Why not get a PC from the '90s with CRT monitor and everything?
If you like playing old games in their natural environment, then you can't beat that in authenticity.
If you like playing old games in their natural environment, then you can't beat that in authenticity.
- You may want to run more recent games. The 10 year old laptop, particularly one with a dedicated GPU and a lot of RAM, will even run some current games.
- There seems to be a fair bit of interest in retrocomputing these days. This is driving up the cost of both hardware and games. It is also possible to purchase many older games through GOG and Steam that you would not be able to directly install on that old hardware (either due to the installer or client).
- An older laptop is going to be smaller, quieter, and more reliable. Even if something does fail, it is going to be easier to find replacement parts.
Full on PC setup also requires a lot more space than a small laptop.
As an extreme example, an ancient 32-bit Windows XP laptop that my mom clung to until the latest change at Gmail (OAuth only) finally obsoleted her old Thunderbird installation, wouldn't begin to recognize a 2TB USB HD if plugged in. But if you booted Linux from a Live DVD, no problem. This was to copy her data off for backup purposes a few years ago, when mainstream Linux distros still had 32-bit versions.
Also at the level of ancient being discussed here, Wifi and wired networking are a thing you know.