Lenovo ThinkPad T440s laptop from 2014
- 2.69 GHz Intel Core i7-4600U (dual-core with hyper-threading, Haswell)
- 12 GB 1600 MHz DDR3 RAM
- 256 GB Samsung SSD (SATA 3)
- Intel HD Graphics 4400
- 14-inch 1920*1080 IPS LCD
- Running Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
HP Compaq Pro 6300 Microtower from 2012
- 3.2 GHz Intel Core i5-3470 (quad-core, Ivy Bridge)
- 32 GB 1600 MHz DDR3 RAM
- 500 GB Samsung SSD 850 EVO (SATA 3)
- Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti with 4 GB VRAM
- HP DVD RW drive
- BenQ G2420HD 24-inch 1920*1080 LCD monitor
- Running Windows 10 Pro 64-bit, Ubuntu 24.04 LTS Noble Numbat, & MacOS 15 Sequoia
This is more powerful than my Core i7 laptops (and could be even better with a CPU upgrade), but the T440s remains my main PC.
HP 15 laptop from 2015
- 2.6 GHz Intel Core i7-4510U (dual-core with hyper-threading, Haswell)
- 16 GB 1600 MHz DDR3 RAM
- 480 GB Crucial BX500 SSD (SATA 3)
- Intel HD Graphics 4400 & Nvidia GeForce 820M with 2 GB VRAM
- HP DVD RW drive
- 15-inch 1366*768 LCD
- Running Windows 7 Professional 64-bit (subject to change)
My main computer from May 2015 to February 2019, when I got the ThinkPad T440s.
This computer came with Windows 8.1, but I upgraded to 10 as soon as the final version came out in July 2015. Now I use it for OS experiments.
Apple MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2.53 GHz, mid 2009)
- 2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8700 (Penryn)
- 8 GB 1067 MHz DDR3 RAM
- 240 GB Kingston A400 SSD (SATA 2)
- Nvidia GeForce 9400M with 256 MB VRAM
- Matshita DVD RW drive
- 15-inch 1440*900 LCD
- Running MacOS 15 Sequoia, Linux Mint 21.2 Victoria, & Windows 11 Pro
My main computer from February 2010 to May 2015. This computer is mostly equivalent in specs to a ThinkPad T400/T500.
Apple iMac (21.5-inch, mid 2011)
- 2.5 GHz Intel Core i5-2400S (quad-core, Sandy Bridge)
- 8 GB 1333 MHz DDR3 RAM
- 250 GB Samsung SSD 870 EVO (SATA 3)
- AMD Radeon HD 6750M with 512 MB VRAM
- Hitachi-LG DVD RW drive
- 21.5-inch 1920*1080 IPS LCD
- Running MacOS 10.13 High Sierra
This Mac is used as a file and iTunes server (hosting a music library and managing iOS devices). Unlike a MacBook, it can be left plugged in all the time without having to worry about a battery.
Lenovo ThinkPad T410 laptop from 2010
- 2.4 GHz Intel Core i5 M 520 (dual-core with hyper-threading, Arrandale)
- 8 GB 1067 MHz DDR3 RAM
- 120 GB PNY CS900 SSD (SATA 2)
- Intel HD Graphics
- Hitachi-LG DVD RW drive
- 14-inch 1280*800 LCD
- Running Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
This is the family computer now. Despite its age, it's still fantastic for web browsing and videos because it's not that old and not low-end. The only disadvantage (for non-geeks unlike me) is that it's thick and heavy.
IBM/Lenovo ThinkPad T60 laptop from 2006
- 1.83 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T5600 (Merom)
- 3 GB 667 MHz DDR2 RAM
- 120 GB Western Digital Green SSD (SATA 1)
- ATI Mobility Radeon X1300 with 64 MB VRAM
- Hitachi-LG DVD RW drive
- 14-inch 1024*768 LCD
- Running Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
Windows 10 would work on this computer, but the ATI video drivers last updated for Windows Vista aren't fully compatible. Besides, I have enough computers running Windows 10.
HP Pavilion a6452.it tower PC from 2008
- 2.2 GHz AMD Phenom 9500 (quad-core, Agena)
- 3 GB 800 MHz DDR2 RAM
- 500 GB 7200 rpm Hitachi Deskstar HDD (SATA 2)
- Nvidia GeForce 6150 SE nForce 430 integrated graphics
- HP DVD RW drive & PBDS (Dell) CD drive
- Philips 190C 19-inch 1280*1024 LCD monitor
- Running Windows XP Media Center Edition & Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit
My main computer from June 2008 to February 2010. It's been through many operating systems, but now it's back to what it came with, along with an XP installation for older programs and more nostalgia.
Toshiba Portégé M200 laptop/tablet from 2005
- 2.0 GHz Intel Pentium M 755 (single-core, Dothan)
- 1.25 GB 333 MHz DDR RAM
- 80 GB Hitachi Travelstar 5400 rpm HDD (IDE)
- Nvidia GeForce FX Go5200 with 32 MB VRAM
- 12-inch 1400*1050 LCD with Wacom pen digitizer
- Running Windows XP Tablet PC Edition & Windows 7 Professional 32-bit
It can't run Windows 8 or 10 32-bit, because the CPU doesn't support No Execute instructions which those OS versions require.
