I tend to change hardware a lot — with certain exceptions. My fickleness has tapered a little, but I still like to experiment with new-old machines. For reference, or just to show off, this is the hardware I’m using now. These will change from time to time, and I’ll try to keep updating this page, rather than adding posts.
There’s generally no note of operating systems, because everything is probably running some shade of Ubuntu or Arch, and that can change from day to day. Oh, and one last thing — I am exceptionally uninventive when it comes to machine names: I christen each one with the serial number off the bottom. Boring, huh? 
 |
|
Heavily modified from the original specs, this machine has been in my family since it was first purchased in 2001. I added the video card, modular hard drive and faster system drive and also purchased an internal wireless card with antenna for it.
I also replaced the screen, which had a strange little white line of pixels across the bottom. I also cleaned it inside and out, added an HP optical mouse, and I generally connect through the wired connector on the side. It also has a built-in modem, firewire, S-video and a whole rank of other things I’ve just never bothered trying.
With this video card, the machine is fast enough to handle Compiz/Fusion (without too many doo-dads), and play most games at native resolution. This machine will probably keep me busy well into the next decade, if the innards continue to perform.
I’d recommend one of these computers in a heartbeat — particularly the later versions, the 8200s. These are among the most flexible, expandable and versatile computers Dell ever built. Expansion bays and other hardware are compatible all the way back to the Pentium II models (the CP series). If you want a laptop you can adjust to your needs, without sinking $1200 in one, this is a great way to do it.
IBM Thinkpad iSeries 1200: 1161-41j
 |
|
I got this machine at the outrageous price of roughly $100 at a secondhand store in Japan — and I’m completely in love with it. In contrast to the above machine, this one is almost completely stock. The only change is the hard drive — the original was a 5Gb 4200rpm Travelstar that sounded like a dental drill any time the power was applied. Blech!
The LCD is really the only downside — 800×600 is almost annoying these days. I would love a proper 1024×768 screen, but this machine is such a doll as it is that I’m not at all inclined to change it out. All the buttons, the pointer stick, the mouse button cluster and the keys are in perfect shape — even the key labels in hiragana and katakana are still there. This is a beautiful machine as it is, and doesn’t need me micromanaging it to make it work well.
I’d also recommend one of these machines, although it’s probably not for everyone any more. For day-to-day use, most people will probably find the porthole screen a major inconvenience. And without a proper operating system, a 550Mhz machine (and a Celeron, at that) is going to drag. It’s definitely not too slow, although it would be if it were not properly looked after.
OLPC XO-1: xo-0D-22-91.localdomain
 |
|
Quite possibly the cutest computer I’ve ever owned, if not the cutest ever invented, this is proving to be as interesting and challenging a system as I’ve ever run into. With so much unusual hardware packed into one machine, it should keep me busy for a long time to come.
The default OS — Sugar — is fun to use and fun to look at, but I’ve thrown XFCE, Openbox and IceWM on it, and decided they all suit me better. At the hardware level it’s got a lot of things I never tried before — like flash memory instead of a hard drive, or a video camera. All of these things will take a little while to learn, but I’m already sold on this machine.
Speedwise it’s no better than a lot of the hardware I use regularly, so I don’t mind the fact that it runs a teensy bit slower than a dual core. Dual cores are overrated anyway. 
If you ever get the chance to buy one of these, I would highly recommend it. It’s not altogether practical for an adult — many of the core components, like the keyboard, are scaled to a child’s size — but that doesn’t make it any less fun. I have a feeling that the people who bought these as part of the Give One, Get One program will hoard them, and that means you might have to pay a rather substantial markup to get one in the future. Get one anyway.
HP Pavilion zv6000: cnd5320rkp
 |
|
When I first had the opportunity to work with this machine, back in mid-2006, I had a little success working with the wireless card, and no luck at all with the video card. Both were quarrelsome in Linux at the time, but not impossible to configure.
Now, however, it seems to be behaving quite well. I have decent 3D acceleration, although I could ask for better. And the speed is quite gratifying, and its real function will be as a number cruncher, not a gamer. And the added bonus of USB 2.0 ports and a sidearm SD card port will make some things easier — like getting pictures off a camera card or copying files for conversion.
This machine has proven its worth now, and while I was hesitant at first to give it a thumbs up, I find it indispensible any more. It can compile at a rate far beyond my other machines. It can rip DVDs in a matter of hours, instead of the better part of a day. And this is the only machine I would consider using for emulation — even if it doesn’t run that fast in a virtual machine.
I don’t see it taking over from my Dell though. I dislike the screen resolution and the keyboard has a resistant feel. I also have a hard time with the placement (and sensitivity) of HP touchpads; I tend to graze them with my palm when I type, causing the cursor to flicker or lose focus. As a result, it is usually turned off.
Regardless of those points, I think this machine is a valuable addition to my arsenal. I wanted it because I knew it would give me trouble, and I seem to have conquered it at last. In that sense alone it is gratifying; add to that the speed it offers, and it will probably stay around for a little while.
lol japanese buttons
(or another similar language?)
My machines live in the LoTR universe… they are named for characters… my main machine is frodo, laptop is gimli, server is strider… etc!
What commands or packages do you use to find all those specs? Or do you go the the OEM website?
Some is OEM info — I still have a lot of the original packaging for the Inspiron, for example. Otherwise it’s just
lspci -vvvanddmesgoutput, coupled with a quick Scroogle search. I know Windows can give the same information, but for some reason I always find it easier to detect the guts of a machine with the Linux CLI.Can’t see any RAM info.
I thought that was more important than CPU or anything, really…
ACK!
How could I have overlooked that?! 
Thanks for the catch.
As far as the importance of RAM to system performance, I leave it to you to decide. I’ve done my own tests, and I don’t have much faith in the common conception that more RAM makes a system faster.
Yes I wonder if most people really need 1 or 2GB…
)
Not enough RAM is definitely bad news though, and because it’s generally cheap these days you can see why it’s one of the first things people recommend for a slow machine.
With 128MB on Xubuntu after a couple of hours of use I get plenty of this:
“Switch between programs. Is there a lag? Is it stuttering? Can you tell it’s struggling? Is the hard drive access light flickering like a madman?” …yes it is! (my box’s RAM just happens to be an expensive kind, so no upgrade coming
btw, another hardware profiler you might not have tried is lshw (in the repos). It might offer a different slant from lspci
Well, i understand your concern about people who think they need 2gb of ram and x ghz cpu, but
- some of them play games (this is also why they don’t use linux) which consume a lot of memory
- some (try to) use Windows V**** which needs 1gb ram for booting properly…
My Scenario:
I use Ubuntu 7.10 with Gnome on a Compaq Evo N610C (2 ghz P4; 768mb ram)
- Gnome + Amarok 150mb
- Firefox with some tabs + 120mb
- sometimes Eclipse for C++ + 90mb
- sometimes Virtual Box + 450mb (depends on OS)
Normal usage means about 350mb of ram consumption which I think is ok for a “full featured” desktop, but in worst case it means a lot more.
But I remember other times, where I used Slackware with EvilWM and did almost everything on the commandline.
I think i’ll dig out my old Notebook and try to “keep it simple” again
Thanks for your great blog.
Matthias from Germany
You’re right Matthias. And that was always my capitulation: If you need the memory because your workload calls for it, then it’s important. Too little memory is a hindrance if you’re doing everything you mention.
But does adding memory arbitrarily make your computer faster? Not in my experience it doesn’t.
try 500Mhz w/32MB ram (4MB used for video)