Vintage E-Waste Haul - The DELL Quadruplets!!

The Dell's have returned and this time in the form of Quadruplets! Let's go over each system and find out what was being 'tossed' to e-waste and see if we can get them to post! What surprises will we find? Let's find out! #vintage #dell #ewaste #retropc #nostalgia #intel #retro #dimension #optiplex

[@WalterKnox]

I am glad to see systems like these getting saved. There are so many people who don't appreciate stuff like this and still throw them out. I think they are great workhorses and are nearly indestructible.

[@TheRetroRecall]

Absolutely and you are right about indestructible! They are built like tanks haha!

[@big8news]

It was a party win toss mys to the trash bin. Dell is Hèll

[@sublime2craig]

This brings me back to when I first started getting into PCs and PC gaming. These Dell Dimensions were awesome for budget gaming builds and you would see them everywhere with a Nvidia 7600gt slapped in with the side case door off at all times for airflow lol! Such nostalgia!

[@TheRetroRecall]

Great share! Yes you are right, however I seemed to always have gone down the road of a Custom build. Only now have I been experiencing the OEM builds of that time. So neat seeing the different ways they were built. Neat and challenging to work on as well haha.

[@nyccollin]

Airflow is actually better with the case closed

[@AmazedStoner]

Depending on the build date I could have possibly built one of these in the factory back in the day.

[@TheRetroRecall]

Holy, really? You worked in the Dell manufacturing center? Nice!! Would love to hear some of your stories.

[@AmazedStoner]

@@TheRetroRecallBiggest thing Dell did back then was hire from a temp agency. You would get hired for a maximum 9 months and then be considered for permanent placement if your fast and accurate enough for building. They had or have this three strike rule and as such due to my very damaged eyeglasses I managed to miss the fact that I had severed a cpu fan wire with a screw marking my third strike because that system had to come off the line to be repaired causing a shipping delay for that customer specifically. Honestly the job no matter the department in that factory was mostly bar code scanning to assure you had grabbed the right part. My shift was on weekends. I got to spend from Friday morning before the sun came up to Sunday night just working and sleeping or traveling from or to work and home. However I got to spend four days off doing absolutely nothing each week with job and for $9 an hour as well in 2004. The whole campus was rather larger than I cared to explore but consisted of all kinds of activities and a very large cafeteria and more vending machines than I can count by memory. Probably the best thing was getting paid weekly and having your bank’s atm machine in the cafeteria. The worst part was I couldn’t have my mp3 player on the floor because it doubled as a flash drive. Actually the worst thing ever was the blister I got by walking three miles in the boots they provided to get to work on time because there simply wasn’t any bus service on that side of Austin. I quickly upgraded to a bike with a small headlight I would recharge while I slept.

[@donixion4368]

I would love to see the SMART values for every single one of those older drives.

[@TheRetroRecall]

That's a great call out. I'll see if I can get the utility and run a scan. I will go out on a limb and say the 500gb in System #4 is not original haha!

[@donixion4368]

@@TheRetroRecall Oh no, 500GB would be a bit much for system 4 when it was new. Someone went over the top with the 500gb drive on that one. I have 2 3Ghz HT Pentium 4s still rocking 80gb drives and for those systems, that's plenty of space. These are nice finds for "trash" computers. It makes me want to go dumpster diving for computer stuff. lol

[@TheRetroRecall]

Hahaha! Be careful... I can become a bad habit lol! I'm not in trouble... Yet. :)

[@rmcdudmk212]

I've fixed and built so many of these machines, watching them being opened up is like coming home. 🤣

[@TheRetroRecall]

Hahaha! Welcome home!!

[@SheldeniHardware]

The Dimension 2400 always hits a soft spot for me. Personally this was the computer I first experienced the internet on, KZbin in it's early days and online multiplayer games. We had other systems before it but this one got broadband internet and changed my life forever! Great pickup, even those optiplex bring back memories for my generation in grade school!

[@TheRetroRecall]

This is a great share, thank you! I'm happy I was able to bring back some Nostalgic memories for you!! Thanks for watching and hopefully you are subscribed, so you can catch more! :)

[@SheldeniHardware]

@@TheRetroRecall been subscribed for a few weeks now and love all the content! Keep it up! Definitely a nostalgic memory trip :)

[@TheRetroRecall]

Thanks so much for your support. :)

[@atariforever2002]

A lot of people love to rag on these old Dells but I just love them. They always have been solid running machines for me. And this validates that! Great video!

[@TheRetroRecall]

Thanks and I agree!

[@baguette4205]

meanwhile my dimension 8400 decided to just shit itself one day and not boot, but instead turn the cpu into a vacuum cleaner

[@atariforever2002]

@@baguette4205 so... your 20 yr old machine stopped working and you are bagging on it? Got it. 🙄

[@baguette4205]

@@atariforever2002 it stopped working after 6 years not 20. every other computer i've owned over the years has lasted longer

[@atariforever2002]

@@baguette4205 so this thing died in 2012 and you're just now talking about it? Ok

[@ypoora1]

Love these old nuggets. Kind of want to get an 8300/8400 class machine myself for fun.

[@TheRetroRecall]

They are pretty fun to play around with!

[@BenState]

DUDE YOU GOT A DELL!

[@TheRetroRecall]

Hahahah 4 of them!!!

[@WalterKnox]

Those smaller dimension systems are some of my favorite machines from this era (and honestly of all time). Those alongside with the IBM thinkcentre S51. I have at least 5 of those systems. They were from a time where you could buy the cheapest computer available (like the 2400), and still get a quality product that would last for years and could be upgraded to be really descent.

