Groan, make a guy feel guilty why don't you? I have at least 5 computers I should scrap right away. I have already scrapped 2-4 in the last year or so by taking them to scrap drives at daughter's school. I had the intent of trying to sell the scrap lot to a surplus store, as I do buy stuff at surplus stores too. I tend to re-use desktop cases by putting new or used mobos in them. In addition to the 5 scrap machines, there are in the immediate family, around 8 that get pretty regular use. Mind you I also collect truly ancient vintage computers, so there are 4 in that category that never get used, but one of them did collect a Trifecta of trophies at a Vintage Computer Fair.

Desktop Scrap heap:
Dell desktop 750MHz P-III "London" Win98SE
Greybox 1GHz Celeron "Ricky" Win98SE (Nice box, but too small for current mobos)
2x HP Vectra 330 MHz P-II "NT25" and "Frontdesk" I used to use these well-built cases for other builds
Dell tower/server Dual P-Pro Debian Linux "Neptune" (A MONSTER tower) I wanted to see if I could load a modern Linux on a PPro.

Moribund (viable, but not used much)
MAC G3 Blue&White with disk, disk controller, CDRW, and memory upgrades (semi-collectible/vintage) Used by oldest daughter to learn MAC before going away to Art school.
Greybox P4 3.2 GHz Win XP Pro/Linux (Former job) Ostensibly used to service a post-shutdown contract for support, long expired.
Greybox AMD Athlon64x2 Win XP Pro (Former job) Up to date, but rarely used. Good SATA controller for disk prep tasks.
Greybox AMD Sempron/Athlon "Dawn" Win XP. Mostly used as a mule for disk prep, disk recovery, other support tasks, some gaming.

Current, Active daily use:
Greybox NFORCE3-A939 Athlon 64x2 2GB DDR 2x320GB PATA My machine! Everybody else, keep-a you hands off!
Greybox Sempron/Athlon 1GB DDR 320GB PATA Family common system, photo archive, iTunes
HP dv5000 Laptop at Art school with oldest daughter. Replaced HDD at at one point.
HP dv6000 Laptop now running on its **5th** motherboard!!@!!@#@# Can you tell I'm steamed? Wife's daily driver.
IBM Thinkpad A31p 1.5GB DDR, 320GB PATA due to get a new mobo (it's 3rd). From former job. Was used by youngest for iTunes, etc.

Dinosaur support machines (only needed in case a collectible dinosaur needs a rebuild)
386 with ISA only
486 with ISA only
Caseless P-III with ISA, PCI (nice technology bridge between MFM drives and modern IDE drives) Must put this in a case at some point...

Dinosaurs (collectible, semi-museum pieces) (Edit: Some links to pics added)
Signetics Instructor 50 still in the box
Synertek Systems SYM-1, KTM-280 with 32K S-100 SRAM upgrade, EPROM programmer
Ohio Scientific C-2 6502 only, 48K DRAM, 2x 8" floppy disks, NEC Spinwrite printer. You can play "Adventure" on it!
Toshiba early model "laptop" portable computer with AC supply only, not a battery system (Toshiba is a T3200)
Last but not least, the "flagship" dinosaur and trophy winner, a true Thunder Lizard:
IBM 3270-AT/GX 286 with NS32016 daughter card that boots SYS5 Unix, runs Valid GED (Best in class, most complete, best of show winner) Has every IBM manual, every volume of SYS5 Unix manual, Valid GED manual. The 20" monitor alone weighs 35 Kilos! The display memory is in a separate case from the AT case, joined by a very thick cable. (Only IBM could make such a monster.)

Hey, I used to work for that company!!! .

ref: http://www.kawakami-ca.com/synertek/

Where do you think I got it? Employee discount on factory blems.

15" Core i7 MacBook Pro with matte screen - IMO the best laptop on the planet, use it for work (in OS X) and play (in Windows 7)
iPad - travel
Black MacBook - Wife's home and work computer
Aluminum MacBook - daughter
13" MacBook Pro - Paralegal's computer
20" iMac - Secretary
Core2Duo Mac Mini - Receptionist
Dell PowerEdge T410 - Small Business Server

You're using Microsoft SBS in your office and everyone is using a Mac Client. Do elaborate on the setup?

