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IO Sam

@iosam.bsky.social
274 followers 156 following 421 posts

DIY PC enthusiast — Vintage PC peripherals collector — youtube.com/IOSam

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IO Sam @iosam.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I went to check my wife's desktop (also running a 5600G) and, while I get no errors when checking for updates, I see that the last driver update is more than a year old. So one might as well consider this part out of support for any practical purposes at this point...
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IO Sam @iosam.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
And that is if one hasn't pushed a big chunk of his collection to paid storage previously... By which point one hopefully is already at peace with the fact he has a "too much stuff problem". 👀
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IO Sam @iosam.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
I zip tied one of these "Rail and Clips" plastic tool holders (there are a ton of these on Amazon) to the top of the peg board to hold smaller tools. The good thing about them is that you can either hang tools from the small opening inside of each clip, or press larger tools between the clips.
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IO Sam @iosam.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
I keep mine on the same peg board where I keep my FR-301. They can't go too far from one another... :)
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IO Sam @iosam.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
The market for Voodoo 4&5 cards amuses me... I get the collectability aspect, but I usually approach this stuff with the intent to actually play period-correct games (maxed out). But unlike the Voodoos 1, 2 and 3 (when Glide ruled), these are largely irrelevant (on DirectX). They look cool though! 🤷‍♂️
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IO Sam @iosam.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Will this be air conditioned? (not knowing which part of the country you're in and thus how cold your winters and how hot your summers get)
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IO Sam @iosam.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Found the perfect protective case for CPUs: Nintendo Game Boy cartridge cases (with an ESD foam bed). I know I’m late to this “discovery”... but boy, is this an ingenious solution!
Collection of vintage Intel, AMD, Cyrix and Via processors arranged in labeled protective cases, spanning Pentium-era CPUs through Core i7, Athlon and Phenom II.Ebay order showing 25 clear plastic Nintendo Game Boy cartridge cases, purchased August 7, 2026 for $16.19 and delivered August 14.Amazon order showing two 18 × 12 × ¼-inch sheets of black ESD-safe foam for electronic component storage, priced at $8.95 each.
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IO Sam @iosam.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
The ensh!tification of everything. Well, at least some of us still have our DRM-free retro-games collection to enjoy for as long as we live (or as long as our vintage hardware lasts)... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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IO Sam @iosam.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Remember when we had PC games that didn't force you to fight bosses at all (Half-Life 2, System Shock 2, Thief, Deus Ex just to name a few)? Most of our problems began when games started to prioritize "arcady" consoles... Hence my request: design games targeting PCs first! (One can dream, right? 🤷‍♂️)
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IO Sam @iosam.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Like I needed any more discouragement to care about current music... (music industry could have shut off completely in the mid 00s and I don't think I would have noticed)
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IO Sam @iosam.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Whoever is in charge of picking the "unlucky" numbers out there, they're doing a piss-poor job.
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IO Sam @iosam.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Surprising to go back to one of my first online orders back in the early 00s (and wild that Amazon still has this data)! Hard to believe I paid $461.97 for an IDE DVD+RW drive!!! Was used to death FWIW ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Such records can tell a lot about who you were at the time (what a choice of DVDs!😆)
Amazon order summary from June 4, 2002, showing a $563.81 purchase including an HP DVD200i DVD+RW writer, blank DVDs, and three movies.
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IO Sam @iosam.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
I see you as wise person with really good taste for key caps!
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IO Sam @iosam.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Let’s face it: most NES (and Master System) games were brutally hard! AND we had to master those games without having the ability to save them... If that doesn’t build character, I don’t know what will!! 😂
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IO Sam @iosam.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Classic! And one of the Phantom System's bundles (other than the famous Ghostbusters one) came with Schwarzenegger's Predator (I still remember Gradiente's advertising with his face on it on the magazines).
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IO Sam @iosam.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Finally got a copy of Tachyon the Fringe. Not sure how I missed this game back in 2000, considering how much I loved space sims like #WingCommander, #XWing and #TieFighter... But here we are, 26 years later, correcting that mistake. Fantastic game voiced by the awesome Bruce Campbell. Such a treat!
Big-box copy of Tachyon: The Fringe by NovaLogic, featuring spacecraft battling around a space station, with a Game of the Year sticker.Back of the Tachyon: The Fringe PC game box, showing gameplay screenshots, features, spacecraft, and protagonist Jake Logan, voiced by Bruce Campbell.Close-up of the Tachyon: The Fringe box highlighting ship customization and Bruce Campbell as the voice of protagonist Jake Logan.
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IO Sam @iosam.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
I mean, considering how much a pi4 or 5 is going for these days, paying $200 for the original hardware doesn't sound bad at all! 😂 Congrats man! It is, by far, my most used (and loved!) MIDI device.
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IO Sam @iosam.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Great catch! On eBay "Buy Now" over here (US) it's looking grim...
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IO Sam @iosam.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Did you get it from US, Canada or Japan?
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IO Sam @iosam.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
I thought I was crazy to pay 200 bucks for one of these 3 years ago, only to realize now that these things just keep getting more expensive: in the $300 range nowadays (I also had the benefit of avoiding tariffs back then 🙏). But yeah... Definitely a required piece for MIDI afficionados!
