NAND-16
Shares rank 10 of 12 firmware emulators by recommenders
People recommend it as a smooth, interactive way to learn how a computer works from NAND gates, even on phones; the most common caveat is incorrect circuit rendering.
People recommend it as a smooth, interactive way to learn how a computer works from NAND gates, even on phones; the most common caveat is incorrect circuit rendering.
7 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 5
- criticize it
- 2
- approval share
- 71%
Recommended in 1 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 5 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 2.5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 1 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Smooth visuals on phones
“I enjoyed learning by doing and I’m impressed by how well this ran on a phone”
Comment from 30 Sep 2026 in “NAND-16: a computer built from 277,248 NAND gates” “Impressed by visuals working so smoothly on mobile”
Comment from 29 Sep 2026 in “NAND-16: a computer built from 277,248 NAND gates” Interactive, well-made visuals
“Impressed by visuals working so smoothly on mobile”
Comment from 29 Sep 2026 in “NAND-16: a computer built from 277,248 NAND gates” “its well done, interactive and has great visuals”
Comment from 30 Sep 2026 in “NAND-16: a computer built from 277,248 NAND gates”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Incorrect circuit rendering
“The problem is the rendering is wrong.”
Comment from 30 Sep 2026 in “NAND-16: a computer built from 277,248 NAND gates” “Circuits on the PCB terminate at nonsensical points or overlap where they shouldn't.”
Comment from 30 Sep 2026 in “NAND-16: a computer built from 277,248 NAND gates”
Other firmware emulators people recommend
The four most recommended other firmware emulators, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Velxio | 21 | 3 | 88% | 3 | — | — |
| Diode | 17 | 10 | 63% | 1 | — | — |
| Circuit Artist | 11 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
| Esp32sim | 11 | 1 | 92% | 1 | — | — |
| NAND-16This page | 5 | 2 | 71% | 1 | — | — |
What people said
All 7 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Circuits on the PCB terminate at nonsensical points or overlap where they shouldn't.”
“I enjoyed learning by doing and I’m impressed by how well this ran on a phone”
“The problem is the rendering is wrong.”
“The Google Earth of computers. I'm amazed my computer can even run this.”
“its well done, interactive and has great visuals”
“Impressed by visuals working so smoothly on mobile”
“So this is an emulation of a vibe coded processor.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.