I've been on SBS for about four years, just move to SBS 2008 16-months-ago. Back then, I was a mixed Mac/Windows shop, so it did make more sense than it does now. I still like SBS because it remains the cheapest way to get Exchange, which is pretty much all that I use it for now. One of the office Macs functions as the file and print server, and my website is not hosted locally.

I tried OS X Leopard Server 18-months-ago, and ended up returning it because it couldn't provide the shared calendar and email flexibility that I get with Exchange (then 2003). Snow Leopard server is supposed to be much improved, but my upgrade cycle isn't for almost two more years, so I now have a Mac shop running on an SBS network.

All isn't so strange, however. SBS 2008 is well-supported in Office 2008 for Mac and in Snow Leopard's native mail and calendar applications. I also have BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express installed on the Dell and it extends Exchange to my phone. When it comes time to upgrade the server I'll try Apple again, but if it doesn't work out, SBS remains easy to integrate.

Surprise surprise, I once again have 5 computers LOL! First, after adding a piece of metal under the T42's keyboard to apply constant pressure on its loose GPU (see this thread), it has been working flawlessly so far, causing my number of computers to go back up to 4. Then, yesterday, I got a small form factor Dell Dimension 4300S desktop for free. This little 8-year-old machine has only 1.6GHz Pentium 4 and 1GB of PC133 RAM but it performs so amazingly well. And it consumes so little power -- the power supply is only rated at 80W! I don't really have a real use for this machine yet, though I am thinking about using it to display sheet music at my piano (I was using my 240Z for that purpose for a short while but its 10.4" screen really isn't big enough).

So here we go:

• ThinkPad X200s - as detailed in sig. My main machine, goes everywhere with me with either a four cell or a nice cell battery. Both business and pleasure, Word, Excel, Lightroom, HTML coding, blah, blah.
• HTC Legend - yes it's a phone, but in reality it's a computer and more powerful than some PCs I've used in the past. I really love the way Google mail and calendar integrate so seamlessly with this, which I suppose is to be expected. Gets used for web browsing, maps especially in conjunction with GPS, some social networking but above all this organises my life and fits in perfectly with the X200s.
• AMD Athlon 64 X2 - used to be my main machine but now relegated to downloading, and some Lightroom usage. Connected via DVI to the HP TFT that I use with my X200s docked, although most use is via Remote Desktop. Almost used as a NAS if that makes sense.
• Acer Aspire Reveo 3610 - connected to my Sony LCD TV, internet browsing, back up machine, HD video playback (stored on the AMD above), BBC iPlayer and other streaming video such as YouTube. Gives the TV screen another use too.
• ThinkPad T23 - a new addition, this was given to me as part of a job I did. Almost pristine condition apart from a couple of small scuffs and dead pixels (boo hoo). Internet browsing around the house (well, in bed etc and when I can't be bothered to undock the X200s
• ThinkPad A30 - my original ThinkPad, bought new in 2001. Worn out from too much use and lately since I got my X200s a bit of abuse. Partly cannibalised to improve the T23 (transferred RAM across, 60GB 7,200RPM HDD, Cardbus card(s) and DVD drive).

Update:

• QNAP TS-419P NAS - Like it says, it's a NAS. Very versatile. Stuffed with 4 x WD 2TB Green Power advanced format drives. Not cheap, but nice addition. The AMD listed above is getting less use now obviously.

