# How many computers do you have?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-computers-do-you-have/479301>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [December 31, 2008, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-computers-do-you-have/479301 "2008-12-31T00:47:31Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\
**Post date:** [December 31, 2008, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-computers-do-you-have/479301/1 "2008-12-31T00:47:31Z")

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In [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=499483) regarding allowing guests to use your computer, many said they had a spare computer for guests to use. This intrigues me.

We have 2 computers, one a 6 year old, bottom of the line Dell desktop (soon to be replaced) and a newer mid-range laptop that we got about 2 years ago. Before that, we were a one-computer household (just me and my husband).

I get the impression that’s becoming unusual, though. So, fess up. How many machines are you running?

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**Author:** ![Alpine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpine/32/17813_2.png) [@Alpine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpine)\
**Post date:** [December 31, 2008, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-computers-do-you-have/479301/2 "2008-12-31T00:50:23Z")

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Mr Alpine and I each have a laptop, and then we have an old W2K lappie running the music (internet radio and iTunes).

So, three. (I don’t count the p2 carcass out back.)

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**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\
**Post date:** [December 31, 2008, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-computers-do-you-have/479301/3 "2008-12-31T00:51:48Z")

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Not counting my office one (which I don’t own): one, at home.

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**Author:** ![Daerlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Daerlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daerlyn)\
**Post date:** [December 31, 2008, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-computers-do-you-have/479301/4 "2008-12-31T00:52:25Z")

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One laptop, one shiny brand new powerhouse desktop, one kind of midrange desktop, one old vaio which I think is a pentium 3 or 4 and gets used for internet emergencies.

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**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\
**Post date:** [December 31, 2008, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-computers-do-you-have/479301/5 "2008-12-31T00:58:42Z")

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Three people in the house and we have four computers between us. Husband has a desktop, son has a desk top and my hand-me-down laptop. I have a laptop.

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**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\
**Post date:** [December 31, 2008, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-computers-do-you-have/479301/6 "2008-12-31T01:02:07Z")

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One. It’s a three year old mid-range Dell desktop.

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**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\
**Post date:** [December 31, 2008, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-computers-do-you-have/479301/7 "2008-12-31T01:08:00Z")

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5 between the three of us. I have a laptop and a desktop, our tenant has the same and my SO has a laptop.

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**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\
**Post date:** [December 31, 2008, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-computers-do-you-have/479301/8 "2008-12-31T01:08:37Z")

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Not counting any machines from work, let’s see …

# Three new laptops Two current desktops Four old laptops

Nine

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**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\
**Post date:** [December 31, 2008, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-computers-do-you-have/479301/9 "2008-12-31T01:14:32Z")

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1 laptop, 4 desktops (one of which hasn’t been turned on in over a year).

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**Author:** ![Jammer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df705f/32.png) [@Jammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jammer)\
**Post date:** [December 31, 2008, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-computers-do-you-have/479301/10 "2008-12-31T01:16:57Z")

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In regular use we have two laptops and two desktops in our house. There is also another laptop that is getting a bit old and is only in use if a guest wants to just surf the web.

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**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\
**Post date:** [December 31, 2008, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-computers-do-you-have/479301/11 "2008-12-31T01:29:24Z")

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Three working ones, at least four others in various stages of brokeness and cannivalisation.

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**Author:** ![Karyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/fbc32d/32.png) [@Karyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Karyn)\
**Post date:** [December 31, 2008, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-computers-do-you-have/479301/12 "2008-12-31T01:30:24Z")

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We have 9 for two of us. I have a desktop and laptop and my partner has one in his woodshop, one in the basement where he does electronics stuff, 3 in his den for some unknown reason and 2 laptops that he just rebuilt. He also has 3 gaming consoles. It’s not my fault.

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**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\
**Post date:** [December 31, 2008, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-computers-do-you-have/479301/13 "2008-12-31T01:34:47Z")

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Exactly a year ago, both my computers died for different reasons. My CG computer, that I do my 3D modelling and effects work on, had a PSU blow. Luckily it was a simple replacement part and all was good.

My second computer, which I use for internetting and miscellaneous stuff, was replaced entirely when the motherboard gave up the ghost, so it’s technically an all new computer, though I tend not to think of it in that way as the hard drive and contents are mostly the same as before.

Anyway, I have two computers, both desktop PCs with XP Pro.

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**Author:** ![MadPansy64](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dc4da7/32.png) [@MadPansy64](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadPansy64)\
**Post date:** [December 31, 2008, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-computers-do-you-have/479301/14 "2008-12-31T01:38:52Z")

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**Giant Freakin Marine** has his laptop, I have mine, and the guest room has my old desktop.

There’s an ancient, shitty when it was new, desktop (Emachines \<shudder\> with Win95) in a box in the basement, and **GFM** s old laptop with videocard issues around somewhere, but those shouldn’t really count, since they aren’t actually functional at any given moment.

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**Author:** ![Quasimodal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/57b2e6/32.png) [@Quasimodal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodal)\
**Post date:** [December 31, 2008, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-computers-do-you-have/479301/15 "2008-12-31T01:38:55Z")

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Two Apples, a powerbook G4 that is showing it’s age…and an 8-core Mac Pro…which may or may not be an intelligent life form.

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**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\
**Post date:** [December 31, 2008, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-computers-do-you-have/479301/16 "2008-12-31T01:39:15Z")

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Three desktops in a network and one laptop (which is out on loan at present).  
('m single.)

How can nerds like me invite friends round to play computer games with only one computer? 😕

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**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\
**Post date:** [December 31, 2008, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-computers-do-you-have/479301/17 "2008-12-31T01:43:57Z")

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I have one functional computer, plus an old one I for some reason haven’t tossed, which has a busted LCD (both laptops).

My parents have a laptop each plus a desktop. They also have four more machines, but they’re all obsolete and sitting in the basement (despite my best efforts to get my dad to resume daily usage of his rocking Gateway with a 386 processor and 120MB hard drive).

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**Author:** ![Unsquare\_Dance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b3f665/32.png) [@Unsquare\_Dance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unsquare_Dance)\
**Post date:** [December 31, 2008, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-computers-do-you-have/479301/18 "2008-12-31T01:45:35Z")

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Nine. Six are laptops.

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**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\
**Post date:** [December 31, 2008, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-computers-do-you-have/479301/19 "2008-12-31T01:46:40Z")

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2 people 2 PC’s. One high end gaming PC we use for most things, and 1 home theater PC hooked up to our HDTV. It’s where we time shift, record and download our movies and TV shows.

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**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\
**Post date:** [December 31, 2008, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-computers-do-you-have/479301/20 "2008-12-31T01:49:27Z")

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Hmmm…one desktop for me, one for my wife, one for the HTPC. I have an Eee PC netbook, wife has a Toshiba laptop, and there’s an old Dell laptop (with a red out screen) floating about until I decide what to do with it.  
So, six counting the down-and-out Dell. Then, my wife usually brings home her work laptop (_nice_), making seven.  
I’m not counting the IPod touch, or the PDA.

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