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IO Sam @iosam.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
That looks fantastic! What is the model of the LG panel?
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IO Sam @iosam.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Touché! XD Although that's just rhetorical, since we all know that the chances of that guy actually reading anything is nil anyway... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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IO Sam @iosam.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Let's just say there are some folks out there who should give that 1999 article a good read! 😂
static.klipy.com
Donald Trump Watches Solar Eclipse
ALT: Donald Trump Watches Solar Eclipse
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Reposted by IO Sam
Nathan (PixelPipes) @pixelpipes.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
This is a crazy awesome story. A former XCOM 2 dev bought a vintage computer off of Amazon, which happened to have a build of the cancelled Quake 4: The Awakening expansion. It's now been uploaded to GitHub! www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/ca...
pcgamer.com
Cancelled Quake 4 expansion gets surprise GitHub release after former XCOM 2 developer discovers it on an old hard drive: 'This essentially saved my life'
Quake 4: Awakening was in development at Ritual Entertainment before being scrapped.
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IO Sam @iosam.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
I always loved Quake 4 (like much of Raven's games), despite its poor sales. I think it failed mostly due to its bad timing... going against F.E.A.R. and Call of Duty 2 (and not too far from Half-Life 2) probably didn't help. But hey... I, for one, am happy to get this "DLC" if it turns out legit!
Two Quake 4 PC game cases held side by side: the standard edition in green packaging and the darker Special DVD Edition.
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IO Sam @iosam.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
Got this Leadtek WinFast A250 Ultra (GeForce 4 Ti 4600) two years ago, but only now got around to restore it to its former glory. Replaced all electrolytics with Panasonic FR caps, repasted with Artic Silver and thoroughly cleaned it. Should be in back in service (Win98SE) soon.
Close-up of a Leadtek WinFast graphics card on a display stand, featuring a large silver heatsink, dual cooling fans, VGA/DVI outputs, and exposed capacitors.Rear view of a Leadtek WinFast graphics card on a clear display stand, showing its green PCB, large silver heatsink, and video connectors.Close-up of a vintage Leadtek WinFast graphics card, highlighting its capacitors, copper inductors, green PCB, and dual-fan silver heatsink.Close-up of an NVIDIA NV25 Ultra GPU on a green graphics card PCB, showing its metal heat spreader, surrounding circuitry, and surface-mounted components.
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IO Sam @iosam.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
While I use Steam and have wishlisted your highly anticipated PC release, I would love to see your game on GOG at some point (if for nothing else, because GOG doesn't lock you out of older versions of Windows as Steam does). But at least, for now, I know I'll be able to run your game on Linux... :)
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IO Sam @iosam.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
😏
Shelves filled with boxed PC games from the 1990s and 2000s, including Quake, SimCity, Diablo, Half-Life, GTA V, Warcraft, Tomb Raider, and Far Cry.
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IO Sam @iosam.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
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IO Sam @iosam.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
First time playing with a Slot A setup (I went from Slot 1 to Socket A back in the day). This is a 750 Mhz "Pluto" core (180 nm) Athlon CPU from 1999, with 128 Kb L1 and 512 Kb external L2 cache, on a Gigabyte GA-7VM Slot A motherboard with a VIA KX133 chipset and universal (1/2/4x) AGP slot.
Close-up of an AMD Athlon Slot A processor cartridge installed on a Gigabyte motherboard, highlighting the large black CPU module and colorful capacitors around the socket.Close-up of a Slot A AMD Athlon 750 MHz cartridge showing the engraved model number (AMD-K7750MTR52B A), installed on a Gigabyte motherboard with capacitors softly blurred in the background.Top-down view of a Gigabyte Slot A motherboard (GA-7VM) with an AMD Athlon 750 MHz processor installed. The large cartridge-style CPU dominates the board beside AGP, PCI, ISA, and DIMM slots.
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IO Sam @iosam.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
What a bummer... The guy who single-handedly put synthwave on the map in the early 2010s. R.I.P. #Kavinsky Nighcall forever! www.france24.com/en/france/20...
france24.com
Kavinsky, French DJ and composer of 'Nightcall', dies at 50
French DJ Kavinsky, who produced the pounding track "Nightcall" that featured in the hit 2011 film Drive and performed alongside Belgian singer Angèle at the closing ceremony of the 2024 Olympics, has...
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IO Sam @iosam.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
Yeah, vertical scrolling was one massive upgrade over the MSX1 (that had neither). As someone who grew up in Brazil in the 80s, the MSX will always have a special place in my heart! So many afternoons playing Gradius and Goonies on a Gradiente Expert on that creaky joystick 😂 Good times...
Gradiente JS-1: a joystick that was sold on the Brazilian market alongside the most popular MSX microcomputer of the late 80s (Gradiente Expert).
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IO Sam @iosam.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
R-Type on MSX is a one-two punch of late 80s awesomeness! I didn't even know the MSX (1 or 2) could even run such a demanding game for the time, although I can clearly see how they bypassed the MSX lack of hardware scrolling.
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IO Sam @iosam.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
SCSI, when it worked, was the best invention since sliced bread. To make it work though (especially with a long chain of devices)... It's literally like learning how sausage is made 😩
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IO Sam @iosam.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Afraid to ask? How about terrified?!?
static.klipy.com
Miguel Nunez Scared in Friday the 13th Movie
ALT: Miguel Nunez Scared in Friday the 13th Movie
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IO Sam @iosam.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
That is very true! SCSI can be more trouble than it's worth sometimes...
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IO Sam @iosam.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
I raise you one extra disc with one of my favorite bits of retro kit: Nakamichi MJ-5.16 16× 5-Disc CD-ROM Mini Changer The mechanical sounds it makes when switching discs is like an Autobot transforming inside your PC!
Nakamichi MJ-5.16 16× 5-Disc CD-ROM Mini Changer

