Could old hardware collect in the future yield value and money ?

[StrayKAT]

Sadly, I think the only "first of their kind" type of computers that would go up in value are like.. museum pieces. Like IBM's Deep Blue, for example.. or the Xerox PARC. It's more like an art piece. edit: I guess I'm wrong there too. Deep Blue apparently cost $100, 000, 000 to make. lol. I highly doubt anyone would buy it for that.. or more.

 

[Bill_Bright]

I guess I'm wrong there too.

No, I think you are right. Until there is a major platform change away from the "ATX" form factor "standard" PC and some new "first of its kind" product with some new "evolutionary" technology comes along, everything else is just some incremental change in performance capabilities and not some historical revolutionary change that changes how everyone computes.

Just because the 2018 Honda Accord is a great car, that does not make the 2019 Accord a collector's item.

 

[Outback Bronze]

Nah! Not really. Again, what would a user do with it? Play old games? Very few people are in to old electronics for nostalgia purposes. Instead, they want what will give the most bang for their buck for today's programs. Only the "first"of its kind will (or rather, "might") gain value.

Your assumption might be correct or not, but at the end of the day its all up to what somebody is willing to pay.

Some markets go up and some down..

 

[hat]

It's doubtful. First you'd have to find somebody who wants it (unlikely) and anybody who would actually pay for such hardware likely has something really specific in mind...

The item that comes to mind is the elusive Voodoo 6000. Worth something to someone because it was a unique piece of tech (for the time, anyway), and it was the last thing 3Dfx got out before nVidia ate them. In fact it never really got out, it is unreleased, but there are a few floating around somehow...

 

[Bones]

Mass produced goods will never gain any value unless it was super iconic and there is not many examples left in the wild. Like first Commodore, first Atari, first Amiga, first Apple, first Intel's x86 CPU etc... And even there, they don't gain ridiculous values. Most of stuff just becomes a valueless paperweight to be honest.

+1 to this.
I do have a few hard to find pieces yet I'm not expecting to sell them and retire, in fact it's more along the lines of just having one.

The DFI LanParty Ultra B I have with all the goodies in it's original box is a perfect example.
The board has NOT been modified and even looks almost new with everything included with it when purchased. Probrably in another 25 years it might bring some nice $$'s if it's kept as is with all the stuff but even then I'm not sure if it would become valueable enough to call an investment.

True, in time even the most ordinary stuff you can name comes to have some value but rarely enough it's worth a mint, has to be something more or less special right from the start. Let's just say it would take enough time to pass that you or I probrably won't be around to see it should it achieve that kind of collector's status.

But I'm keeping my Ultra B........

 

[StrayKAT]

First you'd have to find somebody who wants it (unlikely) and anybody who would actually pay for such hardware likely has something really specific in mind...

Now I have to get geeky. That's the plot of the anime Steins:Gate (an IBM 5100 was the key to time travel).

 

[MrGenius]

Not gonna find too many HD 3850 AGP cards for less than ~$165 shipped. Which is more than twice what I paid for one about 6 or 7 years ago(I think I paid around $75 or so).

 

[hat]

But wasn't the 4670 better?

 

[Mr.Scott]

No. HD3850 is the fastest AGP card there is.
Bought a Sapphire last year for $90. That was cheap.
Follows the thought though, 'last of it's kind' = more collectible = higher price
You can add hard to find now for a higher price yet.

 

[StrayKAT]

I guess that makes sense, just because of AGP. Not many cases like that though. *goes and looks up the price of ISA cards* edit: Nope, selling for pennies. Sound Blaster ISA for $20

edit: Western Digital VGA card.. $40 I didn't even know WD made video cards.

 

[Caring1]

Just because the 2018 Honda Accord is a great car, that does not make the 2019 Accord a collector's item.

Tell that to the dumb arsed old aged pensioners that line up like sheep to buy them based on previous feels.

 

[Mr.Scott]

I guess that makes sense, just because of AGP. Not many cases like that though. *goes and looks up the price of ISA cards* edit: Nope, selling for pennies. Sound Blaster ISA for $20

edit: Western Digital VGA card.. $40 I didn't even know WD made video cards.

I agree. There are not many ISA cards that draw high prices unless they are super rare cards.

 

[AlwaysHope]

Download Windows 95 as an app for Linux, MacOS or even Windows 10.... Link

Ahh, the good old days... something to gawk at while resting in the nursing home...

