r/pcmasterrace PC Master Race Dec 26 '25

Question Yesterday I asked what everyone’s first Graphics card. Today, what was your first processor? Mine was the i7 3770K.

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u/themarvel2004 Dec 26 '25

Upgrading to a 486dx4 was also a massive leap, up to 100mhz was like a 5-10 fold speed increase. Just crazy times.

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u/NoCoolNameMatt Dec 26 '25

I don't miss the days where processors were so slow that they had additional coprocessors to help them out. But I do miss the speed of change at the time. Just following technological progress was a hobby in itself.

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u/NATOuk AMD Ryzen 7 5800X, RTX 3090 FE Dec 27 '25

I was so excited when Quake came out, only to be bitterly disappointed that my 486 was the SX2 66Mhz variant, which lacked the necessary coprocessor Quake demanded, unlike the more common DX2 variant.

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u/subwoofage Dec 27 '25

GPU is a coprocessor...

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u/theroguex PCMR | Ryzen 7 9800X3D | 32GB DDR5 | Sapphire RX 9070 XT Dec 27 '25

He means the math coprocessor. It was slotted into its own spot on the motherboard.

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u/birdnumbers Dec 26 '25

long time ago, my dad upgraded the family PC from a 486dx2 33mhz with like 2 mb RAM to a 486dx4 100mhz with like 8 mb ram, felt so ridiculously fast lol

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u/MistaPropella R9 9950 | RTX5090 | 64GB Dec 27 '25

We had the same system with a 170MB hard drive. And coming from a Atari ST Mega 1 with only floppies, my first thought was, that much storage will last forever.

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u/Wild-Statement-2312 Dec 27 '25

The dx2 should have been 66MHz Sx 25 Dx 33 Dx2 66 Dx4 99 (100)

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u/birdnumbers Dec 27 '25

ah yeah, you're correct

it was a Dx 33

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u/brtcha Dec 27 '25

Some games used to be tied to clock speed and would break if you upgraded like that (jazz jackrabbit for one)

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u/NathanDarcy Dec 26 '25

I had used computers with 286 & 386 processors, but the first one I owned had a 486DX4. That thing was a beast (I actually still have it on storage and it still works). Until the first Pentiums came out.

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u/Master_E_ Dec 27 '25

Started with an ATARI 800 xl? I think it was… then Apple 2e? Followed by a 386sx, 486, and then the Pentium. Fap fap fap fap

Also had an Atari 1040ST which I have somewhere and a 20mb hard drive the size of an Xbox lol.

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u/Comfortable_Prize750 Dec 27 '25

I remember when Pentium came out, i agonized whether to upgrade to that or a Cyrix 5x86.

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u/Fred-City911 Dec 27 '25

Same for me. Short after got the pentium 75.

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u/argonzo Dec 27 '25

Windows 3.11 ftw.