Cited on HN 4 times, 2023–2025, never outright recommendedscore 0
Years with an HN recommendation, 2007–2026
Linked when retro hardware, 8088 or 386 machines, or oddball AliExpress computers come up.
LGR reviews the Book 8088 and Hand 386, newly built DOS retro PCs sold on AliExpress that use real legacy chips on custom boards. He covers what is neat about them and their compromises and odd design decisions.
Additional context in [0], [1]. LGR review of the machine [2]. I would recommend reading [1] because it confirms the GPL violation but paints interesting picture of the reason. [0] [link] [1] [link] [2] [this video] "So I Bought Those Weird New AliExpress Retro PCs…"
I thought this concept looked familiar and indeed it's by the same company which makes those portable 386 and 8086 machines. LGR covered them a while ago: [this video]
Coverage of same company's portable 386/8086 machines
Retro gaming enthusiasts have been creating mini-PCs first starting with industrial computers (386) built for CNC machines, and have recently been getting custom PCBs made like the Pixel x86: [link] You can find some oddball stuff on AliExpress that’s probably made to replace as close as possible 1to1 EOL equipment: [this video]
I love this idea. There are some weird things showing up on Aliexpress but are limited in various ways: [this video] It does seem like emulation is the way.
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