[@TheRetroRecall]

Absolutely! I particularly love the IBM systems of that era as well. Ibm and Dell's at the time were tanks.

[@miregoji2959]

with capacitor plague we both know that's a lie or just your luck

[@WalterKnox]

@@miregoji2959 No, these systems weren't really affected by that it seems. The smaller form factor optiplex and dimension systems were affected, but I have only seen a couple of the mini tower machines with bad caps. Even then, it doesn't seem to cause any major issues. While I have not seen it on these dells (because like I said, I haven't seen many bad caps on these), I have seen many HP systems which have almost all of the caps on the board bloated and leaking, and they still run just fine. Yes, they should probably be replaces, but somehow they continue to run just fine. I have a great example of this in use right now, an HP D-530 SFF which has almost every cap on the board bloated, and it runs 24/7 displaying a digital clock. It has been for 3 years now without an issue.

[@pierreinthavong181]

Outstanding collection Dell PCs so far, I'm so proud of you!👏👏👏👏👍😁

[@TheRetroRecall]

Thank you!!!

[@silvy7394]

I somehow never ran across these during my childhood. Sounds like I missed out.

[@TheRetroRecall]

Haha! I always saw them but never owned any.

[@KibaUrufu]

This just makes me dreamy and wanting a XP machine again ;D..vintage gaming and such would be fun!

[@TheRetroRecall]

Hopefully you can find a system in the wild, or collect some parts and enjoy some vintage building fun!

[@captainwasel8377]

Great to see that all computers worked perfectly. looking forward to the upcoming videos to see maybe a deep dive into one of those computers and maybe upgrade them.

[@TheRetroRecall]

Definitely!!!

[@codykamminga9667]

When you saw these everywhere, and they were dirt cheap, i’d buy these for the cases, often i paid €5 or half the time they were just free. The cases are regular ATX and Micro ATX, and even the front panel connectors were pretty much standard. And these Made great sleeper builds

[@TheRetroRecall]

Nice! Now.. What to do with these ones haha. System 4 interests me the most.

[@MickeyMishra]

I still have my dell Optiplex. Was my server for over 10 years solid! I loaded it up at one time with so many PCI cards I had close to 28 drives hooked up to the system. And then found a way to mess with the registry so I could share to more than 10 people on the home network. I pulled it out and am about to migrate all the data on the media server to the larger drives before I leave of for Asia. My model had RAMBUS RAM in it. THe cool thing? I think I had an uptime of over 2 years at one point! With the system itself running without a hitch for 5 years unless I had to clean it or upgrade stuff.

[@TheRetroRecall]

Hahah that's awesome!!!! 28 drives.. That's crazy. Safe travels to Asia!

[@AceStarstream]

HAHAHA!! I wanted to install my own cooler when I was about 9, so I tried ripping off that green plastic! I got the nastiest scar because of it! That shroud will NOT come off by force! 😂😂

[@TheRetroRecall]

Haha thanks for the info. You found out first hand :)

[@kenmccain9743]

I had this exact same system back in the day, but I had a Pentium 4 2666 processor and 32 megs of ram. I ended up putting 2 cd rewriters on it, added a 160gb hard drive and added 64 megs of ram. I ended up giving it up to a sister in law.

[@TheRetroRecall]

Nice!!

[@racinggameschannel]

Damn, been wanting one of the MT optiplexes but never wanted to really buy one with the capgate kinda thing, but i do have a few dimension 2400s, wonderful pc, great to make a sleeper pc in!

[@TheRetroRecall]

Awesome!! Sleeper may be a great idea actually.

[@mackjsm7105]

Brother .. OMG the memories.... TY for the vid.

[@TheRetroRecall]

Haha you are welcome!

[@georgez8859]

4 More nice Dells Saved . I think people toss them because of they are single core systems vs more modern multi core . They will make great retro machines. Thanks for the Video.

[@TheRetroRecall]

Thanks for watching!!!!

[@stevofinj]

Holy smokes, I'm pretty sure these have the same case skeleton as my Alienware R13!! Haha glad to know there is SOMETHING that never changes! Dude, you got a Dell!

[@TheRetroRecall]

Nice.. And Dude I got several! Hahaha! Thanks for watching!

[@keefhk11]

I like some of the features on Dells, like the fold out fan shroud that doubles the system fan as a cpu cooler.

[@TheRetroRecall]

True! I still don't know how I feel about the Clamshell case though lol.

[@keefhk11]

@@TheRetroRecall i have a few and the outside plastic tends to break and fall off. :( Easy for maintenance though.

[@TheRetroRecall]

Yeah I suppose that's true.

[@eels4real]

i had one of these as a kid and all id do was go on paint and go fill bucket on entire canvas>lasso select tool>violently move mouse around> move my selectrion off screen so it would be white and whatever color i put in>then call my mom over and tell her too look at my masterpiece

[@TheRetroRecall]

Hahaha the best!

[@laurencejohnson4106]

Fettling all of those will keep you busy and if I recall correctly Dell called those type of cases the Clamshell.

[@TheRetroRecall]

So I've been told. They are NOT fun to open hahha.

[@laurencejohnson4106]

@@TheRetroRecall My previous comment is shown here, but it has disappeared from the main page and it's not just your channel which that happens on and it happens to many folk, there must be a bug in the YT., system.

[@TheRetroRecall]

No problem.

