Saw a letter in a magazine a while back asking what hardware people would get if they were setting up a budget home PC system for Windows and I wondered about the spec for a similar system for a GNU/Linux based system.
So if you were setting up a budget GNU/Linux system consisting of;
a 15" colour monitor, mouse, keyboard, colour printer, CD Writer, sound card & speakers, modem, what type of case, what motherboard, what processor, how much RAM, size and type of HD.
What would you go for and where would you source the kit (as this is a budget system 2nd hand stuff can be considered e.g. eBay).
As this is a budget system you need to think about the trade off between cost, performance, reliability, maintenance, functionality, etc.
Keith ____________ MARRIAGE, n. The state or condition of a community consisting of a master, a mistress and two slaves, making in all, two. Ambrose Bierce - The Devil's Dictionary
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Keith Watson wrote:
Saw a letter in a magazine a while back asking what hardware people would get if they were setting up a budget home PC system for Windows and I wondered about the spec for a similar system for a GNU/Linux based system.
So if you were setting up a budget GNU/Linux system consisting of;
a 15" colour monitor, mouse, keyboard, colour printer, CD Writer, sound card & speakers, modem, what type of case, what motherboard, what processor, how much RAM, size and type of HD.
What would you go for and where would you source the kit (as this is a budget system 2nd hand stuff can be considered e.g. eBay).
As this is a budget system you need to think about the trade off between cost, performance, reliability, maintenance, functionality, etc.
If I was to build a system on a budget now I would look at the Mini-ITX boards. They are small, cheap and quiet and there are some really nice cases for them or you could build your own from an old toaster or a picture frame like others have done! The board have built in network, sound and graphics as well as USB2 and firewire (on the newer ones). The 3d graphics isn't up to much and they are not high powered but you did say this was a budget machine. You could even forget the monitor and plug them into a telly with the built in TV out (although you might end up spending all your money at the opticians then).
www.mini-itx.com www.linitx.org www.linitx.com
JD
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Jon Dye -
Keith Watson