$50 Computer Club

PCs, laptops, cyberdecks, homelabs, servers, modems, routers, switches, keyboards, mice, etc.

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Onio
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$50 Computer Club

Post by Onio »

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What is the $50 club?
Computers don't have to be expensive, do they? This is for anyone interested in cheap computing, just for the fun and the experience of it. A place to post our collection of working computers that we use on a regular or semi-regular basis.

The $50 Challenge
The aim is to get as much working computer as one can find for $50 or less, without inheriting it or being gifted it (dumpster diving is allowed.) This includes all peripherals and upgrades added to the device.

Pros of Cheap Computing:
A.) It's a financially accessible challenge/hobby to most people.
B.) It encourages up-cycling old tech.
C.) It's just as likely to increase in value as it is to lose value.
D.) Surfing the web on a cheap computer is an absolute vibe.
E.) You might be surprised by how much value you can get out of a cheap computer.
F.) The computer isn't slow, you're just really fast!

How to join?
Share your systems and details about it. I want everything! Photos, specs, details on how you acquired it, how much you spent on it, how much effort you've put into customizing or upgrading it, operating system, what do you use it for, how do you feel about it, does it have a name?, and anything else you'd like to add.

Rules
1.) It cannot be free and it cannot exceed $50 total incurred cost. Some exceptions: if you found it in the trash, or if it was broken and you fixed it - I like a good repair story!

2.) Desktop or laptop computers only - no pdas, mobile phones, or microcontrollers!
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Onio
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ThinkPad X220 + 2009 MacBook

Post by Onio »

ThinkPad X220 ~ Fedora 43 KDE Plasma

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I somehow scored this ThinkPad X220 for $10 off marketplace, and invested an additional $40 into it. It's the i7-2640m variant, which is the fastest cpu that this laptop came equipped with out of the factory. I installed an old SSD which I had lying around in a computer I never use, and I replaced the display with an IPS panel for $25, and I installed 2 x 8gb sticks of DDR3 which I picked up for $15, which places the cost of this puppy right at $50.

I got lucky with the keyboard! The keyboard it arrived with was unfortunately in rough shape, so I ordered a replacement off of eBay. When it arrived, I left a complaint that it obviously did not look like the photographs and that it was a cheap Chinese variant (still works well enough, but I wouldn't resell this as 'refurbished' with this keyboard.) They refunded the money and let me keep it.

I'm really fond of this little machine! I've only had it for a few months and in that time I haven't used it for too much, but with Fedora, it's pretty snappy. I may end up modifying it in the future, potentially knocking it out of the $50 club, especially if I manage to get it working with a Heltec V3 LoRa node and find a way to stuff that node inside of this device. If I'm able to do that, I might turn this into a meshtastic communications station.

2009 MacBook 5,2 ~ Mavericks OS X

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This is another one I picked up off marketplace for $10, and I really like it as-is! I paid $10 for the machine and $10 for a replacement charger. I also upgraded from 2 x 1gb ddr2 to 2 x 2gb of ddr2 modules, which I pulled from an old donor laptop, and installed an SSD that was given to me as a tip when I sold a modded ThinkPad X230 earlier this year. I did have to clean it a bit, especially the keyboard keys, which I pulled nearly all off to clean with some soap and water.

I really enjoy using this machine. It runs Mavericks OS X which has been patched up a bit to continue connecting to the world wide web. I use the Momiji web browser recommended by Mavericks Forever, which is modified/backported Firefox for older versions of OS X.

Pixel art on personal pages look crisp, the skeumorphic UI is lovely, I threw an old Vista wallpaper on there to get a feeling approximate to frutiger aero, 4gb of ram is fun again! Actually, if you like browsing the independent web but want to avoid spending too much time on YouTube, this device could work really well for that purpose. I prefer to describe the experience as 'quaint' rather than 'slow' because I rather enjoy the pace this machine runs at.

I was actually inspired by Melon to find this laptop and install Mavericks, and I'm really glad I did!
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Nhasasite
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Re: $50 Computer Club

Post by Nhasasite »

the macbook 2009 is so cute!! I can never find like cheap old technology (╥﹏╥)
-N⋆。°✩
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Onio
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Re: $50 Computer Club

Post by Onio »

Nhasasite wrote: Wed May 27, 2026 5:56 am the macbook 2009 is so cute!! I can never find like cheap old technology (╥﹏╥)
There are stretches of time where I'm checking marketplace and ebay daily, largely because I like to purchase good deals, mod them/refurbish them, and resell them, but that's how I find some of these keeps :)
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Kenvexity
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Re: ThinkPad X220 + 2009 MacBook

Post by Kenvexity »

Onio wrote: Tue May 26, 2026 6:47 pm ThinkPad X220 ~ Fedora 43 KDE Plasma

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The ThinkPad X220 looks amazing! If I have a rather unpopular opinion, I actually prefer the more modern keyboard on the X230 and after, cause I cannot live without a backlit keyboard. Even so, still it is in great condition, and very nice that you got the best CPU! Also great price, 10 dollars is something genuinely insane. Unfortunately I cannot contribute, as tech prices where I live are outrageous D:
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Onio
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Re: $50 Computer Club

Post by Onio »

Thanks! Unfortunately it's missing the little LED indicator.. diffuser? I'm not sure what to call it, but you don't see icons on the top cover anymore, it's just a hole with two lights! Other than that, not bad.

