raymac46 Posted September 30, 2020 Share Posted September 30, 2020 Let me count the ways. You may have some additional ways I haven't used. Repurpose an existing Windows machine you already own. This is how I got started (Dell Dimension 4100 desktop) and I have done it recently with a Lenovo laptop. Remove Windows, install your own favorite distro. Dumpster diving. I got my first Linux laptop that way - a 1997 Compaq from the recycler. It was junk but I got it working with Vector Linux. Buy a preinstalled Linux machine. Only did this once with a 32 bit 1st gen Acer netbook and to be honest I wasn't impressed with the result. I had to remove the default Linux because it was so badly configured. No wonder Linux failed on the first netbooks. Donations. I have received many obsolete Windows machines over the years and either kept them (Toshiba netbook) or passed them on after refurbishment. This usually means installing an SSD nowadays before putting Linux on the unit. I refurbed one particularly nice desktop and 7 years later upgraded it again. Off lease. A super way to get a good basic machine at a great price. Have done it several times, mostly Dell or Lenovo commercial grade stuff. They came with Windows but I removed it of course. Buy a clone. Did this once - had the maker build it so that it booted to the BIOS setup, then installed Linux. This unit is 12 years old now and still works great. Build your own. This is the optimal way if you want a new desktop. You can choose your hardware for best results. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted September 30, 2020 Share Posted September 30, 2020 Options 1 and 7 have been my modus operandi throughout my Linux journey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
securitybreach Posted September 30, 2020 Share Posted September 30, 2020 I build all of the desktops and buy the laptops. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymac46 Posted October 1, 2020 Author Share Posted October 1, 2020 (edited) I have got the best results from off lease and build your own. However it took me a few years to get the courage to build a desktop. My clone machine is good but I was lucky and got a legendary AMD Athlon X2 in it. Off lease stuff around this area is usually Intel Centrino tech so it's perfect for Linux. Desktops usually need a wifi card but by now I know what'll work best. Much as I appreciate the growing number of OEM Linux offerings, they are hard to find in Canada and very expensive. Besides I don't necessarily want to use the preinstalled distro, so it's better to save a few bucks and just remove Windows. Edited October 1, 2020 by raymac46 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted October 1, 2020 Share Posted October 1, 2020 1 hour ago, raymac46 said: legendary AMD Athlon X2 Ah... the memories. That was one helluva AMD processor. I think I still have a couple out in my shop somewhere. I used it in my ol' ericsbane04 machine about 10 years ago. ericsbane04: Cooler Master Chassis Mid Tower Elite 334 Nvidia Edition ATX Casing Cooler Master Extreme Power Plus - 650watt power supply GigaByte GA-M55plus-S3G socket AM2 motherboard AMD Athlon64 X2 4000+ Nvidia chipset: GeForce 6100 Northbridge, nForce 430 Southbridge 4Gig Centon DDR2 800 PC-6400 RAM DDR 800 (slots 1 & 2) 2Gig Minix DDR2 800 PC-6400 RAM DDR 666 (slots 3 & 4) IDE 0 Master: Western Digital 250Gig IDE 0 Slave: ZIP 100 SATA 0: Western Digital 250Gig SATA 1: Western Digital 250Gig IDE 1 Master: HP DVD 840 IDE 1 Slave: LG CDRW/DVDROM GCC-4481B Standard 3.5" floppy Six (6) cooling fans ===== HP Deskjet 842C printer HP Scanjet 3400 flatbed scanner HP W1907 LCD monitor Altec Lansing (front) + Harman Kardon (rear) speakers Dell USB keyboard Logitech Trackball mouse Updated 09 April 2011 Heh! Still had the Zip100 and the floppy in that machine. Fun times! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted October 1, 2020 Share Posted October 1, 2020 I have to say here, I have NEVER in my entire computering career bought a brand new anything ... desktop, laptop, etc. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted October 1, 2020 Share Posted October 1, 2020 Why's that sad, Josh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
securitybreach Posted October 1, 2020 Share Posted October 1, 2020 New hardware is always fun 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted October 1, 2020 Share Posted October 1, 2020 Oh, don't misunderstand... I've definitely bought mobos, psus, cpus, HDDs, RAM, etc. throughout the years to build my systems. I just have never bought a brand new desktop or laptop computer. One of these days, though, I might buy me a nice new HP laptop. Although, my g-friend is saving up to buy herself a new one, so I may inherit her old HP, which really isn't that old (3 years). I'll put Slack on that baby and be Rockin' and Rollin'! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
