I love old PC hardware. Maybe it’s because I’m a special kind of nerd, or maybe it’s because lots of what classes as ‘vintage’ in 2023 is stuff that was new when I was much younger. Or perhaps both. So, what I just watched today is very much up my alley.
Recently, Linus Tech Tips ran a video about a funky looking Japanese laptop that looks old but is actually a modern-spec machine. However, this new video from This Does Not Compute goes the proper way, looking at an actually old Japanese laptop that for some reason is running Windows 11.
And I’m just so ridiculously thrilled by it that I thought I should share it with all of you.
We’re all familiar with Windows 11’s system requirements by now, not least the infamous requirement for TPM. But we also know that there are workarounds and that’s definitely come into play here.
Besides the fact this laptop looks pretty cool and isn’t something we’d see here in the west, it’s that combination of old and new that makes it so captivating. The video goes through the full specs and a hardware tour, including the front optical drive, 2nd Gen Intel CPU and an internal design that’s certainly different to what we’d see today.
Is it particularly good? Well, you probably wouldn’t use it as a daily driver, even though the condition of this particular laptop seems excellent. Just because you can get Windows 11 running OK on something like this doesn’t mean you necessarily should. Traditionally you’d still look towards Linux to resurrect an ancient laptop like this for modern use.
But it’s pretty awesome to see and does make you wonder what else we might be able to squeeze Windows 11 onto. Especially when projects like Tiny 11 exist to shrink down the resource requirements… 🤔
Either way. Nerd out with me and enjoy the video.
