I have been interested in computers as long as I can remember. Here are the machines that I own, for reference.

Active Use

  • falcon/goose (fmr. Robert3-PC)
    • Notebook: Asus X550JX
    • Processor: Intel Core i7-4720HQ
    • Graphics: Nvidia Geforce GTX 950M
    • OS: Ubuntu 18.04 GNU/Linux / Windows 10 Home
    • Story: Purchased new in Nov 2015, this powerful laptop replaced Robert2-PC. Unlike its predecessors, it is capable of performing more intense tasks such as video recording and editing, and some PC gaming. Motherboard was RMA’d for faulty graphics and system instability in Nov 2016. Upon return, rechristened into Ubuntu GNU/Linux as falcon. falcon’s battery died during Robosub in July 2017, and was converted into a faux-desktop dual-booting Windows 10 machine called goose. Moved to my apartment in Aug 2017 and lived stationary on my desk until the completion of hawk in June 2018. goose was freed from its role as a desktop and sought new horizons as an Ubuntu GNU/Linux laptop, awaiting a replacement battery. However, instead of getting a replacement battery, it simply became my minecraft server for many months. After its stint as a minecraft server, it became my media PC, connected to my TV. As of 2025, it’s back to being my minecraft server.
  • hawk
    • Case: DIYPC-D480-BK
    • Motherboard: Super Micro X8DTi-F
    • Processor: 2x Intel Xeon X5660
    • Graphics: AMD Radeon RX 580 8GB
    • Memory: 48 GB (6x8 GB) DDR3 ECC RAM, 1333 MHz
    • Story: What started as a $100 motherboard grab in from Berkeley’s Free & For Sale group in March 2018 turned into my first desktop box. The motherboard had 2 Xeon processors, 48GB of RAM, and two fans already installed. I bought a case, power supply, and hard drive, assembled it, and installed Ubuntu 16.04. I attempted to install a graphics card, but was having trouble getting it to be powered properly (you mean the second power connector isn’t optional?) Realizing that it would probably consume more than the 2 weekends I already spent on it, hawk was shelved as a beefy dev server until June 2018, when I installed the graphics card and Windows 10. In December 2019, I purchased an AMD RX 580 graphics card. Now, hawk my primary PC for gaming, video editing, and development work.
  • eecsworld64
    • SBC: Raspberry Pi 4, 8GB
    • Currently serves eecsworld.com. Connected to my 4TB external hard drive for SMB/FTP access. Has enough processing power to run inference using a smaller CLIP model, which powers my meme archival and indexing service.
  • Robert's Macbook Air
  • squirrel

PCPartPicker Part List

Unused

These computers hold special places in my heart. However, they also hold a resting place where they gather dust for now.

  • Robert-PC
    • Notebook: Acer Aspire 5734-4774
    • Processor: Intel Pentium T3199
    • OS: Windows Vista
    • Story: A prize for winning a math contest in May 2008, this laptop was used to programmed many robots throughout middle school and high school. As one of its final missions, it simulated the Bishop cannon, launching Kerbonaut Jeb Kerman into the lower statosphere.
  • duck (fmr. Robert2-PC)
    • Notebook: Acer Aspire E1-571
    • Processor: Intel Core i5-3210M
    • OS: Ubuntu 16.04 GNU/Linux Headless
    • Story: This laptop was purchased new in Nov 2013, and used for robotics, cybersecurity, and APCS. The main hinge failed sometime around 2014, but was held together by electrical and duct tape for many months. I wrote the story of Robert2-PC for my college admissions essay. Robert2-PC was rechristened into Ubuntu GNU/Linux as duck in Aug 2016, and lived under my bed at Foothill student housing in Berkeley for a year. duck lived in my closet as a remote development server for many years until I eventually switched over to using my raspberry pi instead.
  • eagle (fmr. Robert4-PC)
    • Notebook: Microsoft Surface Book
    • Processor: Intel Core i5-6300U
    • Graphics: Modified Nvidia Geforce GTX 940M
    • OS: Windows 10 Pro
    • Story: I bought this laptop new in Nov 2016 as a replacement for my faulty Robert3-PC. Lighter, more portable, and with incredible battery life, Robert4-PC turned heads as it made its way through lectures, labs, hackathons, and more. With the return of Robert3-PC as falcon, Robert4-PC became eagle. eagle was used for a few years as my handy travel computer. The charger started to become frayed, causing electrical sparks and excessive heat. By that point I had mostly begun using my company-provided laptops for travel, so I retired eagle. It still works just fine, but I don’t have much use for it anymore.
  • eecsworld
    • SBC: Raspberry Pi 3 model B+
    • Story: I used this particular raspberry pi for development during my work on Robosub. However, since I ceased work on Robosub, I’ve used it as a web server, hosting many sites under eecsworld.com. For most of its life, it was simply raspberrypi, until I decided to rename it.