Features:

- Holds 5 CDs simultaneously
- IDE/ATAPI interface
- 16× maximum read speed
- Individual disc selection buttons on the front
- Audio CD playback support
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IO Sam @iosam.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
Guess what is on sale on Steam now? (I will not buy another game! I will not buy another game!!🥶)
This screenshot shows the Steam store page for Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, and the current promotion is quite substantial:

- Standard Edition
   - 70% off
   - $17.99 (regular price $59.99)
- 1-Year Anniversary Edition
   - 70% off
   - $26.99 (regular price $89.99)

The sale is shown as ending July 30.
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IO Sam @iosam.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
This is the theatrical poster for the 1993 comedy film Groundhog Day.

Key elements of the poster include:

- A large vintage twin-bell alarm clock dominates the center.
- A man is humorously depicted inside the clock face, pressing his hands against the glass, emphasizing the film's time-loop premise.
- A woman appears in the lower-right corner with a thoughtful, slightly amused expression.
- The title "Groundhog Day" is printed prominently in large red lettering on the right.
- The tagline near the top reads:

"He's having the day of his life... over and over again."

- The background shows an early-morning rural landscape under a blue sky, reinforcing the small-town setting.
- The bottom of the poster contains the standard film credits.
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IO Sam @iosam.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
Just found these old pictures of my 2014 incredibly busy "battlestation"... Head spins just to think about the amount of stuff I managed to put in a single corner desk 😂
Photo of a multi-monitor desktop workstation from 2014 featuring three Acer widescreen displays arranged in a panoramic layout. The desk includes a backlit mechanical keyboard, gaming mouse, joystick, game controller, speakers, webcam, and various computer peripherals. The monitors display technology websites and desktop applications, while shelves above hold electronics and camera equipment.
Close-up photo of a 2014 desktop gaming and multimedia setup centered around an Acer widescreen monitor. Visible peripherals include a Coolermaster red-backlit mechanical keyboard, Xbox 360 controller, Sound Blaster volume control, Corsair speakers, USB hub, and other desktop accessories.Rear-side photo of a triple-monitor desktop workstation showing the monitor arm mounting system and cable management. Visible equipment includes three Acer displays, a webcam, mechanical keyboard, Xbox 360 controller, Sound Blaster volume control, speakers, external hard drive, USB hub, and various peripherals. The image provides a behind-the-scenes view of the workspace, illustrating how the monitors and accessories are mounted and interconnected.
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IO Sam @iosam.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
It's been a long time since John has released a new batch of devices. So, these things have been "unobtainium" for a while now.
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IO Sam @iosam.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
Anyone waiting (forever) to get their hands on an Applesauce+, pre-orders for a new batch are open at shop.applesaucefdc.com But you might want to hurry: Diskblitz has only 150 units on this batch (they will fly off the shelf). @ronscompvids.bsky.social @mac84.bsky.social @actionretro.bsky.social
shop.applesaucefdc.com
Applesauce FDC Store
Applesauce FDC Store
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IO Sam @iosam.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
I think the keyboard is, unfortunately, already sold out in the US... I hope they run another batch. Such a great board!
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IO Sam @iosam.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
One of the best concept albums of all time! Have both the CD (still in great shape despite probably thousands of plays) and the "Live Crime" VHS.
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IO Sam @iosam.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
My Smurve80: a modern keyboard inspired by the IBM Model M SSK, designed by Play Keyboard & Swagkeys (sold by @novelkeys.com). It has both 2.4Ghz and Bluetooth. Mine came Cherry MX2A "Honey" (damped tactile switch with stronger tactility than "Brown"). Keycaps by Domikey ("Astronaut" cherry set).
