• Please review our updated Terms and Rules here

Hello from Florida

A

alex_theman45

Member
Joined
Nov 15, 2013
Messages
24
Location
Florida
I'm a big fan of retro computing, I just don't own/have any outside of a few PPC macs that are broken. I would really like a 386/486 pc, its just that they are less common then the Super A'con. Especially at cheap prices. The cheapest 1990s PC was a computer from Europe with a 486. And it cost around 100 dollars, including shipping. But I don't want to pay that much for a 90s PC. I just want a PC that is cheap and common from the early 1990s.
 
Welcome. $100 including shipping from Europe is pretty good I would've thought. You've come to the right place though.
 
When you search eBay and you are patient you can pretty easily get your hands on a 286/386/486 for $70 or less. It just takes some searching and sometimes back and forth with the seller. Good luck! :) And check your local Craigslist / American Listed / FleaBay / eBay Classifieds / Recycler / Freecycle: you never know! :D

Some examples:
286: http://cgi.ebay.com/190964410537
386: http://cgi.ebay.com/370610052755
386: http://cgi.ebay.com/320861517891
386: http://cgi.ebay.com/251377927064
386: http://cgi.ebay.com/271319611056
386: http://cgi.ebay.com/221309835364
386: http://cgi.ebay.com/221231403637
486: http://cgi.ebay.com/321249112911 (small factor)
486: http://cgi.ebay.com/171151220973 (banged up)

Do not buy IBM PS/2 systems other than 25/30/35/40: they have the MCA bus: very difficult to upgrade because those cards are hard to find (except for token ring). :crazy: IBM PS/1 systems are often problematic as well: proprietary monitors required with earlier models and some models do not have ISA slots.

Do not buy clones because they often have barrel batteries that could have leaked and damaged / destroyed the MOBO. Chip based MOBOs are the ideal choice (IBM PS/ValuePoint for example). Lithium battery based systems have expensive replacement batteries.

Gateway 2000 is a good source for 486s.

Building a unit from scratch could be fun but tends to get expensive after all components (RAM, HDD, FDD, CPU, I/O, (S)VGA, case, keyboard, mouse).
 
Last edited:
Welcome to the forums :) Ever thought about one of those PC emulation cards in a PPC? Probably cost ya more I would think but down here it's pretty easy to find a 486 with not much interest. As Peter posted, certainly keep an eye on craigslist.
 
If you're ever down in Palm Beach, I've got a small form-factor 486 (the one listed on ebay). If I don't have to deal with ebay and shipping, it can be yours for some beer ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top