Technology That I Use

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Desktop Computers

Dell Optiplex XE2 SFF

My Dell Optiplex XE2 is my main desktop computer which I use. It is not as powerful as the my HP Z820 workstation but software wise and form factor wise I much prefer it.

I Librebooted this computer last year, I have had a few computers in the past which were librebootable, but this Optiplex was the only one which I deemed financially viable to do so (It was cheap < £50).

As of writing this it runs Alpine Linux, but I plan to switch it over to NetBSD soon. I am planning on getting a 4G router which has ethernet ports which I will keep on my desktop, right now I only have access to WiFi so I have an Intel AX210 WiFi card in this machine (not supported on NetBSD).

Specs:

I really like this machine, it is small, fast, cheap and libre. Even though it is over 10 years old it still feels extremely snappy and handles anything that I throw at it quite well. I don't plan on getting rid of it anytime soon, or ever really.

Dell Optiplex's are great desktop computers if you are willing to run Linux/*BSD because they are so cheap and parts are easily available if they break. Even better is that they are Librebootable and it's quite easy to do so, at least at a bassline level (no IME removal).

I plan on doing a Libreboot guide for Dell Optiplex's, and maybe guides for other computers too. Other than just making the computer more free Librebooting my Optiplex came with some practical benefits. With the stock BIOS the computer would not shutdown correctly, reset settings, boot loop and do other strange things. Flashing a Libreboot BIOS fixed all of my BIOS issues.

Update: 26th March 2025

The reason that I had not yet made the switch to NetBSD on this machine yet was that there was no driver for the Intel AX210 Wireless card yet. OpenBSD has the iwx(4) driver but nothing on NetBSD yet.

I forgot that I owned an Atheros USB WiFi card, I previously used this during my x2 Optiplex's + HP Z820 setup to get WiFi on the two Optiplex's. After writing the initial article I figured I could probably use it under NetBSD 10.1 on the Optiplex XE2. My specific card is supported by the athn(4) driver on NetBSD. It uses the AR9271 chip, I cant remeber the exact card I bought but if you need a similar card look on Ebay for "USB AR9271".

This card is a complete piece of shit, but it works, I installed NetBSD 10.1 with *minimal* issues and now I am in the configuring phase of the post-installation.

The only issues I have so far is that the keyboard does not work on boot , the graphics driver needs tweaking a bit and sound is iffy. I will probably write another article detailing all of these issues like I did with my X200.

HP Z820 Workstation

This is my powerhouse computer. I don't really use that much anymore, it was my main desktop for a while until I bought my Optiplex XE2. It is very powerful, I ran Gentoo Linux on it for a while, not because I even like using Gentoo, just because I wanted to get my moneys worth!

If you want a powerful desktop, old HP Z workstations and similar computers can be a good choice because they are very cheap. I got mine for £200.

Specs: I mainly use this computer to play video games, I dont really do this often so it does not see much use. In the future, I want to run Alpine Linux on it. I will only be able to do this once my Optiplex is running NetBSD. I find I always need to have a machine running some sort of Linux.

I also want to get a KVM switch so that I do not have to have multiple keyboards and mice hooked up everywhere, just one set to rule them all.

Laptops

ThinkPad X200

Currently my only laptop is my ThinkPad X200. My X200 is beaten up, old, and slow, but reliable. It is running NetBSD 10.1 right now, it is by no means fast, but it gets me through my daily laptop needs.

Specs:

There is not really much to say about this laptop. I have owned many ThinkPad's but my X200 has outlived them all. I probably would not recommend one to someone who needs a laptop as they are almost 20 years old but for me who already ones one I will keep it until it breaks beyond reasonable repair.

Misc

Keyboard

I use a ThinkPad SK-8845CR USB keyboard. I paided a premium for this keyboard (£80) but it was worth it. I love the classic ThinkPad keyboard and it saddens me that they don't exist on modern ThinkPad's, so to keep me using the classic keyboard with modern equipment, I bought this.

I would highly recommend these keyboards if you are a fan of classic ThinkPad keyboards or keyboards in general. There is a trackpoint in the middle which I really like because I hate having to use the mouse.

There are different models of this keyboard, some have no trackpad like mine, some have a trackpad, some have a numpad and some have the modern chiclet keys (yuck!).

These are quite rare and expensive, but if you find one on Ebay or something I would 100% give in to your impulses and get one.

Mouse

Dell Mouse!



Routers

I have a Mercusys MT110 as my router. It connects to the internet via 4G. You place a sim card in the thing and then boom, internet.

This device only has wireless connectivity which is a bit annoying, however it has a battery so it is portable. I plan on getting a another router from Mercusys which is a plugin one for the home, it will still use 4G (maybe 5G) but it also has ethernet ports. The only downside to this router is that it's not portable.

But with both I can have WiFi anywhere I go!

The brand Mercusys seems to be quite good for software too, as far as I know all their software is licensed under the GPL.