6 old and obsolete PC parts that you may have forgotten

by Edward Harper April 20, 2024

Computing has evolved a lot over the years, and the modern-day computing components that we put into our PCs are a lot better compared to their predecessors from the past. We didn't get to the modern and more powerful components out of nowhere, though, and manufacturers had to go through a lot of products and iterations that now stand as old and obsolete components that you may have forgotten or never seen. Below are a few of those PC parts that served us well and enabled the transition to modern parts that we know and love today.

Slot-based CPUs

Some CPUs looked a little different back in the day

CPU packages all look the same these days for the most part. All you really have these days are just flat processors that slot into a socket with a latch on the motherboard, which is then covered with a heatsink to keep things cool. But things were a bit different a few years ago when PC enthusiasts were subjected to CPU packages that looked like an adapter card. This CPU assembly consisted of the processor itself that was soldered to a PCB along with separate chips to store the cache, and it used to be covered with some sort of plastic shroud.

These packages would connect to the motherboard via slots that looked like PCIe slots. Intel's Pentium II from 1997 was the first slot-based CPU for desktops, and it was designed to ensure there was enough real-estate for the CPU's cache, which is now a part of the CPU die itself. AMD also used the slot CPU design for its original Athlon processors. These slot CPUs are no longer made for some obvious reasons, and there's a good chance that you may have never even seen one of these in person.

A render of an Intel Core CPU.© Provided by XDA Developers

If you look throughout Intel's history, you'll find tons of awful CPUs, many of which would have caused financial ruin for any other company.

Optical drives

You don't see CD, DVD, or Blu-ray drives around anymore

Optical drives are one of the first things that come to your mind when you think of old PC parts that are no longer used. CD and DVD discs were pretty big back in the day, and they quickly became the default and preferred storage media for many who enjoyed digital audio and video. Heck, even applications shipped with discs — some still do — and many people even used them to store and share large amounts of data. As such, almost all desktop computers and laptops that shipped back in the day had an optical drive, but that's no longer a thing. The rise of non-physical media has made portable discs obsolete, taking optical drives along with it. You can still get external optical drives for your PC if you really need, but there aren't many of these out there right now.

The best optical drives you can buy in 2022© Provided by XDA Developers

Optical drives are still relevant in 2023, though you'll likely have to go with a standalone option. Here are the best.

BTX form factor

An ATX replacement that never lived

BTX — short for Balanced Technology eXtended — was a form factor that was coined to replace the ATX motherboard form factor in late 2004 and early 2005. Intel came up with this new form factor, hoping it would replace the ATX motherboards and cases with something that takes up less space and would help the processor and the entire assembly inside the case stay cool.

The highlight of this particular form factor was that it featured an airduct to cool the CPU using a large 12 cm case fan. The Team Blue came up with this form factor particularly to help cool its Pentinum 4 processors at that time. However, it quickly realized that it was better off focusing on a new chip that produced less heat than pushing a new form factor. It then halted the future development of BTX retail products in September 2006.

Sound cards

Used to be one of the crucial components

Sounds cards were among the crucial components of a PC, and there was a time when you couldn't possibly have built a computer without slotting one of these into your motherboard's PCIe slot. These cards would sit on your motherboard, providing you with additional audio jacks for your headphones, speakers, and more. These were a necessity as onboard audio capabilities on motherboards were nothing to write home about. Things have gotten a lot better now, though, and the modern-day motherboards are equipped with far better audio capabilities. There's not much reason to buy a sound card for your PC, and there's a good chance that you may not even see them around in storefronts in a few years.

RDRAM

Impressive, but only on paper

Many of you may have seen or even used RDRAM modules on your PCs that date back to the late 90s and the early 2000s. These modules were made by Rambus, and they were pushed as a replacement for various types of memories, including SDRAM. Intel even agreed to license the Rambus technology for use with some of its future chips at that time. But things didn't really go to plan, and RDRAM couldn't really supplant SDRAM as the standard in the PC industry.

It quickly lost ground to alternative technologies due to several issues like very high latency, increased heat output, and expensive price tags. These modules also had to be removed or added in pairs, making them more expensive and downright pointless for those using a basic PC. Intel took note of all this at the time and decided to support DDR SDRAM, following which RDRAM became obsolete. I don't blame you for forgetting or not knowing RDRAM, because it never really took off in a meaningful way.

Ageia PhysX card

An expensive component that quickly became useless

PhysX cards never really became a necessity like some other components did, but they were pretty popular in the early 2000s. This particular component carried a painfully high price tag for what it promised to deliver, but that's not really the reason why it's not around anymore. It couldn't really find its footing on the market as Nvidia acquired the company behind the PhysX PPU, and discontinued it in favor of the API being run on CUDA-enabled GeForce GPUs.

The PhysX cards lived a very short life following Nvidia's acquisition, and they're not around anymore. The PhysX cards felt like they were going to be the next big thing, considering how the first set of PhysX-enabled titles like Batman: Arkham Asylum and Mirror's Edge had started showing up on the market, but that's sadly not the case. It's still an old and equally interesting PC part that'll live in Nvidia's history books.

Many of these old PC parts failed, so the newer ones could live

Those are some PC parts that couldn't stand the test of time and are no longer available. They've joined the likes of Ethernet cards, floppy disks, and things like multi-GPU bridges, and I am sure there will be more as we get through the ever-evolving computing landscape. Hard drives, which are now being replaced by SSDs, may also end up on the pile of e-waste very soon, and who knows what's next? It'll be interesting to see how things change in the computing world over the next few years as we welcome more powerful hardware, AI advancements, and more.