[@CraigLillie]

Hahaha, take that Windows! 🤣

[@TheRetroRecall]

Hahaha I was floored when that loaded up! Ps - love your avatar - coincidence??? :)

[@hectorlopez-nk2yt]

yhea i got a dell pc like this back in the day great video like ever

[@TheRetroRecall]

Thank you!!

[@captainkeyboard1007]

Your show is making me grow as a Dell fan. I am also a fan of computer technology. I bought my second Dell which is the OptiPlex All-In-One 7410 Plus for my seventieth birthday. Without a rating on this OptiPlex show on the Dell website, I chose the model according to the individual specifications, and adjusted no more than one in my purchase order. I call my computer my "Keyboard," because it is my powerful typewriter. This show illustrates that Dell has made excellent computers in many years, and it is the best for desktop and laptop computers. All there is needed is just add software.

[@TheRetroRecall]

I appreciate that and thanks for watching the channel (and humoring me haha!

[@captainkeyboard1007]

@@TheRetroRecall You are welcome. I learned typewriting when I was 12 years old, and do not want to settle for anything less. That is why I treated myself to my third keyboard and second Dell for my seventy-year birthday. Happy Keyboarding!

[@captainkeyboard1007]

@@TheRetroRecallYou are welcome. In addition to my Dell keyboard, I use a Canon color laser printer, scanner, and Brother P-touch "professional label printer." You gave me the yen to stay with Dell, instead of Apple computer. Apple does not have all the business productivity applications, as in the 1980s, during the Microsoft DOS era. I will still be "typewriter" and "keyboard specialist," for I am free from the way of working the old-fashioned way.

[@TheRetroRecall]

Haha!!! Ohhh the keyboarding days!!

[@captainkeyboard1007]

@@TheRetroRecall Man! That was really my time. In fact, At my first job, I worked on a Remington Rand typewriter. Very often, I would type accurately. Then one year after my high school graduation, I received a promotion from a typist to work on the Honeywell console, and went to the company school and learned key punch. I made a bad mistake. After my 3-year employment in the insurance company, I foolishly let an employment counselor "psyche" me into accepting a job as a data typist, with a "hope" to learn computers. So far, as you read this comment, you could imagine that the promise was only a "pipe dream." Since I left my first job, I was hired to work in several business offices in Manhattan and Brooklyn. My typewriting speed was no less than 50 words per minute. I gained experience of using a data key terminal which has a keypunch style keyboard with the numbers on the right side of keyboard, upper case characters, and punctuation marks and symbols located throughout the keyboard. Without lots of exposure to a computer namely the IBM System 370/145, the Entrex Data Terminal seem to be an improvement over the card punch machines. After hard knocks of separation from employment. I took a long time to work in a job that would stay in business steadily. I foolishly went to a computer school. I probably needed not a "trade" school, because I needed to extracurricular education. In fact, I had my typewriting skill under my belt. The typewriting skill, now called "Keyboarding" should speak for me, even if I am at an employment interview without a suit, shirt and tie. All I have to do is use the keyboard. My longest time on the job was 4 years and 4 months at a service bureau, where I was a data typist. Now that I have been medically disabled, I continue to obtain Social Security benefits. In fact, I treated myself to a microcomputer in 2002. It was Cybernet [all-in-one] kind of pc, a Canon color laser printer, a Canon scanner, and in 2004, a Brother P-touch label printer connected to my keyboard. The Cybernet keyboard contained Microsoft Windows XP Professional. I learned many techniques to create a variety of business documents and files. Then, I probably started a typewriting business somewhat sooner than needed. Today, I have Microsoft Windows 11 Professional, running Microsoft Office 2021, thus making my document managing and file handling easy like never before. In 2002, I attempted to reduce my keyboarding speed to increase my pleasure for keyboarding, because the speed did not garner me any successful employment opportunities. Now, I can do what I feel, and feel what I can do, because I am free! Thank you very much for typing to me. Until next time, Happy Keyboarding!

[@tookeydookey]

Pretty sure I used the second Dell in computer class back in the day! I dunno if they had other models that only had the grey color in the door flap or not. This is probably a dumb suggestion, but maybe you can turn one of these into a custom "School PC" and put edutainment games on it like Kid Pix, Bailey's Book House, Reader Rabbit, or similar!

[@TheRetroRecall]

What an awesome share and a great recommendation! Edutainment series coming up!!! Tookey Dookey approved!

[@EvilTurkeySlices]

I just bought an Optiplex gx270. I was eying it up for a while, but LGR’s video on one made me pull the trigger on it.

[@TheRetroRecall]

Haha nice! I have soooo many Dell's. To LGRs point, they were everywhere lol.

[@EvilTurkeySlices]

@@TheRetroRecallthey certainly are.

[@VikingDudee]

I remember I got one of them Dells on the side of the road, I could not get that thing to open for the life of me, I've worked on them clamshell dells before, I had to take my grinder to cut it open lol

[@TheRetroRecall]

Omg hahahaha. 'suggestive force' was used and no one was harmed lol. Well I was almost at that point until I realized there was a second latch. Still it was an interesting challenge.

[@exaltedb]

The 3000 was the earliest computer I remember my family having. It had this exact configuration and this old dinosaur was my first experience with the internet when I was young and I still have this thing sitting around (mostly intact) The 3000 had a Prescott celeron while the 2400 was a Northwood

[@TheRetroRecall]

Awesome, does your system still function? Dig it out and bring back some memories! :)

[@exaltedb]

@@TheRetroRecall I need to find a power supply for it, but I think it’ll still work

[@branscombe_]

I wish I could find me an E-Haul waste!

[@TheRetroRecall]

I've been really lucky. I have a lot of great supporters of the channel that hunt these down for me.

