ThinkpadIL wrote on 2022-11-15, 05:52:

You are not alone, mate. […]
Show full quote

Jasin Natael wrote on 2022-11-14, 21:28:

I like retro laptops. I have like 11 of them, ranging from the Pentium MMX to Pentium M. But maybe I am the odd man out in this regard.

You are not alone, mate.

For reasons of space saving I collect almost exclusively laptops. In my humble opinion collection of desktops simply doesn't fit a human habitation. And of course I buy those laptops with plans to use them with external monitor in mind, and no, those are not a CRT beasts for the same reasons of space saving.

From my little experience there is no one perfect model of laptop that you've bought and you're done. So I'd say that buying several different laptops is a more realistic plan.

Also keep in mind that there are several models of laptops which docking stations are able to accommodate ISA and/or PCI slots.

Yes all good points. I have several retro desktops as well.
I have 486s, K6's, PIII's, Athlons, Geforce 2's and Voodoo 3's, Soundblasters and Vortex 2's, but desktops just take up so much room.
I keep one at a time connected via KVM and VGA to HDMI to my ultrawide and that's about it.

But I don't really have the space anymore to be able to use them effectively (not to mention the time).
Laptops are all small enough that I can tuck them under a bed or a crib, and haul one out on the desk as desired. Makes it much more convenient.

You are right about their not being any one perfect machine though.
I have a nice fast Gateway with a Tualitin PIII, Geforce2Go graphics and an ESS DOS capable sound chip. It's PCI and doesn't sound amazing but it's not unsuable.
But the thing is a monster with a 16" screen and is just bigger than I like to use.

I usually default to one of the Pentiums for DOS stuff, or I also have a Toshiba with a K6-2+ that works well enough.
For later 9x 3D stuff I have a PIII with a Radeon 7500 Mobility and a big huge Sony with a 9700 Pro.
That pretty much covers any bases that I need to cover.
With the exception of a external mouse or gamepad, I don't have a need for peripherals.