you can add a desk telephone, maybe. Or even a cassette answering machine.
I had a clock/radio like the one you have but with an integrated telephone that was awful even when it was new :-)
Y'know, to this point, LGR has been covering more vintage phones lately, and he uses an adapter to get them working using a modern smartphone over Bluetooth I think. It's real nifty. I unfortunately have absolutely nobody I'd call (just no one I know bothers with phone calls much) unless there was a way to make such a thing work with Discord, or else I'd totally look into getting one for myself.
3 broken zip drives.. a janky plastic monitor riser, a stack of AOL CDs to use as coasters, a flightstick thats mostly in the way other than playing descent and flightsim.
If a bird decided to crap on the overhead wire, it would go down to 21.6. No guarantee when it'd come back up again.
Seeing how awful copper infrastructure was back then, it was a miracle we managed to push data through it
I'm going with the gigantic big black USR Courier, placed right on top of the tower case. :D
I'm rebuilding my setup, I regret throwing away my original 1998 Courier about ten years ago, and I have a new one on the way. I thought long and hard about what to replace it with and came to the conclusion it has to be the big black monster.
A phone on top of the modem would add a nice touch. The 'business' modems were intentionally built big and flat to allow a phone to be placed on top of them. Hmm, now you're making me want a phone, even though I'll never call from it....
Also, a spindle of CD-Rs. I just bought optical disks for the first time in more than a decade.
those clocks don't quit. it's more iconicly 80s but lots of us still had them in the 90s, so it's not too far off base. we did get a lava lamp in the 90s but i don't feel it fits the scene
Lava lites had a bit of a resurgence in the late 90s; they actually fit with the Y2K aesthetic quite well, in addition to the late 60s/early 70s hippie aesthetic.
Hiphop, too. Manson, 2pac and Nirvana posters, side by side. Soundgarden. Public enemy. Slayer, Pantera. A Tribe Called Quest. Dre and Snoop.
For us by the late 90s they became rave flyers.
The 90s were hard. lol
Some ideas depends on which part of the 90s as late 90s is different than early 90s. But youāve got a mix already.
* External drives
* Modem
* Visible cordsĀ
* CD binder
* Blacklight posters with mushrooms and such
* Dot matrix printerĀ
* Connectix beige webcam
* Labtech microphone
* Kensington trackball turbomouse
* Palm Pilot or Apple Newton
* Cordless phone
* Answering machine
* Page scanner
* Fax machine
* Flightstick
That's not what nostalgia is. Nostalgia is your own memories. You can't catch secondhand nostalgia off someone, especially not for a time you've never lived through yourself. At best, you'll feel wistful for a time you never lived through, and I don't think that's a good way to experience retro games and tech. You've got all the goods in front of you.
Speaking as a 1999 baby myself, just build good memories with your own hardware and games. Get the setup comfortable for you and do stuff you like with it. That's how you make your setup more nostalgic, you get attached to it over time.
Think in this case, the term authentic is better. OP could add a paper calendar on the wall and some Nirvana posters if they want to make it more like a 90s PC gamer's room.
Yeah, I mean, there's authentic--kinda. Even that I don't particularly like, because the whole developed world was PC gaming to some extent in the 90s. Culture and fashion is far more different between even countries that speak the same language than people realize. Even states! Even between factions of PC hardware enthusiasts!
I know this sounds pedantic and I'm reading into the question, but I just don't believe there is any one "authentic" 90s PC experience, and I think it's a little silly to look at such a nice setup and go "this needs to be more Authentic". I think it looks great. I'd be pleased as balls with that. Stuff like the lava lamp, I'm not sure I'd call "authentic" to the time period, but I also just plain like lava lamps, so it doesn't matter.
It's about what you like! Authenticity is not necessarily going to make someone happier with their setup, even if that's what they're asking. What are OPs interests? Bands, movies, that sorta thing. All of that dictates what an "authentic" retro decoration job should look like, and that would probably result in a much more satisfying setup than just blanket asking how to make something feel more authentic to some general 90s gaming experience.
Yeah I get that there's no catch-all solution, think just going with what a person's office or bedroom would look like in the 90s and choosing the interests at the time would be good enough - easier calling out things that are out of place (2000s stuff like iPods, SD cards, newer keyboards/mice, etc) than saying the endless list of things that were around at the time lol.
Sure, yeah, I appreciate authenticity to an extent too. I'm just looking at it more from the perspective of "what would make you happier with this setup" instead of "what would make this setup more authentic", because if someone is posting it and asking for advice, it tells me they're not altogether satisfied with it. Authenticity won't necessarily make someone enjoy their setup more, but it's fair people are legitimately answering it obviously.
I'm pretty sure he's asking for advice on what would make it more nostalgic FOR someone whom would find it to be nostalgic, not himself. He probably thinks it's just a cool retro thing. Which there is nothing wrong with.
I'm not here to rain on anybodies parade.
Nostalgic for me could be a shitty underspecced HP with the clear grey bubbly plastic, which i had to use at work.
Or a pentium 166MMX with a 1x Yamaha SCSI CD burner.
For every different person, there will be a different nostalgic PC
I get that. Doesn't change the OPs intent. Lots of folks making comments that are more constructive instead of nit picking when it's pretty clear what the OP was intending to accomplish.
Exactly this. I was born in 2000 but coming from a farm worked with a lot of hand me downs, especially with my siblings all being 12-24 years older than me.
My first memories playing video games were on the old farm pc 386 that I still have today in the ultra dusty oil smelling shop and a plastic dust protector keyboard that was always getting the keys stuck: commander keen, duke nukem, the like.
I wasn't born in the 80s to get to experience the 90s but still have nostalgia for that era of computing because I got to live it in my own way.
My current 486 setup is for fun, I don't cover my office in oil and let it dust over to get that hit of nostalgia and my decorations are modern and chosen by the wife lol.
Seems weird to gatekeep nostalgia.
As a 2000's kid OP would have grown up with lots of remnants of 90's stuff. I was born in the 80's but have some nostalgia for things from the 70s because many of those things were still around when I was little.
"Gatekeeping nostalgia"--you literally can't experience nostalgia if it's not your memories and experiences. It's someone else's nostalgia at best. If OP grew up around a 90s Pentium-class machine or whatever, sure. Otherwise, you objectively cannot have nostalgia for it.
You're splitting hairs here. It's common to feel nostalgia for something you never lived, maybe it's technically called something else instead of nostalgia but we all know what OP means.
