Subj : Re: Bake your graphics card?
To   : poindexter FORTRAN
From : boraxman
Date : Mon Feb 28 2022 23:16:21

 pF> I miss those days - back in the late '80s computer swap meets were a
 pF> great  place to get computer parts. Lots of suspect used parts, lots of
 pF> haggling.
 pF> 
 pF> I upgraded an XT clone to an AT clone and bought a new motherboard, 
 pF> keyboard, memory, multi-io card and put it all together over a weekend. 
 pF> First time opening a computer, ever.
 pF> 

The swap meets were better in the 90s and early 2000's because you could get older stuff.  People that went there back then had interesting, older items to sell.  Then we had lots of people who used it just used it to sell their imported new items, copied DVD's and it turned to, well, crap.  One or two sellers are good but not its mostly just want you get at those Chinese run stores because its the same people that are at the swap meets, and they scam you.  I bought a "new" drive, barely cheaper than what I would have gotten from a proper store, and when I ran S.M.A.R.T. diagnostics on it, it showed that it had been running for months!  If you ask a question, they'll give you whatever answer you want to hear.  You can show them a SATA cable and ask "Will this work with an IDE drive" and they'll say "yes".

I'm envious of those large warehouses you have in the US full of old stuff. I desperately want to get missing parts for my XT system.  That was the Cadillac of PC's.  

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