[ido]

I think in 1993 you could easily still spend $6k by buying the top end 486/pentium CPU from intel, 8mb ram, CD-ROM, large (for the time) HDD, 17" monitor, etc. It wouldn't have a GPU but the latest tech always cost a big premium (it might be just 50% faster than a good but non-top-end system but cost 2-3x as much).

EDIT - looking at some ads in the December '93 issue of Computerworld [0] there's a Compaq ad saying "the Deskpro with Pentium starts at just $3,199" (both the "starts at" and the "just" make me think you could make it cost a lot more than $3,199, altho you could surely also play Doom on a cheaper computer).

[0] https://books.google.de/books?id=WESBpiNtNTEC&pg=PA19&hl=en&...

[wslh]

At that time I bought a generic PC with a 486 DX4 below USD 2k.

[ido]

This doesn’t contradict anything I wrote above. It was possible to get much better bang for buck than the absolute most expensive option but I can believe the above story that you could spend someone else’s $6k to splurge on the most expensive PC you could find.

[wslh]

I don't tried to bring a lengthy discussion, it was a play with memories: remembering assembling your own PC and travelling the city choosing the specific components carefully based on price.

[ido]

I didn't mean to take it in a negative direction either! And I agree with you anyway, my computer at around that time was also much cheaper than the example given (I think an IBM Aptiva on sale from a shop that was trying to get rid of inventory) and played games just fine (at least for the first couple years of its life)!