Photo of a **Smurve80**, a modern mechanical keyboard inspired by the IBM Model M Space Saving Keyboard (SSK), designed by **Play Keyboard** in collaboration with **Swagkeys**. The keyboard features a compact 80% layout with beige, gray, and red **Domikey "Astronaut" Cherry-profile keycaps**, including Japanese sublegends. It is shown on a desktop alongside vintage PC audio equipment, highlighting a blend of classic IBM-inspired design and modern custom keyboard aesthetics.
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IO Sam @iosam.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Boy, do I have my work cut out for me! ("juicy" leaky caps... always fun!)
Photo of the retail box for a Thermaltake Purepower 420W ATX power supply. The packaging features images of the dual-fan power supply, Thermaltake branding, and notes compatibility with AMD and Intel ATX12V systems. The box shows visible shelf wear along the edges and corners, reflecting its age while preserving the original product artwork.Close-up photo of the specification label on a Thermaltake Purepower 420W ATX power supply (model HPC-420-102 DF). A finger points to the power rating table, highlighting the unit's output capacities, including 40 A on the +5 V rail, 30 A on the +3.3 V rail, and 18 A on the +12 V rail. The label also identifies the unit as an ATX12V design with a ball-bearing fan and a date code of 0403 (March 2004).Photo of a Thermaltake Purepower 420W ATX power supply (model HPC-420-102 DF) removed from its retail packaging. The image shows the unit's dual-ball-bearing fan design with intake and exhaust fan grilles, specification label, AC power inlet, power switch, and bundled ATX power cables with legacy connectors.Top-down photo of the internal circuit board of a Thermaltake Purepower 420W ATX power supply (model HPC-420-102 DF) removed from its metal enclosure. Visible components include the primary capacitors, transformers, aluminum heatsinks, output inductors, power regulation circuitry, EMI filter, and bundled ATX output cables. The image provides a clear view of the power supply's internal layout before any restoration or recapping work.
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IO Sam @iosam.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
While I could never decide whether I'm more passionate about Mother Love Bone or Pearl Jam, I'm sure of one thing: I love them both equally, and I'm so grateful that we got to experience both!
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IO Sam @iosam.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
Which can be particularly nasty on a power supply (of all things)... XD Shout out to Enermax, which I recently recapped two vintage Noisetaker models from the early 00s (EG425P-VE v1.3 and EG425P-VE 24pins) and both had every single one of their polarity stencils spot on (I triple checked 😅)!
Comparison image showing the interior of an Enermax Noisetaker EG425P-VE v1.3 ATX power supply at three stages of a complete capacitor replacement (recap). The top panel shows the original factory configuration, the middle panel shows the power supply with all electrolytic capacitors removed ("bare"), and the bottom panel shows the finished recap with new capacitors installed. The side-by-side layout highlights the restoration process while preserving the original transformers, heatsinks, inductors, wiring, and other electronic components.Comparison image showing the interior of an Enermax Noisetaker EG425P-VE 24-pin ATX power supply at three stages of restoration. The top panel shows the original factory configuration, the middle panel shows the power supply with all electrolytic capacitors removed ("bare"), and the bottom panel shows the completed recap with new capacitors installed. The side-by-side layout highlights the restoration process while preserving the original transformers, heatsinks, inductors, and other components.
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IO Sam @iosam.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
Man, what a trip back in time that is! While I did not know for sure (until today) Brian Adams sang on the original recording, I always suspected he did... His voice so unique!
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IO Sam @iosam.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
Both figuratively and literally!!!
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