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Computers

``Computer use by ordinary citizens (already available in 1980) will transform the public from passive viewers of TV into mentally alert, highly trained, information-processing experts.''
(PHILIP K. DICK)

I enjoy tinkering with computers, and I've got quite a lot of them. My primary interests are free and open source software, bootstrapping, data communications and networking, self-hosting systems, low-end computing, home computing, permacomputing and retrocomputing.

These days people have a lot of equipment that can be considered as a ``computer'' (e.g. many phones and TV sets are running Linux). I have a following criteria to limit listing all the possible devices:

• It's possible to develop and to run my own programs on it.
• It's possible to exchange data between my other computers using the written programs.

Based on above criteria my gaming consoles are therefore not proper computers. Although I'm able to program games for them, the consoles are (with their current firmware) unable to communicate with other computers. Somewhat same applies to my Android devices - in theory they could be repurposed as programmable devices, but I just haven't bothered to do that yet.

In the tables below I'm only listing the features I'm using on that particular computer and not what the computer might actually be able to provide. For example, for a headless server the ``Graphics'' entry is usually empty although there might be an intergrated GPU or whatever.

Architectures listed from the newest technology to the oldest. Computers within an architecture listed from the oldest to the newest.

ARM64

System	``bitwoods''	``nas''	``roadster''
Model	Raspberry Pi 3 Model B	Raspberry Pi 3 Model B	Raspberry Pi 3 Model B
Year	2016	2016	2016
SoC	Broadcom BCM2837	Broadcom BCM2837	Broadcom BCM2837
CPU	1.2 GHz Cortex-A53	1.2 GHz Cortex-A53	1.2 GHz Cortex-A53
Cores	4	4	4
RAM	1 GB	1 GB	1 GB
Disk	32 GB (SDHC) (Samsung EVO Plus) 32 GB (SDHC/USB) (backup media) (Samsung EVO Plus, Super Top microSD card reader (SY-T18), 14cd:1212)	32 GB (SDHC) (Samsung EVO Plus) 500 GB (USB/RAID1) (2 x Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKX) (2 x Deltaco MAP-GD33U3 enclosure, 174c:55aa)	32 GB (SDHC) (Samsung EVO Plus) 512 GB (USB/RAID1) (2 x Kingston DataTraveler SE9 G3, 0951:1666)
Networking	Fast Ethernet	Fast Ethernet	Fast Ethernet Wi-Fi
Connectors	Ethernet	Ethernet USB 2.0	Ethernet USB 2.0 DSI HDMI
Peripherals	14x14x6 mm gold anodized aluminium heat sink	14x14x6 mm gold anodized aluminium heat sink	14x14x6 mm gold anodized aluminium heat sink 7" Touchscreen Display (899-7466) Apple USB Keyboard A1048 (05ac:020c) Apple USB Mouse M5769 (05ac:0307)
Graphics	-	-	Integrated Broadcom (HDMI/DSI)
Case	Black ABS enclosure (ASM-1900036-21)	Black ABS enclosure (ASM-1900036-21)	Touchscreen Premium Case (ASM-1900035-21)
Power	Raspberry Pi 5.1V/2.5A	Raspberry Pi 5.1V/2.5A Deltaco MAP-GD33U3 12V/2A Deltaco MAP-GD33U3 12V/2A	Raspberry Pi 5.1V/2.5A
Power usage	1-5W (idle) 1-5W (normal use)	5-10W (idle) 15-20W (normal use)	5-10W (normal use)
OS	Raspberry Pi OS (bookworm)	DIY Linux	Raspberry Pi OS (bookworm)
Application	BBS server Mastodon server	NAS server for backups	Portable desktop
Notes	MPEG-2 license (useless)	-	-

