Best 'classic' PC to begin collecting for?...

[burningdoom]

What is a classic PC? Are we talking just PC before the 90's? Or do you mean computers in general and not just PC's? If the latter Atari 8-bit.

Looking at the rest of the thread, looks like people forgot PC was not what computers were called if not by IBM or using their components back in the day, actually, wasn't even that long ago. (of course, MAC is really the only non-pc left, along with Chrome Books.)

That clarification actually came later when IBM started being seen in the home market. Back in the day, when most home PCs were not IBM, because IBM was still targeting the business market only, computers like the TRS-80 and the Apple II were indeed marketed as PCs. Watch an old Apple II commercial on YouTube, they use the words "personal computer".

At first it was just a general term that referred to computers you could have in your home, "personal computers". This was due to the fact that when home computers were still new, much of the public thought of computers as these huge beasts of machines that only universities and the government had access to.

As for which the original poster meant, I don't know. But he seems to be happy with our responses, so I think we covered it pretty well.

[Jakandsig]

That's actually not true at all, IBM pc's were the only ones to use the abbreviation of PC back then. And while some did use personal computer as a tag, others did not, and one of the main separating factors was the lack of using IBM PC's on a TV if not mistaken.

PC as the two letter abbrev was IBM's calling card, not only that, but there were computers like Atari 8-bit which were clearly aiming for the consumer market, Computers weren't mainstream as they were in the 90's, but this belief that computers were only for businesses is actually inaccurate, even in the U.S.

[burningdoom]

Never said it wasn't available to the public, just said that a lot of people thought that way.

Here's an example right here, one of those Apple II commercials I mentioned. They CONSTANTLY marketed the Apple II, TRS-80, and C64 as a personal computer, it was a buzzword of the early 80s:

And here's even a promo video named "The Most Personal Computer" about the Apple II:

[BarbaricAvatar]

Regardless, the terminology "PC" has since only been used in conjunction with the previously-titled IBM Compatibles. It is a confusing definition indeed.

A parallel to draw (as an example) would be if Nintendo referred to the SNES as a "HGC" (Home Games Console). While all the other TV-consoles are HGC's, only one of them is actually an HGC (in the case of this theroetical example, the SNES), because Genesis and Atari games won't work in SNES's, even though effectively they're all HGC's anyway.
If you can wrap your head around that, then you can see why despite ideas to the contrary, there is actually only 1 PC; the aforementioned IBM Compatible and its successors (Made by HP, Acer, Asus, Dell etc).

[burningdoom]

It was probably about the time that Windows became popular that PC started referring to IBM computers only. After that, PC tended to refer to Window-compatible systems.

Back in the days of the Apple II and C64, there was another term; "IBM Compatible", which referred to IBM only programs.

[fauxshot]

What is a classic PC? Are we talking just PC before the 90's? Or do you mean computers in general and not just PC's? If the latter Atari 8-bit.

Looking at the rest of the thread, looks like people forgot PC was not what computers were called if not by IBM or using their components back in the day, actually, wasn't even that long ago. (of course, MAC is really the only non-pc left, along with Chrome Books.)

I'm confused as to the intention also. From the 1st post i assumed he meant 80's/90's Home Computers (C64, CPC, Amiga etc), but others are responding with descriptions of what used to be known as IBM/PC Compatible's.

Some clarification is due methinks.

To clarify, as you mentioned, the C64, Amiga, and other machines that are pre-CD-DVD format. Sorry, I didn't mean PCs as we know them today. Looking into things that have a little more dust and yellow to them. xD

[BarbaricAvatar]

In which case you can't really go wrong with an Amiga, unless you're looking for something even older. I'm a little biased in that regard as i'm firmly in the CPC camp, however modern Java emulation is now spot-on and you can play all the games on a modern PC. It's worth keeping in mind that the Sinclair Spectrum is in the midst of a revival thanks to its recent Kickstarter campaign, which leaves the C64, Acorn/BBC Micro, and um... Were there any others??

You have to remember that the base versions of each system (Not incl. Amiga or Atari ST) used cassette tape games which could take anything between 10 and 40mins to load, so if you are going to go that way try to get one that includes a disk drive.
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Classic CPC 464/6128 games:
Turbo Esprit, Rainbow Islands, Exolon, Supercars, Oh Mummy, Chuckie Egg, Laserwarp, Cauldron 2, Afterburner, Get Dexter, Chase HQ, Codename Mat, Tau Ceti, Tomahawk, Total Eclipse, Gauntlet, Lotus Esprit Turbo Challenge, Rick Dangerous 2....