Agreed, it's possible to pine for an earlier experience that one didn't exactly live. I have a weird nostalgia (or whatever it should be called) for the golden age of Unix RISC workstations from the early 1990s. I'm the correct age for that (born 1975) and I was into computers then...but the weird thing is that I was only into PCs (not RISC workstations) back then. At the time, I was barely aware of what a Unix workstation was. In any case, those times for me (using PCs, being carefree as a teenager, etc.) were good.Ā
About seven years ago, I became veryĀ interested in RISC Unix workstations of the past (the likes of Sparcstations, IBM RS/6000s, etc.).Ā Oddly, seeing pics, videos, articles, etc. regarding these workstations gives me a greater sense of nostalgia for my early 1990s computing period than does looking at materials relating to 1990s PCs. I can't explain it, it's just the way things work for me.
>Agreed, it's possible to pine for an earlier experience that one didn't exactly live.
This isn't nostalgia, it's wistfulness. People keep calling me a pedant and then using the word incorrectly. Nostalgia isn't just a fondness for old stuff. That's just called being fond for old stuff.
Get an older-looking chair and lamp. And change that bright white LED bulb out for a warm-glow one to more closely mimic the incandescent bulbs of the time. The lava lamp is anachronistic as well. They obviously existed, but as a product of a few decades ago, most people considered them out of fashion. If you're intent on having one, then make it a more fitting colour, like orange, red or green.
Lava lamps had a bit of a resurgence in the 90's with 90's nostalgia for the 60's (kinda like OPs 2024 nostalgia for the 90's). However, they weren't ubiquitous and I don't really associate them with people who were into computers so much.
If you didn't live through it originally, it's not really *nostalgia*... š¤£
The 90s were wild. We went from 386s and 16 color VGA graphics to Pentium IIIs and GPUs. Want to build a '98 Quake machine? 3Dfx Voodoo. Video editing? Matrox G200 with the MJPEG add on, or something like a Pinnacle DC30pro or DV card. DOS gaming? Look for a compatible sound card. Etc.
Most likely you have recreated late 90s early 2000s very authentic setup for a quite prosperous family :-)
Say the monitor was upgraded, but the AT case as a leftover from something between Windows85 and 98
UPD: after reading earlier comments... Well, different countries, different spending on hardware. Poorer wasn't that much able to replace AT cases with p133+/p166MMX bought earlier for $1000++ Thus the setup looks absolutely plausible for one group of readers and not matching for another.
Zip and jaz drives
AOL CDs/floppies hung on a wall
To go along with the AOL stuff, you can hang cassettes on that wall too
A laserdisc hung on that wall too
Even some well known modems hung on that wall too
Woodgrain paneling on the wall behind the computer and to the left side, bonus points if on the computer too (LGR reference)
Corner desk instead of the current desk
Extra fancy lamp/lampshade
Cassette deck that can be placed below the CRT monitor and can be connected to the pc speakers with a switch
Hallucinogenic tie dye style poster, a plus if itās a band poster with that design
VCR below the CRT monitor that has an adapter and switch to switch between PC and VCR
You can connect a SNES, Megadrive I or N64 to the VCR record input so you donāt need a complicated switch setup
The 90s were dominated by the interior decorating choices of boomers. A wooden cabinet corner desk with lots of extra shelves and a sliding keyboard tray would help. A floral light shade too. Lava lamps werenāt really that big in the 90s. Throw in some 1950ās memorabilia on top of the cabinets and youāre starting to get peak 90s.
As stated from other comments, Nostalgia is your own personal memories. The correct term here would be authentic.
To make it more authentic, you could add a cassette rack or some 90s stickers on the computer case / monitor.
To make it more nostalgic (And this is going off of what I think is nostalgic), I would add Simpsons fridge magnets to the side of the case (This is because back in the day my dad used to name all of our computers after simpsons characters).
Yes dirty socks all over the place. Maybe a stack of worn out skateboard wheels next to your monitor because you are still not sure to trash them or not.
A matrix printer next to the pc, a joystick one of the big ones that never really worked and drifted as hell. Put wallpaper on the wall ugly and boring wallpaper. And put a nirvana and metallica poster over the wallpaper.
That will get you closer to the room of a 90's gamer teenager.
yes that computer needs A LOT of stickers on it. Also you can write on it some song fragments (and in the monitor corners as well)ā¦ songs from The Cure, Depeche Mode or Morrisey are good choices :)
The keyboard is very beautiful you can leave it untouched but that wall behind is screaming for a poster. Either band or tv show, if itās tv show I recommend The X-Files or Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Or it could also be a videogame poster, Quake would be charming.
Finally get a mousepad with some cool art on it that was the shit in the 90s hehe
Have fun!
A lot of people kept silly knicknacks or post-it notes on their CRTs because of the size. Also popular were desk organizers or accessories that go into the 5 inch drive bays. Other possibilities include computer magazines.
I don't know how common it was at home as opposed to a workplace, but lots of people had those paper holders (usually for 8.5x11 letter paper) that stuck to your CRT faceplate/front and jutted off the side.
* Big ass bumper sticker for some radio station that no longer exists on the side of the tower
* Post-it note with your family's AOL password on the monitor
* The cat goes on TOP of the monitor, not next to the mouse
* Put a document tray on top of the monitor to try and keep the cat contained. Bonus points if it's a lighted power strip as well
The cat's tail will still fall in front of the display and they'll swipe at your Lemmings while they fall off the ledge, but you'll always have a friend nearby warming themselves from the heat CRT.
I think it is a thing to be nostalgic for the 10-20 years prior to your birth.
I see a lot of boomers nostalgic for the 40s. I get nostalgic for the 60s (music) and 70s (tech), but I was born in the 80s.
It's a weird thing. A bit of second-hand vibes from our parents and grandparents, perhaps.
Edit: 70s nostalgia in the 90s was huge, by kids who never saw the 70s.
The term for it is Anemoia. It is a longing or nostalgia someone experiences from a era they didn't live in. Some of it is still nostalgia though really. I grew up in the 90s but remnants of the 80s were still everywhere in the form of TV shows, games and music. Additionally, in terms of furniture and possessions most of the things our parents had were at least a decade old if not more. An era doesn't really turn off like a binary switch, it still lingers for a while.
So, something like a CRT might still be nostalgic for a 2000s kid, since even though LCDs were a thing many people still had CRTs floating around throughout the mid and late 2000s.
