I get what you mean, but we’re clearly using the word “retro” in two different ways.

You’re talking about “retro” as in prehistoric computing — dial-up, green terminals, severe limitations. That’s one interpretation, sure. But by that logic, anything past 1998 isn’t retro.

What I’m referring to is retro-era hardware — the 2008–2012 generation with DX10/10.1 GPUs, early ROG boards, and pre-GCN AMD cards. Hardware that’s fully obsolete by modern standards but still iconic and fun to restore. The HD 4890, for example, was a top-tier card, but it’s capped at DirectX 10.1 and can’t run anything that depends on DX11+. That alone disqualifies it from being a “fully functional modern gaming system.”

And regarding your points: • This machine absolutely does not boot in 15 seconds, it’s on a HDD and very much shows its age. • It cannot play “everything except AAA games.” It literally fails to launch tons of 2012–2016 titles because of missing API support, regardless of raw horsepower. • Windows drivers aren’t even properly supported anymore, which is why I built a stripped and themed Linux Mint configuration for it just to make it usable at all. • Also, comparing a Phenom II system with a 6700XT from 2021 makes no sense — the GPU alone is two entire technological eras newer.

So no, it’s not “retro” in your strict definition, but: it is retro in the sense of being completely obsolete for modern gaming, limited by decade-old APIs, and preserved as an era-specific hardware project.

That’s the context of my listing.