securitybreach Posted October 1, 2020 Share Posted October 1, 2020 2 hours ago, V.T. Eric Layton said: Oh, don't misunderstand... I've definitely bought mobos, psus, cpus, HDDs, RAM, etc. throughout the years to build my systems. I just have never bought a brand new desktop or laptop computer. One of these days, though, I might buy me a nice new HP laptop. Although, my g-friend is saving up to buy herself a new one, so I may inherit her old HP, which really isn't that old (3 years). I'll put Slack on that baby and be Rockin' and Rollin'! Ah, I've never bought a new desktop as a prebuilt couldn't be as nice as what I build. I thought that you meant that you hadnt built a pc with new parts or something. HP machines are nice, we only deal with HP hardware at work. Of course, they are the business class versions (Elitebook and Zbooks). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted October 1, 2020 Share Posted October 1, 2020 Hmm... if work ever offers you a pallet of older ones, be sure to let me know. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymac46 Posted October 1, 2020 Author Share Posted October 1, 2020 If you do not intend to use Windows I see a clear difference between building a new desktop (which would not have Windows preinstalled) and buying a new laptop (which conceivably would.) I'd prefer to get a used laptop which might even have an obsolete version of Windows on it. You are going to blow it off anyway. That seems like less of a waste to me. My Thinkpad was originally set up for Windows 7. It was upgraded to Windows 10 but I don't think Lenovo guaranteed to support that O/S. It would probably have been fine but I wasn't going to use it anyway. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hedon James Posted October 1, 2020 Share Posted October 1, 2020 I've mostly repurposed old machines with Linux. Things went alot smoother when I learned to research the hardware BEFORE I installed Linux, LOL! But I've also built from scratch and, TBH, that has been my best computer....EVER. It's been a 100% linux machine since inception. Getting a little dated now with its AMD FX-6200 Bulldozer chip, but I put 16GB RAM in there and it's still a beast, despite it's age. And I bought an OEM with linux pre-installed. Bought a Gorillabox from the US maker Chimpbox, with PCLOS pre-installed. I blew off PCLOS and put my custom Lubuntu re-mix on there and its a dedicated media server/KODI machine. I download/rip/convert movies on that, and manage my video library. I had Gorillabox squeeze in a dvd writer to that shoebox machine, and I've been VERY impressed and pleased with it. I can't remember the specs in that, but I do know it's an AMD CPU and I bumped the RAM to 8GB. I think I spent $450 on that, even with the RAM and dvd upgrades. I would absolutely do that again! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
securitybreach Posted October 2, 2020 Share Posted October 2, 2020 4 hours ago, V.T. Eric Layton said: Hmm... if work ever offers you a pallet of older ones, be sure to let me know. Unfortunately, we have a disposal company that in turn resells them on ebay and such. If you search ebay for 'used business class' laptops, you will see lots of high end ones with good specs and tons of accessories like docks and such available for around $200. Most of the machines used in the corporate world never leave the docking stations at work so they are in great shape. Companies have to dump them every three years due to negotiate warranties. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saturnian Posted October 2, 2020 Share Posted October 2, 2020 I've never built a computer. I've gone with new, refurbished, and used. Everything here has been what you'd call low-priced "budget" computers; I've never had anything nice like a ThinkPad. But it's great to be able to slap Linux on a cheap computer and get down to business -- that's one of the most beautiful things about this operating system! I haven't used Windows at home since XP days; I always wipe the drive and install Linux almost as soon as I get my hands on a new (or new to me) machine. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymac46 Posted October 2, 2020 Author Share Posted October 2, 2020 I've had my share of Linux gaffes. My daughter had a Dell netbook with the only Intel video chip that didn't work well with Linux (GMA 500 Poulsbo.) That had a Broadcom wifi chip too. AMD graphics gave me fits back in the day but they have that nicely sorted now - at least on older hardware. That said, I'll check with Phoronix before buying the latest Ryzen APUs. I do not require the latest and greatest hardware to run Linux, although I must admit my wifi adapters could use a refresh where I can do that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted October 2, 2020 Share Posted October 2, 2020 2 hours ago, raymac46 said: That had a Broadcom wifi chip too. Broadcom carp has always been problematic in lappies when installing Slackware. I know the trick these days, though... thanks to ol' Urmas. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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