There are actually tons of great games on the system now that i think about it, but those load times; 

[fazerco]

And which Amiga do you suggest? 500, 500+, 600, 1000, etc. There are a few, and games weren't that competable.

I still have my Amiga 500 

[BarbaricAvatar]

And which Amiga do you suggest? 500, 500+, 600, 1000, etc. There are a few, and games weren't that competable.

I still have my Amiga 500 

From the brief bit of research i just did, an Amiga 500+ is the one to have. There was mention of a crack that made the 500+ think it was a regular 500 in order to play older titles.
But if the one you have plays Turrican 2, Supercars 2, Golden Axe, Sensible Soccer, Project X, Silkworm and The Spy Who Loved Me; then you've already got the best option.

[fazerco]

Aslong as you have the the extra 512 kb  to play all games on the 500, you are good.

But the Amiga was way ahead of its time back then.

[htimreimer]

as a PC collector my self, i recommend going for DOS or early windows (3.1,95,98), it is highly documented making it easy to learn and software/OS issue relatively easy to fix, the parts are easy to fined and the games are for the most part cheap.

the problem with going for something like the C64,amiga or the apple computers is that there not as well documented as DOS or early windows, there's a high likelihood of compatibility issues especially with amiga and apple do to the amount of models available  and  it a lot harder to find part for them, overall i recommend starting with DOS or early windows and work your way up to systems like the amiga once you learn the ropes on how to deal with finicky nature of these things

[BarbaricAvatar]

as a PC collector my self, i recommend going for DOS or early windows (3.1,95,98), it is highly documented making it easy to learn and software/OS issue relatively easy to fix, the parts are easy to fined and the games are for the most part cheap.

the problem with going for something like the C64,amiga or the apple computers is that there not as well documented as DOS or early windows, there's a high likelihood of compatibility issues especially with amiga and apple do to the amount of models available  and  it a lot harder to find part for them, overall i recommend starting with DOS or early windows and work your way up to systems like the amiga once you learn the ropes on how to deal with finicky nature of these things

That's like telling someone to learn to play the Tuba because it'll make it easier for them to learn Drums in the future.
It doesn't matter what old Home Computer one goes for, if they're willing to learn the language to understand it then it won't help in the slightest to waste time with DOS first.

[Jakandsig]

It was probably about the time that Windows became popular that PC started referring to IBM computers only. After that, PC tended to refer to Window-compatible systems.

Back in the days of the Apple II and C64, there was another term; "IBM Compatible", which referred to IBM only programs.

Which is not true, the full name and the abrrev are too different things there are ads back then that say "Is Apple II better than PC" or "Will Atari kill PC" Or "Atari will try to make a PC clone to see how the market responds.)

[Jakandsig]

Regardless, the terminology "PC" has since only been used in conjunction with the previously-titled IBM Compatibles. It is a confusing definition indeed.

A parallel to draw (as an example) would be if Nintendo referred to the SNES as a "HGC" (Home Games Console). While all the other TV-consoles are HGC's, only one of them is actually an HGC (in the case of this theroetical example, the SNES), because Genesis and Atari games won't work in SNES's, even though effectively they're all HGC's anyway.
If you can wrap your head around that, then you can see why despite ideas to the contrary, there is actually only 1 PC; the aforementioned IBM Compatible and its successors (Made by HP, Acer, Asus, Dell etc).

Speaking of Acer didn't they say they would soon move all on Chrome Book in retail outside of certain online vendors?

[burningdoom]

It was probably about the time that Windows became popular that PC started referring to IBM computers only. After that, PC tended to refer to Window-compatible systems.

Back in the days of the Apple II and C64, there was another term; "IBM Compatible", which referred to IBM only programs.

Which is not true, the full name and the abrrev are too different things there are ads back then that say "Is Apple II better than PC" or "Will Atari kill PC" Or "Atari will try to make a PC clone to see how the market responds.)

I already showed you proof from actual Apple II ads calling themselves PCs. And here's the TRS-80 one I was thinking of when I mentioned the TRS-80, starring Hulk himself in the ad:

It's like PS1 & PS2. When there was only a PS1, people didn't call it a PS1. That came later to help differentiate between the 2 systems. Same as people didn't differentiate IBM/Windows PCs as the only thing called PC until later. Back then, they were all called PCs. It was a buzzword they used to try and get wary people to accept computers in their homes. You've got to remember, back then computers weren't like they are now, not everyone had a computer in their home. Not even half of the nation had computers in their home.