Unless the item is the first of its type or kind & in great condition or even the last of its kind, they are not really collectable. This axiom has been the cornerstone of a lot of collectors philosophy for many years already regardless of the items collected.

 

[Bill_Bright]

Your assumption might be correct or not, but at the end of the day its all up to what somebody is willing to pay.

That's only a very tiny part of it. hat's right. The problem will be finding that person because regardless how much he or she is willing to pay, these persons will not be standing on every street corner, with a dozen or more potential buyers standing in line competing to buy it.

Tell that to the dumb arsed old aged pensioners that line up like sheep to buy them based on previous feels.

That's really harsh, disrespectful, and frankly, totally misguided.

I am old aged, and on a pension (well, two actually) so I take exception to your puerile juvenile dumb arsed disrespectful, stereotyping biased characterization of the elderly. The generations who came before you ensuring your freedoms which you so take for granted.

But more to the point, it is not so much due to "previous feels" but much more to the point that the Honda Accord, like the Camry and Forester and a very few other cars have consistently, year after year after year proven to be reliable, safe, and comfortable cars, for young disrespectful punks and our seniors too.

 

[Caring1]

I am old aged, and on a pension (well, two actually) so I take exception to your puerile juvenile dumb arsed disrespectful, stereotyping biased characterization of the elderly.

Stereotypes are based on real life observations.
Thanks for confirming that

 

[Bill_Bright]

Stereotyping is based on prejudice and biases typically out of ignorance. Thanks for confirming that.

 

[eidairaman1]

I think somethink that was flagship for the era can gain value... For example GTX 8800 Ultra, HD 3780 X2, GTX 480/580, GTX 295, GTX 590, GTX 690, GTX TITAN Z.

All with the concept of the highest performance, all cards that we dreamed about but never had the chance to afford when launched.

Or some rare vendors versions.

Like the ARES I/ ARES II series from Republic of gamers, also MARS series. EVGA co-op GTX 275.

Im concentrating on graphics cards yes but also some motherboards were powerful and prestigious too.

9700 Pro

 

[Bill_Bright]

9700 Pro

A great card that cost a fortune at the time. But the potential for AGP cards were limited by the power capability of the slot. Few power supplies had extra leads for graphics. PCIe changed the ball game.

 

[hat]

A great card that cost a fortune at the time. But the potential for AGP cards were limited by the power capability of the slot. Few power supplies had extra leads for graphics. PCIe changed the ball game.

Not really? Plenty of AGP cards took a Molex connector.

 

[Laurijan]

Now I you could make good money if i had like 20x sealed 1155 motherboards stocked up. Seeing ppl constantly asking for them since they are out of production and a lot for 1155 cpus out there without mobos.

 

[Bill_Bright]

Not really? Plenty of AGP cards took a Molex connector.

Some did, true. But most AGP slots had something like a 50W limit. And PCIe was already on the horizon when that card came out. And I might be wrong but I think most games were still very CPU intensive too. Power supplies weren't even very big back then compared to today.

Now I you could make good money if i had like 20x sealed 1155 motherboards stocked up. Seeing ppl constantly asking for them since they are out of production and a lot for 1155 cpus out there without mobos.

Maybe in a few years. Newegg currently has dozens of new 1155 boards for sell.

 

[hat]

Perhaps. My personal experience doesn't go back quite that far. I had an AGP FX5200 Ultra (which is what I had when I joined this site), and later on an AGP 6800XT. It wasn't until after that I moved up to my first PCI-E graphics card - an artifacting 1800XL. Both of the AGP cards I had though had that molex though, and most of the other cards I saw around that time did too. On the CPU side of things, as I see it we didn't really break out of that until the Athlon64x2 and the Core 2 Duo. The Athlons were already fast, and were only made better with the aid of a second core, and Intel finally had an answer with C2D. Since then CPU power has exploded and become mostly irrelevant for gaming compared to the video card.

Maybe in a few years. Newegg currently has dozens of new 1155 boards for sell.

True facts about those 1155 boards. Even I look for one from time to time so I can bolster my system a little, but none of them are cheap enough to justify it.

 

[AlwaysHope]

Still got my 7800GS in AGP format with its 256Mb Vram!

 

[eidairaman1]

A great card that cost a fortune at the time. But the potential for AGP cards were limited by the power capability of the slot. Few power supplies had extra leads for graphics. PCIe changed the ball game.

It ran in molex

 

[Outback Bronze]

Still got my 7800GS in AGP format with its 256Mb Vram!

Nice, still got the original retail box? Missed out on one of those not too long ago on Aussie eBay : (