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
- 3.4 GHz Intel Core i7-3770 (quad-core with hyper-threading, 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
- Two HP DVD RW drives
- Running:
Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
Ubuntu 24.04 Noble Numbat
MacOS 15 Sequoia
This is my most powerful computer, but the T440s remains my main one for now.
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:
Mac OS X 10.9 Mavericks
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.
Because the Core 2 Duo does not support SSE4.2, it can only run Windows 11 up to version 23H2, whose support ends in November 2025, just one month after Windows 10.
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.
Fujitsu Esprimo P910 tower PC from 2013
- 3.2 GHz Intel Core i5-3470 (quad-core, Ivy Bridge)
- 8 GB 1333 MHz DDR3 RAM
- 240 GB Kingston A400 SSD (SATA 3)
- Intel HD Graphics 2500
- Running:
Windows XP Professional 32-bit
Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit
Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit
Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
Windows 11 Pro
(subject to change)
Bought this computer for cheap to swap CPUs with my Compaq 6300.
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 Ubuntu 24.04 Noble Numbat
This is the family computer now. Despite its age, it's still quite performant because it's not low-end. The only disadvantage (for non-geeks) 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.
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 Quadro FX 550 with 128 MB VRAM
- HP DVD RW drive & PBDS (Dell) CD drive
- 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 digitiser
- Running:
Windows XP Tablet PC Edition
Windows 7 Professional 32-bit
With some unstable hacks this tablet PC can run Windows 8 32-bit, but it's not a good idea because the pen input does not work the same as a touch screen.
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 back in the day. 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)
- ATI Radeon 7000 PCI with 64 MB VRAM
- Creative Sound Blaster 128 PCI (CT4810)
- Toshiba-Samsung DVD-ROM drive
- Running:
Windows 95 OSR 2
Windows 2000 Professional
It's called "Celeron D" internally, but otherwise it's known as just a Celeron. 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.
But my favourite version of Windows 9x is 95, which isn't compatible with this onboard video and audio (Intel 82865G, SoundMAX AC'97), so I installed some PCI cards and the unofficial Windows 95D.
HP 255 G3 computer from 2015
- 1.0 GHz AMD E1-2100 (dual-core, Kabini)
- 4 GB 1600 MHz DDR3 RAM
- 80 GB 5400 rpm Toshiba HDD (SATA 3)
- AMD Radeon HD 8210 with 512 MB VRAM
- 15-inch 1366*768 LCD
- HP DVD RW drive
- Running Windows 8 Pro 64-bit
Someone else's trash = my treasure. Looks just like my HP 15 but is much less powerful. Yes the CPU is one thousand megahertz (with no turbo boost or anything).
Windows 8 is the same speed as Windows 7 on this machine.
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
This computer was retired due to leaking motherboard capacitors and inability to run either an old OS or a new OS efficiently.
HP Compaq 6000 Pro Microtower from 2010
- 2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 (Yorkfield)
- 4 GB 1333 MHz DDR3 RAM
- 80 GB 7200 rpm IBM eServer HDD (SATA 2)
- Nvidia Quadro K600 with 1 GB VRAM
- Running Ubuntu 22.04 Jammy Jellyfish
Works great as a living room PC. Slow startup because of HDD, but great for web browsing and videos.
The Quadro K600 can put out 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)
This 2006 server Xeon has the same performance as a 2009 laptop Core 2 Duo.
Used a file server for large but unimportant files.
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 9 (Debian 12 Bookworm 64-bit)
The internal eMMC storage is not recognised anymore, 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%.
Displays
- 40-inch 3840*2160 Philips LCD TV (2014)
- 24-inch 1920*1080 BenQ G2420HD LCD monitor (2009)
- 21.5-inch 1920*1080 HP x22LED LCD monitor (2010)
- 19-inch 1280*1024 Philips 190C LCD monitor (2007)
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 12 (128 GB black) running the latest iOS 26 version
- Despite being newer, it is not my main phone because it is too large and has no headphone jack. It is only used for video/audio recording and a couple unimportant apps and features not available on my phone with older iOS.
- Apple iPhone 7 (128 GB (PRODUCT)RED) running the latest iOS 15 version
- 25% battery health, used as a car dash cam.
- Samsung Galaxy S6 (32 GB "black sapphire") running Android 11 (LineageOS 18.1)
- HTC One M7 (32 GB silver) running Android 5.0.2 Lollipop with HTC Sense 6.0
- One of my favourite smartphones of all time, too bad the back camera is defective (purple tint) and the touch screen doesn't work in a certain spot.
- HTC One V (black) running Android 4.4.4 KitKat (CyanogenMod 11)
- Apple iPhone 4 (16 GB black) running iOS 6.1.3
- Apple iPhone 3GS (32 GB white) running iOS 3.1.3
- Huawei IDEOS U8150 (black) running Android 2.3.7 Gingerbread (CyanogenMod 7)
TheComputerGuy96 (YouTube, Mastodon)
Last updated on 20 Aug 2025