32 GB (SDHC)
(Samsung EVO Plus)
``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:
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.
| System | ``nano''
|
|---|---|
| Model | LicheeRV Nano |
| Year | 2024 |
| SoC | Sophgo SG2002 |
| CPU | 1 GHz T-HEAD C906 |
| ISA base | RV64I |
| RAM | 256 MB |
| Disk |
32 GB (SDHC) |
| Connectivity | UART (Serial console) |
| Power | USB-C |
| OS | DIY Linux |
| Application | Linux kernel development |
| System | ``bitwoods''
|
``NSA''
|
``MI5''
|
``MI6''
|
``roadster''
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Model | Raspberry Pi 3 Model B | ||||
| Year | 2016 | ||||
| SoC | Broadcom BCM2837 | ||||
| CPU | 1.2 GHz Cortex-A53 | ||||
| Cores | 4 | ||||
| RAM | 1 GB | ||||
| Disk |
32 GB (SDHC) Super Top SY-T18 microSD card reader (14cd:1212, used for the second SD card) |
32 GB (SDHC)
500 GB (USB/RAID1) |
32 GB (SDHC) |
256 GB (SDXC/RAID1) Kingston FCR-MRG2 microSD card reader (05e3:0736, used for the second SD card) |
|
| Networking | Fast Ethernet |
Wi-Fi | 4G cellular data Fast Ethernet Wi-Fi |
4G cellular data Wi-Fi |
Wi-Fi |
| Connectors | Ethernet | USB 2.0 | Ethernet USB 2.0 |
USB 2.0 | USB 2.0 DSI |
| Peripherals | 14x14x6 mm gold anodized aluminium heat sink | Huawei E392 USB modem (12d1:1505) | 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 (DSI) | |||
| Case | Black ABS enclosure (ASM-1900036-21) |
Black ABS enclosure
Dell accessory bag |
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 | 2.5W (weekly average) | 5W (disks spinned down) 15W (disks operating) |
3.75W (daily average) | 3.75W (daily average) | 2.5W (idle - display off) 5W (idle - display on) 6.5W (web browsing) |
| OS | Raspberry Pi OS (bookworm) | DIY Linux | Raspberry Pi OS (bookworm) | ||
| Application | BBS server Mastodon server |
NAS server for backups | Home router | Mobile router | Portable desktop |
| Notes | MPEG-2 license (useless) | - | |||
| System | ``macbook''
|
``dethstar''
|
``lonestar''
|
``darkstar''
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | 2008 | 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 | |
| Disk | 500 GB (SATA) (Seagate BarraCuda ST500LM030) |
500 GB (SATA/RAID1)
1 TB (NVMe/RAID1) NFKH N-M202 PCI-E-NVMe-adapter |
500 GB (SATA)
500 GB (FireWire/RAID1) |
1 TB (SATA/RAID1) (2 x SeaGate ST1000DM003) |
| Connectivity | Gigabit Ethernet Wi-Fi |
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 | - | Integrated Intel (VGA) | Integrated Intel (DVI) |
| Peripherals | - | NVIDIA RTX 3060 12 GB (Used for AI workloads) |
- | 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 | 60W (Apple MagSafe) |
600 W (Cooler Master B600 V2) |
320 W (HP) |
500 W (Cooler Master B500 V2) |
| Power usage | 20W (idle) 40W (normal use) |
65W (idle) 300W (normal use) |
25W (idle, headless) 80W (normal use, headless) |
5W (suspended) 45W (idle, display off) 90W (idle) 120W (normal use) |
| OS | Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | DIY Linux | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS |
| Application | Home laptop | Generative AI | Linux kernel development NAS server for backups |
Home desktop |
For safety reasons I've gotten rid of all old batteries for these devices and only use external DC power when hacking with them.
