Vintage Computers & Mainframes

Vintage Computers and Mainframes

Back in the day, the big names in personal computers and mainframes were Apple, Commodore, and IBM. While today they may be seen as vintage computers, they are still very much on-trend. In 1981, Commodore burst onto the scene with their Video Interface Chip which made colour computers affordable, enabling them to be the first to sell over a million units. They were soon followed by Apple who also hit the million unit sales mark with the Apple II.

Before Xbox and PlayStation, gamers used to load games from a cassette tape or a 5.25-inch floppy disk onto a personal computer that had less computing power than one of today’s digital wristwatches! Although game consoles with gigabytes of storage and gigahertz of processing speed are the norm in our fast paced world, purists often find solace in the simplicity of vintage computers like the Commodore 64.

Whether they are used for work or play, a host of vintage computer parts and accessories are available for these computers. There is no shortage of extra RAM, backup drives, keyboards, processors and motherboards that can be swapped out to improve performance. Gamers can choose from a wide variety of joysticks, microphones and plug-and-play graphics cards to enhance gameplay.

With the advent of these small desktop computers, one could easily work at home or on the road. Data can be stored on cassette tape, 3.5- inch or 5.25-inch disks to be shared or set aside for safekeeping. Computer storage and disk storage components, as well as word processing and spreadsheet software, are still available on today’s market.

What was once well past its use by date is now in vogue again. Collectors are drawn toward old Apple computers because they weren’t mass produced in huge quantities like the Apples of today. These vintage computers are a snapshot in time that harks back to the pioneer days of personal computers. Collectors enjoy displaying their prized IBM PS/2 or Commodore computer in a place of honour in their office or home. If you’re looking for a specific piece of memorabilia for your vintage computer collection, consider browsing through vintage computer mauals and merchandise.