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This question, Parts for a gaming PC from 2005, is rather unique on HR. It asks about common hardware from 2005. I think it is an interesting question, but I'm not sure if it is on-topic. It doesn't seem to have any specific guidelines, so I'm not sure if it should be closed.

This type of question has never been asked on HR, at least no that I'm aware of, and I'm curious to see what higher rep users and mods think of it.

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This question feels off topic to me. There is a lot of information in the question that isn't relevant, including:

  • This is for a piece of fiction
  • This is for a piece of hardware that is 10 years old
  • The author's limited knowledge of hardware from 10 years ago
  • "Function" being proposed by this fictional hardware

The heart of the question boils down to:

  • "[W]hat was good back then?"
  • "[H]ow would [Linux] run on a '05 Gaming tower?"

The author provides some stats to work with, including RAM, storage space and possible CPU options.

With all of the above, I feel this question is either too broad or unclear. It's too broad because both of the above questions have a lot of answers. The first one is impossible to answer in the context of this question too, because the context is fictional. How are we to know what "good" means, in terms of running a time machine. My time machine is either a Delorean, for the cheap time traveler, or a TARDIS for the clever ones.

As for the "how would Linux run" portion, this can't really be answered without knowing what hardware is used. The same holds true today. "Will Linux run on my machine?" Sure...but I don't know how well until you tell me what the machine's specs are.

The question is unclear because of the context. The purpose of the question is to find hardware that can effectively run a fictional machine. Since it's fiction, I'd think a small amount of hand waving is allowed when describing the computer.

For these reasons, I voted to close it as unclear.

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  • Very good reasons. I suppose it could also start a flame war about whatever hardware was good 10 years ago xD – Rubydesic Oct 25 '15 at 13:53
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If anything, this question is unclear because it seems to be asking several different questions all in one. On top of that, the premise is unclear.

Other than this, the question is in a bit of a grey area to me. It's partly asking a compatibility question, which could be on topic, but the reason for asking is that a fictional computer in a story is being constructed. This site is for real-world hardware recommendations that will help the author make a purchase sometime in the future, and that's not what this question is trying to do.

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  • That is true, however, if you treat this as the person needing a real hardware recommendation, could this be a valid question? – Rubydesic Oct 25 '15 at 0:14
  • I do not think the fact that it is fictional bare any importance . When a user ask about a new GPU, we do not really care what he / she will actually use it for ( maybe creating a fictional time machine, or they can use it as a coffee tray or paper weight ... ) . The compatibility and the hardware functionality for the terms of the final users is what important in any hardware question... not always what the hardware was designed to do originally . – Obmerk Kronen Oct 25 '15 at 16:41
  • @ObmerkKronen Maybe I'm being too picky. I agree that those two factors make up the base of any question, though this one has trouble explaining those. – Adam Oct 25 '15 at 17:38
  • I for once think it is a very interesting question because it addresses a very interesting subject which is hardware development / history . You can also see that it has produced very good and interesting answers . I would even go as far as thinking / suggesting a special tag along the lines of '"historic"' or '"Legacy"' ... As for the above factors - For my understanding the OP has explained both pretty well. The only "problem" I can understand people see is the fact that it is historic ( interesting I argue ) or for a fiction reason ( irrelevant IMHO ) . – Obmerk Kronen Oct 25 '15 at 19:01

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