[@lemagreengreen]

I wonder how many of those black/grey dimension/optiplex towers/desktops Dell produced, they seemed to be everywhere for so long. For a while they were great desktop PC's to buy for family etc, not bleeding edge but super cheap as companies liquidated them and more than sufficient as an XP machine for Grandma or something for the kids to break. I'd say given the popularity of retro hardware these days one of those early Dimension 2400's might be perfect, slap an (expensive now!) Voodoo or Voodoo2 in there and you've got a late 90s/early 00's gaming powerhouse, maybe even a TNT2U or one of the PCI Geforce cards which don't attract the 3DFX collectors tax.

[@TheRetroRecall]

Haha so true. It seems the build quality remained along with a similar design leaving the internal components to be upgraded and released. Each time I get a system like this I never truly know how they are spec'd!

[@timmooney7528]

I bought a Dimension 2400 from Dell for $200. Dell had a clearance sale on them, and i got mine in a group buy. It was no frills, it had a space on the motherboard for an AGP connector, but it was left out. I worked at a place which had Dell Precision GX-280's. I hated that clamshell case

[@TheRetroRecall]

Nice that you were able to get a system that cheaply and it was usable with some upgrade capabilities. I'd have to look closer.. Could we solder an AGP port on??? As for the Clamshell case - it was definitely 'interesting' to see these. They weren't awesome to open, or work on but I got the hang of it by the second one haha.

[@timmooney7528]

@@TheRetroRecall Not sure about soldering in an AGP connector. The clamshell appears to be a "tool free" service feature.

[@jimdayton8837]

Pretty cool haul! I'd be suspicious of the capacitors on that Optiplex GX270, as this was around the time Dell was having major capacitor quality issues. It looks like the one next to the RAM slots is leaking.

[@thadoggma]

These were made during the height of the counterfeit cap plague. Out of hundred of these I've worked on as tech, I've only seen a couple of any of these models that didnt have blown caps on the mother board and the power supply. Those yellow caps these came with were junk from the factory. Most I've tried to recap just kept violently killing hard drives and graphics cards and had stuttering sound issues due to some kind of cascading damage to the SB/NB caused by being ran for probably 15 years with bad caps. Go figure. I.ve got three of them, and dont even bother trying to mess with them.

[@TheRetroRecall]

I will definitely be digging in deeper with these systems during any restoration type videos :). Just need to get some parts.

[@elektrokinesis4150]

the blue SATA cable is a WD sureconnect cable, the block part is supposed to slot into a hole on the drive and hold it in place. it is installed backwards here

[@TheRetroRecall]

Thank you for this!!!! Makes sense now haha. You could see why I would be confused.

[@GoldenDragoon]

The AGP aperture isn't the shared ram for the integrated graphics at least not directly, it is a region of system ram that an AGP add in card can use to store anything that might not fit in it's own memory. If the integrated graphics chipset is utilising the AGP bus then it can utilise this in addition to any pre-set amount of graphics memory that is set in the bios.

[@TheRetroRecall]

Great to know, thanks for this!

[@aarontrupiano9328]

that last computer has a lot of upgrade potential with it having surround sound, a pcie x16, pcie 1x slot and sata on it. the pci x1 slot could be used for a usb 3.2 card

[@TheRetroRecall]

My thoughts exactly! Will be cool to get this system cleaned up and fully running!

[@vine00]

I love these systems, design holds up really well. Shame the smaller ones never came with AGP slots, otherwise they are perfect early XP PCs

[@TheRetroRecall]

For sure. I would think they were definitely entry level systems. Just have to find a decent PCI graphics card of the era haha.

[@lloyddavies5587]

I got a Dell I5 desktop Inspiron 660 at a Goodwill for $10... Came ready to go with Windows 10. All I did was upgrade to 16GB of ram and it works great!

[@TheRetroRecall]

Nice! You can definitely luck out.

[@jooch_exe]

Many people tend to forget just how well these things were built. Compared to the competition these things were quiet, yet powerful. Apple were just jealous of Dell''s dull grey boxes.

[@TheRetroRecall]

Haha so true. Systems from this era were tanks for sure.

[@Kasey9801]

Powering up used computers is like a box of chocolates, you just never know what you're going to get and that's the beauty of it. I too was surprised to see the Linux distros since Linux is kind of niche (in a good way, of course). If you plan to keep Linux on one or both Dell PCs, might I recommend Q4OS, a light-weight distro built on Debian that's intended for use on older hardware. Also, Q4OS' Trinity desktop looks very similar to Windows XP's GUI.

[@TheRetroRecall]

So true - always a surprise... You never truly know if it is going to work or what you are going to get! Linux will definitely be on one of the systems, just don't know which one yet. As for distro, there are so many! So hard to pick from all of the great recommendations.

[@elektrokinesis4150]

the optiplex and dimension clamshell cases open up more, they goes another 45 degrees past the first stop

[@TheRetroRecall]

That would make more sense. It isn't terrible but definitely not my choice of case design haha!

[@keefhk11]

Definately another video on system 4. Would love to own that one. Debian is my chosen distro. I see this one has SATA. One tip is to pick up old sky boxes as these have a 500Gb HDD in them which can be used to upgrade smaller/slower/missing drives.

[@TheRetroRecall]

For sure. System 4 was definitely a nice surprise!!

[@N64Guy]

These vids are awesome

[@TheRetroRecall]

Thanks!! Just have to find more Dell's to keep them going. Or maybe do some restorations on them. Thanks for watching!

