What Gadgets I am Using Part 1

So, one thing you might be wondering is just what gadgets I have been using lately, and that is a question that has a LONG answer, so if you get bored easy, better move along, otherwise, grab a snack, a drink, and sit back! I have decided to split it into parts, all pictures will be posted in the final part!

First off, lets start with the first, and main, desktop. I have a motherboard that a friend of mine had sent me a little while back, which also included an Intel Core 2 Quad processor, a Q9http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834312820400, running at 2.66GHz, and 8GB of DDR2 memory. The sad thing is that the RAM is maxed out so there will be no upgrading that any more.

Just a few weeks ago, it was upgraded further. I had actually changed the power supply over the summer as well, so the next logical step was a new graphics card. I was using a PNY 9800GTX card, with an amazing 512MB of VRAM. This card wasn't enough for Fallout 4, so I traded a Sharp IS01 to my good friend who sent the motherboard, and got an Asus GTX750 TI OC 2GB card. Now I can play Fallout 4, which I just run on medium settings.

Keyboard wise, I either use a Logitech K810 which uses Bluetooth, or a wired ThermalTake Poseidon Z keyboard, which is actually a gaming keyboard. Both are backlit, but the K810 lacks a number pad. The other keyboard uses Kaihl Blue switches, which are a clone of Cherry MX Blue switches. The patent ran out, so Kaihl is able to make them now as well. Also, Razer keyboards uses these switches as well. I use the K810 at night since the mechanical one is definitely loud! I don't like to keep my parents awake, so I use the good keyboard in the day.

The desktop is running Windows 10, since I do need at least one good computer with Windows on it for stuff like Fallout. It is hooked up to a 22" Samsung TV which has a resolution of 1680x1050. Not a bad setup but I wouldn't mind a new display one of these days, and a new case for this computer would be kind of nice too, but for now, everything is staying as is.

The second desktop is a Late 2009 Mac Mini. These things are more like cars than computers to me anymore. It is a sad thing when we need to use a year to refer to a computer in my opinion. Anyway, it is a Core 2 Duo model, running at 2.53GHz, with 4GB RAM and a 320GB hard drive. This will never be upgraded as I refuse to open it!

It is running Mac OS X 10.11.1 otherwise known as El Capitan. I am not a huge fan of this as to me, it feels slow. Facebook has broken XMPP so Adium can no longer connect to it, and unlike Pidgin, they are unlikely to fix it if you ask me. With Pidgin, on both Windows and Linux, I installed a new Facebook plugin that actually works.

These two reasons are the main reasons I am not using it that much, other than as a second desktop for times when I want to put a document on the screen really. I have a Dell 17" 1280x1024 monitor setup for it, so it just sits there until I decide what to use it for I guess. If they ever fix Adium, it would be far more useful for me, and I have been debating putting it back to something like 10.8 or 10.9 instead.

So now onto laptops, which there are FOUR I use. The first of which, is the one I use most often. That would be the Lenovo ThinkPad X140e, which I just mentioned in the last post about Linux. It is a smaller laptop, which is actually designed for the educational market, hence the "e" at the end of the model name.

It uses an AMD A4-5000 running at 1.5GHz. It is a quad core processor, but they only used a single channel memory controller, so even though I have 2 sticks of RAM to add up to 8GB of DDR3, it will forever be in single channel mode. Kind of annoying, but the rest of the laptop is nice. It uses an 11.6 inch screen with a resolution of 1366x768, so it is smaller than my other ones, which is why I use it as the main laptop.

Now, this is a ThinkPad so it has the TrackPoint which is the best thing in the world when you get used to them. I would love if every laptop had one, and NO TOUCH PAD at all! It isn't a touch screen model or anything like that, but I have a 120GB SSD in it, and with good battery life, it makes a great laptop to take places.

I got this laptop in a trade with a friend, so it had needed a hard drive, which normally I would have had on hand but it needed a 7MM drive. That is why I opted for the 120gb SSD instead. They came with Windows 8, which I used on it, upgraded to 10 when it came out, and now I run Ubuntu on it instead.

The second laptop is the other one I had installed Linux on. Actually, the one I had installed it on first really. It is a 15.6" Lenovo G500s, but the screen resolution is the same as the X140e sadly. There is also no pointer nub, as it is not a ThinkPad but rather one of the budget models. I got this after my last laptop died, the ThinkPad X200s because it was a good value.

It uses a Core i5 processor, running at 2.4GHz with 8GB of DDR3 RAM. That is the reason I had went for it, as for 500 dollars, it was quite nice. It came with a 1TB hard drive as well. Overall it is a no frills laptop but it does have a number pad which can be rather nice when doing a lot of stuff like spread sheets though.

That was running Windows 8, I downgraded it to 7 at the time, found I didn't really seem to like how it ran on 7, went back to 8, and then got the free upgrade to 10 when it came out. Now, it runs Ubuntu. I think a driver could have been bad or missing as it ran sluggishly even with a fresh install.

Now, onto the two other laptops that I use occasionally, which won't get as much detail as the first 2 did. The first would be a ThinkPad T41, that my friend sent me. He found it a thrift store in the scrap bin for 20 bucks, he tried it and it powered on so he sent it to me. Sadly, UPS damaged it during shipping so when I got it, the hinges were broken and the case cracked. I repaired the hinges, but never did the bottom case yet though I have a bottom case piece somewhere in my room!

Spec wise, it has the 14" high resolution screen so it runs at 1400x1050! Now that I like! It uses a Pentium M 1.7GHz and it currently has 1.5GB of DDR1 RAM. I have a 60GB hard drive in it, with Windows XP installed. It is mainly used to sync up my various old PDAs that need an older computer as well as some occasional writing.

The final laptop is the most recent one actually. It is a PowerBook G4 12 inch. The story of how I got this one is kind of funny really. I was cutting a yard for a new customer, and started talking about computers. I mentioned as a joke that I would accept electronics as payment, and he tells me that he has an old Apple laptop, but it is missing the charger. He goes to get it, I take a look at it and its in pretty decent shape for a 10 year old laptop. It has some small dents on it since its aluminum but screens good, keyboard feels okay, all that good stuff.

So now I have no idea what specs are on this thing, as I can't power it up yet! I ordered a charger, and finally got it running. Turns out it was a top end model, meaning it had 1.5GHz PowerPC G4 processor, 1.25GB of RAM (that 1GB DDR1 stick is now in the ThinkPad T41 actually), 100GB hard drive, and at that time, a SuperDrive meaning DVD ROM CDRW drive. Not a bad machine at all!

I installed OS X 10.5 Leopard on it, and though it is PowerPC, there is some old versions of software that will work on it. It is not a very useful computer though as the fan is making noise. I am NOT willing to take it apart to fix it, so I use it for writing and stuff like that. I will turn it on, and use it until the fan comes on then take a break. The battery still holds a charge on it too!

So, as this is getting longer and longer, I think it is time to call Part 1 done, and thus. this completes the first part of the new series…. What Gadgets I am Using! Tune in soon for Part 2!