X86-64

System	``macbook''	``dethstar''	``lonestar''	``darkstar''
Year	2008	2013	2013	2015
CPU	Intel Core 2 Duo	AMD FX-6350	Intel i7-3770	Intel Pentium G3420
Frequency	2.0 GHz	3.9 GHz	3.4 GHz	3.2 GHz
Cores	2	6	8	2
RAM	8 GB (2 x 4 GB)	16 GB (4 x 4 GB)	8 GB (2 x 4 GB)	16 GB (4 x 4 GB)
RAM type	DDR3 1066 MHz SO-DIMM	DDR3 1333 MHz DIMM	DDR3 1600 MHz DIMM	DDR3 1600 MHz DIMM
Disk	500 GB (SATA) (Seagate BarraCuda ST500LM030)	500 GB (SATA/RAID1) (Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKX, Western Digital Caviar Green WD5000AAVS)	500 GB (SATA) (Toshiba DT01ACA050) 500 GB (FireWire/RAID1) (2 x LaCie 301313U)	1 TB (SATA/RAID1) (2 x SeaGate ST1000DM003)
Connectivity	Gigabit Ethernet Wi-Fi	Gigabit Ethernet	Gigabit Ethernet	Gigabit Ethernet PLIP
Motherboard	Apple MacBook 5,1	MSI 760GA-P43 (FX)	HP Compaq Elite 8300	ASRock B85M Pro3
Removable media	CD/DVD (MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-868 KB19)	CD/DVD (ASUS Super Multi DVD Writer DRW-24D5MT)	CD/DVD (HP DVD A DH16ACSHR JHG7)	CD/DVD (PLDS DVD-RW DH16ACSH JL3A)
Connectors	-	PCI Express Gen 2 16x	PCI RS-232 FireWire (DeLock 89050)	PCI Express USB 3.0 PS/2 Parallel port (Oxford Semiconductor 1415:c110)
Graphics	Integrated NVIDIA	NVIDIA RTX 3060 12 GB	Integrated Intel (VGA)	Integrated Intel (DVI)
Peripherals	-	-	-	AD-300 PS/2 male <-> 5 pin female AT keyboard adapter IBM Model M 1387530 buckling spring keyboard Pro Signal SL666 Laplink type parallel cable Retro Games THEMOUSE USB mouse (1c59:0027)
Monitor	Built-in 13.3"	-	Dell 2405FPW 24"	Dell 2405FPW 24"
Case	-	Cooler Master Elite 241	HP Compaq Elite 8300 Minitower	Cooler Master N200
Power	Apple 60W MagSafe	600 W (Cooler Master B600 V2)	320 W	500 W (Cooler Master B500 V2)
Power usage	20W (idle) 40W (normal use)	75W (idle) 300W (normal use)	25W (idle, headless) 80W (normal use, headless)	5W (suspended) 45W (idle, display off) 90W (idle) 120W (normal use)
OS	Ubuntu 20.04 LTS	Ubuntu 24.04 LTS	DIY Linux	Ubuntu 24.04 LTS
Application	Home laptop	Stable Diffusion	Linux kernel development NAS server for backups	Home desktop

ARM32

General purpose

System	Amstrad E3	Spectrum Digital OMAP Starter Kit	Raspberry Pi Model B+	Raspberry Pi 2 Model B	Raspberry Pi 2 Model B
Year	2004	2004	2014	2015	2015
SoC	OMAP 5910	OMAP 5912	Broadcom BCM2835	Broadcom BCM2836	Broadcom BCM2836
Architecture	ARMv4T	ARMv5TEJ	ARMv6	ARMv7	ARMv7
CPU	150 MHz ARM925T	192 MHz ARM926EJ-S	700 MHz ARM1176JZF-S	900 MHz Cortex-A7	900 MHz Cortex-A7
Cores	1	1	1	4	4
RAM	32 MB	32 MB	512 MB	1 GB	1 GB
Flash	32 MB	32 MB	-	-	-
Disk	32 GB (USB)	96 MB (CompactFlash) 32 GB (USB)	32 GB (SDHC)	16 GB (SDHC)	32 GB (SDHC)
Connectivity	Fast Ethernet RS-232	Fast Ethernet RS-232	2G/3G/4G cellular data Fast Ethernet Wi-Fi	2G/3G/4G cellular data Fast Ethernet Wi-Fi	Fast Ethernet Wi-Fi
Removable media	USB disk	CompactFlash USB disk	SDHC	SDHC	SDHC
Connectors	RS-232 USB 1.1	CompactFlash Ethernet RS-232 USB 1.1	Ethernet USB 2.0	Ethernet USB 2.0	Ethernet USB 2.0
Peripherals	D-Link DUB-E100 USB ethernet adapter (2001:1a00) Kingston USB microSD reader FCR-MRG2 (05e3:0736) Konig CSU2H7P200BL 7-port USB hub (1a40:0101) Samsung EVO Plus 32 GB microSDHC UHS-I card	Kingston USB microSD reader FCR-MRG2 (05e3:0736) Samsung EVO Plus 32 GB microSDHC UHS-I card SanDisk 96 MB CompactFlash card	Huawei E392 USB modem (12d1:1505) Ralink RT5370 Wi-Fi USB adapter with 2 dBi antenna (148f:5370) Samsung EVO Plus 32 GB microSDHC UHS-I card	Huawei E392 USB modem (12d1:1505) Ralink RT5370 Wi-Fi USB adapter with 2 dBi antenna (148f:5370) Transcend 16 GB class 10 UHS-I microSDHC memory card	14x14x6 mm gold anodized aluminium heat sink Ralink RT5370 Wi-Fi USB adapter with 2 dBi antenna (148f:5370) Samsung EVO Plus 32 GB microSDHC UHS-I card
Monitor	Built-in 5.8"	-	-	-	-
Power	Amstrad PSU-EM3002A-UK 33.5V/0.2A Tesco UK to Continent power plug adaptor USB hub 5V/2.5A	I.T.E. 5V/3A	Raspberry Pi 5.1V/2.5A	Raspberry Pi 5.1V/2.5A	Raspberry Pi 5.1V/2.5A
Power usage	10W	Under 5W	Under 5W	Under 5W	Under 5W
Case	-	-	Black ABS enclosure (ASM-1900036-21) Dell accessory bag (carrying case)	Black ABS enclosure (ASM-1900036-21)	Black ABS enclosure (ASM-1900036-21)
Operating system	DIY Linux	DIY Linux	DIY Linux	DIY Linux	DIY Linux
Application	Linux kernel development	Linux kernel development	Mobile broadband router	Mobile broadband router	Wireless access point