Acer Aspire 1680 laptop from 2005
- 1.6 GHz Intel Pentium M 760 (single-core, Dothan - *)
- 768 MB 333 MHz DDR RAM
- 100 GB Seagate Momentus 4200 rpm HDD (IDE)
- ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 with 64 MB VRAM
- Pioneer DVD RW drive
- 15-inch 1280*800 LCD
- Running Windows XP Home Edition
Nostalgia not just in software, but also in hardware. A frankensteined laptop made out of two identical-looking ones: an Aspire 1680 and the dead Aspire 1690 from my late childhood. An "Aspire 1685" if you will.
| Parts from the 1680 (bought used in 2023) | Parts from the 1690 (bought new in 2005) |
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* The Pentium M 760 is actually 2.0 GHz, but the Aspire 1680 is only designed for a 1.6 GHz Pentium M 725 (even with updated BIOS) so the clock speed is limited. It runs fine anyway.
Dell OptiPlex 170L tower PC from 2005
- 2.66 GHz Intel Celeron D 330 (single-core, Prescott)
- 512 MB 333 MHz DDR RAM
- 40 GB 7200 rpm Seagate HDD (IDE)
- Intel 82865G integrated graphics
- Toshiba-Samsung DVD reader
- Running Windows Millennium Edition (subject to change)
It's called "Celeron D" but it only has one core and one thread, unlike the Pentium D or Pentium 4 HT.
This computer doesn't officially support this older OS, but its Intel 865-GV chipset does, and this hardware, which is mid-range for Windows XP at best, is quite powerful for 98 and ME.
IBM IntelliStation M Pro (Type 6218) tower PC from 2005
- 3.0 GHz Intel Pentium 4 631 (single-core with hyper-threading, Cedar Mill)
- 1 GB 533 MHz DDR2 RAM
- 80 GB 7200 rpm IBM eServer HDD (SATA 1)
- ATI Radeon 7000 with 64 MB VRAM
HP Compaq 6000 Pro Microtower from 2010
- 2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 (Yorkfield)
- 4 GB 1333 MHz DDR3 RAM
- 240 GB Kingston A400 SSD (SATA 2)
- Nvidia Quadro K600 with 1 GB
- HP DVD RW drive
- Running Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
Works great as a living room PC. The Quadro K600 can output audio through the DVI port with a DVI to HDMI cable.
Dell PowerEdge 840 tower server from 2008
- 2.4 GHz Intel Xeon 3060 (dual-core, Conroe)
- 2 GB 667 MHz DDR2 RAM
- Two 750 GB Seagate Barracuda ES 7200 rpm HDDs in RAID 1 (= 750 GB storage) with Dell PERC 5/i (RAID controller card)
- ATI ES1000 with 16 MB VRAM
- Running openmediavault 5 (Debian 10 Buster 64-bit)
HP Stream 13 laptop from 2016
- 1.6 GHz Intel Celeron N3050 (dual-core, Braswell)
- 2 GB 1600 MHz DDR3 RAM
32 GB eMMC- 1 TB Hitachi 5400 rpm HDD (USB)
- Intel HD Graphics
- 13-inch 1366*768 LCD
- Running DietPi 8 (Debian 11 Bullseye 64-bit)
The internal eMMC storage of this computer stopped working, so this is no longer the family PC. I removed the battery and turned it into a file server, booting from a USB HDD (it only boots from the USB 2.0 port, but it's fast enough for this purpose) and connected to the network with a USB 3.0 Gigabit Ethernet network card (TP-Link UE306).
Raspberry Pi 1 Model B from 2012
- 800 MHz BCM2835 CPU (single-core, overclocked from 700 MHz)
- 256 MB RAM
- 32 GB Kingston SDHC card
- Running DietPi 8 (Debian 10 Buster 32-bit)
This little ARM-based computer is still in use as a Pi-Hole DNS server. It works great and memory usage is usually less than 50%.
Tablet Computers
- Apple iPad (1st generation 64 GB) running iOS 5.1.1
- Apple iPad mini 2 (32 GB "space gray") running the latest iOS 12 version
Smartphones
- Apple iPhone SE (1st generation 128 GB "Space Gray") running the latest iOS 15 version
- Samsung Galaxy S8 (64 GB black) running Android 9 Pie with One UI 1.0
- Apple iPhone 7 (128 GB (PRODUCT)RED) running the latest iOS 15 version
- Apple iPhone 4 (16 GB black) running iOS 6.1.3
- Apple iPhone 3GS (32 GB white) running iOS 3.1.3
- HTC One M7 (32 GB silver) running Android 5.0.2 Lollipop with HTC Sense 6.0
- The back camera is broken and the touch screen doesn't work in a certain spot
- HTC One V (black) running Android 4.4.4 KitKat (CyanogenMod 11)
- Huawei IDEOS U8150 (black) running Android 2.3.7 Gingerbread (CyanogenMod 7)
TheComputerGuy96 (YouTube, Mastodon)
Last updated on Dec 15, 2024