I was given a pet 2001 by my grandma when I was 6 and I still have it with all my original ( mostly hacked or illegal ) software and I love the stupid thing.

6:33 those typing sounds. Glorious! Gloooorious!

Okay there really is no denying it. Late 70s/ early 80s computers like the Commodore PET and IBM 5150 are some of the coolest looking computers out there. I'd almost wish for modern day PC's to look like that (including being made of sheet metal and weighing way more than they should).

"Normally I would talk about games, but this didn't have any games, so I'm gonna show you some games." LGR logic, gotta love it ;)

Man, the 6502 is like the little processor that could. Seems like it was in almost everything back in the day.

I really love the aesthetics of the PET. Still one of the best-looking machines out there. I wonder if it's affordable to 3D-print a PET chassis and retrofit a modern machine inside.

I learned to program on green phosphorous displays on early computers, and to this day I still love turning the background of my code editors black and the main foreground text to some form of green. Something in me still gets excited when I see these old computers, and yes, my heart did skip a small beat when I heard it had 32k of RAM. Why? Because it is actually possible to imagine what you can do with that much memory. Today most programmers don't even give a crap about memory because it is virtually unlimited. So don't feel odd. I love these old systems, too. I still may just pick up an Apple IIe sometime.

Congrats on 250k LGR! Your one of the most consistent reviewer and game player on YT- you deserve every awesome fan and no haters ! Cheers bud

I understand perfectly how you feel about old hardware like this. While I am not a retro computer collector, I am a retro game collector. I have a lot of appreciation for strange and quirky retro hardware. One of my favorites is the Vectrex, which features a built in vector graphic display. The accessories released for it include a light pen with accompanying animation software, and a head mounted display that allows certain software to be viewed in 3D. Extremely outdated and clunky? Absolutely! But that is exactly why I love owning one.

Never in my life would I think that I would finally figure out what kind of dinosaur my grandmother has kept through the past 30 years, and only until now have I realized how much impact it had on the personal computer industry. This exact model has been on display in my house, much like a work of art, and near my bedroom for ages. There had been something that always intrigued me about it, whether it be because of the supposed history about it or the fact that the thing glows a sickly green on some nights. Knowing what happened in order to make that personal computer come into being is something that I am thankful for greatly. History and computers are something that I've always loved, and seeing the two combine in such a personal way for me is absolutely astounding. I've watched LGR's videos for a while, and this is by far my favorite. Even the sims videos that had me laughing for ages, this review is at the top of my list.

That rounded commodore looks amazing. So retro-futuristic!

My mother was a school teacher, she would bring the PET home on weekends and I can remember this thing sitting on my dining room table and my sister and I typing program listings into it and then being amazed. This KZfaq channel is definitely in my top 5, excellent content and very well produced. Congrats.

Your research on these old computers is AMAZING! Incredible detail...

I'd love to see an "LGR tech tales: the rise and fall of commodore"

That is an actual piece of art. You should review TRS-80 Model III too!

32kb of ram?! It is the future!!

Dude, sweet review! I work at a museum and we've got about 10 PETs, most of them working. Quite recently we let the chancelor of the local university play pacman on one of the earliest models, you know with the one with terrible tiny keyboar...It was fun to behold.

Douglas Adams talked about this thing, being that it was his first experience with a computer and could not fathom what possible use it would be. He said it looked like something that had crashed in Roswell. Great review, you made it all seductive, like I should have been watching in private in my room....oh yeah, baby...take that chassis off.

Using π to represent sheep... brilliant!

LGR you ever think of doing books on tape, my lord you could read the phonebook and I would be there the whole time O_O

Once you started showing the games I was overcome with waves of nostalgia. I'd sit in front of my PET for hours, transfixed by those incredible games and those beeps. The things they were able to accomplish in just 32k of RAM were incredible.

Your love for things like these is positively inspiring, I must say. The bit at the end reminded me just why I feel you deserve way more subscribers than you already have. =)

Well done, Clint. Your reviews keeps getting better and better, and this one is one of the best. The first section is professional quality, and having you, at the end, sitting beside the thing, talking on what YOU think about it, is the perfect complement.

Adventureland was from Scott Adams (not the cartoonist). His company was Adventure International and was located in Maitland, Florida. There was quite a library of text adventure games that he wrote. Commodore had several exclusive releases of his games for their platforms; I played The Count, Adventureland and Treasure Island (for example) on the Vic-20.

oh my god that keyboard sounds like your in a factory stamping out parts for a car not typing! man i love i live in a time where people like LGR can get paid to make crazy vids about old pcs that no one really cares about, it makes me happy.

