Our first PC was an IBM Aptiva in 1995 but despite it being an amazing multimedia device, it wasn't ideal for gaming as it only had 75mhz and 8mb RAM along with a 500mb drive. Most of my games were from 1993-97 with the likes of Doom, Heretic, Stonekeep, Actua Soccer, IndyCar Racing, Championship Manager 2, Stonekeep, Virtual Snooker plus the original Tomb Raider. I had a N64 and PS1 on the side so I didn't mind not playing the latest releases from 1998 where you really needed at least 133mhz and 16mb RAM. Windows 95 was awesome though and it was one hell of a step up from the shitty RM Nimbus PC's we had at school!
We finally got a new PC in 2000 which was cheaper than the £1800 Aptiva but it was pretty high-end at the time. The backlog I had was insane - had the Half Life collection to sift through plus new titles like Deus Ex, SWAT 3, Project IGI and the PC came with Age of Empires 2 which I played the hell out of. I picked up all the Championship Manger games - 3 up to 04/05 and also classics like Commandos 2, No One Lives Forever, Call of Duty, Battlefield 1942, Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, Thief 1+2, Unreal Tournament, Quake 3, Counter Strike and Max Payne. The choice was absolutely insane and it was a great time for gaming because of the sheer potential and endless possibilities.
A game from 5 years ago is no different to now but back in those days, the level of innovation in hardware and software was so big, you'd go from Doom to Half Life and all the games in between. The industry now is brickwalled and stagnant.