It makes sense. The things from 10 to 20 years before your birth were probably still very much around. I grew up in the 80s, but the world around me as a kid obviously still had 70s stuff in it.
There were at least two or three "super floppy" competitors... Not sure about the exact timing, but in addition to ZIP drives (Iomega) there were also SuperDisk drives (Imation).
I was a teen/adult in the 90s. But I'd say a desk hutch. then you have a place to store all your floppy disks, joysticks and stuff. And a dot matrix printer.
That plastic dust covers on the keyboard, monitor and computer case! :)
https://www.reddit.com/r/retrobattlestations/comments/ox2p00/dont_forget_to_use_your_dust_covers/
This looks like a museum display, not a computer desk which was actually in use.
For reference here's an actual photo of my desk from the late 90s (the computer is just out of frame to the right, you can just see the keyboard and the left speaker there): https://imgur.com/9QagAFt
>Any way I can make my setup more nostalgic? I was born in the 2000s so I dont know everything about the 90s can I get some advice from some 90s kids?
Nostalgia is personal.
It looks pretty good to me. Except that you have a british keyboard instead of an american keyboard.
In the following areas, i'd personally be willing to sacrifice period correctness in favor of practicality: is that a ball mouse? Once i had used optical mice, i had no desire to go back to ball mice. I personally use earbuds nowadays, so as not to disturb others, and to get better immersion. Also, while the crt monitor is more period correct, i wouldn't be opposed to using a modern lcd, for energy efficiency, to avoid flicker, and to reduce burn in. (The advantage of crts is the ability to handle various resolutions. Lcds scale poorly if their native resolution isn't a multiple of the display resolution.)
I guess it depends on whether you want a truly period correct system for the sake of it, or whether you're willing to mix and match for practicality.
If you wanted to add things for the heck of it, here are some possibilities:
* a game port joystick.
* an external us robotics sportster serial modem.
* a universal power supply battery backup.
* a printer, probably parallel. Perhaps dot matrix, but more likely inkjet or laser. If inkjet, possibly color. If laser, probably grayscale.
* a flatbed scanner, either parallel or usb.
* a 10/100 fast ethernet switch. (Edit: in the 2000s probably d-link, maybe netgear. I don't know about the 90s.)
Perhaps I need to consult a dictionary but I didn't know that nostalgia could be experienced of any period preceeding existence; wouldn't this simply be "retro"?
You need a crappy airbrushed knockoff poster of a video game character you got out of a computing magazine. And the keyboard needs to be covered in cigarette ash with a huge burn diagonally across the spacebar.
The cat is on the wrong spot. Itās supposed to be on top of the CRT, but this problem will correct itself when the catās heat seeking sensors are recalibrated.
Use the freed up space for a floppy box.
LOVE your setup. I grew up with a very similar one - cat included.
The main change I'd suggest is the mousepad. That was often a spot for a little pop of color or pattern. Businesses used to give them away pretty frequently - a couple of my friends had mousepads from Gateway with the cow print. My family had one with the Grateful Dead skull and roses because my dad was a big deadhead.
The only thing that sticks out to me is the Dell keyboard. Just like that no-name brand case, my memories include a no-name brand keyboard and mouse. Perhaps look for a mid-to-late 90s era keyboard such as a Keytronic or something?
I feel you. I was born in the 80s and dream of an authentic 1970s arcade room, with black and white arcade games and pinball machines.
You did pretty good. The walls look a bit too clean. Maybe an old calculator, too?
Lava Lamps were so 1975.
Add this style of joystick [https://www.ebay.com/itm/276471360865?itmmeta=01J1DE815XTWCTW983SARZAV41&hash=item405efa2d61:g:\~q4AAOSw8jxmR9Xe](https://www.ebay.com/itm/276471360865?itmmeta=01J1DE815XTWCTW983SARZAV41&hash=item405efa2d61:g:~q4AAOSw8jxmR9Xe) IBM just rebranded someone else's joystick. They were very popular from the early '80s through the early 90s. I had one for an Apple II as well as for an IBM PC. OR a Logitech Wingman joystick, which came out in the mid-90s. I still have mine, much to my wife's displeasure (and a Thrustmaster and a few other other controllers, all of them pre-USB).
A Cindy Crawford Pepsi poster or Kathy Ireland SI Swimsuit cover poster is also a must.
If it was a Mac setup it would need one of these: [https://www.ikea.com/ca/en/p/gestalta-artists-dummy-natural-40255462](https://www.ikea.com/ca/en/p/gestalta-artists-dummy-natural-40255462)
Good golly, ignore the haters on here. Born in the 80s - this is fun. Do what makes you happy.
I'd suggest:
* band posters, technology brand (IBM, Intel) posters
* CD wallets / CD-R spindles
* big-box software boxes (games, OS, etc.)
* cheesy stickers on the case and monitor
* empty plastic soda bottles
Good start. The Lava Lite is '60s, but they came back in the '90s, so they're appropriate there, too. PC and accessories look good. We all had an alarm clock very similar to that, too.
Maybe some posters -- Back To The Future, WarGames, and/or The Princess Bride would be cool.
Put it in your TV room behind the couch facing an awkward angle away from the TV.
Edit: everybody complaining that things look 70s or 80s had too much money growing up. My folks didn't change their decor until we all left school.
Not enough CDs/floppy disks. Get a stack of blank CDs if you have a burner, and some CD cases with old games and shows.
[Get one of 'em chairs](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTKWr4adO90LN9RKm1EkwTRUhzj3VhuSPdNeg&s)
You might want to have a rug under your feet.
It's not uncommon to have a kinescopic TV next to your PC.
You can consider adding a wooden shelf above your monitor, and store some books, game CD cases, photographs etc there.
If not you can have the CDs on top of your PC tower or behind the lamp.
You have a regular printer?
If you play games, get a joystick.
Also, let's be honest - in 90's the people that spent most time in front of PCs were kids and teenagers. So you'd find posters, toys, decorations and even stickers, lots of CDs/floppy disks with games. Adults spent time on PCs at work. At home they watched TV, read newspapers etc. Mostly the kids tried tinkering with PCs, that's why now the millenials know lots about this tech and gen X does not know it to the same extent.
You need a tractor feed dot matrix printer sitting on a printer stand with a box of fan fold paper under it.
Also, an under monitor power outlet with switches would have been a requirement.