I will say that I also really do enjoy the modern keyboard on the X230/T430. I was surprised I liked it as much as I do given how much I've seen people claiming the older keyboard is better. I did the keyboard swap mod on the X230 already and ended up changing it back. The backlight is certainly a nice-to-have, and as far as typing feel goes, I really enjoy them both. I can't say that I feel the classic keyboard is superior in terms of feel (but I'm not especially attuned to that sort of thing.) That being said, I also really like the classic keyboard look, I think I prefer the look of it over the newer keyboard. It's difficult for me to choose between the two, so I just leave them both as they are! Unless, that is, I temporarily perform the keyboard mod on the X230 for show.
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Kenvexity
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Re: $50 Computer Club

Post by Kenvexity »

Onio wrote: Thu May 28, 2026 7:48 am Thanks! Unfortunately it's missing the little LED indicator.. diffuser? I'm not sure what to call it, but you don't see icons on the top cover anymore, it's just a hole with two lights! Other than that, not bad.

I will say that I also really do enjoy the modern keyboard on the X230/T430. I was surprised I liked it as much as I do given how much I've seen people claiming the older keyboard is better. I did the keyboard swap mod on the X230 already and ended up changing it back. The backlight is certainly a nice-to-have, and as far as typing feel goes, I really enjoy them both. I can't say that I feel the classic keyboard is superior in terms of feel (but I'm not especially attuned to that sort of thing.) That being said, I also really like the classic keyboard look, I think I prefer the look of it over the newer keyboard. It's difficult for me to choose between the two, so I just leave them both as they are! Unless, that is, I temporarily perform the keyboard mod on the X230 for show.
There is always the anniversary edition classic backlit keyboard!
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I think it is closer in feel to the modern ThinkPads, like post 2015-2016, but it looks so cool, and that can't be beat, I almost forgot to mention though, this keyboard only works on a very small number of thinkpads, obviously the T25 Anniversary edition, and I think the T480, but that is a mod, not official.
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Onio
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Re: $50 Computer Club

Post by Onio »

I didn't know the T25 keyboard was backlit! That looks so slick!!!
Max8abug
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I AM THE KING OF THE 50! COMPUTER CLUB

Post by Max8abug »

I have been dumpster diving, estate sale-ing, and in general hoarding computers for years so i have quite the haul of computers I acquired for $50 or less (infact, the most I can recall spending on a used computer EVER is $75 and it was a Macintosh SE) SOOOOOOOOO lets begin round one of my notable mentions for $50 computers and less (many of these are dumpster finds)

STARTING OFFFFFF WE HAVE

1. The Signature Thinkpad W530

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This thinkpad w530 was found in a local dumpster with the entire original Thinkpad bag, accessories, and charger included as one package deal, all it needed was a hard drive! I threw 20gb of ram in the thing and put linux mint on it and its a solid workstation, I mostly use it for school.

NEXT UP WE HAVEEEEEEE

2. The Humble 12" 1.22GHz ibook G4

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This ibook G4 (based on the sticker on the bottom) once belonged to a school, most likely for playing oregon trail, but now it sits on my desk for use as the ultimate ipod dock. I Aquired this ibook g4 for a crisp $40, having found it at an estate sale about a year ago. Its a fun device and is useful for firewire, but otherwise it cant do much in modern day (unless you are a fan of macos 10.4 tiger like myself).

3. The mid 2014 Macbook (not very) Retina Halftop

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This is my most recent purchase for a grand sum of $20 untested from a flea market/yard sale thing during a rainstorm, unfortunately the display was completely fried so I converted it to a halftop.

Below is a photo of it in use with the thinkpad.

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4. The Dell Inspiron 1501

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I have owned 2 of this laptop, for a long time it was my signature daily windows XP machine that I even took with me to school, I eventually traded one of mine to a friend while keeping the other for more windows XP use, it was another dumpster find of course.

5. The Classic 1998 Imac g3 333Mhz

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This one is probably my all time best dumpster find, from about 5 or 6 years ago. It is an Imac g3 running macos 9.2.2 that i found tossed and adopted as the cornerstone of my setup, i had it running macos 10.4.11 for a long time but decided eventually that I preferred os9. Its a beautiful designed at to computer and just feels great to stare at even when im not using it.

Anyways thats all I have to post as of right now, or else we would be here all week. I have many more computers but im too lazy to go around my house snapping photos and trying to remember exactly what i paid for each and where I got it. May update later
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Onio
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Re: I AM THE KING OF THE 50! COMPUTER CLUB

Post by Onio »

Max8abug wrote: Wed Jul 08, 2026 9:15 pm I have been dumpster diving, estate sale-ing, and in general hoarding computers for years so i have quite the haul of computers I acquired for $50 or less
Now this, this is what I’ve been hoping to see!! What a great collection! That W530 is such an awesome find, packaged in a bag with all accessories and that charger?? insane. The iBook and the accompanying iPod (nice touch) make a beautiful team. Those mid 2014 MacBooks (I’ve put a maxxed out mid 2014 logicboard in my late 2013) are still pretty useful and I’ve been drawn to the idea of a half-top for a while. I think I’ve got an 09 Inspiron (won’t be making it in the club because it was purchased new by a family member a long time ago), they seem ubiquitous to me - I gotta figure out an XP machine for myself, thanks for the reminder. And that 98 iMac G3 is gorgeous!!! I miss that old font in the iMac logo. I’d really like to pick up the sunflower iMac G4.

Thank you for sharing these, this is awesome!

(Sent from my mid-2009 13” MacBook)
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