“The Most Powerful Computer Ever”

by Adam Thierer on May 18, 2008 · 37 comments

I was just cleaning out some old e-mails and found this old Radio Shack ad that a friend had sent me a couple of years ago. Sadly, I remember lusting after this machine back in 1989. A 20 MHz processor, 2 megs of RAM, and “mouse support included” made this Tandy 5000 professional “the most powerful computer ever.” But with a price tag of $8499, it was practically as out of reach as a new Ferrari. (And note the fact that the ad makes clear that “monitor and mouse not included.” Can’t even imagine what that brought the final total to). And I love the fact that it’s running the old Aldus PageMaker program, which I used to think was the greatest thing since sliced bread. God, I can’t even imagine using that clunky program now. It’s just amazing to think how far we have come in the last 20 years.

37 comments

Adam Thierer / Adam is a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. He previously served as President of the Progress & Freedom Foundation, Director of Telecom. Studies at the Cato Institute, and Fellow in Economic Policy at the Heritage Foundation.

Follow @adamthierer

Timon

When I saw this I went to apple.com to see how much it would be possible to spend on a high end computer these days — a Mac Pro with 2 x 3.2 Ghz 8 core processor (16 cores total), 32 gigs of ram, a $3000 Nvidia card, and fully maxed out other options from the customization page gives this quote:

“Subtotal Please note that your subtotal does not include sales tax or rebates. $26,673.00″
Timon

When I saw this I went to apple.com to see how much it would be possible to spend on a high end computer these days — a Mac Pro with 2 x 3.2 Ghz 8 core processor (16 cores total), 32 gigs of ram, a $3000 Nvidia card, and fully maxed out other options from the customization page gives this quote:

“Subtotal Please note that your subtotal does not include sales tax or rebates. $26,673.00″
Elijah M

The rebates should bring it down to ¢26,573.
Elijah M

The rebates should bring it down to ¢26,573.
http://www.mcgath.com/blog Gary McGath

That ad says “Our most powerful computer ever,” not “THE most powerful computer ever.”
http://www.mcgath.com/blog Gary McGath

That ad says “Our most powerful computer ever,” not “THE most powerful computer ever.”
http://profileofadipshit.wordpress.com/feed/ David

Man…

I miss my Commie 64 now. I miss having to use multiple 5″ floppies to run a game.
Ryan Radia

Hard to believe that in our pockets we each have a mobile phone orders of magnitude more powerful than that machine, not to mention much smaller and less power-hungry. Few laws are as great as Moore’s.
Coops

Yeah and I can build a better system than the Mac Pro for less

/Apple makes way too much on the “upgrades” from their standard configurations.
http://profileofadipshit.wordpress.com/feed/ David

Man…

I miss my Commie 64 now. I miss having to use multiple 5″ floppies to run a game.
Ryan Radia

Hard to believe that in our pockets we each have a mobile phone orders of magnitude more powerful than that machine, not to mention much smaller and less power-hungry. Few laws are as great as Moore’s.
Coops

Yeah and I can build a better system than the Mac Pro for less

/Apple makes way too much on the “upgrades” from their standard configurations.
http://www.sarahsmith.com Sarah

My favorite quote ever, from Richard Greenblatt, creator (in some versions of history) of the LISP machine, the premier hardware of artificial intelligence ca 1980:

“The LISP machine will never require more than 256K of memory.”
http://www.sarahsmith.com Sarah

My favorite quote ever, from Richard Greenblatt, creator (in some versions of history) of the LISP machine, the premier hardware of artificial intelligence ca 1980:

“The LISP machine will never require more than 256K of memory.”
Andrew

Geez, even in a Tandy thread some brainwashed MS fanboi has to knock Macs. Get a life.
Todd

Nothing worse than spending a ton of money on a Mac and then none of your accessories work because nobody cares to make drivers for your “high-end” computer.
Ryan Radia

Coops–no, you can’t. I’m as anti-Mac as they come but the Mac Pro dual Harpertown is as well-priced as anything you can put together assuming you buy extra RAM, video cards, etc from NewEgg.

It’s also very tough to find a reliable, well-reviewed dual Harpertown mobo with two PCI-E 2.0 slots and 8 FB-DIMM slots.

Todd–Windows works on Macs, you know.
Andrew

Geez, even in a Tandy thread some brainwashed MS fanboi has to knock Macs. Get a life.
Todd

Nothing worse than spending a ton of money on a Mac and then none of your accessories work because nobody cares to make drivers for your “high-end” computer.
Ryan Radia

Coops–no, you can’t. I’m as anti-Mac as they come but the Mac Pro dual Harpertown is as well-priced as anything you can put together assuming you buy extra RAM, video cards, etc from NewEgg.

It’s also very tough to find a reliable, well-reviewed dual Harpertown mobo with two PCI-E 2.0 slots and 8 FB-DIMM slots.

Todd–Windows works on Macs, you know.
Ian Blincoe

8499*(1.062044)^19=26,673 isn’t inflation like 3.25%?
Ian Blincoe

8499*(1.062044)^19=26,673
isn’t inflation like 3.25%?
Aaron

@Todd: Now Vista users are the ones complaining that none of their hardware works and there aren’t any drivers.
Aaron

@Todd: Now Vista users are the ones complaining that none of their hardware works and there aren’t any drivers.
Chad

Whoa.. I’m guessing that the 1980s must have been unbelievably backwards times. I don’t remember any of them, since I was still in pampers in 1987.

So my question to all of you really old people is; what was the market for this insanely priced system? Did people take out bank loans to buy a system such as this, or was this market to mostly business customers?
Chad

Whoa.. I’m guessing that the 1980s must have been unbelievably backwards times. I don’t remember any of them, since I was still in pampers in 1987.

So my question to all of you really old people is; what was the market for this insanely priced system? Did people take out bank loans to buy a system such as this, or was this market to mostly business customers?
Jon H

” Did people take out bank loans to buy a system such as this, or was this market to mostly business customers?”

Keep in mind that this is Tandy. ie, RadioShack.

I expect this was probably seriously overpriced, and marketed towards small business buyers with more money than sense. Dentists, lawyers, etc, buying a PC for their office while shopping at the mall.
Jon H

” Did people take out bank loans to buy a system such as this, or was this market to mostly business customers?”

Keep in mind that this is Tandy. ie, RadioShack.

I expect this was probably seriously overpriced, and marketed towards small business buyers with more money than sense. Dentists, lawyers, etc, buying a PC for their office while shopping at the mall.
gargouri2001

Thanks for sharing
John

<a href=http://thenewsempire.com title='computer news'>computer news
David

@Todd,
You don't own a Mac, do you. You're still living in 1989. I've been using Mac for 5 years, and I run my law practice on Macs. I have yet to find hardware that's incompatible.
Vaius

Funny how this causes you to start bashing macs, when the Tandy ISN'T EVEN A MAC.

And ever since 2005, Macs have been able to run Windows on Mac. So, your “nobody makes the drivers” statement is invalid.
bob

no its 325% the number is multiplyed by 3.25
bob

no its 325% the number is multiplyed by 3.25
bob

no its 325% the number is multiplyed by 3.25
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