A good part of my collection are boards, chips,
drives,
and other old equipment that is not easily available now.
Sure... I've got _boxes_ of obscure spare parts (but I never seem to have
the one I really need...)
I think most collectors also have these, as well as
a
second model of their most treasured computer in case
some part becomes no longer available.
As a compulsive packrat I even have a stash of tubes
for the few remaining tube gear that I have. And also
Actually, valves seem to be a lot easier to find that ASICs for
5-year-old PCs... :-)
[...]
But all of that goes with the territory we stake.
The claim was that parts for 'old' PCs were still easy to find new. Even
if you take 'parts' in the PC-goon sense to mean PCBs, drives, etc I
still find this hard to believe. There are many subassemblies once
commonly used in PCs that are no longer available new...
Actually, I can't remember the last time I saw an AT (as opposed to ATX)
PSU or case listed by the PC suppliers...
-tony