Mobile

System	Palm Tungsten E	Nokia 770	Nokia N800	Nokia N810	Nokia N900	Nokia N950	Nokia N9
Year	2003	2005	2007	2007	2009	2011	2011
SoC	OMAP310	OMAP1710	OMAP2420	OMAP2420
Architecture	ARMv4T	ARMv5TEJ	ARMv6TEJ	ARMv6TEJ
CPU	126 MHz ARM925T	252 MHz ARM926EJ-S	330 MHz ARM1136	330 MHz ARM1136
RAM	32 MB	64 MB	128 MB	128 MB	256 MB	1 GB	1 GB
Flash	?	?	256 MB	256 MB
Disk	32 MB (SD)	2 GB (RS-MMC)	4 GB (SD)	2 GB (eMMC) 4 GB (miniSD)
Connectivity	USB (Ethernet gadget)	USB (Ethernet gadget) UART (Serial console)	USB (Ethernet gadget) UART (Serial console)	USB (Ethernet gadget) UART (Serial console)	USB (Ethernet gadget) UART (Serial console)	USB (Ethernet gadget) UART (Serial console)	USB (Ethernet gadget) UART (Serial console)
Connectors	USB 1.1	USB 1.1	USB 2.0	USB 2.0	USB 2.0	USB 2.0	USB 2.0
Peripherals	Canon SDC-32M 32 MB SD card	Kingston MMC Mobile Dual-voltage 2 GB MMC card	Transcend 4 GB SD card	Nokia 4 GB MicroSD card Nokia MicroSD Adapater
Battery	?	Nokia BP-5L 1500mAh 3.7V	Nokia BP-5L 1500mAh 3.7V	Nokia BP-4L 1500mAh 3.7V	Nokia BL-5J 1430mAh 3.7V	Nokia BV-4D 1320mAh 3.8V	Nokia BV-5JW 1450mAh 3.8V
Power	Palm AC Adaptor 5V/1A Tesco UK to Continent power plug adaptor	Nokia AC-3E 5V/350mA	Nokia AC-3E 5V/350mA	Nokia AC-3E 5V/350mA
Operating system	Palm OS DIY Linux	Maemo DIY Linux	DIY Linux	DIY Linux	DIY Linux	DIY Linux	DIY Linux
Application	Linux kernel development	Linux kernel development	Linux kernel development	Linux kernel development	Linux kernel development	Linux kernel development	Linux kernel development

Z80

8086

System	Amstrad PC1640 HD20 PC-MD	Amstrad PC1640 HD20 PC-ECD
Year	1986	1986
CPU	8 MHz Intel 8086	8 MHz NEC V30 (NEC Ireland 1990) 8087-2 FPU (Intel 1988)
RAM	640 KB	640 KB
Disk	20 MB (RLL hard drive) 360 KB (Floppy)	20 MB (RLL hard drive) 360 KB (Floppy)
Connectivity	PLIP RS-232	PLIP RS-232
Removable media	5.25" Floppy	5.25" Floppy
Connectors	8-bit ISA Amstrad keyboard connector Parallel port RS-232	8-bit ISA Amstrad keyboard connector Parallel port RS-232
Peripherals	Amstrad PC1640 keyboard Logicode high speed serial board HSP-1P1 Pro Signal SL666 Laplink cable	Amstrad PC1640 keyboard Logicode high speed serial board HSP-1P1 Pro Signal SL666 Laplink cable
Graphics	Integrated Monochrome/Hercules 12" CRT	Integrated EGA 12" CRT
Power	Powered by the CRT monitor	Powered by the CRT monitor
Power usage	55W	90W
Operating system	MS-DOS 3.20	MS-DOS 3.20
Application	ASCII/ANSI art BBS client Programming	ASCII/ANSI art BBS client Programming

65xx

Last updated: 2024-10-10 00:07 (EET)