The Hardware
On this page I am listing the various retro hardware I have owned and may still own. Of course I do have some modern PC equipment that is not listed below. The newer/modern items on the list below are used for retro gaming.
While I do own modern PC equipment, I do not own any modern consoles used for playing modern games. The most recent ‘console’ purchase has been a Nintendo Switch OLED used for playing old retro games.
For a list of the games, click here: The Games.
The Hardware:
- Atari 2600: I am hazy on the exact year my family got one of these, I think it was 1980 or 1981.
- TSR 80 Color Computer 2 (64k model): 1984 to 1986.
- Commodore 128: Christmas 1986!
- Nintendo (NES): 1987 (dabbled with it for about two month then back to Commodore).
- Commodore Amiga 500: 1989 Christmas! With a full meg of internal RAM, and an extra side slot mount of another 512K.
- Intel 486 PC: 1995. Because I wanted to play Doom and Star Wars Dark Forces. I foolishly gave away my Amiga system… hind-site is a harsh and brutal mistress.
- Sega Genesis: 1996. I bought this used from a buddy for $20 and still have it. Primary use was to play Golden Axe.
- PCs: been buying and upgrading since that first Intel 486 in 1995 to present.
- Emulation: Around 2002 I started messing around with Commodore emulators and still do to this day.
- Atari Flashback I: 2004.
- Raspberry Pi: In 2019 I got into using a Raspberry Pi along with RetroPie to bring retro gaming to my big screen TV.
- Raspberry Pi 400: Purchased a Pi 400 in the Spring of 2021, it runs Amikit! Amikit really gives the Pi400 a modern Amiga feel.
- TheC64: Christmas 2021 my wife got me TheC64 from Retro Games Ltd. Wow… awesome. I felt some nostalgia back to 1986 when I got the C128.
- Nintendo Switch OLED: I am more than surprised that I bought this (July 2022), but I wanted it to play some retro console games I missed out on playing from the 80s into the 90s.
- A500 Mini: Early Christmas present to myself (Mid December 2022), I purchased the A500 Mini from Retro Games Ltd. Love this little piece of hardware!
All of my Atari 2600, C64, and Amiga retro gaming is done via emulation, since I don’t own any original hardware. I have been keeping my eyes open for original hardware and plan to buy it when it crosses my path. So for no joy.
Check out the emulators I use by clicking here: Emulation
Tim