Support NeoGAF

[RetroGamingUK]

What’s your favourite looking home computer?

For me, I’m a big fan of Apple’s late 90s aesthetic, so I’m going to nominate a couple of their’s…

Power Mac G4 (1999)

iBook G3 (1999)

The Power Mac was ridiculously expensive back in the day, but the laptop was more affordable and I got one pre-owned back in 2001 which became my first laptop.

Big fan of the use of transparent and coloured plastics along with the slick curves and other details. The iBook actually had a much thicker frame around the screen compared to other laptops of the time, but still none of the competitors looked that good.

 

[RetroGamingUK]

Another nomination, this Sony VAIO (PCV-RS) from 2004

My friend had this PC back in the day. The monitor had a glossy curved panel at the back which looked very sleek at the time, puts modern computers to shame.

 

[kevboard]

the Sharp X68000 series

 

[calistan]

I loved the original iMac. Most electronics shops didn't stock them, but there was an independent computer store near me that would order one in for me. I had to carry it back to my house. It was lovely looking but quite underpowered, so I upgraded to the DVSE version when that came out the following year. Not as nice looking as the blue one. Also had to carry that back to my house.

The 20th anniversary Mac was pretty exotic. I remember using one at Nintendo's press agency, where they had it hooked up to an N64 for screen capture.

 

[WhiteWaterM00se]

iMac or Apple Cube! Both were beautiful to look at.

 

[RetroGamingUK]

iMac or Apple Cube! Both were beautiful to look at.

Never bothered with iMacs or all-in-ones in general

However the 2001 iMac is a work of art

 

[calistan]

Some Apple computers are even nice looking on the inside.

 

[spons]

OEM cases are generally much better looking then all that gamer crap. Fuck RGB, and yes I'm aware there are aftermarket cases that don't have that but fuck windowed cases as well.

 

[RetroGamingUK]

OEM cases are generally much better looking then all that gamer crap. Fuck RGB, and yes I'm aware there are aftermarket cases that don't have that but fuck windowed cases as well.

Can’t stand this crap, yet they seem to be everywhere these days

Hideous

 

[RagnarokIV]

Any old beige Gateway or Compaq.

 

[spons]

Can’t stand this crap, yet they seem to be everywhere these days

Hideous

Holy Moly. Yeah give me "boring" and functional. Love me some business aesthetic.

 

[calistan]

Can’t stand this crap, yet they seem to be everywhere these days

Hideous

I don't like garish flashing lights and stuff like that, but RGB can be functional. This is mine, the screen on the graphics card shows various info and the RAM modules change from pale blue to red to show the CPU temperature.

 

[MisterFalcon]

These things seemed so insanely cool way back:

 

[RetroGamingUK]

These things seemed so insanely cool way back:

Lovely stuff

80s laptops are incredibly bizarre to look at now

I’d say the form factor of modern laptops traces back to this from 1990…

Suddenly every laptop started to look like this.

 

[winjer]

 

[calistan]

I've always appreciated a nice supercomputer. A tasty bit of Cray. They made it curved like that to reduce the distance between components, so the external look of it was just a bonus.

A couple of Connection Machines. The flashing lights are purely aesthetic.

 

[Illiterate Actual]

Old Macs are ugly as hell.

Any IBM PC clone from the 80s looks pretty decent. Didn't have one, but always like the look of a Tandy.

 

[ClanOfNone]

Old Macs are ugly as hell.

Any IBM PC clone from the 80s looks pretty decent. Didn't have one, but always like the look of a Tandy.

I agree, the old Macs are hideous, particularly the late 90’s early 2k ones.

Seeing this Tandy brings me back. 384k memory for $1200, what a bargain!
When dad bought home our first pc in the 80’s it was an IBM PS2 with a whopping 640k in memory. It also had these new odd additions, like the first ever 3 1/2 floppy drive that I had seen, and something called a hard drive that could store 20 whole megabits! Also had these new first ever EGA screen I had seen, no more CGA ugliness!

 

[Ikutachi]

iMac. It's nostalgic to see one in a sitcom.

 

[RetroGamingUK]

iMac. It's nostalgic to see one in a sitcom.

There’s a YouTube video showing every (well, not quite every) movie scene where there’s an Apple computer.

 

[AJUMP23]

EINACE it a pretty one.

 

[willothedog]

WOPR, can play noughts and crosses, chess and start global thermonuclear war.

 

[Makoto-Yuki]

already posted but this iMac

I'd love if Apple did a modern version. The current iMacs are kinda close with the white bezel and bold colours. They should make a model with a transparent back. A lot of people give this design shit but I love it. I was gonna buy one but they only do 24" displays. If they ever release a 27-32" i'll buy one right away.

 

[INC]

I'm a man of simple tastes

 

[Fbh]

How else will people know my PC is fast?

I'm a man of simple tastes

I really like these case designs with wood.
If I ever build a PC I'll probably get a case like this.

 

[Dr.D00p]

Uuurggh...thread full of American-centric design tat!

