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:

  1. Atari 2600:  I am hazy on the exact year my family got one of these, I think it was 1980 or 1981.
  2. TSR 80 Color Computer 2 (64k model):  1984 to 1986.
  3. Commodore 128:  Christmas 1986!
  4. Nintendo (NES):  1987 (dabbled with it for about two month then back to Commodore).
  5. Commodore Amiga 500:  1989 Christmas!  With a full meg of internal RAM, and an extra side slot mount of another 512K.
  6. 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. I downgraded and didn’t realize it until 2002!
  7. Sega Genesis:  1996. I bought this used from a buddy for $20 and still have it. Primary use was to play Golden Axe and Madden 94.
  8. PCs:  been buying and upgrading since that first Intel 486 in 1995 to present.
  9. Emulation:  Around 2002 I started messing around with Commodore emulators and still do to this day.
  10. Atari Flashback I:  2004.
  11. Raspberry Pi:  In 2019 I got into using a Raspberry Pi along with RetroPie to bring retro gaming to my big screen TV.
  12. Raspberry Pi 400:  Purchased a Pi 400 in the Spring of 2021, it runs Amikit! Amikit really gives the Pi400 a modern Amiga feel.
  13. 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.
  14. 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. Love Atari Flashback!
  15. 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!
  16. Dell 1070 Optiplex, thin form: June 2025. Okay, not technically retro, but I actually use it to run Linux Commodore Vision OS, and I  have to say I like it a lot.
  17. C64 Ultimate: July 2025, Commodore is back, thanks to CEO Perifractic and his team! I pre-ordered a C64 Ultimate on July 11th. One of the first 75 to put in an order when the new Commodore website was still password protected and only available to access to certain people for testing.

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 gingerly crosses my path. So for no joy.

Check out the emulators I use by clicking here:  Emulation

Tim