[@N64Guy]

@@TheRetroRecall lol I still have my dimension 2400

[@TheRetroRecall]

haha that's awesome! Hopefully it is still going strong!

[@stevef6392]

The Celeron with the faster FSB and larger cache in system 3 is actually a Celeron D - weird that the BIOS doesn't identify it as such. The Dimension 8400 certainly brings back memories. Friend of mine had a similar looking system, but probably was an 8250 or 8300 instead, since it had a Radeon 9700 (AGP) graphics card. His was actually THX certified - had the badge on it and even came with 5.1 speakers. I was immensely jealous.

[@TheRetroRecall]

Nice!! And thanks for that clarity regarding the CPU. I'll have to take a look at that. Also, the 8400 definitely has some expansion possibilities!

[@CecilTheDarkKnight234]

well this took me back, the first computer I ever bought with my own money was dell dimension 2400. I did absolutely everything on that machine back then but sadly it perished in 2014-15 due the capacitor plague & it was beyond repair. 9:24 Oh the max memory in these systems is 2gb of DDR ram clocked at 266-333mhz

[@TheRetroRecall]

Seems like the 2400 line were a popular machine. Shame it suffered from the cap plague. Thanks for the RAM info!

[@DeIeted]

I want to make a sleeping out of the first one tbh

[@TheRetroRecall]

You really could use any one of them, but I like your style - the first one would be the most unassuming / covert one!

[@erichkohl9317]

Linux was quite the surprise. I have a Dell that I got from a friend's friend who didn't need it anymore, but I put Vista on it. It's a great machine for stuff like UT2004. Although I do have an older gaming rig that now has Ubuntu on it.

[@TheRetroRecall]

Nice! And yes, quite a surprise. I really expected Windows lol.

[@hellbringer09]

that dimension 8400 brings back memories.... other then the 4 gb thats the exact setup i had for the entirity of xp gaming and it was a beast.

[@TheRetroRecall]

I think Dell's were given a bad rap! There were a lot of nice systems out there that were jam packed full of goodies! :)

[@richchester187]

I've never seen a fold out case like them before. in a way i think it's quite cool. My fav was no.2 would be interesting to see what games it has or any of them when it comes to that and a good graphics work out to. It would be interesting to see a side by side test between sys 1 and 3 when they have the same amount of memory as no.3 having so little would have been choking it somewhat.

[@TheRetroRecall]

For sure - benchmarking between the two would be a neat comparison. As for the fold out case, it was definitely a different experience lol. System 4 had the pcie and dedicated graphics, where system 2 had the ability to expand with AGP. Definitely many options with these systems.

[@genetomblin2883]

I agree on the strange and not so wonderful case. I have one of these still in use as a Linux box

[@TheRetroRecall]

Nice!

[@v7tech]

subbed :). great content.

[@TheRetroRecall]

Thank you! Great to have you along for the ride, enjoy!

[@m8x425]

The 2400 is strikingly similar to the Dimensions 2350 I used to have, even down to the missing AGP slot. I opted for a 2.2GHz Pentium 4.... while the rest of the system came with 128MB of DDR1 RAM and a 40GB Drive. I bought a 512MB stick off Newegg and put it into the system the second I got the system. I bought it back in June of 2003 and it finally died in late 2008. By 2007, general software had become so demanding that I could not do anything when a Virus-Scan was running. The lack of the AGP slot was very, very disappointing and the CPU cooler is hilarious. I wanted to replace the motherboard, CPU and RAM with one of those cheap Fry's Electronics Friday combo specials, but I opted to build a new system instead.

[@TheRetroRecall]

That's a pretty cool share. It sounds like that was the case for a few people at the time - upgrading systems the moment they got home haha. I agree - shame on the lack of AGP slot.

[@karl-erikkald8876]

Dude, you got some Dells! Here are some of my long thoughts 1) Dimension was marketed towards your usual home users and small businesses, whereas Optiplexes were mostly seen in large enterprises, schools and governments. Compared to the Dimension, the Optiplex has a longer support span, longer warranties, optionally on-site service, remote management features etc. 2) I wouldn't be that surprised if some of the XP-era systems came with Linux instead (especially with Ubuntu 12.04 or Ubuntu 14.04), since there was a lot of (which was IMO very excessive and exaggerated) fear mongering around the Windows XP's end of support. No, the sky didn't fall down on April, 9th and when you turned your old Windows XP system on, chances are, it probably started installing the last ever Windows XP patches which were published on April 8th (ofc, several years later some post-EOL emergency patches for XP would emerge). You could do everything as you could've done the day before. Obviously running out-of-date or unsupported carries a potential security risk especially if you aren't careful, but prior to that I hadn't seen so much attention given to the operating system's (or any other software for that matter) end of support. Almost nobody spoke about Windows 98 or Windows 2000 when they finally bit the dust.

[@TheRetroRecall]

Great thoughts! Thanks for the insight and you are probably correct. Love the perspective.

[@HA05GER]

I have a dimension 8100 of similar vintage i believe 2001. Still works to this day and i used it for many years as a teenager through the msn, bebo and limewire years.

[@TheRetroRecall]

Ohhh those were the days. The viruses!!! Haha.

[@HA05GER]

@@TheRetroRecall oh god yes the viruses or downloading a song and getting that bill Clinton impersonation I had that multiple times 😂 such simpler times. My poor old dell takes about 10 mins to boot I think 256mb ram and xp with 4 hard drives is just too much for it. I think I paid £100 for it in about 2005 and poached hard drives from old satellite boxes. I would say that computer was constantly on for about 6 years.