(There's maybe half a dozen PCs kicking about 'just in case', including another T23 that a friend gave me but which is really beyond any hope of restoration. )

Wow! I've got three of these that I just found on the street in a few separate incidents. I hate to see such a design icon go to waste, so every time I see one I pick it up and stack it in a corner. It's getting pretty crowded there. I've also picked up a Macintosh SE and a roommate found an iMac DV. I keep all of these around more as decoration than as computers; they all work, but they're all too old to use with modern OSes. My roommates are not happy with me

Besides those, I've still got two x86 desktops, one of which is never used, the other of which is deteriorating but refuses to die. I can't see the use of putting money into them when I mostly use my laptops. I've got the X61 tablet and the X24 in my signature, both of which see fairly regular use. I've also got a Powerbook G4 that I picked up for $20 with a broken screen; a further $30 repaired that, but I don't have too much use for it. I may give it to my mother, who somehow broke the video card on the Powermac G4 I gave her a few years ago while trying to plug in a monitor. My sister is also looking to upgrade from her Lenovo 3000 N100 (hopefully to a Thinkpad T400 or a T410i), so I may inherit that; I'm kind of unsure what I'd do with that, but it can't hurt to have more computers.

So, with broken computers, unused computers, decorative computers, etc., that puts me at...potentially twelve computers. Of those, I regularly use perhaps two or three. Maybe it's time to fix some of these up and give them away.

I should have held out for a G4 or G5. The G3 is a classic, but very limited in terms of OS updates. I updated it as far as it would go willingly.

I found another desktop for the scrap heap hiding under some boxes, a P-III.

The wife's "daily driver" (HP dv6000) also just died *AGAIN* and will not be fixed. Much as I tried to persuade her to get a Lenovo T510, or Edge, she opted for a Sony Vaio. It's a very nice machine. Only time will tell if it's better than the HP Lemon. The HP is now on the recycle pile. I may sell it for parts sans hard drive. That series of HP laptops had so many motherboard failures, the company should have been forced to buy them all back. Gee, if they had kept their CEO and used his severance package to pay back all the fuming customers ... but I digress.

That's the G3 curse, and that's why I keep finding them on the street.

I think im going to clear some of mine out soon, but at the moment:

Thinkpads:

three 760 (x and el series i think) two work fine, third needs hard drive re-loaded.all have win 98 irrc. I think i even have one battery that still holds a charge as of a few months ago anyhow.

one earlier thinkpad, series number escapes at the moment, but it was my first one. the lcd is bolted together with acorn nuts and screws at this point, screen a bit fuzzy, but works (win 95.)

one large and one smaller docking station for above.

one 770X, maxed ram and running win 2k, works fine, dead battery.

two r31s, one is a r30/r31 hybrid i built from parts. both work great and are running xp pro on the original ibm pre load. the hybrid is running 768 ram and 160 gig hd, the little ladies primary laptop. the other is running 512 ram and a 30 gig hd, was my primary laptop until a few weeks ago.

one x-41 tablet (1.6/60/1 gig ram), just got that one and still learning tablet xp, now my primary portable...



IBM non laptop:

one netvista 1.8ghz 1 gig rambus running win 2k- use for garage duty and side business to run vinyl cutter/plotter.

one netvista "all in one" running win 2k, with 512 ram (maxed) and 20 gig hd, in the guest room and fully functional. used daily by my semi permanent house guest (my best friend since i was 5, who is staying with us until he can get back on his feet.) nice because of the built in lcd and small foot print...

one Intellistation z pro (dual 2.4 zeons) running xp pro, dual 250 gig hd's, my primary home pc, who says you cant use a server as a workstation?? .

while im at it, ill include the "other " stuff...
non - ibm:

two gateway 5140 solo's (333mhz?) laptop, one works fine running win 2k , 30 gig hd, 256 ram, good battery, lcd blinks out on occasion but always comes back if i adjust the screen.
ex-girlfriends spare machine that she never collected when she disappeared on me 5 years ago, i dont think shell be back for it... second unit has bad back light or inverter, i think, dead hard drive, basically, parts but will post.

one Compaq presario laptop, screen gets fuzzy, but works, i think its got a 6 gig hd and irrc i updated it to win 2k.

one homebuilt box, amd mobo and dual hd's think ones an 80 gig and the other is a 60 gig, 1 gig ram- the girlfriends desktop, but the only one whos booted it up the past year is me, as she uses the r31.

