There’s an inevitable metamorphosis that takes place inside every PC gamer. We spend the first few years of our RGBinfused passion chasing the new, and then… well, we continue doing that for as long as the likes of Nvidia, AMD and Intel tell us to. But we also start to chase the old, too.
We hoard our old gear without a clear plan, and start to fetishise old beige wonders from bygone eras. And we’re absolutely right to: old gaming PCs are incredible.
Getting these old rigs operational again isn’t as easy as plugging them in and covering your nose while the exhaust fans disperse 17 years of dead skin across the room. Depending on the Windows version that’s installed on that creaking HDD, the panel and peripherals you’ll be hooking it up to, and the format of games you want to play, you’ve got a few separate workflows ahead of you.
BEIGE-ING GRACEFULLY
For the oldest machines – Windows XP era and older – it’s crucial to give everything inside the case a deep clean. And not just for the aforementioned scattering of dead cells – finding NOS [new old stock] parts for these PCs is really tough, and finding NOS parts that are actually compatible with your machine is roughly as complex as just soldering a new motherboard by hand. In other words: you’re going to want every fan and capacitor to last as long as possible.
Denne historien er fra May 2023-utgaven av PC Gamer US Edition.
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Denne historien er fra May 2023-utgaven av PC Gamer US Edition.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
"The War Within itself has kept me coming back most evenings too"
WORLD OF WARCRAFT remains my jailer, and I couldn't be more pleased about it
OK BUILDER
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HELL YES
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MOUSE: PI FOR HIRE
This mouse wants to be more than just a gimmick
WINDBLOWN
Dead Cells dev's new roguelike has me afraid for my free time
NO MORE ROOM IN HELL 2
As the zombie horde surrounded me just moments after taking down my two remaining teammates, the writing was really on the wall. Armed with just a chef's knife, it was clear I stood no chance, but I was going down swinging, hoping for a miracle... it didn't come.
OWNED BY STEAM
VALVE cordially reminds you that your games aren't yours
CURSE OF THE AZURE BONDS
These classic games haven't aged badly, but I sure have.
DEEP FREEZE
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NEW HORIZONS
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