[@TheRetroRecall]

Hahaha wow! And yes, always the wild wild west in computing. So much fun lol!

[@verzagen7550]

Had a 2400 in the house going through high school, shame it was cut down and the AGP port was removed, otherwise it was a pretty capable system and could even be, and the one I had was eventually upgraded with the Pentium 4 3.06 GHz with Hyper Thread technology, which was pretty neat back then

[@TheRetroRecall]

For sure! You are right, it turned into more of a budget PC. The AGP slot would definitely improve the expansion. The P4 HT CPU is definitely a nice CPU of the time.

[@Pandabaerchen88]

I bought a Dell Optiplex GX280 for 7 Years. For a Little Retro system. Play Games the are only work on XP. Example Star Trek Elite Force. Now i use it in 2023 for some old school software and some Retro Games. Harry Potter 1 and AoE 1 . Now in 2023 they are hard to find. I bought it in 2016 for 12€ incl Shipping ^^.

[@TheRetroRecall]

Nice! It's a cool machine for sure. It's system number 4 that peaked my interest :)

[@maxtornogood]

Nice surprise with the Linux installs! 3rd system had 1/2 the RAM (128MB of 256MB) shared to the graphics, could explain the slowness & audio choppiness on XP. That 8400 can run a 64-bit OS but the RAM runs on a 32-bit architecture hence the 3.2GB in Linux Mint (20.3 & still supported!).

[@TheRetroRecall]

I was as surprised (or more) than you were! Thanks for this additional clarity!! Stick around the channel and keep commenting - very helpful and much appreciated :)

[@maxtornogood]

@@TheRetroRecall No worries man, I always come around to your clips sooner or later! 😉

[@blazed85]

Tear down all components. Figure out which case is your favorite then add in the best pieces. 😎

[@TheRetroRecall]

Definitely an option and if so, I think I'm leaning towards system 4!

[@javajav3004]

Takes me back

[@TheRetroRecall]

Awesome! So many Dell's lol

[@Shizzmoney74]

I had a Dell Dimension 6400 last me 12 years lol the only upgrade I did was the RAM, DDR2 (which I still have)

[@TheRetroRecall]

Nice! They aren't bad machines if spec'd right. I still have Dell's from 2012 that are still going today with Windows 10!

[@lukedavis436]

I wanna see some HP or IBMs at one stage.

[@TheRetroRecall]

Stay tuned :). Lots of projects on the go!

[@nahventure3873]

the 4th system is another beast. It's LGA775 instead of whatever PGA the other P4's are. Anyways, it only does 90nm CPUs so don't get any hopes up about going C2D or C2Q :( I'm not sure if it's an "ACTUAL" chipset limitation or a "give us money" one, but would've been cool to be able to upgrade that further especially since DDR2 is easy to find in 2GB variants for 4x 2GB for 8GB. Then PCI-E on it, would've been great for a C2D/C2Q Windows 10 system if at that.

[@TheRetroRecall]

Agreed and it was a pretty nice surprise for sure.

[@arthurmann578]

I think that I once bought a Playboy magazine...(or was it Penthouse...🤔🙄😂) because it had a similar title to yours once, a LONG time ago! 🤔😂 Now I would just be considered a "dirty old man!" And I don't know what my wife would say to me if she found it! 😂😂 PS: Maybe I can be considered as "vintage e-waste!" .😂😂👍👍

[@TheRetroRecall]

Hahaha Arthur behave!!! (Ps - nice!!!) lol

[@arthurmann578]

@@TheRetroRecall I try, but it's difficult sometimes.....😕😂

[@TheRetroRecall]

Hahah we wouldn't have it any other way!

[@beltanewalk8797]

Honest question, apart from the number 4 pc what worthwhile use have these machines? I doubt the first 3 are capable of running an OS or browser that hasn't had support dropped years ago. Apart from running old DOS games like Frogger is it worth giving these relics house room?

[@TheRetroRecall]

A question I will say I've only been asked twice thus far on this channel :). The same could be said for all of the items featured in all of the videos made to date. This is content that people enjoy watching while sparking nostalgic memories from all walks of life. Granted that this being a 'Retro' channel, a few or a lot of items depending on your perspective may not be able to be used in today's world (although some distros of Linux can overcome that barrier). These systems would be worth the value to the end user and whatever their use case may be. You mention old games like 'frogger'. I get your point, however these machines are definitely capable of doing a little more than frogger :) and heck... What's wrong with frogger? Through a little Pac Man and Donkey Kong in there while your at it. I will leave it to the masses to decide what their own specific use cases would be. For my own use case - it is rescuing items from being melted down, creating content for everyone who chooses to sit back and watch some old tech and eventually decide to donate these to a museum of some sort or to some that would love to just play some 'frogger' :). As for storage, I have plenty for now and am selective of what I bring in as it has to have content purpose - just as these systems did. Hopefully this helps to shed some perspective and in the end, hopefully you enjoyed the content :) thanks for watching!

[@beltanewalk8797]

@@TheRetroRecall I certainly did enjoy the content, you videos are well made and entertaining. May you long continue to do so. There seems to be an endless supply of unloved computers free for the asking. Every now and then I come across one that is worth repairing or refurbing, the rest I walk away from. Times change, people today seem to prefer mobile computing or consoles.

[@bingus-rx4lb]

i used to have the second dell it had a quantum fireball but my mom thought it was useless so she threw it way

[@TheRetroRecall]

Now that's a shame. It happened quite a bit unfortunately.