one ITX atom based mini pc- 1 gig ram, 80 gig sata - my car pc, has gps, ride runner frontend, and lives in the hybrid insight

holy crap thats 16??? plus there are a couple of parts machines as well i didnt even list that i put together for donating to local kids... i think i need to sell or trade everything but the one hybrid r31, the x41T, the all in one, the itx and the intellistation. the rest really dont get used and most are on a shelf in the garage and in closets. selling most off even at cheap prices would allow my to get a 1tb nas and maybe a few other upgrades for the remaining systems... in fact, look for a "for sale or trade " post soon, i need to go through them first

Here's what I've got:

T400: Basically being used as a 'portable desktop replacement' pretty much. Plays most of my PC games alright with the HD3470, and therefore I'm a little hesitant to sell it.

X200: My primary system. I do most of my Internet/Office/productivity apps on here. Light and easy to carry, but I'll admit I wish-wash between it and the T400. Better display quality and working ThinkLight keep it in the lead. Will most likely make a docking solution at my desk with an Ultrabase.

T21: Backup system if both my T400 and X200 get messed up or undergo warranty repairs. Not really used otherwise.

380ED: Future project in building a DOS/W9x gaming box for my older titles.

Desktop 1: P4 2.6Ghz, 2GB RAM, ATI Radeon 9550, bunch of HDDs, and Vista Ultimate x32: Lots of archives and general backup. Was planning on using it as an HTPC, but decided against it. Will be using as a secondary box in my office.

Desktop 2: 1997 Acer Aspire desktop, AMD K6 130Mhz, 16MB RAM, 2Gb HDD, Win98: Previous attempt at DOS/W9x gaming rig. Works, but has some issues.

Apple apparently used a very deficient IDE controller the first time they tried to use IDE drives instead of/in addition to SCSI. That's why the first generation G3's are referred to as having "heartbreaker" motherboards. You put a decent sized IDE drive in it and immediately start getting disk errors. It also doesn't support master/slave configs like any PC of the era does. This problem was fixed in the rev 2.0 mobos, but if you have a 1.0 like I did, the only way to move forward is to add a PCI IDE controller, which defeats the goal of upgrading the thing on the cheap. There's some discussion of this problem on the lowendmac page.

Suddenly my pile doesn't seem so big or unusual.

The old network:

Tandy Color Computer 3 (multi-user mainframe, believe it or not!)
TRS-80 Model 4P (Luggable)
Tandy 1400LT (Laptop. NOT a notebook.)
Tandy Pocket Computer 2.

The old network (I guess I'm collecting different types/sizes of portables) is missing a semi-portable (Specravideo 738 Express?) a Lunchbox (there were two IBM PS/2 lunchboxes; does anyone know the model # of the smaller one?) a Tandy 200 notebook, a scientific calculator (Tandy Pocket Computer series) and a Seiko Pocket Terminal & Wrist Terminal.

The new "subnetwork":

ThinkPad 600X
ThinkPad 240
WorkPad Z50
Casio Cassiopeia E-125 (in the mail )
Palm m515

I wouldn't mind adding an HP Jornada 720 and a Timex Datalink.

Unfortunately, unless I put several on one table, I only have room to set up three of these at once.

@Bookworm:

I'm certain that not too many people will be bidding on this one:

http://cgi.ebay.com/T259-JORNADA-720-Ha ... 2eafd5db3a

And the same seller has another one, along with the 680 as well...

Happy hunting.

Thanks, but what I really need, and can't find on eBay, is space. Why can't I buy or download a few square feet?

Oh well, it looks like a good deal on the handheld.

I like to keep an extra box or two for experimentation. I'm always evaluating new distros and new software, so I like to have a few fairly solid machines that I can use for testing purposes. Right now my test machines are a new-ish ThinkCentre (M-series), my X200, and my recently-refurbished 600X.

It's in the same category as time. Keep searching. Actually what I need is what they call a round tuit. You know, as in one these days, I'll get around to it.

