in the interim between me handing it to the carrier and being delivered to you. I have shipped tens of thousands of packages in over a decade on and I consider myself an expert shipper, and I do not skimp on packaging and everything is packaged to survive a reasonable amount of abuse.
-Business days are MON-FRI (U.S. Central time & Calendar) and exclude national holidays. Please note that shipping companies observe all U.S. federal government holidays even the less important ones like Columbus Day. If you buy an item on the weekend it will not ship until Monday or later depending on that item's handling time. Please note that most items larger than media have a handling time of at least two business days.
-P.O. BOX, PUERTO RICO, ALASKA & HAWAII CUSTOMERS:
Fedex Ground/Home Delivery and UPS do not deliver to PO boxes, you need to choose USPS Priority Mail for your shipping option if available. If you are buying a large item which is most of what I sell, I highly recommend not using a PO box. Use a normal residential or business address.
The same goes for the states of Puerto Rico, and Hawaii, Priority Mail is your option.
As of May 2023, Fedex & UPS have resumed ground shipments to Alaska.
There are some items that simply cannot be shipped via Priority Mail due to package size maximums.
-RETURNS:
Please contact me via the messaging system before starting a return on any item you have purchased from me, I am very responsive and can solve most issues without an item having to be returned.
I report each and every person who abuses the return system and provides false information to get free returns on items because they couldn't be bothered to read the listing etc. These reports do matter and can get your account suspended or permanently disabled.
-RUDE AND/OR ABUSIVE BEHAVIOR:
I have *zero* tolerance for anyone who treats me or my employees with disrespect.
INTERNATIONAL BUYERS:
Any issues about final delivery are 's responsibility. If you message me I will not be able to help you. They are the ones who handle customs and the final shipment to your home country. Please contact customer service.
INTERNATIONAL BUYERS PURCHASING ELECTRONICS:
It is your responsibility to make sure the device can be used or will be safe to use with the electrical grid in your home country, please do not assume I have done this for you. If you are buying a desktop PC, most power supplies have a switch on the back for use on European and/or Asian power grids.