Post by mel0n on Sept 9, 2022 18:52:23 GMT -5
As a bit of backstory I dig through the computers my school's IT department deems unworthy of living, take interesting ones back to my dorm, fix them or scrap them for parts. Recently, I picked up two 486 machines.
One is a Packard Bell Packmate 27 PB420, from what I can tell this is somewhat of a rare/desirable machine, especially since mine has not had any board damage from PRAM battery leakage (and I have clipped it out since). Dusted it, it's a bit scuffed and yellowed but it all seems to work as it should (excluding the lack of a CMOS battery to save bios configuration). 3K of extended memory, 640k of base, and a 486 clocked high enough to have a heatsink.
The other one I picked up is from a small OEM called Microexpress, it's quite a strange machine. Can't get it to work, I've tested traces and caps, my bet is on a dead IC somewhere but no clue where to go from here.
Both PCs have 5.25 and 3.5 floppy drives, a working power supply (for now at least), and the original HDD, but I was planning on selling the HDDs separately as people appear to like to pay $50 for a 130mb ATA drive.
Also picked up a monochrome VGA monitor. Unsure of resolution but I'm pretty sure it's 320x240. After I tuned it up it's got a very clear, sharp picture but is not super bright and has rather severe burn in.
I have very little space and no real use for these machines, but they seem to fetch a little bit of money. Trouble is, I'm not sure how to sell them.
I was planning on selling the Packard Bell machine along with the VGA monitor and a PS2 keyboard I found. Then, selling the Microexpress one separately, maybe just selling the board, since it's an off the shelf part and just the board would cost less if I shipped. Or should I just sell the Packard Bell on its own, no peripherals? Sell all the stuff in a big lot? Locally or on eBay? No clue of how much I should charge either. Don't want to charge ridiculously much, but don't want to just give it away, I know what I have.
One is a Packard Bell Packmate 27 PB420, from what I can tell this is somewhat of a rare/desirable machine, especially since mine has not had any board damage from PRAM battery leakage (and I have clipped it out since). Dusted it, it's a bit scuffed and yellowed but it all seems to work as it should (excluding the lack of a CMOS battery to save bios configuration). 3K of extended memory, 640k of base, and a 486 clocked high enough to have a heatsink.
The other one I picked up is from a small OEM called Microexpress, it's quite a strange machine. Can't get it to work, I've tested traces and caps, my bet is on a dead IC somewhere but no clue where to go from here.
Both PCs have 5.25 and 3.5 floppy drives, a working power supply (for now at least), and the original HDD, but I was planning on selling the HDDs separately as people appear to like to pay $50 for a 130mb ATA drive.
Also picked up a monochrome VGA monitor. Unsure of resolution but I'm pretty sure it's 320x240. After I tuned it up it's got a very clear, sharp picture but is not super bright and has rather severe burn in.
I have very little space and no real use for these machines, but they seem to fetch a little bit of money. Trouble is, I'm not sure how to sell them.
I was planning on selling the Packard Bell machine along with the VGA monitor and a PS2 keyboard I found. Then, selling the Microexpress one separately, maybe just selling the board, since it's an off the shelf part and just the board would cost less if I shipped. Or should I just sell the Packard Bell on its own, no peripherals? Sell all the stuff in a big lot? Locally or on eBay? No clue of how much I should charge either. Don't want to charge ridiculously much, but don't want to just give it away, I know what I have.