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What to look for in a motherboard

Dave Farquhar Hardware April 15, 2018October 28, 2021amd, asus, IBM, intel, Intel Core, memory slots, micro atx, pcie, VGA

I’ve been building PCs for more than 20 years and I tend to keep them a very long time, so it occurred to me that someone might be interested in what I look for in a motherboard to ensure both a long, reliable life and a long useful life.

Technology has changed a lot but what I look for has remained surprisingly consistent over the years.

Dave Farquhar

David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He has written professionally about computers since 1991, so he was writing about retro computers when they were still new. He has been working in IT professionally since 1994 and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He holds Security+ and CISSP certifications. Today he blogs five times a week, mostly about retro computers and retro gaming covering the time period from 1975 to 2000.

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IBM PS/2 vs PC

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing June 9, 2017May 7, 20241980s, 1990s, apple, apple ii, asus, compaq, IBM, intel, VGA, x86, XT

The IBM PS/2 line was a fairly radical departure from the older IBM PC line. This was deliberate, as IBM wanted to disrupt the clone industry, which it saw as a threat to its business. Here’s a look back at the IBM PS/2 vs PC, the line it replaced.

IBM succeeded with the PC because it created an ecosystem, not just a PC. IBM’s misstep was creating an open architecture and then trying to close it back up after the fact with the PS/2. In IBM’s defense, it’s not clear whether they knew this at the time. If nothing else, in the case of the IBM PS/2 vs PC, IBM created a classic case study of open architecture vs closed.

Dave Farquhar

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An LCD monitor for retro computing

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing October 19, 2016July 27, 2022amiga, commodore, commodore 64, dell, RCA, VGA, video connector

Purists prefer CRT monitors for a more authentic experience, but if you don’t mind an LCD, here’s a good LCD monitor for retro computing. Look for a Dell 2001fp manufactured in June 2005 or before. For bonus points, try to find one with a soundbar.

Dave Farquhar

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What to look for in a monitor

Dave Farquhar Hardware June 1, 2016August 3, 2017dell, DisplayPort, power brick, power cord, sony, VGA

Most buying guides for monitors assume you’re buying a really expensive monitor for gaming. But there’s a lot more to look for than refresh rate and response time.

A good monitor can last 10 years and multiple computers, so it pays to make a good decision when buying one, even when you’re not spending $500. There can be a significant difference even between two $100 models, or between a $60 model and a $70 model, that will save you money in the long run.

Dave Farquhar

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New computer, old monitor

Dave Farquhar Hardware May 26, 2016October 5, 20191980s, acer, asus, dell, DisplayPort, hp, IBM, lenovo, VGA

New computer, old monitor: I see questions fairly frequently about using a new computer and older monitor together. More often than not, it’s possible to do, but you may need to know where to look for the cables and adapters you’ll need.

Here’s some help.

Dave Farquhar

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Building DOS gaming PCs

Dave Farquhar DOS, Retro Computing August 10, 2015May 1, 20251980s, 1990s, amiga, atari, atari st, compaq, IBM, intel, macintosh, micron, Packard Bell, Tandy, tandy 1000, VGA, XT

The ultimate DOS gaming PC is a topic that I’ve seen come up in forums frequently, and that I’ve been asked directly a number of times. I guess since I published advice on running DOS games on Windows PCs on two continents, people figured I knew something about that. I guess I fooled them!

The trouble is that no single PC can really be the “ultimate” DOS game machine. Well, not if your goal is to be able to optimally run everything from early 1980s titles designed for the original IBM PC up to the last DOS version of Quake. I learned that the hard way in 1995 or 1996, even before Quake existed. Read more

Dave Farquhar

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Connect more than one game system to a TV with one HDMI port

Dave Farquhar Uncategorized March 5, 2015December 10, 2016nintendo, sony, VGA

I was reading reviews of televisions and found several televisions had negative reviews because they only had a single HDMI port. The guy who bought it had wanted to connect two game systems to it. But you usually can connect more than one game system to a TV with one HDMI port.

I’m not sure who buys a television without first making sure it has all of the inputs you’ll need in order to connect stuff to it. But this problem has a solution other than buying a more expensive TV with two HDMI ports.

Dave Farquhar

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Bringing back old HDTVs

Dave Farquhar Saving money December 9, 2014December 2, 2014antenna, samsung, usb device, VGA

Over Thanksgiving weekend I picked up a discarded 23-inch LCD HDTV, a Samsung LN-S2341W. The television’s biggest problem, it turned out, was that it didn’t have an ATSC tuner so it couldn’t pick up over the air broadcasts after analog broadcasts came to an end in 2009. Read more

Dave Farquhar

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The Post-Dispatch may be giving the wrong idea about the dollar value of vintage computers

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing February 6, 2014September 15, 20251541, 1980s, 1990s, amiga, apple, apple ii, Apple Lisa, collectibles, commodore, commodore 64, Commodore Amiga, compaq, dell, hp, IBM, macintosh, radio shack, recycling, VGA, XT

Disclaimer: I wrote this article back in 2014. I leave it here as a snapshot of the state of how things were in 2014. The situation at the time you are reading this is likely different.

Articles like Top 10 collectibles for value, from the Post-Dispatch this week, frequently make me nervous, mostly because of statements like this one:

[D]id you know that computer parts can bring home cash, too?

Statements like that tend to get people’s hopes up way too high. I find the timing interesting though, seeing as a TRS-80 Model 1 sold at a St. Louis estate sale this past weekend. The estate seller’s reaction? “Normally you can’t give that stuff away.”

Dave Farquhar

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How the IBM PC became the de facto standard for desktop computers

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing May 4, 2013May 1, 20251980s, 1990s, Ad Lib, amiga, apple, atari, atari st, compaq, Creative Labs, Digital Research, excel, IBM, intel, motorola, radio shack, Steve Jobs, Tandy, tandy 1000, Texas Instruments, TI, VGA

I saw a question on a vintage computing forum this week: How did the IBM PC become the de facto standard for PCs, and the only desktop computer architecture from the 1980s to survive until today?

It’s a very good question, and I think there were several reasons for it. I also think without all of the reasons, the IBM PC wouldn’t have necessarily won. In some regards, of course, it was a hollow victory. IBM has been out of the PC business for a decade now. Its partners Intel and Microsoft, however, reaped the benefits time and again.

Dave Farquhar

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