Gateway PC

[Bozo]

I just retired a 1998 vintage Gateway E-4200 computer. From 1998 to 2002 it was someones desktop computer. From 2003 until today it was in our production are running 24/7/365. It still has the 40GB Western Digital hard drive in that I installed in it in 2003.
The only reason we replaced it is we were worried with it's age it could fail.

 

[P5-133XL]

I'd swear that old vintage desktops of that era were much more reliable then modern machines. Back then computers were expensive and expected to last. Now days the expectation is for a 2 year lifespan and are cheap enough that they are considered disposable items. I suppose that as expectations change so does manufacturing. Also, on a relative scale, modern machines are a lot less expensive so perhaps part of it is that you get what you pay for.

 

[Mercutio]

I've noticed that brand name desktop systems have dropped precipitously in terms of overall build quality, particularly with motherboards and power supplies. This seems to be true even for business product lines (Thinkcenter, Optiplex) let alone vomit boxes.