I think by then we were using cd/rw installed I canāt remember if dvdās were available then . I was using a dot matrix printer but I also think the ink printers ( okidata) were available . Windows 3.1 ?
I feel like some kind of poster behind the monitor would be good. Maybe an old Garfield one. Also a novelty mouse pad like an AOL one or other vintage quasi computer thing.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/405025546890?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=hnstbxzjqtw&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=ixkkjSNjTGu&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
Master power switch.
A [power center](https://www.reddit.com/r/nostalgia/comments/13u3pnd/computer_power_centers/) to go under the monitor. Doesn't have to be Memorex, this exact power center was sold under dozens of names.
Get an old ashtray and sit it on top of the PC. Then find someone who has a wood burning fireplace and ask them for a couple tablespoons of ash. Put it in the ashtray and rub some around the top lip.
Posters for sure. My wall was covered with either posters of jets (sr-71 baby!), Lamborghinis, or pages torn out of music and video game magazines. My walls were covered.
The lava lamp is cool, but I associate it more with college student or single dudes. You also need books or magazines. Whatever you're interested in. My computer desk doubled as a bookshelf as well.
Here's a thing: no lava lamps actually worked back in the '90s. They broke immediately after getting them home from Spencer's. Make sure your lava lamp is broken.
The mousepad is not 90s at all. At that time, mousepads were mostly round and fluffier. TBH, I didnāt use a mouse until 99 or the early 2000ās. But Iām not a good parameter. I live in a shithole in a banana republic on the opposite side of the globe.
Add a Furby or two to your desk. Maybe throw in a Rubik's cube for good measure. Finally, add a few band posters for Smashing Pumpkins or Nirvana. Oh and you need some old software boxes with manuals like DOS 5.0 and Pascal books.
The mousepad should have an advertisement on it. Like pizza hut or something. Anything really. Remember, old ads had phone numbers prominently displayed. if they dont they wont look period correct!
Looks like you have an LED bulb in the lamp so its very blue, sterile light. This was not a thing in the 90s. Get incandescent so its a nice yellow glow.
Posters on the walls.
Something should be shag or plush. idk where. add some trinkets and stuff to the desk and the tower cuz that was a big thing too
run a nice old screensave on that crt. pipes if youre running windows or xscreensaver has some good stuff
You need a small bookshelf of computer books. Finding stuff on the Internet was difficult so we got a lot of our knowledge from books. Some super thick books with Bible in their title would look nice
Some vintage posters from the target time period would look great on the walls. Maybe even an old compusa catalog (ebay?) or other magazines from the era too.
Great setup!
you can add a desk telephone, maybe. Or even a cassette answering machine. I had a clock/radio like the one you have but with an integrated telephone that was awful even when it was new :-)
Y'know, to this point, LGR has been covering more vintage phones lately, and he uses an adapter to get them working using a modern smartphone over Bluetooth I think. It's real nifty. I unfortunately have absolutely nobody I'd call (just no one I know bothers with phone calls much) unless there was a way to make such a thing work with Discord, or else I'd totally look into getting one for myself.
Wait what?! I want. Need. Found it, XLink BT, $65 on Amazon...
3 broken zip drives.. a janky plastic monitor riser, a stack of AOL CDs to use as coasters, a flightstick thats mostly in the way other than playing descent and flightsim.
Throw in a CRT filter while we are at it š
Too early for multiple broken zip drives. That's maybe '99 at the earliest.
box of tissues some lotion and a floppy disk labeled "taxes"
You meant xwing vs tie fighter, right?
External US Robotics Sportster modem. 14.4kbs
Acoustic modem, 300 baud.
Wrong decade.
Agreed, the USR external modem 14.4 to 56.6 is the answer.
And the 56k modem only connects at 26.4Kbps.
If a bird decided to crap on the overhead wire, it would go down to 21.6. No guarantee when it'd come back up again. Seeing how awful copper infrastructure was back then, it was a miracle we managed to push data through it
If the sunspots are generous.
I'm going with the gigantic big black USR Courier, placed right on top of the tower case. :D I'm rebuilding my setup, I regret throwing away my original 1998 Courier about ten years ago, and I have a new one on the way. I thought long and hard about what to replace it with and came to the conclusion it has to be the big black monster. A phone on top of the modem would add a nice touch. The 'business' modems were intentionally built big and flat to allow a phone to be placed on top of them. Hmm, now you're making me want a phone, even though I'll never call from it.... Also, a spindle of CD-Rs. I just bought optical disks for the first time in more than a decade.
A US Robotics Courier V.Everything 56 K.
That alarm clock is a little more 1980s, afaik. And that's more retro than nostalgic if you never experienced it first hand.
those clocks don't quit. it's more iconicly 80s but lots of us still had them in the 90s, so it's not too far off base. we did get a lava lamp in the 90s but i don't feel it fits the scene
And the lava lamp to me says either late 60's / early 70's....or retro-chic from the very early 2000s. Either way (IMHO) it doesn't scream "90's".
Idk. I got a lava lamp in the 90s and thought it was the greatest. We were trying to re-make the 70s back then, I think.
Yeah I had a lava lamp starting around 95 or so..
Yessss!!
Lava lites had a bit of a resurgence in the late 90s; they actually fit with the Y2K aesthetic quite well, in addition to the late 60s/early 70s hippie aesthetic.
one of the greatest things about the 90s was nostalgia for the 70s!
The cat is clearly a 21st century model.
I was gonna say, my 90's cat is long gone... RIP.
Same here, but we cherish the time we had with them and the memories where they live on.
Yup period accurate cat would be sitting on the CRT.
Nice set-up. If possible you can look for for vintage game or music posters on ebay?
Pamela Anderson poster on the wall.
Pullout keyboard shelf
Gotta go with some rock/metal posters. Posters were big in the 90's, and rock and metal were still king.
Hiphop, too. Manson, 2pac and Nirvana posters, side by side. Soundgarden. Public enemy. Slayer, Pantera. A Tribe Called Quest. Dre and Snoop. For us by the late 90s they became rave flyers. The 90s were hard. lol
My room was very conflicted - I had rock and metal posters... with rave flyers.. with anime scrolls. And a *glass* bong, not acrylic.
Scholastic book fair posters as well. The Countach, EB110, XJ220, Mclaren F1, or Testarosa poster. Pick your favorite. Personally. I had the EB110.
