What I use (2025)

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Why the update?

Not much has actually changed in my setup, but I've decided to merge both the hardware and software I use into one article. I think my setup is interesting because in some ways I've actually downgraded things, not to intentionally make the setup worse, but mostly due to a shift in my priorities.

Hardware

Desktop Computer

I use a Dell Precision T1650. Initially this was just to experiment with getting Libreboot running on a desktop (yes, my computer is librebooted), but it worked well enough that I could sell my custom PC.

This computer has an Intel Xeon E3-1280 CPU, 32GB of RAM (upgraded recently, I know neofetch says 16GB), 1TB NVMe SSD, and an 8GB AMD Radeon RX 590. While it's no computing powerhouse, it's perfectly adequate for my use cases (1080p video editing in Kdenlive, virtualisation, and a little bit of gaming).

While this is technically a prebuilt. I still consider it a custom build since almost all parts have been upgraded or modified. I even replaced the stock case.

Laptop

I use a Lenovo ThinkPad P50 with an Intel Core i7-6820HQ, 32GB of RAM, a 512GB NVMe SSD, and an NVIDIA Quadro M2000M GPU. I primarily use it as a secondary computer/travel laptop, but in some ways it's actually better than my desktop.

I also use the laptop to record capture card footage since OBS can take advantage of NVENC hardware encoding. Libreboot doesn't play well with NVIDIA since the official drivers are proprietary and the third-party nouveau driver doesn't play well with newer cards. That's why my desktop has an AMD GPU.

Peripherals

I use a cheap keyboard and mouse which are so boring they're not even worth talking about. For the mic, I use a Blue Snowball. For the display, I use a 144HZ 24 inch AOC monitor, although since I'm not a huge gamer, I'm looking to replace it with a higher resolution display with better colour accuracy.

Software

Operating System

I use GNU/Linux... no surprise there. On my laptop, I run Pop!_OS. On my desktop, I run Debian, but I've also been dabbling with NixOS a fair bit and have considered switching to it.

On my desktop, I use i3wm. Feel free to call me a noob for not using dwm or hyprland.

Creative Applications

I record my audio in Audacity, record my screen & capture card footage in OBS, I make thumbnails in Krita, and I edit my videos in either DaVinci Resolve or Kdenlive depending on what I feel like using.

Miscellaneous Applications