Hardware Journey
I have previously written about my first PC (an Intel i486SX) and a deeper dive in to my first 3D accelerated graphics card (a Voodoo Banshee).
Over the years, I have built countless computers, many for myself, but also a lot for family and friends. At the time, I would chop and change components without a second thought, but in hindsight, I wish I had retained some of the old components or at minimum, documented the process.
As a result, this article will attempt to document the core hardware that I used over the years (not including anything I built for someone else).
There is no real value in this information, beyond plotting my journey through computing hardware.
I have split the table below into three parts, processors, graphics cards and miscellaneous, with miscellaneous covering any interesting or unique components.
NOTE: The list will not be 100% accurate, this is all being constructed from my memory.
Processors
Graphics Cards
Miscellaneous
I added the Coolermaster ATC 201 as I still consider it to be one of the most elegant case designs ever created, years ahead of its time.
The Creative Sounds Blaster X-Fi is a dedicated PCI sound card, which is now rarely part of a PC build. I believe this was the last “premium” sound card I ever purchased.
My plan is to update this table over time, including new components, alongside anything additional I recall.