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My Computing Hardware History

Below I list the computing hardware I use at home, as is customary for computer nerds. However, as this is a nostalgia site, I felt the urge to list also my past hardware (with dates of use) alongside my current hardware. I have tried to provide as complete a chronology here as possible, but I make no guarantee of complete accuracy, as I didn't have very much in terms of records besides my memory. I hope that this information will still be of some interest to you.

Desktop Towers

1. Pionex desktop, from circa 1999 to between June–September 2001
   • CPU: Intel Pentium MMX
   • OS: Microsoft Windows 95
   • Additional specs coming soon...
2. eMachines T1855, from between June–September 2001 to circa mid-2003 (no later than September 2003)
   • CPU: Intel Celeron 850 MHz
   • RAM: 128MB
   • HDD: 20GB
   • 5.25'' CD/DVD-ROM drive and 3.5'' floppy drive
   • OS: Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition
3. HP Pavilion a310n, from circa mid-2003 (no later than September 2003) to November 2004
   • CPU: Intel Celeron 2.7 GHz
   • RAM: 256MB DDR-333 (1x256MB)
   • HDD: 80GB
   • PSU: 250W
   • 5.25'' CD/DVD-ROM drive, 5.25'' CD-RW drive, 3.5'' floppy drive, and various memory card readers
   • OS: Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
4. Dell Dimension 8400, from November 2004 to circa March 2010
   • CPU: Intel Pentium 4 3.2 GHz
   • RAM: 1GB DDR2-400 (2x512MB)
   • HDD: Western Digital 160GB SATA
   • PSU: 350W
   • Graphics card: ATI Radeon X300
   • 5.25'' CD/DVD-ROM drive, 5.25'' Philips DVD+/-RW drive, and 3.5'' floppy drive
   • OS: Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition, November 2004 to September/October 2009; later upgraded to Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate x86 during September/October 2009.
5. Dell Vostro 220, from circa March 2010 to December 2011
   • CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300 2.5 GHz
   • RAM: 3GB DDR2-800 (1x2GB, 1x1GB)
   • HDD: Although I cannot remember exactly, the capacity was probably somewhere around 500GB. This particular hard disk had issues, so I disposed of it some years ago.
   • PSU: 300W
   • Graphics card: Initially no discrete graphics card; then upgraded with a VisionTek ATI Radeon HD 4350 512MB very soon (i.e. probably less than a month) after purchase, which was then replaced with a Sapphire AMD Radeon HD 6850 1GB graphics card during mid/late 2010.
   • Two 5.25'' optical disc drives: one only for reading CDs and DVDs, the other only for writing them.
   • OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate x86
6. iBUYPOWER custom pre-built, from December 2011 to December 2017
   • CPU: AMD FX-8150 8-Core 3.6 GHz (with liquid cooling)
   • RAM: 8GB G.Skill DDR3-1600 (2x4GB)
   • Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-970A-D3, Socket AM3+
   • HDD: Seagate 1TB SATA3
   • PSU: Coonix 800W
   • Graphics card: XFX AMD Radeon HD 6870 1GB
   • Case: NZXT Lexa S
   • Sony 24X SATA DVD+/-RW 5.25'' drive
   • OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium x64
7. iBUYPOWER custom pre-built, post-upgrade, from December 2017 to present. In December 2017, after being dissatisfied with the GIGABYTE motherboard, I decided to upgrade to a higher-end Intel motherboard, which also required upgrading the processor and memory. Changing these three components (particularly the motherboard), of course, is like getting an entirely new computer, which is why I have listed it here as a separate item.
   • CPU: Intel Core i7-6700 4-Core 3.4 GHz (with stock fan)
   • RAM: 8GB G.Skill DDR4-2133 (2x4GB)
   • Mobo: ASRock Z270 Extreme 4, Intel LGA 1151
   • Storage: Seagate 1TB SATA3 HDD, which was later replaced with a Samsung 500GB SATA3 SSD during August 2021.
   • Western Digital 4TB SATA3 HDD as a second storage device, from October 2020 to present
   • 5.25'' front panel USB 3.0 hub with various memory card readers, USB 3.1 Type-C port, and eSATA port, from October 2020 to present
   • All other components same as above.

Microsoft Windows for life!

Keyboards

1. Keyboard with an AT connector included with the Pionex desktop, from circa 1999 to between June–September 2001
2. Keyboard (most likely PS/2) included with the eMachines T1855, from between June–September 2001 to circa mid-2003 (no later than September 2003)
3. HP Model 5183, from circa mid-2003 (no later than September 2003) to November 2004
4. Dell Model RT7D40 (wireless), from November 2004 to circa mid-2010
5. Logitech G110, from circa mid-2010 to present

Mice

1. PS/2 mouse included with the Pionex desktop, from circa 1999 to between June–September 2001
2. Mouse (most likely PS/2) included with the eMachines T1855, from between June–September 2001 to circa mid-2003 (no later than September 2003)
3. HP Model MO42KC, from circa mid-2003 (no later than September 2003) to circa late 2003
4. Labtec Model M-SBG91A, from circa late 2003 to November 2004
5. Dell wireless mouse (possibly Model M-RAC67B or similar) included with the Dell Dimension 8400, from November 2004 to circa early 2005
6. Various wireless mice, from circa early 2005 to circa mid/late 2007. I switched wireless mice rather frequently during this period of time, as I was never really satisfied with any of them; they all had issues, and eventually I refused to buy wireless mice entirely.
7. Logitech MX310, from circa mid/late 2007 to mid-2010
8. Razer Imperator, from mid-2010 to February 2019
9. Microsoft IntelliMouse Explorer 3.0, from February 2019 to present

Monitors

1. 4:3 CRT included with the Pionex desktop, from circa 1999 to between June–September 2001
2. eMachines eView 17p 4:3 CRT, from between June–September 2001 to November 2004
3. Dell E193FP (or similar model) 4:3 LCD, from November 2004 to circa mid-2006
4. eMachines CRT again, after the Dell LCD broke, from circa mid-2006 to circa mid-2008
5. HP w1907 1440x900 LCD, from circa mid-2008 to December 2014
6. ViewSonic VA1930wm 1440x900 LCD as second monitor, from October/November/December 2009 to December 2014
7. Two Dell UltraSharp U2412M 1920x1200 LCDs in a dual monitor setup, from December 2014 to present

Glorious 16:10 Ratio Master Race!

Speakers

1. MidiLand MLi 691P, from circa 1999 to between June–September 2001
2. Labtec LCS-1050, from between June–September 2001 to November 2004 (?)
3. (Possibly a pair of speakers included with the HP Pavilion a310n, which would have as its dates of use from circa mid-2003 to November 2004, but I am really unsure of this.)
4. Dell MMS 5650 5.1 surround sound system, from November 2004 to present. (Yes, I have been using the same set of speakers for nearly 17 years. It's a fine set of speakers, and I have no need to replace them.)

This page last modified on 12 August 2021.