Packard Bell Legend 822CDTW Minitower

Ladies and gentlemen, the above picture from 1997 is of the very first computer my family ever owned; the Packard Bell Legend 822CDTW Minitower computer.

In December 1995, after several months of me messing around on my aunt's Gateway 2000 with Windows for Workgroups 3.11, my dad finally bit the bullet and purchased a computer. It was a very rainy Wednesday night sometime in December 1995 when my dad brought this computer home from Best Buy. I would have gone with him, but I was in bed sick with a stomach virus. Also remember, I was six years old at this time.

The specs of this computer, courtesy of the computers box, were:

• Intel 100MHz Pentium Processor
• 1.2 GM (1,200MB) Hard Disk Drive
• Quad Speed CD-ROM Drive Multi-session, PhotoCD and XA-compatible
• 16MB of RAM, upgradeable to 72MB
• Complete Sound System featuring 16-bit SRS 3D Amphitheater Stereo Sound and Integrated Speakers
• 1MB of Video Memory standard, upgradeable to 2MB
• Video resolution output up to 1280x1024, monitor dependent
• MPEG 1: Full Motion Video Playback
• 3.5" Floppy Disk Drive
• 14,400bps Fax/Modem installed
• Telephone Answering System with Full-Duplex Speakerphone
• Keyboard with Fast Media access and 2-button mouse
• Upgradeable to a faster Pentium OverDrive Processor
• PCI Local Bus Video fro faster display & PCI Local Bus IDE Hard Drive Interface
• Exceeds MPC Level 2 Multimedia specification
• Ports include: Serial, Parallel port with Extended Capabilites (ECP), mouse, game, keyboard, and VGA
• 5 expansion slots (supports 2 PCI, 1 Shared (PCI/ISA) and 2 ISA) and 5 Storage Device Bays

Software Included:

• Packard Bell Navigator
• Microsoft Windows 95 Preinstalled
• Online Services: America Online, Prodigy, CompuServe, Packard Bell Internet Access
• Personal Productivity and Business: Microsoft Works, Microsoft Money, Action, Microsoft Design Pack (clipmedia and fonts), Faxworks, Workspace
• Reference and Learning: Microsoft Encarta 95 Multimedia Encyclopedia, Mindscape Complete Reference Library, Guinness Multimedia Disc of Records, Sports Illustrated 1995 Multimedia Almanac
• Entertainment for all ages: Microsoft Entertainment Pack, Reader's Digest Multimedia Crosswords, The Journeyman Project Turbo, Silent Steel
• Health and Home: Mayo Clinic Family Health Book, Hometime Weekend Home Projects, Better Homes and Gardens Healthy Cooking
• Children's Center: Knowledge Adventure: My First Encyclopedia, Spider-man Cartoon Maker; 7th Level: Tuneland; Ark: Kidspace; Active Imagination: Milly Fitzwilly's Mouse Catcher, The Pirate Who Wouldn't Wash

And the total ticket price of this entire setup, as well as the 14" CRT monitor? Over $3,000!

I have always said that one of the things that makes a Packard Bell a Packard Bell is the software collection that came bundled on these computers. My old Legend 822CDTW was no exception, as you can see in that above software list.

The picture on the left is from an old home video of the Packard Bell Legend 822CDTW on February 14, 1996, when the computer was only two months old. The desk that housed this computer was bought at Lowe's specifically for this computer the same day the computer was purchased. You can also see, on the bottom left, a standard Lexmark inkjet printer that we bought the same day as the Packard Bell. That printer cost about $300!

I suppose during this computer's five year existence in our home, the thing that it did most of was play computer games. This is what caused me to fall in love with this computer in the first place. Not only did I enjoy the preloaded Packard Bell games, but over the years, I collected tons and tons of computer games. This was in the mid '90s, back when stores would have aisle after aisle of computer software. Nowadays, your lucky if you can find two aisles.


Perhaps the computer game company that got the most business from me back in the day was Humongous Entertainment, makers of the Putt-Putt, Freddi Fish, and the short lived Fatty Bear series of children's games. I had played Freddi Fish early on on my aunt's Gateway 2000, but Putt-Putt Joins the Parade was the first Humongous game I ever owned. I got it sometime in very early 1996. Putt-Putt Joins the Parade, along with Putt-Putt Goes to the Moon, Fatty Bear's Birthday Surprise, and the first Freddi Fish game, are my three all-time favorite Humongous games.

And of course, who can forget the classic, Earthworm Jim. I spent way too much time playing this, but it was just way too fun. Earthworm Jim is a perfect example of '90s computer game ingenuity which no longer exists. Also, this was the "Earthworm Jim Special Edition" version which included extended levels, CD-quality audio, extra items, and a new level titled "Big Bruty", which also happens to be my favorite level.

This Packard Bell did more than just computer games. In early 1996, this computer allowed me to access the Internet for the very first time, via America Online version 2.5. At first, I didn't really visit too many websites, I just mainly hung around the classic AOL Channels. I believe it was sometime in 1997, I opened my very first email account. I still remember the address; billy345@aol.com




But perhaps one of the most interesting features of this computer, as well as other Packard Bell computers of this era, was Packard Bell Navigator. Navigator acted as an alternate interface in the form of a house, which came in handy for people who were unfamiliar with the Windows interface. The version of Navigator that came with my Legend 822CDTW was version 3.5, the most widely known version of Navigator, as seen in the picture on the right.

In 1998, Microsoft released its new version of Windows, Windows 98. This old Packard Bell soon became obsolete. In July 1999, my dad bought our second computer, an HP desktop running Windows 98 Second Edition.

The old Packard Bell was pushed to the side until that fateful day in the summer of 2000. I had just gotten my first personal computer, a Windows 98 Second Edition E-Machine computer. The Packard Bell began taking up way too much space. My dad decided it was time for it to go. So he gave the Packard Bell Legend 822CDTW to his friend. To this day, I have never seen that computer since.

In March 2005, five years after the Legend 822CDTW had been given away, I purchased a Packard Bell Legend 1510 Supreme desktop off eBay for $70. This computer is a lot like the 822CDTW in specs, but unlike the 822CDTW, my current Legend 1510 Supreme is a flat-desktop formfactor.

In November 2010, I currently own four mid-'90s era Packard Bells; the Packard Bell Legend 1510 Supreme (Windows 95), the Packard Bell Legend 402CD (Windows 3.11), the Packard Bell Multimedia S606 (no OS currently), and my most recent pride and joy, the Packard Bell Legend 3550.

My Packard Bell Legend 3550 is more like my original Legend 822CDTW than any other of my Packard Bells. It has the exact same specs, the exact same formfactor, and seems to be about the same age. I think the only thing that sets it apart is the model number.

I am very proud of my collection, although I will say that there is one Packard Bell computer that would fit in more perfectly than any other Packard Bell... my original Packard Bell Legend 822CDTW.

BONUS: Here is a compilation of several videos taken in the summer of 1996, showing the Packard Bell Legend 822CDTW in action.