What a pleasure to listen to you.... Thanks for showing us the PET.

Me: Hey, i got a pet! Friend: Cool, what pet? Me: A Commodore PET. *puts on sunglasses*

Brilliant review as always! I also can appreciate your feels over the PET. Much of this older equipment can't do much, especially when compared to what we use our machines for nowadays... but there is something lost nowadays when you really look at these old machines. Thanks for sharing!

I remember that when I bought my first car back in 1991, the car dealer used a Commodore Pet to print out the details of the purchase.

Brilliant review as always Clint! Thanks!

Brilliant as always! I've had tons of fun with those IBMs I bought a few months back based on your feedback!

These are really cool to see. I'm only 20, so I grew up playing on stuff like iMacs and Windows 98/2000 computers. It's incredible to see the leaps and bounds made in computers in the last 40 years.

Found you via Skylines review and really loving your content. Haven't subbed to another game channel in couple of years since TB. Keep this varied content coming! Love it.

Great review Clint. We had a PET back in elementary school (about 35 years ago now). Loved the backstory/history that you did in the 1st part of the video.

Nice review there, I've been always curious about what the PET computers were like. Very interesting indeed.

watching your system reviews is the best. I love most of your stuff but finding this is like Christmas everytime. I know these reviews are especially hard to do, because of all the Infos you need but I can say it's always worth it and I'm truly interested in your opinion about these maschines. Thank you for the good work.

So cool. Love these videos. Thanks for taking the time and effort.

Awesome video LGR! This was my first computer - an original 8k PET 2001. It was donated to my family in about 1983 by someone who had upgraded to a 4032 model and it was our only computer until many years later when we got a cheap DOS clone XT machine. I had most of the software you showed - although not the Zork-style adventure game which I would have loved. A few years ago the guy who gave us the 2001 retired and also gave me his 4032 so while the 2001 sadly died some time in the late 90s I still have the 4032 and the dual disk drives as well. I recently added the sound circuit (which was not stock on the 4032) and loved hearing those Space Invader sound effects again. Some of my other favourite games were MINER!, OZERO and FROG!. There were also quite a few of these cute animation apps like HAWAII! and EVEREST! which I ran over and over again.

Very professional and interesting video ! Thanks for posting !

Awesome video, Clint! Can't wait to see more soon! ^_^

The game options for the PET are surprisingly good. PETSCII artists got very creative with their work using limited key graphics.

Your passion for computers is insightful. I'm not one for computers or hardware but because you talk about it with so much love it makes it fascinating. Thanks, I've learned something new today about computers.

Few months ago I was walking to work and there was an electronics recycling drive going on, spotted one of these from a mile out and walked right up to the people loading it in. It was a 2001 without the tape deck and it had the nice black keyboard. They let me have it free of charge, plugged it in on my break and it worked. Still have it, still works.

The computer room in the middle school I attended was full of Commodore Pets and TRS-80s. This was 1982, and they were already outdated - floppy disks were starting to replace cassette drives. Students were allowed to use the computers during lunch, and kids would literally fill the room to capacity every single day. If you wanted a seat at a keyboard, you had to be in there almost as soon as the lunch bell rang, or you were stuck watching someone else have all the fun. The Basic Computer Games book you show in this video was a common sight as well - I even still have my copy! Great memories, thanks for uploading! :D

YES!!! more hardware reviews please LGR. i love them so.

awesome video Clint! contemporary synthesizers have adopted the vintage look, computers should too, not all of course but some. And oh man that Spacebar, amazing sound.

Thanks LGR. Waves of nostalgia in there. Great.

As usual, Clint, this was a very beautiful review. I always seem to be more cheery when I see your videos. I used to go to this electronic junk place once, and I kid you not, I must have seen a few of these Commodore PETs on a pile. I know they were PET computers because they all had the logos. They have very distinctive shapes as computers. Regretfully... I didn't have a god damn clue about the values of these machines. I was more focused on PC and laptop parts at the time. This all happened around the first quarter of 2011. What hurts even more is how they looked on those piles. I truly regret not recovering any of those after seeing this video.

Funny, informative and LGR-y as always. Love your vids, Clint! Keep 'em coming! ^^

Great video. I love the sound of that keyboard

I agree with EVERYTHING you said! I have a pretty large collection of "vintage" computers and just LOVE looking at them! I don't even care if they don't work or not! Great video!