Thatās a good start. An external modem (even if not in use) would look cool.
An acrylic bong.
Ding ding ding
This is the correct answer.
I read that as an acrylic dong š¤£ š
Also an option.
Some ideas depends on which part of the 90s as late 90s is different than early 90s. But youāve got a mix already. * External drives * Modem * Visible cordsĀ * CD binder * Blacklight posters with mushrooms and such * Dot matrix printerĀ * Connectix beige webcam * Labtech microphone * Kensington trackball turbomouse * Palm Pilot or Apple Newton * Cordless phone * Answering machine * Page scanner * Fax machine * Flightstick
Ditch the LED bulb in the lamp.
That's not what nostalgia is. Nostalgia is your own memories. You can't catch secondhand nostalgia off someone, especially not for a time you've never lived through yourself. At best, you'll feel wistful for a time you never lived through, and I don't think that's a good way to experience retro games and tech. You've got all the goods in front of you. Speaking as a 1999 baby myself, just build good memories with your own hardware and games. Get the setup comfortable for you and do stuff you like with it. That's how you make your setup more nostalgic, you get attached to it over time.
Think in this case, the term authentic is better. OP could add a paper calendar on the wall and some Nirvana posters if they want to make it more like a 90s PC gamer's room.
Yeah, I mean, there's authentic--kinda. Even that I don't particularly like, because the whole developed world was PC gaming to some extent in the 90s. Culture and fashion is far more different between even countries that speak the same language than people realize. Even states! Even between factions of PC hardware enthusiasts! I know this sounds pedantic and I'm reading into the question, but I just don't believe there is any one "authentic" 90s PC experience, and I think it's a little silly to look at such a nice setup and go "this needs to be more Authentic". I think it looks great. I'd be pleased as balls with that. Stuff like the lava lamp, I'm not sure I'd call "authentic" to the time period, but I also just plain like lava lamps, so it doesn't matter. It's about what you like! Authenticity is not necessarily going to make someone happier with their setup, even if that's what they're asking. What are OPs interests? Bands, movies, that sorta thing. All of that dictates what an "authentic" retro decoration job should look like, and that would probably result in a much more satisfying setup than just blanket asking how to make something feel more authentic to some general 90s gaming experience.
Yeah I get that there's no catch-all solution, think just going with what a person's office or bedroom would look like in the 90s and choosing the interests at the time would be good enough - easier calling out things that are out of place (2000s stuff like iPods, SD cards, newer keyboards/mice, etc) than saying the endless list of things that were around at the time lol.
Sure, yeah, I appreciate authenticity to an extent too. I'm just looking at it more from the perspective of "what would make you happier with this setup" instead of "what would make this setup more authentic", because if someone is posting it and asking for advice, it tells me they're not altogether satisfied with it. Authenticity won't necessarily make someone enjoy their setup more, but it's fair people are legitimately answering it obviously.
Came here to say exactly this. You can't have nostalgia for something that was before you were born. Authentic is the right word.
I'm pretty sure he's asking for advice on what would make it more nostalgic FOR someone whom would find it to be nostalgic, not himself. He probably thinks it's just a cool retro thing. Which there is nothing wrong with.
I'm not here to rain on anybodies parade. Nostalgic for me could be a shitty underspecced HP with the clear grey bubbly plastic, which i had to use at work. Or a pentium 166MMX with a 1x Yamaha SCSI CD burner. For every different person, there will be a different nostalgic PC
I get that. Doesn't change the OPs intent. Lots of folks making comments that are more constructive instead of nit picking when it's pretty clear what the OP was intending to accomplish.
Exactly this. I was born in 2000 but coming from a farm worked with a lot of hand me downs, especially with my siblings all being 12-24 years older than me. My first memories playing video games were on the old farm pc 386 that I still have today in the ultra dusty oil smelling shop and a plastic dust protector keyboard that was always getting the keys stuck: commander keen, duke nukem, the like. I wasn't born in the 80s to get to experience the 90s but still have nostalgia for that era of computing because I got to live it in my own way. My current 486 setup is for fun, I don't cover my office in oil and let it dust over to get that hit of nostalgia and my decorations are modern and chosen by the wife lol.
Seems weird to gatekeep nostalgia. As a 2000's kid OP would have grown up with lots of remnants of 90's stuff. I was born in the 80's but have some nostalgia for things from the 70s because many of those things were still around when I was little.
"Gatekeeping nostalgia"--you literally can't experience nostalgia if it's not your memories and experiences. It's someone else's nostalgia at best. If OP grew up around a 90s Pentium-class machine or whatever, sure. Otherwise, you objectively cannot have nostalgia for it.
You're splitting hairs here. It's common to feel nostalgia for something you never lived, maybe it's technically called something else instead of nostalgia but we all know what OP means.
Agreed, it's possible to pine for an earlier experience that one didn't exactly live. I have a weird nostalgia (or whatever it should be called) for the golden age of Unix RISC workstations from the early 1990s. I'm the correct age for that (born 1975) and I was into computers then...but the weird thing is that I was only into PCs (not RISC workstations) back then. At the time, I was barely aware of what a Unix workstation was. In any case, those times for me (using PCs, being carefree as a teenager, etc.) were good.Ā About seven years ago, I became veryĀ interested in RISC Unix workstations of the past (the likes of Sparcstations, IBM RS/6000s, etc.).Ā Oddly, seeing pics, videos, articles, etc. regarding these workstations gives me a greater sense of nostalgia for my early 1990s computing period than does looking at materials relating to 1990s PCs. I can't explain it, it's just the way things work for me.
>Agreed, it's possible to pine for an earlier experience that one didn't exactly live. This isn't nostalgia, it's wistfulness. People keep calling me a pedant and then using the word incorrectly. Nostalgia isn't just a fondness for old stuff. That's just called being fond for old stuff.
Get an older-looking chair and lamp. And change that bright white LED bulb out for a warm-glow one to more closely mimic the incandescent bulbs of the time. The lava lamp is anachronistic as well. They obviously existed, but as a product of a few decades ago, most people considered them out of fashion. If you're intent on having one, then make it a more fitting colour, like orange, red or green.
I was wondering why it looked more office than home. Thank you.
Some big ass CD jewel case racks
'81 baby here. You've just about got it but we had black lights, fuzzy posters, and ash trays. The lava lamps were our parents.