I was recently burglarized so some have not been replaced...

My current setup is:
desktop, my laptop, our iPad, my wife's MacBook Pro.

I am still working on replacing my workshop laptop (looking up stuff/music)

Almost all of these machines are used at least once a week...most everyday.

I used to have several computers, but no longer the case. I don't know so much that I felt "guilty" for having them without having a need, but rather overwhelmed and weighed down by them (along with other possessions). My wife and I are currently trying to get rid of everything we don't use as we begin our plans to become full-time RVers.

The most computers we've been able to utilize is 4: my wife on her iMac and me on 3 PCs. The three I had were not-so-quick machines. My T500 allowed me to get rid of them. Now, we're down to my wife's iMac and my T500. I've been holding onto my R50 as a "backup" laptop. However, in all reality, if my T500 is out of commission and I really need to get online, I can use her iMac (albeit to great dissatisfaction!). Consequently, I'm getting rid of the R50.

With the Thinkpads I've owned, I found great satisfaction in owning them, building them, and modifying them, but felt even better when my friends/family began to use and appreciate them. If someone has 60 laptops and has them just because they like to look at them, that's fine by me too. A lot of hobbies are that way.

I feel like with multiple computers, especially when their ages vary, as often is the case, there is some critical mass after which maintaining them becomes a hassle, since every once in a while something breaks and requires fixing/replacing/upgrading. Older parts are often hard to come by, or their cost can be hard to justify for a machine that may be all but obsolete in modern technology terms. And often, as soon as you are done bringing one of your "babies" up to working order, the next one breaks and requires attention.

Mechanical parts (hard drives / fans / optical drives) are the most frequent to go. Fortunately they are also fairly simple and inexpensive to replace (with the exception of proprietary drives, like the Ultrabay Slim ones). Things like RAM/CPU almost never malfunction. Power supplies (power adapters in laptops) sometimes die as well, but are also relatively simple to replace.

The biggest problem is when the motherboard goes south, as often happens after 3+ years, and usually slowly, due to accumulated wear on the various electrical components. Busted/leaking capacitors mostly. At first it may be difficult to POST, then you may experience more and more lockups, and eventually it will become unusable.

A motherboard is not only typically the most expensive component (esp. in a laptop), it is also the one hardest to replace, as essentially you are disassembling and reassembling everything. In the desktop world, finding a new sample of a motherboard based on 5-year old technology is often impossible, and you may consider upgrading the machine altogether (but then your RAM/CPU/GPU are likely to be incompatible, forcing you to really assemble a new PC). It is sometimes possible to source a used board, but who's to say what issues it comes with and how long it has to live?

When it comes to laptops, there is also the LCD panel, which in itself is a pretty expensive part. Motherboard and LCD are the only two components in a laptop which, if they break outside of warranty, you are royally screwed, and in many cases will find trashing the machine the most cost-effective solution. Fortunately, for Thinkpads, there are exception, as there is a very large base of users and spare parts, which may allow you to source these components in a way that won't cost you an arm and a leg, but still easily at at least 1/2 the price of the machine's current worth, and let's not forget the hassle.

I have 2 desktops, one for the wife one for me. I spent most of the time with my desktop due to the big screen. But I also use my T43p and my HP NC4400 on almost daily basis, mostly for couch/kitchen surfing.

My X41 has been used less in the last months, mostly by my daughter and I've lent my X40 to a good friend of mine due to lack of use. Today I've got an X60 and I'm eyeing two T6x machines. I have no clue how I will use all of them, but I can't help collecting them

I am now up to 6 computers! The new computer is an HP Mini 5101 netbook and I love it! I needed this because before getting it, my i Series 1124 was my only fully functional laptop -- my T42's LCD had died last month -- and with only one laptop, I had to constantly move it between my office and my home, which was very inconvenient.