Pi sheep - EPIC! Also, the keyboard sound @6:25 instantly brought me back to my terminal when programming CP/M Z80-based industrial systems. IEEE488 - I worked with instruments via that too - Love this video!

A prop rod used to hold open the "hood" - brilliant!

The PET model shown at 3:19 looks kinda like a terminal from Fallout.

Very interesting peace of history Clint, I knew you'd review that machine sooner or later, as I've been seeing it in the background in some of your videos for a while now. I've never even seen a Commodore CBM let alone owned one and It's an interesting piece of computer history and a great start for Commodore back in the day. There were countless Commodore 64s and Vic 20s but for me definitely, the CBM and the PET are an interesting thing to own and I'd love to have the space and the money to collect such machines.

I love these vintage computer reviews! I see no reason to get a Commodore PET at all, but it's nice to see a review of it, and I also like the curiosity of how these more limited games worked.

Some games that were fun on PET: - Monopole (yes that's how it was spelled) - Star Trek (more than one version IIRC) - Text Adventures (lots of them)

Two computer reviews in less than a week? YAY! I hope you get around the reviewing that Thomson MO5 of yours :)

another great video from Clint!!!

FYI for anyone interested. As of mid 2016, just about any PET goes for no less than $1000 (cnd anyways) plus shipping on ebay. I feel like the 'Alien: Isolation' game has single-handledly boosted the desirability of these things lol

You did it! Thanks man, what a great review.

Good job on your review. Very well done.

I love the look of the PET and will to the day i die.

This video is one I share to my friends because i as well find it hard to quite explain the feeling of why I love my PET ( I personally have a SuperPET ) It just the overall experience of the machine, the few blips when you boot it up, the overall design you touched on all the points and I just wanted to say thanks for reviewing one of my favorite vintage computers.

Man, I've always loved the look of this thing, but when you pulled out a prop rod to hold the top up like the hood of a car it killed me. Amazing. Also, pi sheep. :D

Last time I seen one in person was in my early school days! Always loved the look of them!

Damn that keyboard is like *clunk* *ka* *thunk* *klak* lol. Reminds me of the kind of those terminal computers you would find in an old school public library or school computer lab. Really retro goodness :)

Good job, very nice episode with some awesome trivia (Pet Rock? Had to check this one). The computer is indeed beautiful with it's retro-sci-fi look. And these green monitors... ahhh. Some of those games actually seem better than they should be. Fast and snappy, unlike later spectrum games. Oh, and I was puzzled by the 3D game you showed (the last one). Crazy.

Love your reviews. Thanx again:)

Thanks for the trip down memory lane. i lost my PET with 40 column and 16k in a flooded basement in 1994. I remember swapping out the 65?? read/write chip for a few bucks. It was kind of exciting to figure that problem out. It was a cool computer and I had the good keyboard.

With years ever since this video was published I'm now commenting. I found this video trying to find info about the CBM pet 3032, a model I owned back in the 80ies alongside the external dual HD floppy drives. They both were given to me, back then, from my late uncle who had used both in his factory until he made a machine upgrade with something I never asked him about. So, having to get rid of the 3032, he gave it to me. Sadly, back then I was a teenager who only wanted to play videogames, internet was a misspelled soccer team form Milan and software of ANY kind, let alone the games I craved, for that machine around amounted to zilch, so when my father found a friend of his who wanted to take both machine and floppy drives in in exchange of a C64 I JUMPED to the occasion. Nowadays from time to time I travel on memory lane to back to those carefree days (for me, they were) and on a search to deepen the knowledge of what I left behind back in the times, I happened here. Nice video.

I knew a guy who owned a PET 2001 many years ago. He had gotten it from his dad. Unfortunately it didn't work. Cool to see these machines are still around. Looks like something you'd find in Fallout or Alien. Thanks for the vid.

Well said, This machine has an amazing look, feel and sound. Great Video!

Wow! A few days ago i thought:"Oh man it would be awesome, if LGR reviews this mashine!" And now you did it. :D I always loved the look of this mashine and I still do. And i just want to say thank you! Because your style making videos is so unique and awesome, even your LGR plays solitaire was amusing for me. Keep your great work and have a nice day! :)

Great video man! Keep up the good work. Especially thrifting, not sure why but I love those. Tech tales, more please!

6:35 "There's more to love around back too" What a quote!

