Optiplex 745 vs. 755 on Mint? Any experience?

[SunWorks]

Hello Mintologists,
I want to build a:

• kitchen touchscreen computer
• hook up to a home server
• store the box in extra cupboard space
• touchscreen monitor mounted on a retractable, pivoting arm to better position it when using and keep out of the way when not.

Used for:

• recipe management
• list making
• streaming video
• streaming audio
• view slide shows
• Google chat
• etc.

Am looking at the USFF (ultra small form factor) Dell Optiplex 745 with a Core Duo processor, 2gb ram and whatever HD comes with it. However... it's got integrated Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 3000 as the only option and I'm concerned how this will work. The graphics need to be acceptable for the tasks and would appreciate hearing other people's experiences.

Anybody have experience with the Optiplex 745? or the Optiplex 755? Wondering how Mint (or other Linux distros) works on these platforms and if one is smoother than the other.

Will *definitely* get a dual core CPU, no Pentium D power/heat hog.

Dell Optiplex 745

• Intel® Q965 (ICH8) Express Chipset
• Intel® CoreTM 2 Duo 1066MHz FSB Socket T with Dual Core technology XD, EM64T, 2MB and up to 4MB L2 cache, EIST and VT (E6000 series)
• integrated Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 3000 (no "x" in the title as in "x3000" this is just "3000")

Dell Optiplex 755

• Intel® Q35 Express Chipset (ICH9DO)
• Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 Processor (2.2GHz, 2MB L2 cache, 800MHz FSB)
• integrated Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 3100 (no "x" in the title as in "x3100" this is just "3100")

Maybe there are other brands/models, but I'm not going to buy new, must keep this project cost manageable while maximizing functionality.

Thank you in advance!
clinton

[davy51]

Mint works fine on a dell gx280
Ive used Mint 9,10,11,12
with onboard graphics and a nvidia geforce 5200 graphics card

Processor : 2x Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 2.80GHz
Memory : 2051MB (656MB used)

[SunWorks]

Thanks. Yeah... I know those machines (gx270, 280, etc...) plus it works great on 745s and 755s with graphics cards. It's this Intel GMA 3000 and 3100 that I would appreciate specific experience with.

So if there is anybody reading with that experience on those particular integrated graphics systems or the chipsets they are built around... I would be grateful to hear your experiences.

thank you.

[PVT Cookies]

I currently run mint 13 Cinnamon 32 Bit on a Optiplex 755 USFF. I tested mine out on my TV @ 1080P with no issues.(not using fullscreen) It currently is mated to a small 15" monitor @ 1024 x 768. The only problem some people may have is my model only has DVI out. I picked mine up for $25(USD) without a hdd, so if its cheep go for it. Note: the USFF's takes a special power brick make sure it has one to try it before you buy it.

Mine came with:
Core2Duo E6550 @ 2.33GHz
2 GB RAM (Mushkin Silverline @ 800MHz)

[SunWorks]

Thank you for the reply and your experience.

I currently run mint 13 Cinnamon 32 Bit on a Optiplex 755 USFF. I tested mine out on my TV @ 1080P with no issues.(not using fullscreen)

Sounds great. I decided to go with / test out a 745 USFF. If that chipset freaks out on Mint 13 Cinnamon, I'll now know that the 755 chipset works well. I plan on running this 745 system on the same OS, as i am VERY impressed with Mint 13 Cinnamon. The speed on far older and less powerful equipment than the 745/755 hw is shockingly good. I'm typing this up on an HP nc6000 laptop with 1gb ram on a 1.6ghz Pentium M cpu. It's smooth as silk and far faster than any other OS I've tried.

The only problem some people may have is my model only has DVI out.

Not a problem, the Opti745 USFF arriving Tuesday has DVI out, which will match up to my touchscreen monitor.

I picked mine up for $25(USD) without a hdd, so if its cheep go for it.

Mine cost slightly more than that, but has enough features and horsepower in the HD, RAM, and optical drive departments that I'm very $pleased$ and excited to get it.

Note: the USFF's takes a special power brick make sure it has one to try it before you buy it...

Excellent point. The 745 on its way has the brick.

What I am really hoping for are people to write to Leap Motion and make it known that we really REALLY want/need Linux support for their motion detector control system. That would make this hardware combination very exciting.

Best regards,
clinton

[minties]

I've installed Min 13 on my Optiplex 755 Quad Core Q6600 machine. Running great.

[PVT Cookies]

I forgot to edit out the fullscreen part of my original post. I use mine to watch hulu plus and when doing so I don't use the fullscreen option. I also use mine to play ZSNES, graphically ok, but with some audio hiccups now and then that i need to iron out.