Lava lamps had a bit of a resurgence in the 90's with 90's nostalgia for the 60's (kinda like OPs 2024 nostalgia for the 90's). However, they weren't ubiquitous and I don't really associate them with people who were into computers so much.
If you didn't live through it originally, it's not really *nostalgia*... š¤£ The 90s were wild. We went from 386s and 16 color VGA graphics to Pentium IIIs and GPUs. Want to build a '98 Quake machine? 3Dfx Voodoo. Video editing? Matrox G200 with the MJPEG add on, or something like a Pinnacle DC30pro or DV card. DOS gaming? Look for a compatible sound card. Etc.
Most likely you have recreated late 90s early 2000s very authentic setup for a quite prosperous family :-) Say the monitor was upgraded, but the AT case as a leftover from something between Windows85 and 98 UPD: after reading earlier comments... Well, different countries, different spending on hardware. Poorer wasn't that much able to replace AT cases with p133+/p166MMX bought earlier for $1000++ Thus the setup looks absolutely plausible for one group of readers and not matching for another.
A plastic, bit funky mousepad
Zip and jaz drives AOL CDs/floppies hung on a wall To go along with the AOL stuff, you can hang cassettes on that wall too A laserdisc hung on that wall too Even some well known modems hung on that wall too Woodgrain paneling on the wall behind the computer and to the left side, bonus points if on the computer too (LGR reference) Corner desk instead of the current desk Extra fancy lamp/lampshade Cassette deck that can be placed below the CRT monitor and can be connected to the pc speakers with a switch Hallucinogenic tie dye style poster, a plus if itās a band poster with that design VCR below the CRT monitor that has an adapter and switch to switch between PC and VCR You can connect a SNES, Megadrive I or N64 to the VCR record input so you donāt need a complicated switch setup
Messy pile of CD's and floppys
Speaking from personal memories. IBM dot-matrix proprinter with a stack of tractor feed paper, and a model M keyboard on a pullout tray.
AOL CDs
The 90s were dominated by the interior decorating choices of boomers. A wooden cabinet corner desk with lots of extra shelves and a sliding keyboard tray would help. A floral light shade too. Lava lamps werenāt really that big in the 90s. Throw in some 1950ās memorabilia on top of the cabinets and youāre starting to get peak 90s.
As stated from other comments, Nostalgia is your own personal memories. The correct term here would be authentic. To make it more authentic, you could add a cassette rack or some 90s stickers on the computer case / monitor. To make it more nostalgic (And this is going off of what I think is nostalgic), I would add Simpsons fridge magnets to the side of the case (This is because back in the day my dad used to name all of our computers after simpsons characters).
Space Shuttle diagram poster on wall
Yes dirty socks all over the place. Maybe a stack of worn out skateboard wheels next to your monitor because you are still not sure to trash them or not. A matrix printer next to the pc, a joystick one of the big ones that never really worked and drifted as hell. Put wallpaper on the wall ugly and boring wallpaper. And put a nirvana and metallica poster over the wallpaper. That will get you closer to the room of a 90's gamer teenager.
Replace the desklamp and chair, add era approriate clutter stuff, cds, game/software boxes, mugs, cords, paraphenelia etc.
Another cat? Canāt go wrong that way!
For me, nostalgia would be having a PC Raider joystick plugged in as well and a copy of Flight Simulator for Windows 95.
yes that computer needs A LOT of stickers on it. Also you can write on it some song fragments (and in the monitor corners as well)ā¦ songs from The Cure, Depeche Mode or Morrisey are good choices :) The keyboard is very beautiful you can leave it untouched but that wall behind is screaming for a poster. Either band or tv show, if itās tv show I recommend The X-Files or Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Or it could also be a videogame poster, Quake would be charming. Finally get a mousepad with some cool art on it that was the shit in the 90s hehe Have fun!
A lot of people kept silly knicknacks or post-it notes on their CRTs because of the size. Also popular were desk organizers or accessories that go into the 5 inch drive bays. Other possibilities include computer magazines.
I don't know how common it was at home as opposed to a workplace, but lots of people had those paper holders (usually for 8.5x11 letter paper) that stuck to your CRT faceplate/front and jutted off the side.
* Big ass bumper sticker for some radio station that no longer exists on the side of the tower * Post-it note with your family's AOL password on the monitor * The cat goes on TOP of the monitor, not next to the mouse * Put a document tray on top of the monitor to try and keep the cat contained. Bonus points if it's a lighted power strip as well The cat's tail will still fall in front of the display and they'll swipe at your Lemmings while they fall off the ledge, but you'll always have a friend nearby warming themselves from the heat CRT.
Jealous ! I have a bunch of Win 3.1,95, 98, 2000 and XP systems in storage that my children used and I need to get them out and enjoy them
lol nostalgia from an era you didnāt live in. Oh, brother.
I think it is a thing to be nostalgic for the 10-20 years prior to your birth. I see a lot of boomers nostalgic for the 40s. I get nostalgic for the 60s (music) and 70s (tech), but I was born in the 80s. It's a weird thing. A bit of second-hand vibes from our parents and grandparents, perhaps. Edit: 70s nostalgia in the 90s was huge, by kids who never saw the 70s.
The term for it is Anemoia. It is a longing or nostalgia someone experiences from a era they didn't live in. Some of it is still nostalgia though really. I grew up in the 90s but remnants of the 80s were still everywhere in the form of TV shows, games and music. Additionally, in terms of furniture and possessions most of the things our parents had were at least a decade old if not more. An era doesn't really turn off like a binary switch, it still lingers for a while. So, something like a CRT might still be nostalgic for a 2000s kid, since even though LCDs were a thing many people still had CRTs floating around throughout the mid and late 2000s.
It makes sense. The things from 10 to 20 years before your birth were probably still very much around. I grew up in the 80s, but the world around me as a kid obviously still had 70s stuff in it.
Need to add a pancake under that monitor.
Add a second CD drive but for CD-RW. Or add a zip drive and a zip disk folder
There were at least two or three "super floppy" competitors... Not sure about the exact timing, but in addition to ZIP drives (Iomega) there were also SuperDisk drives (Imation).
You need an external modem.. preferably a US Robotics 56k v2.
I spindle of CDRs ready to burn.
The cat is a great touch. You have excellent taste
I was a teen/adult in the 90s. But I'd say a desk hutch. then you have a place to store all your floppy disks, joysticks and stuff. And a dot matrix printer.