[@justsumguy2u]

E-waste haul videos are my favorite, especially trying them out for the first time. That's amazing that all 4 worked, very impressive. And yeah, a bit odd to see Linux installed---it's popular for business, but not many home users would have it. Are you going to install something else on the Linux machines?

[@TheRetroRecall]

Love that you are enjoying this type of content! It takes quite a bit to do these types of videos :). I know Linux although used in business is widely used today in the consumer market. Usually for those who do not wish to use the windows environment. That said, I am not really sure yet what I will do, but that system number 4 is definitely an interesting one for me to restore!

[@-aexc-]

Linux for home users isn't as rare as you would expect, especially for old low power systems

[@TheRetroRecall]

Possibly, I was just shocked to see it.

[@justsumguy2u]

@@-aexc- Maybe, but I've been buying used pc's for a long time, and I've never seen it

[@charleshines2142]

above the PCI slots the first one had it looks like there is a blank spot where that motherboard may have had AGP in other models. It will not be PCIe in this thing. I am not sure if PCIe was a standard when that one was built.

[@TheRetroRecall]

Another viewer indicated theirs had an AGP slot in that spot and another said that they had a spot where an AGP could go. So I would say it was AGP.

[@jamesjan]

The taller Optiplex and Dimension towers are meant to be opened lying down.

[@TheRetroRecall]

Thanks for that info, I figured that out afterwards - definitely a different design!

[@calzonemaniacsvideocorner0804]

Something they don't teach you in adulting class - seeing PCs and game systems you grew up with get called "vintage" or "retro".

[@TheRetroRecall]

Haha so true.

[@bellshooter]

For the Linux systems I would heartily recommend MX 23 Linux, release candidate 3 distro with KDE Plasma, a really good system.

[@TheRetroRecall]

Thanks for the recommendation! I have several written down here now from viewers. So many to choose from - not sure how I am going to pick one or two to do installations of.

[@BeamerMT1979]

Owned on of those 2400s. Hated them! Always overheated or broke down 😢

[@TheRetroRecall]

Haha, I can definitely see them overheating.

[@TeemarkConvair]

Dude, you got a DELL

[@TheRetroRecall]

Hahah! Yes... So darn many lol

[@Boycott_Olympics]

DUDE...your getting 4 DELLS!

[@TheRetroRecall]

Hahahahah!!!!

[@georgemaragos2378]

Hi, i had a Dell 2400 from 2015 to 2021. I first installed dos 6.22 , and later dual booted with XP SP3 installed This game be both old dos machine and a more modern machine In the bios menu, there is a memory or cpu option that is called legacy, select that and the cpu cache is disabled, making the systems perform more like a 486 I also was missing the floppy drive, however with the serial port and ethernet it was my goto dos conversion machine, i could boot to dos and use laplink via serial for repairing older machines, also with XP i could use the net or my internal lan and dump files on the dos partition One day it just dies, there we no diagnostic lights on the rear of the motherboard so i could not look up the error code - reluctantly it ended up as landfill I think it had 3G ram ( or 4 but only 3 or 3.5 was usable )

[@TheRetroRecall]

Thanks for sharing this memory - that's what this channel is all about haha. I had no idea about the legacy option in the BIOS, I will definitely have to check that out. Thanks!!

[@keefhk11]

Great to see Linux on one of these. It really does make some of the older systems so much more useable against the more power hungry Windows. Especially if you leave off the GUI. ;)

[@TheRetroRecall]

I was extremely shocked to see Linux on these for sure!

[@PlanetLinuxChannel]

Out of curiosity, where do you come across these old systems? I’m always eager get my hands on PCs that people otherwise plan to throw away / recycle.

[@TheRetroRecall]

Ewaste recycling centers, online marketplaces, and I'm fortunate to have a friend who orders systems in lots that I'm able to pick through :)

[@PlanetLinuxChannel]

@@TheRetroRecall Thanks! Love the videos; keep it up! By the way, if you are interested in learning more about Linux, that’s what my KZbin channel is all about. (Yes, it’s a shameless plug. 😀)

[@TheRetroRecall]

Not shameless!!! I'm going to check it out now, because I'm about to start getting into Linux!

[@TheRetroRecall]

Subscribed!!

[@PlanetLinuxChannel]

@@TheRetroRecall Greatly appreciated! I hope you find some of the videos useful and I have some interesting content on the way.

[@GunnerEu2000]

My first computer was a demension 2400 with the pentium 4 it was stable with 2 gb ddr

[@TheRetroRecall]

Nice! Those 2400s seem to have been pretty popular!

[@Wilem35]

I leased one of these babies for 5 years at over 5K total. Sheesh.

[@TheRetroRecall]

Yikes!!!

[@dennisp.2147]

"Extra case fan" Lol. That's the standard divorced CPU fan that Dell used in these machines.

[@TheRetroRecall]

Ok.

[@xmetal66]

I use to play WoW on one of these, quite terribly but it chugged lol

[@TheRetroRecall]

Lol .. I loved wow

[@arthurmann578]

I'm not 100% sure, but I think the Pentium 4 running at 3GHz you have in Dell #2 might be considered a more rare CPU. They may be harder to find and worth more than the slower ones to we retro enthusiasts. I could be dead wrong on that though. 🤔 I think maybe if you defrag the hard drive on Dell #3 it might speed up its loading times. Usually when the sound on a retro system with a hard drive warbles like that on startup it could either be too little memory or a HD in need of defragging. I guess an SDD in place of the HD would really speed up these old PC's.

[@TheRetroRecall]

Good catch. The CPU in System #2 is clearly much different than System #4 P4.

