Old computers

I'm condensing my posts about my previous computers, to tidy things up.

1. Compaq Presario 944

• Medium tower case
• 90 MHz 486
• 8192 kB RAM
• 500 MB HDD
• 4x CD-ROM (fastest at that time)
• 1.44 MB disk drive
• 9600 kbps modem
• 14" SVGA monitor
• Windows 3.1 and DOS 6.2
• Bought in 1995 with a Canon BJC-4000 for $3600

It came with a lot of software. My favorite game was Lode Runner: The Legend Returns and it also had others like King's Quest 6, Skifree and Pipe Dream. Creative Writer was great too. I played a lot of shareware games on it like Hocus Pocus, Raptor: Call Of The Shadows, In Search Of Dr Riptide, Whacky Wheels and Duke Nukem 1 and 2. I also played Mechwarrior 2 and Worms on it. One of the last games I played on it was Red Alert, which I continued on my next computer. In the end, it was given away.

2. Compaq
Came with Windows 95. First computer to have Internet access!

3. Gateway Solo 9300 XL

• Intel Pentium III with SpeedStep 500/600 MHz
• 224 MB RAM
• 12 GB HDD
• DVD-ROM
• LS120 (Superdisk) drive
• ATI Rage Mobility 8MB video card
• 15" screen
• First computer with USB ports!
• Bought in 2000 for $5500

The things I liked about it were that it had a battery meter built into the battery, so you could check the power left without turning on the computer. Strangely, this feature has vanished from new computers (it's on the MacBook Pro, but on the computer, not the battery). Battery indication was built into the BIOS, so you could use the function key to check battery percentage left in any program.

I found that the RAM cover was the hottest part, so I stuck a heat sink onto it. The difficult part is finding an adhesive that conducts heat, is removable, and does not damage the laptop. I used double sided tape (some people call it tissue tape?). You can see the battery indicator. It had pop-up legs to elevate itself too.

In the end, it wouldn't boot up. I sold it for $50 to a recycler.

4. Dell

5. Fujitsu Lifebook N3510

• Intel Pentium M 740 (1.73GHz, 533MHz FSB, 2MB L2 cache)
• 15.4" LCD
• 1 GB RAM
• ATI Mobility X300 64MB RAM
• 60 GB HDD
• DVD burner
• 802.11 b/g
• 4 USB 2.0, IEEE 1394 (FireWire) port, Memory Stick/SD slot, PC Card Slot, Express Card Slot

First widescreen (I remember some games didn't support it then), DVD burning, wireless and the video card had some function I can't remember (pixel rendering? shading?)

6. Pluto

I bought this computer in December 2006. The GeForce 8 had just come out.

• Intel D975XBX2KR motherboard
• Core 2 Duo E6400 2.13 GHz 2MB L2 cache
•  2GB DDR2 800MHz RAM
• 320 GB SATAII HDD with 16 MB cache and NCQ
• GeForce 8800 GTS 640 MB (there were only 2 models, the GTS and GTX)
• 17" (5:4) DVI monitor
• $3000
• Bought in Dec 2006

The non-advertised parts were cheap: fan, PSU and case. The fans didn't even fit the fan slots on the case and were screwed into the grille instead. The case was hard to take apart and upgrade. No tool-less drive bays or anything of that sort. The worst part is that a few days after getting it, the PSU blew! I got it repaired and so far it's ok.

7. Dell Inspiron 530s desktop

• Core 2 Duo E6750
• 22" E228WFP (VGA and DVI, 1680x1050)
• 3 GB (2x1GB+2x512MB) dual channel DDR2 667MHz RAM
• 500 GB 3.0Gb/s HDD with NCQ
• 16x dual layer DVD+-RW
• ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT 256MB
• Belkin Superior Series 6 way surge protector with 45,000 max spike amperage
• MS Office 2007 Home & Student

Bought 23 April 2008 for AUD$1408. I liked it because it was a slim design, not a full sized CPU. As with my other Dell computers, the inside was neat and well designed. Sold it because I was leaving Australia.

8. MacBook Pro mid 2009 15"

• MB986X/A 15" Unibody model (2009)
• 2.8GHz Core 2 Duo, 6MB shared L2 cache, 1066MHz bus
• 4GB of 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM
• 500GB 5400RPM HDD
• GeForce 9400M and GeForce 9600M GT (512MB)
• Bluetooth
• 802.11n
• Backlit keyboard
• Gigabit ethernet
• Firewire 800
• Height: 2.41 cm (0.95")
• Width: 36.4 cm
• Depth: 24.9 cm
• Weight: 2.49 kg (5.5 pounds)  
• AUD$3399 (with student discount)