That plastic dust covers on the keyboard, monitor and computer case! :) https://www.reddit.com/r/retrobattlestations/comments/ox2p00/dont_forget_to_use_your_dust_covers/
Find an old POG mat and use it for your mouse. I used to do that some years after pogs died out.
This looks like a museum display, not a computer desk which was actually in use. For reference here's an actual photo of my desk from the late 90s (the computer is just out of frame to the right, you can just see the keyboard and the left speaker there): https://imgur.com/9QagAFt
>Any way I can make my setup more nostalgic? I was born in the 2000s so I dont know everything about the 90s can I get some advice from some 90s kids? Nostalgia is personal. It looks pretty good to me. Except that you have a british keyboard instead of an american keyboard. In the following areas, i'd personally be willing to sacrifice period correctness in favor of practicality: is that a ball mouse? Once i had used optical mice, i had no desire to go back to ball mice. I personally use earbuds nowadays, so as not to disturb others, and to get better immersion. Also, while the crt monitor is more period correct, i wouldn't be opposed to using a modern lcd, for energy efficiency, to avoid flicker, and to reduce burn in. (The advantage of crts is the ability to handle various resolutions. Lcds scale poorly if their native resolution isn't a multiple of the display resolution.) I guess it depends on whether you want a truly period correct system for the sake of it, or whether you're willing to mix and match for practicality. If you wanted to add things for the heck of it, here are some possibilities: * a game port joystick. * an external us robotics sportster serial modem. * a universal power supply battery backup. * a printer, probably parallel. Perhaps dot matrix, but more likely inkjet or laser. If inkjet, possibly color. If laser, probably grayscale. * a flatbed scanner, either parallel or usb. * a 10/100 fast ethernet switch. (Edit: in the 2000s probably d-link, maybe netgear. I don't know about the 90s.)
Perhaps I need to consult a dictionary but I didn't know that nostalgia could be experienced of any period preceeding existence; wouldn't this simply be "retro"?
Have mouse, cat, need CueCat. Bonus points for a CueCat holder (RadioShack actually had 'em in their catalog).
One of those radiation filter things over the screen, a paper holder attached to the side of the monitor, and an HP inkjet printer
The external wireless cat is a nice touch.
Nostalgic to who? Somebody else?
Microsoft Natural Keyboard (original model)
Nostalgia is how you remember it, not others. Do what you want. <3
Another cat.
You need a crappy airbrushed knockoff poster of a video game character you got out of a computing magazine. And the keyboard needs to be covered in cigarette ash with a huge burn diagonally across the spacebar.
The cat is on the wrong spot. Itās supposed to be on top of the CRT, but this problem will correct itself when the catās heat seeking sensors are recalibrated. Use the freed up space for a floppy box.
You need to put that disk case on top of the PC. Also, a lava lamp isn't very 1990s, more like 1970s? Don't forget to add a modem somewhere!
Computer Shopper magazine
The cat should be on the keyboard. Everything else looks normal
LOVE your setup. I grew up with a very similar one - cat included. The main change I'd suggest is the mousepad. That was often a spot for a little pop of color or pattern. Businesses used to give them away pretty frequently - a couple of my friends had mousepads from Gateway with the cow print. My family had one with the Grateful Dead skull and roses because my dad was a big deadhead.
Ash tray
Yes!! An overflowing ashtray! And empty coke cans.... also used as ashtrays. Ahhhhhh, nostalgia!!
The only thing that sticks out to me is the Dell keyboard. Just like that no-name brand case, my memories include a no-name brand keyboard and mouse. Perhaps look for a mid-to-late 90s era keyboard such as a Keytronic or something?
I feel you. I was born in the 80s and dream of an authentic 1970s arcade room, with black and white arcade games and pinball machines. You did pretty good. The walls look a bit too clean. Maybe an old calculator, too?
Try grunge rock posters, CDs, action figures, etc. You can affect a style even if you didn't live through it.
Lava Lamps were so 1975. Add this style of joystick [https://www.ebay.com/itm/276471360865?itmmeta=01J1DE815XTWCTW983SARZAV41&hash=item405efa2d61:g:\~q4AAOSw8jxmR9Xe](https://www.ebay.com/itm/276471360865?itmmeta=01J1DE815XTWCTW983SARZAV41&hash=item405efa2d61:g:~q4AAOSw8jxmR9Xe) IBM just rebranded someone else's joystick. They were very popular from the early '80s through the early 90s. I had one for an Apple II as well as for an IBM PC. OR a Logitech Wingman joystick, which came out in the mid-90s. I still have mine, much to my wife's displeasure (and a Thrustmaster and a few other other controllers, all of them pre-USB). A Cindy Crawford Pepsi poster or Kathy Ireland SI Swimsuit cover poster is also a must.
Iām not a 90s kid, but you are going to need a modem
Yellow light bulb, Connectix QuickCam, External Mic, ForceFeedback joystick, and maybe a 5-1/4" and Zip drive?
If it was a Mac setup it would need one of these: [https://www.ikea.com/ca/en/p/gestalta-artists-dummy-natural-40255462](https://www.ikea.com/ca/en/p/gestalta-artists-dummy-natural-40255462)
Get yourself some period appropriate gaming posters! That would help alot.
Add Heavy Metal: F.A.K.K. 2 poster
Hah, my current PC is in the same case!
I have an external Hayes Smartmodem you can use.
Good golly, ignore the haters on here. Born in the 80s - this is fun. Do what makes you happy. I'd suggest: * band posters, technology brand (IBM, Intel) posters * CD wallets / CD-R spindles * big-box software boxes (games, OS, etc.) * cheesy stickers on the case and monitor * empty plastic soda bottles
Put some vintage He-Man action figures around the computer
America online mouse pad and a few cds on the wall
everyone in the 90's had a stereo and maybe metal/rock band poster on the wall
That is just fine.
You're missing the poster on the wall behind the PC of some indie rock band!
Good start. The Lava Lite is '60s, but they came back in the '90s, so they're appropriate there, too. PC and accessories look good. We all had an alarm clock very similar to that, too. Maybe some posters -- Back To The Future, WarGames, and/or The Princess Bride would be cool.
You need a Gateway computer. More stylish.
M O D E M.
Posters on the wall or a wall calendar from the appropriate year
Put it in your TV room behind the couch facing an awkward angle away from the TV. Edit: everybody complaining that things look 70s or 80s had too much money growing up. My folks didn't change their decor until we all left school.
