5 outdated computer hardware items I’m glad I no longer use

We often marvel at the user-friendliness and advanced features of the latest tech products, and don’t consider how we got to this stage. Things were different just a few years ago, and it’s taken years of evolution to get gaming monitors, wireless keyboards, and other hardware we now take for granted.

I looked back at my old desktop PC the other day and couldn’t believe how I managed to play the latest games, and enjoy movies and music on hardware that can’t match the latest smartphones. With this in mind, I came up with a list of the five outdated computer hardware items I’m glad I no longer use.

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5

Hard Disk Drives

Can’t match modern speeds

Hard disk drives are still around, but seem obsolete compared to modern SSDs and NVMes because of their slow speeds. They are no longer recommended for running operating systems or app installation files because their sluggish read and write speeds reduce startup times and can cause performance bottlenecks in your system. This is due to older technology, which uses moving parts to access data instead of modern flash memory.

Besides their speed disadvantage, HDDs are louder, bulkier, and require more power than their modern counterparts. Their moving parts also make them more prone to damage if they get dropped and will eventually give out with frequent use. While HDDs might be obsolete for running software, they can still be great for backups and other data storage because high-capacity models are available for significantly less than equivalent SSDs.

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4

Ball mice

Slow tracking and persistent cleaning

Optical and laser mice have been around for so long that it’s easy to forget earlier models, which used rollerballs to track movement. These mice existed before USB became popular and communicated with the PC using the old serial port or PS/2 connection.

Their main characteristic was the ball at the bottom, which used sensors to track horizontal and vertical movement as it rolled across the mousepad. I used my mouse daily, and it required frequent cleaning despite using a mousepad. This required opening a panel to remove the ball, so I could clean the grime and lint build-up on the sensors, which affected movement. Tracking couldn’t compare to modern mice, and I’m glad we’ve moved on to superior technology.

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3

PS/2 Keyboards

Frequently requiring repairs

Credit: Amazon

PS/2 Keyboards predated USB and required a dedicated port to work. My first keyboard used the older five-pin DIN connector, which was durable and had no issues after long-term use. I was initially happy to upgrade to the newer PS/2 standard, which used a smaller six-pin connector, and took up less space, but ended up regretting it.

My PS/2 keyboard had no performance issues, but the fragile pins affected durability and user-friendliness. I usually carried my PC to LANs at the time, and a concentration lapse when plugging it in would often result in bent or broken pins, making my keyboard inoperable. I’d then need to find a replacement keyboard or try straightening the bent pins with pens, money clips, and other household items if I didn’t have pliers. A quick Amazon search revealed that PS/2 keyboards are still available for sale, but their use is limited to older systems.

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2

CRT monitors

Bulky and heavy

There was a time when a beige 14-inch CRT monitor was standard with most desktop PCs. They weren’t bad at the time because I didn’t know any better, but it’s impossible to go back to a tiny display and square aspect ratio after experiencing modern flatscreen alternatives.

The problem with CRT monitors wasn’t the display but their bulky size and weight, which made them a pain to transport. Their size also took up most of your desk, leaving you with less space to work. The separate base could also be challenging to lock into place because the finicky plastic clips could easily bend or break. VGA connector pins could also be fragile, and I spent hours straightening bent pins to get my screen working.

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1

Floppy Disks

Sensitive and prone to failure

Many older PCs with optical drives still included floppy disk drives as standard features. Users were migrating to CDs and DVDs at the time, but they still needed floppy drives to run some device drivers and older software on 3.5-inch disks. The problem was that 3.5-inch disks were temperamental and often had read and write errors or didn’t work in specific drives. Some software and games required multiple disks; a single failure would abort the installation.

Floppy drives also had their fair share of issues, and they would stop working if the head got too dirty. Ultimately, the floppy disk’s paltry 1.44MB capacity made it obsolete compared to CDs, which offered 700MB and more storage space.

Which other computer hardware items are outdated and no longer in use?

Technological advancements are moving faster than ever, and many hardware products we used just a few years ago are now obsolete. These include optical drives, sound cards, and parallel port printers, to name a few. Newer and faster products are released daily, and our current hardware will inevitably be outdated soon.

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