Let me give a brief review. This HP 5101 feels very well made, far better than all those netbooks I have seen at Best Buy or Frys. The material is excellent and the design looks serious, plain (as opposed to "shiny" or "flashy") and professional. The main reason I chose this netbook was that the screen has 1366x768 resolution, obviously much better than the 1024x600 that most netbooks have. This configuration has the extended battery, but thankfully it doesn't stick out very much. It's the first time I have owned a laptop with a chiclet keyboard, which isn't as easy to use as conventional laptops, but I still manage to type fairly fast. One more nice thing about this netbook: the BIOS has an option to swap the "fn" and "ctrl" keys. I enabled that option and also swapped these keys on the keyboard, so now these keys are positioned just like those on a Thinkpad keyboard! But there is one thing that I don't like, namely, the touchpad has a glossy finish that increases friction, making it harder to moving the finger tip.

So my situation has been updated a bit.


This thing is still there, but starting next month my main work laptop will be a T410 with Win7. The T60 is so nice, though, that it's likely to stay as a secondary machine.


The LCD was finally transferred. Now: Old desktop (Intel P4 3.0GHz, 2GB RAM, 6600GT VIVO, attached to DELL 2007FP, running XP Pro)
The machine started giving aging symptops (finicky to POST sometimes), so I just gave instructions to turn it off as rarely as possible.

My sister is still using it, however unfortunately it seems that the T4x aging issues have not spared this machine. Judging by her recent complaints about USB devices not being detected, and a couple of hard lockups, it sounds like the southbridge problem may have arisen. I'll have to investigate it further next time I see it.


The power brick died recently - ordered a new one from eBay, waiting to see when it arrives whether the laptop itself still works.


After the monitor rotation, the CRT on this one is now 19". What a monstrosity! However, as I said, my mom needed a more powerful computer which has finally been assembled:

Primary office desktop (Intel QX6700, 4GB RAM, 17" CRT, running Win7 Ultimate x64)
This was actually assembled first about a month ago, but after I installed Windows, all the updates and basic applications, I started a simple stress tests, and the motherboard died (el-cheapo Gigabyte G41M-ES2L). Replaced with a new one of the same kind, this one seems more stable and passed a long stress test without issues.

Ouch! That P4 3.0Ghz is a killer for your electricity bill!!

My parents' electricity bill.

And I hardly think it consumers more power than a modern dual/quad-core CPU.

After selling my T42 for parts several weeks ago, I was left with only four computers, until yesterday, when I received a Sony Vaio PCG-Z1A. I bought it because after using both my HP 5101 and my Dell D820 for a while, I realized I needed something in between, both in terms of weight/size and screen resolution. The resolution on the HP, while pretty high for a 10.1" screen, isn't enough for serious work. The Dell's 1920x1200 is plenty for major multitasking, but at 6.26 lb, it's too heavy to carry over long distances. This Sony Vaio is 14.1" SXGA+ and weighs only 4.67 lb including the optical drive, about half a pound lighter than an SXGA+ T4* Thinkpad. The Panasonic Toughbooks Y5 and Y7 are also 14.1" SXGA+ but weigh only 3.7 lb and so would be even better, but since their current prices are over my budget, I settled for the Sony Z1. I like it very much so far, though I wish the optical drive could be swapped out for a travel bezel. The touchpad is excellent, much better than those of my previous Thinkpads and of my current HP netbook and Dell Latitude. This Vaio came with only 512MB RAM (256MB onboard + 256MB stick) and 60GB 4200rpm HDD, and I upgraded both using the 1GB RAM and 250GB 5400rpm HDD pulled from the above-mentioned T42.



Thanks for the update. Isn't it fun to change a few things every now and then?



I agree! That's precisely why I use my Celeron D desktop at home, and my Pentium 4 desktop at work.

I am now down to two. I took the hard drives out of the old computers, removed the platters, crushed them, and then took the carcasses to the recycle yard.

No more old computers, nothing less than Windows 7 still alive. ... JDH

Fun indeed. And thanks for your update.

Celeron D is more power efficient than a P4? As far as I remember, none of them have EIST or any power saving features.