Behold the beauty and genius of British Industrial Design from 1983. The beautiful Memotech MTX 512:

 

[AJUMP23]

I'm a man of simple tastes

Quite nice. Like if Frank Loyd Wright designed a computer.

 

[mopspear]

Sharp X-1. My PC tower is black and red for this reason.

 

[NeverYouMind]

PIP Boy from Fallout.

 

[Clear]

Uuurggh...thread full of American-centric design tat!

Behold the beauty and genius of British Industrial Design from 1983. The beautiful Memotech MTX 512:

First thing that sprang to mind for me. Black anodized aluminium mmmmmm....

They really should have tweaked the shell and sold them as c64 case-mods, would've sold great!

 

[Dural]

The Dell Adamo 13 is still my favorite laptop design; it was all aluminum except for some glass at the top of the lid with and a design etched into the aluminum. I believe it was also the thinnest laptop at the time. It's packaging was pretty epic as well.

 

[Tams]

OEM cases are generally much better looking then all that gamer crap. Fuck RGB, and yes I'm aware there are aftermarket cases that don't have that but fuck windowed cases as well.

I love a good Fujitsu.

Sony Vaios did take the cake though:

 

[Drew1440]

I always wanted one of these, its a server but I wish HP made one that allowed you to put a large graphics card inside:

For laptops, it has to be newer VAIO SX series, I wish they shipped these to the UK.

 

[Mikado]

the Sharp X68000 series

Sharp X-1. My PC tower is black and red for this reason.

Hnng. That mid-to-late-80's Japanese tech aesthetic was on-point.

 

[jason10mm]

WOPR, can play noughts and crosses, chess and start global thermonuclear war.

I see your WOPR and raise you a MU/TH/UR

and who could forget this gem



and the GOAT of PC designs...

though I guess that's his virtual appearance, otherwise he's just a cool desk...

 

[bajouras]

Never bothered with iMacs or all-in-ones in general

However the 2001 iMac is a work of art

Back in the early 2000s, Apple as a brand wasn’t really all that well known in my country. But my dad as a Designer was super enthusiastic about their products so he bought one of these. A few months later, there was a lan party at my hometown and my dad told me to take his Mac. I could barely play anything at all but people went all crazy when they saw this, thinking it was a crazy pc build I made.

 

[Gp1]

Besides that.

98 G3 iMac then later Unibody/Aluminum iMac, and I have a soft spot for the trash can and the cheese grater too.

 

[ReBurn]

I'm a big fan of the current 14" MacBook Pro design in Space Black. Something about the sleek unibody aluminum shell. Just feels great to use. I've had many Mac machines and so far this is my favorite.

 

[kruis]

 

[HeisenbergFX4]

 

[Dr. Suchong]

I had a C64 but I can't deny the ZX is a tasty bit of kit.

 

[Dr. Suchong]

Playing Alien 8 on the green monitor was so cool.

 

[EverydayBeast]

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Apple Cube looked awesome. But reading up on it now, it was a total failure in sales, overpriced, couldnt really expand it and for a product that was so edgy in design the shell cracked.

 

[MrCunningham]

Of course this is going to be the Apple thread. because let's face it, not many companies go out of their way to make aesthetically pleasing case designs out side of Apple and maybe Sony with the Viao line.

I guess there are some 8-bit and 16-bit microcomputers that look cool in a retro way. But most PC cases just follow the trend setters or settle with 'generic'.

So here is one of my picks.. not really a computer. But the Cooler Master HAF 912 holds a special place in my heart for its rugged look. It just represents a point in time back in 2009 when building custom PC's was 'cool'. I guess it still is cool, but less cool given the shit prices.

I also have a fondness for the look of the old Rosewill cases that use to be NewEgg exclusive. The old Challenge cases.

And while I am at it... the Cray X-PM computer. I just love the sheer size of this thing. I believe it cost like 9-10 million dollars in early 1980's money. This machine was noteworthy for producing all of the computer 3D scenes in the movie: The Last Star Fighter. I think each ship was comprised of like 250k polygons or more.(double edit: I meant to post the XP-M, not the Cray 1. I thin the XP-M looks slicker)

 

[Melchiah]

Holborn 9100 (1981)

Intel Ottoman PC (1999)

Commodore PET (1977)

The Apple I, introduced soon after April Fool's Day 1976, sold for 666.66$.

 

[Trunx81]

Back in the day I thought the Sony Vaio P11Z was a damn slick machine. Full Windows in this small, sleek package? Awesome! Too bad the hardware didnt back it up. The netbook era was crazy.

 

[Trilobit]

My 2008 white Macbook is still one of the most gorgeous pieces of design I've owned.

An incredibly sexy slot-loading DVD-drive.

More ports than one could wish to use in a lifetime.

And it had the most wonderful plastic odour for over a year. Incredible device. Sadly it had problems with batteries swelling and parts of the plastic cracking.

 

[daffyduck]

Apple Cube looked awesome. But reading up on it now, it was a total failure in sales, overpriced, couldnt really expand it and for a product that was so edgy in design the shell cracked.

You could upgrade the memory and hd. No cracks on mine, but I can remember reading about that.

 

[Heimdall_Xtreme]