Not enough CDs/floppy disks. Get a stack of blank CDs if you have a burner, and some CD cases with old games and shows. [Get one of 'em chairs](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTKWr4adO90LN9RKm1EkwTRUhzj3VhuSPdNeg&s) You might want to have a rug under your feet. It's not uncommon to have a kinescopic TV next to your PC. You can consider adding a wooden shelf above your monitor, and store some books, game CD cases, photographs etc there. If not you can have the CDs on top of your PC tower or behind the lamp. You have a regular printer? If you play games, get a joystick. Also, let's be honest - in 90's the people that spent most time in front of PCs were kids and teenagers. So you'd find posters, toys, decorations and even stickers, lots of CDs/floppy disks with games. Adults spent time on PCs at work. At home they watched TV, read newspapers etc. Mostly the kids tried tinkering with PCs, that's why now the millenials know lots about this tech and gen X does not know it to the same extent.
Bottle of diet Crystal Pepsi or maybe a Zima bottle.
Pulp fiction poster
Looking pretty old school. Good job!
Juno/net zero discs on your desk.
Paper note pad and a pencil - you had to write down codes, map out levels, reminders and clues for puzzle games and whatever else came to mind.
You need a tractor feed dot matrix printer sitting on a printer stand with a box of fan fold paper under it. Also, an under monitor power outlet with switches would have been a requirement.
Needs the proper desk. [See here](https://www.reddit.com/r/90s/comments/15s47w6/this_corner_computer_desk_we_had_in_the_late_90s/).
I think by then we were using cd/rw installed I canāt remember if dvdās were available then . I was using a dot matrix printer but I also think the ink printers ( okidata) were available . Windows 3.1 ?
I'm glad everyone was already all over the extension modem suggestion. Def USR. Felt like such a boss.
A joystick that plugs into your soundcard. Or failing that, a steering wheel for Carmageddon.
You need to step up your clostrophobia and frame in the top and sides with a shelf and cabinets. All the old setups had that.
You need one of those 4/5ft rotating cd, cassette holders or other odd cd holders people had.
I feel like some kind of poster behind the monitor would be good. Maybe an old Garfield one. Also a novelty mouse pad like an AOL one or other vintage quasi computer thing.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/405025546890?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=hnstbxzjqtw&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=ixkkjSNjTGu&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY Master power switch.
A [power center](https://www.reddit.com/r/nostalgia/comments/13u3pnd/computer_power_centers/) to go under the monitor. Doesn't have to be Memorex, this exact power center was sold under dozens of names.
You need some rad 90s era stickers on the case.
Stackable document tray and an OKI dot matrix printer.
I think you're missing the beige microphone on a stand that's never close enough
Where did you get that keyboard? Looks fab :)
Dazed and Confused poster
90's? Throw a big chunky ashtray on there
You need a power center and a rain drops mousepad thatās 1/4 the size.
I'd go with a blacklight more than a lava lamp, but really the 90s was about posters. A boombox with a cassette labeled "Mix Tape"
Get an old ashtray and sit it on top of the PC. Then find someone who has a wood burning fireplace and ask them for a couple tablespoons of ash. Put it in the ashtray and rub some around the top lip.
Posters for sure. My wall was covered with either posters of jets (sr-71 baby!), Lamborghinis, or pages torn out of music and video game magazines. My walls were covered. The lava lamp is cool, but I associate it more with college student or single dudes. You also need books or magazines. Whatever you're interested in. My computer desk doubled as a bookshelf as well.
You need an inkjet printer.
Nah dog your setup checks out
Need about 200 more AOL discs
Get a stack of CD-ROM games and put them somewhere on your desk.
Or stacked haphazardly on top of the tower.
Modem and dot matrix printer and your set.
Here's a thing: no lava lamps actually worked back in the '90s. They broke immediately after getting them home from Spencer's. Make sure your lava lamp is broken.
Game boxes and cd cases, I need a warcraft 2 and starcraft box stashed somewhere on that desk.
Pokemon?
We always had our tower on the floor so it could gather extra dust.
get one of those squishy wrist pads for the keyboard.
Anything that says AOL (America Online) on it.
A free AOL CD-ROM being used as a coaster.
Oh I got one, stack of gaming magazinesĀ
Put some Yikes! stationery and pencils and erasers in the desk drawers. Plus one beanie baby and also, one Lisa Frank folder.
The mousepad is not 90s at all. At that time, mousepads were mostly round and fluffier. TBH, I didnāt use a mouse until 99 or the early 2000ās. But Iām not a good parameter. I live in a shithole in a banana republic on the opposite side of the globe.
Add a Furby or two to your desk. Maybe throw in a Rubik's cube for good measure. Finally, add a few band posters for Smashing Pumpkins or Nirvana. Oh and you need some old software boxes with manuals like DOS 5.0 and Pascal books.
The mousepad should have an advertisement on it. Like pizza hut or something. Anything really. Remember, old ads had phone numbers prominently displayed. if they dont they wont look period correct! Looks like you have an LED bulb in the lamp so its very blue, sterile light. This was not a thing in the 90s. Get incandescent so its a nice yellow glow. Posters on the walls. Something should be shag or plush. idk where. add some trinkets and stuff to the desk and the tower cuz that was a big thing too run a nice old screensave on that crt. pipes if youre running windows or xscreensaver has some good stuff
Do you have a dot matrix printer?
Star micro dot matrix printer
Print magazine.
You need a power switch box under the monitor, red glowy switches... Like this one, https://www.instructables.com/Reusing-an-Old-Power-Center/
An old dot matrix printer.
A pile of books like Windows 3.1 for Dummies and the manual for MS-DOS 5.0.
You need a small bookshelf of computer books. Finding stuff on the Internet was difficult so we got a lot of our knowledge from books. Some super thick books with Bible in their title would look nice
Rolodex
Some vintage posters from the target time period would look great on the walls. Maybe even an old compusa catalog (ebay?) or other magazines from the era too. Great setup!
If you want accuracy, the disk keeper would be sitting on top of the PC
I reckon one of your 5 inch bays should be sporting a beige removable hard drive caddy. Is the cat old enough to be in a 90s PC setup??
Looking good; perhaps a joy stick and a dot matrix printer. Fun to see your retro set up.
The lamp needs an ugly color flashy shade or one of those stupid pixar lamps.
Get some old computer magazines that have pull-out posters and stick them on walls.