The next day, before registration began and since there wasn't much else to do, Su Zelin went to the computer city.

He planned to get a computer.

Just this year, the financial academy built the second-generation campus network. It had expanded from just the teaching buildings and libraries to student dormitories, allowing broadband internet access at the school, so a computer had to be bought sooner rather than later.

Like most college students, Su Zelin chose to go the DIY route.

A whole branded computer was too expensive, with much of the unnecessary expense amounting to what people often call a "stupidity tax" for those not savvy with computers, so those with a bit of knowledge would build their own.

Being one of the earliest internet users, even in his past life during this time, he was quite familiar with computer hardware. Later, many classmates in his university class asked him for help with DIY computers, especially after being reborn.

Walking into the computer city, it was filled with small shops, all doing good business.

Computers had only started to become recognized and accepted by the general public in the 1990s, and with the appearance and spread of the internet, the computer market was booming.

The year 2000 marked the start of the golden decade for the domestic PC market, with brands emerging in a competitive scene.

The variety of computer part brands was quite rich, some of which later generations had never even heard of, such as Quantum Fireball.

The most popular hard drive brand of the 1990s wasn't IBM or Maxtor; it was Quantum.

In that era, when the demand for hard drive performance wasn't very high, Quantum gained a large user base with its Bigfoot drives due to their low prices. Bigfoot drives weren't the traditional 3.5-inch but rather 5.25-inch, allowing them to easily have a large capacity and considerably lower prices.

And the high-performance drives of this brand were the Fireball series, which ultimately led to the downfall of Quantum's hard drive department. Due to the very unstable motor drive chip of the Fireball series, the return rate of hard drives stayed high, and the reputation among users plummeted. Eventually, the hard drive department was sold to Maxtor, and the once-popular Quantum hard drives vanished.

However, at this time, Quantum Fireball was still quite capable and was the first hard drive for many netizens born in the 80s.

Another brand that vanished from public view in later years was Elitegroup, which was founded earlier than ASUS and, with its high cost-effectiveness, once ranked second in global DIY motherboard shipments. But as the DIY market contracted, Elitegroup eventually withdrew from the DIY motherboard field and focused on OEM. Though its fate was slightly better than Quantum's, at least it survived.

There was also the Cyrix processor. In the 1990s, the CPU market was quite competitive, and Cyrix processors weren't inferior to Intel's processors of the same period, having a good price advantage. But as Intel released the Pentium, gaining absolute leading status in the processor market, Cyrix gradually declined and was later acquired by VIA. This was the source of VIA's x86 technology.

In the twenty years leading up to Su Zelin's rebirth, some companies had grown from small players to big bosses, such as NVIDIA defeating and acquiring Voodoo, and ATI being acquired by AMD, making them the global giants in CPUs and graphics cards.

Only those who can still stand firm after the waves recede can become true trailblazers.

Feeling the harshness of the times, Su Zelin went straight to a small shop.

A small sign reading "Fenfei Technology" was hung on the door. Inside the shop, a man in his early thirties was installing a system on a newly assembled machine.

"Brother Xiao Yang!"

The internet junkie greeted proactively.

The young man was slightly taken aback. His real name was Yang Fen, and Brother Xiao Yang was his nickname, known to those familiar with him. However, this customer seemed unfamiliar, not like a regular.

Maybe a regular recommended him here and told him to call me that.

"Hello!"

Brother Xiao Yang politely nodded at him.

Naturally, Su Zelin knew him, but only from his previous life. At that time, he had bought his first computer here.

The shop owner, Brother Xiao Yang, was warm-hearted and honest, with reasonable charges. He usually recommended configurations with high cost-effectiveness. Later, when many classmates asked the internet junkie for help in configuring a computer, they chose this shop. With time, they became familiar.

Over a decade later, Yang Fen had developed this small computer parts shop into a big channel distributor, and Su Zelin had become the CEO of a major company in Shenghai. Due to business dealings, the two had met at many meetings and had a decent friendship, and Su Zelin was well aware of his character.

The shops in the computer city were a mixed bag, with honest and dishonest merchants. Although Su Zelin was knowledgeable, since he knew someone, there was no need to bother trying his luck elsewhere.

"I want to build a computer!"

Su Zelin got straight to the point, handing over a computer configuration list he had prepared in advance.

Brother Xiao Yang took it, glanced at it, and couldn't help but be slightly moved.

This configuration list indicated a high-end route: a Pentium 3 CPU, 128MB of memory, and a 20GB hard drive - all top-of-the-line at the time. Additionally, the 17-inch MAG 796FD Diamondtron display promised top-tier operational performance and visual experience.

Though high-end, it didn't follow the "dumb money" path. The list didn't include any components that would amount to paying a "stupidity tax." The procurement requirements for each part were clearly outlined.

Take the MAG 796FD, for instance. It was comparable to Sony's 17-inch Trinitron, the best CRT display technology of its time.

Everyone knows Sony products are top-notch, but they're notoriously expensive.

There's no question about the quality of Sony's products, but unfortunately, when you buy them, part of the money goes to brand premium - commonly known as a "stupidity tax," and this part of the money isn't small.

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