That wooden PET that was displayed has now reached near mythical status amongst the Commodore collectors, some claim to have seen it but no one knows where it is, you find that, Clint and you'll achieve Lord status in the Commodore fanbase. Btw i have 4 PET's myself. [img]i.imgur.com/YnOkPXw.jpg[/img]

Love it, it was the main computer in my school days. Great to see it again.

As soon as I saw the way this thing opens up I was sold.

Fantastic, when your last video came up I was wishing you'd do a video about the PET! I got a non-working 3032 series PET for £40, and hope to get it working some day!

my highschool had a CBM 8032 and the dual disk drive. i had permission to use it even after school hours. pure bliss!!!

The PET looks like something out of a 1960's sci-fi TV show.

OMG! They used these in my computer classes back in the mid-80s to learn Pascal and Fortran, LOL!

Great video, my first computer was the Commador 64.

I learned to program on these in 1981/1982 along with an Exidy Sorcerer. Then later, I purchased a Commodore Vic-20, followed a couple years later by the C64. The next computer I bought after that was an old Mac SE. I've had many computers over the years, but the PETS always have a soft spot in my heart for they take me back to my early teenage years.

Incredibly thorough and entertaining video. Noice!

For 2012 $79 is an absolute steal as well - a few years back a reseller had a PET for sale for about 1000 and it was unknown if the OPET worked. While a reliable store as many times Igot amazing games on the fly for moderately reasonable prices or computer parts, the PET was a rare treat and I figured a grand was the Average price. That said, this video is amazing and made my week.

Man I would love to see your house it must be like a museum.

Your haircut and facial hair are on point these days! Also great system review. Also great ambient music in the background.

In the middle eighties I had a CBM 3032 with double 5 inches floppy drive unit given to me by my uncle (RIP) who had a factory in which had used the PET, but upgraded to different system. I could do NOTHING with it (at the times I craved videogames and there was a dearth of them for the PET) so gave it all away for a C64. =\ There's always a period of time when antiques are still simply junk and as such I treated it. Nowadays I'd like to have it back even only for a hour to relive my teen years... guess I'll have to content myself with VICE.

I remember when I first encountered the mighty PET 4016 on a visit to the highschool i would attend that fall. I had a Vic 20 and had hung around the Tandy computer store (hey, in 1979 a guy had to get his computer fix however he could), but these, with their crisp green screens in that fantastic looking case fascinated me.

When I was going to high school, we had Commodore PET's in the classroom, where we learned to program in BASIC. We had the floppy drive (installed on an A/V cart, for portability). There were some who had really, REALLY complex games they'd either written or gotten from one of the Bulletin Boards (the Internet's precursor). It was SO cool. I remember these with great fondness. After about a year and a half of these, we switched to standard IBM PC's, and never looked back. *SIGH* Those were the days.

10:03 that is the most charming use of the Pi symbol I have ever seen!

That book takes my way back, thanks for showing that. I used to loan that from the local library weeks on end and I ended up typing almost every game on it to my C64 I got as a kid.

I used PETs quite a but in the early 80s, as my high school in The Bronx had several of them, from one of the originals with the calculator keyboard, to a SuperPet. We had a few double disk drives, which as I recall could be networked to several machines. I contest the notion that the PET was a limited machine. It came with a very user-friendly version of BASIC and had a built-in "monitor" which was a essentially a stripped-down machine language assembler. This made it possible to write hybrid programs in basic and machine code that enabled the programmer (back then, users WERE programmers because that's what computers were for, programming) to do some amazing things. The biggest limitation my friends and I encountered was that Commodore somehow made it impossible to change the operating system's pointers to the the character set from ROM to RAM. So the character set could not be copied and redefined, as one could do on the Atari, another 6502 machine. I did learn a lot on the PET and have many fond memories.

It wouldve been really really cool if one could find an empty CBM 8032 casing & insert modern components & screen into it. It would also be a terrible shame considering how things like this gets increasingly rare, so hacking one up would almost be a crime against mankind.

That "The movie, not the year" line nearly made me laugh myself out of my parents basement.

Orgasmic typing experiences and a power supply looking much like an improvised nuclear device, we've got it all.

Back in the 90's I had that model you have with dual disk drives.... I bought it for 20 bucks I foolishly sold it for 40 bucks I didn't know what I had and no computer store as in local store could get me software.. oh the damn 90's! I am sad when I see this system today because I could have this day and age got the software and enjoyed the system!!

Thank you for the look at the PET. I've always thought this computer looked futuristic. I'd love to just get a non-working one, and put modern PC stuff inside it. :)