| System | Palm Tungsten E
|
Amstrad E3
|
Spectrum Digital OMAP Starter Kit
|
Nokia 770
|
Nokia N800
|
Nokia N810
|
Nokia N900 | Nokia N950 | Nokia N9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2007 | 2009 | 2011 | |||
| SoC | OMAP310 | OMAP5910 | OMAP5912 | OMAP1710 | OMAP2420 | ||||
| Architecture | ARMv4T | ARMv5TEJ | ARMv6TEJ | ||||||
| CPU | 126 MHz ARM925T | 150 MHz ARM925T | 192 MHz ARM926EJ-S | 252 MHz ARM926EJ-S | 330 MHz ARM1136 | ||||
| RAM | 32 MB | 64 MB | 128 MB | 256 MB | 1 GB | ||||
| Flash | ? | 32 MB | ? | 256 MB | |||||
| Disk | 32 MB (SD) | 32 GB (USB) | 96 MB (CompactFlash) 32 GB (USB) |
2 GB (RS-MMC) | 4 GB (SD) | 2 GB (eMMC) 4 GB (miniSD) |
|||
| Connectivity | USB (Ethernet gadget) | Fast Ethernet UART (serial console) |
USB (Ethernet gadget) UART (serial console) |
||||||
| Connectors | USB 1.1 | RS-232 USB 1.1 |
CompactFlash Ethernet RS-232 USB 1.1 |
USB 1.1 | USB 2.0 | ||||
| Peripherals | Canon SDC-32M 32 MB SD card | 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 |
Kingston MMC Mobile Dual-voltage 2 GB MMC card | Transcend 4 GB SD card | Nokia 4 GB MicroSD card Nokia MicroSD Adapater |
|||
| Display | Built-in | Built-in 5.8" | - | Built-in | |||||
| Power | Palm AC Adaptor 5V/1A Tesco UK to Continent power plug adaptor |
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 | lab PSU | |||||
| Operating system | Palm OS DIY Linux |
DIY Linux | |||||||
| Application | Linux kernel development | ||||||||
| System | TR2350 |
|---|---|
| Year | 2007 |
| CPU | AMD Geode LX 800 |
| Frequency | 500 MHz |
| RAM | 128 MB PC2700 333 MHz 200-pin SO-DIMM |
| Disk | 128 MB (CompactFlash) (Transcend 80x) |
| Connectivity | RS-232 |
| Removable media | USB Disk |
| Connectors | PS/2 RS-232 VGA |
| Graphics | Integrated (VGA) |
| Peripherals | Keyboard |
| Monitor | Eyoyo 14" TFT-LED (80x25/1024x768) |
| Case | - |
| Power | 12V |
| Power usage | ? |
| OS | MS-DOS |
| Application | Programming |
| System | Amstrad PC1640 HD20 PC-MD
|
Amstrad PC1640 HD20 PC-ECD
|
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1986 | |
| CPU | 8 MHz Intel 8086 8087-2 FPU (Intel 1988) |
8 MHz NEC V30 (NEC Ireland 1990) |
| RAM | 640 KB | |
| Disk | 20 MB (RLL hard drive) 360 KB (5.25" floppy) |
|
| Connectivity | PLIP RS-232 |
|
| Connectors | 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 |
|
| Graphics | Integrated Monochrome/Hercules Amstrad 12" CRT |
Integrated EGA Amstrad 12" CRT |
| Power | Powered by the CRT monitor | |
| Power usage | 55W | 90W |
| Operating system | MS-DOS 3.20 | |
| Application | ASCII/ANSI art BBS client Programming |
|
| System | Amstrad NC100 |
|---|---|
| Year | 1992 |
| CPU | 4 MHz Z80 |
| ROM | 256 KB |
| RAM | 64 KB |
| RAM battery | CR2032 3V |
| Disk | 512 KB (SRAM) |
| Connectivity | RS-232 |
| Connectors | PCMCIA RS-232 |
| Peripherals | Sunmax 512 KB SRAM PCMCIA card |
| Power | Amstrad NC-PSU/UK 6V/0.3A Tesco UK to Continent power plug adaptor |
| Application | Programming |
| System | Commodore VIC-20 | Commodore 64 |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1980 | 1982 |
| CPU | 1.108 MHz MOS Technology 6502 | 0.985 MHz MOS Technology 6510 |
| Board & chips | ? | 250425 motherboard 6569R3 VIC-II chip 6581 SID chip |
| ROM | 20 KB | |
| RAM | 5 KB | 64 KB |
| Disk | 170 KB (5.25" floppy) | |
| Connectivity | RS-232 | |
| Connectors | Commodore IEEE-488 Commodore user port Commodore cartridge port Composite video (PAL) Joystick port |
Commodore IEEE-488 Commodore user port Commodore cartridge port Composite video (PAL) 2 x Joystick port |
| Peripherals | Atari CX40 style joystick Commodore 1541C disk drive VIC-1011A RS232C Terminal Type interface VIC-1910 Radar Ratrace cartridge VIC-1922 Cosmic Cruncher cartridge |
Atari CX40 style joysticks Commodore 1541C disk drive VIC-1011A RS232C Terminal Type interface C64 Dead Test 781220 cartridge |
| Monitor | Eyoyo 14" TFT-LED | |
| Power | Modern PSU C64 B/EU 5 VDC / 4.0 A 9 VAC / 1.1 A |
|
| Application | Gaming Programming |
|
Last updated: 2025-07-24 14:24 (EET)