[@arthurmann578]

@@TheRetroRecall Dell #4 is really the coolest, to me anyway. Really nice video once again! I really like seeing these good ol' retro machines! Like they say "One man's junk is another man's treasure! The more they throw out, the better it is for we retro collectors! Yeah.....we have an addiction... but a FUN one anyway. It's only bad when we finally run out of space.....which we ALL eventually do! Lol!! 😂😂

[@TheRetroRecall]

Hahha so true and yes you are right, its a great system.. I haven't run out of space just yet.. Nor have I gotten into trouble at home... Just yet haha.

[@SilverX95]

might be, i only ever seen one and that one is in my Dell 8300 though i always thought the 3.2/3.4 were more rare along with the models that have the 1MB L2 cache with SSE3.

[@TheRetroRecall]

And to think this has 2mb L2? Well at least according to the BIOS.

[@timmooney7528]

Dimensions were more home related. Optiplex were business desktops. Precision were considered higher powered workstations.

[@TheRetroRecall]

Thanks, that's what I figured but great to get confirmation. I find nomenclature changes with the wind sometimes lol.

[@davinp]

I'm surprised then when people get dispose of old PCs, that they don't erase their personal data. You should in order to prevent your identity from getting stolen

[@TheRetroRecall]

Absolutely. It's crazy how many I come across. Fortunately Im an honest person and I destroy the data as part of my restorations.

[@big8news]

I get done I crush the hard drive if it's too small not worth anything

[@davinp]

@@big8news I saw on someone else's video where they discovered a disposed PC had a bullet shot through a hard drive

[@itstheweirdguy]

The newer P4 Dell would be nice with windows XP 64 bit edition, as long as you don't care about 16 bit software.

[@TheRetroRecall]

I was thinking the exact same thing when I saw the CPU stats in the BIOS. Having the 64 bit option is neat and should be pretty quick!

[@eggyx2734]

actually surprise non of it got leaking caps, i work on a recycling center about a 4 year ago and my god, every one of these have leaking caps

[@2528drevas]

XP Windows machines are so limited, so unless I'm building a Retro Gaming PC I don't usually bother with e-waste like these unless it is to salvage parts.

[@TheRetroRecall]

Ok. :)

[@Ferg13]

I finally dug out my Dell Dimension. It’s the 2400. And a pain in my where the sun Don’t shine 😂. That is why I gave up a little while ago. Gaaaah. Swear I went more grey then before I started working on it. Need to get the OEM XP. Retail XP Nope. W98. Nope. WVista yupp but slow as heck. I was going to install a Linux based OS. But I have NO clue what I’m doing lolol. This 2400 has given me a run for my money that is for sure.

[@TheRetroRecall]

Hahahahaha ismt it fun?!?? :)

[@crabdonkey6381]

System 3 needs more memory!

[@TheRetroRecall]

Haha yes, it needs a lot of love!

[@lloyddavies5587]

I got a GX270 back in 2009... It's in storage now.. Haven't powered it on in years....

[@TheRetroRecall]

Time to dig it out, dust it off and get some cool stuff going on it!!! Lol.

[@lloyddavies5587]

@@TheRetroRecall Keep in mind Dell made the Big tower 270 and a small form factor one too..

[@TheRetroRecall]

I had no idea.

[@retrogamer33]

I'm pretty sure Dell uses the same metal as the military use to make tanks.

[@TheRetroRecall]

Hahahaha definitely a possibility based on the weight and build of these machines!!

[@lloyddavies5587]

@@TheRetroRecall Dells were mostly built like tanks..

[@SilverX95]

the legendary 8400. that's the best retro P4 HT you can have compared to the 8300 witch is the older model and has AGP, wile the 8400 is on a newer chipset and socket type LGA775 and DDR2 ram AND PCI-E what more can you ask for in a XP retro system.

[@TheRetroRecall]

This is amazing. You are right. I was shocked to see PCI-E. I can't wait to experiment with this system! So many options.

[@FixationwithCarnage]

i still have 3 of them all originally owned lol

[@TheRetroRecall]

Nice!!! Hopefully you dig them out once in a while.

[@FixationwithCarnage]

@@TheRetroRecall oh of course! i miss the xp days

[@TheRetroRecall]

Great memories!

[@NapierNimbus]

The Dell number 2 case was known as a clam case

[@TheRetroRecall]

Great to know! Not a lobster? Hahah

[@rmcdudmk212]

I've built a couple of these machines from throw away servers to decent windows XP gaming machines. Love the clam shell even if it's a pain to get open sometimes. 🤣

[@TheRetroRecall]

It was crazy annoying.. The first one was so hard to work with, however the 2nd one was good :)

[@rmcdudmk212]

@@TheRetroRecall it's really hit and miss when it comes to how easy some want to open. 😂

[@TheRetroRecall]

So I've discovered haha

[@TheRealCybermaze]

Mate (the desktop environment) is pronounced "Mar-tey".

[@TheRetroRecall]

Good to know! Thank you! I literally have 0 experience with Linux. That is going to change now haha.

[@jeffrybassett7374]

The sad thing is that Dell is STILL using that horrid case the first system featured. They just keep changing the plastic crap attached to the outside to make it look different.

[@TheRetroRecall]

It's a pretty basic case for sure. I'm just glad they aren't using the Clamshell case in systems 2 and 4!

[@steelplasma256]

Linux Kernel 4.2 was released in 2015

[@TheRetroRecall]

Thanks!

[@EastAngliaUK]

the best one is last

[@TheRetroRecall]

Nice.