What Would You Get...

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tlcmd

What Would You Get...

Post by tlcmd »

Howdy y'all,
From a medical viewpoint, I need a consultation re: a new computer.

Thus far, it appears that i am going to be purchasing a new desktop as my personal computer and running Linux Mint Debian Edition, probably Mate.
If you had your druthers, what would be your ideal HARDWARE configuration just for the cpu?? Upper price tag of $600. More RAM and larger solid state disk space seem to be the chief needs that are most desired so far.

It will be a given that I will probably find this configuration on a computer from Office Depot, Best Buy, Wal-Mart, etc so will be stuck with Windows 8.1 since it is virtually impossible, short of having a new one built, to get an "empty" (no OS) one. But with a terrabyte HDD, that would seem to be a moot point.

I use my computer for music (media player), letter writing, research, hopefully a book, news, and forums (ranging from Automobile detailing to Barbershop, gardening, etc.) I do not game!! Also bear in mind that I have the obvious limitations of being 73 years old, but do have some smarts, at least enough to keep my license to practice internal medicine active.

My problems with laptops are the space needed for docking it in order to use a standard keyboard and monitor, and the dvd/cd drawers I've seen seem quite flimsy. If I should get a laptop, what is involved in connecting it to a large screen TV (50") for movies and sports?

I would appreciate any input, comments, suggestions, advice, etc. Especially bearing in mind that i will have most probably at least a small partition of Windows 8 available because of the limitations above.

What should I avoid in the way of bells and whistles?.

Thanks for your time and thoughts. .

Harmmoniously,
tlcmd )aka Dick)
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xenopeek
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Re: What Would You Get...

Post by xenopeek »

If you do get a desktop computer, do you intend to connect it to your TV also?

Considering what you intend to use the computer for, you don't need a very powerful one. Some considerations:
  • You don't need an AMD or Nvidia graphics card. Intel CPUs come with an integrated graphics chip, so you don't need a separate graphics card (you get it for free with your CPU :)). So you want a desktop or laptop that has *only* Intel graphics.
  • For CPU, consider an Intel Core i3 or Intel Core i5. Price difference between i3 and i5 is marginal, but generally the i3 gives you 2 cores while the i5 gives you 4 cores and it has "turbo boost" to automatically give you increased speed as needed and the i5 is thus generally faster (though for your use that might not be that noticeable or important). Avoid the Intel Core i7 as this is much more expensive and you won't be using the additional speed and benefits it gives you. If computers with the Intel Core i3 are too expensive, a noticeable step down you could consider a Intel Pentium or Intel Celeron. But I think you will notice that these are the low end processors.
  • If you want to connect to a TV you'll want to have a HDMI output connector on the computer. I don't know enough about this, but it might be a bit problematic to get audio also passed through HDMI connector using Linux.
  • For memory, I'd get at least 4 GB (gigabyte) RAM. If you can afford more you could do that as this will give you some headroom, but for your intended use I doubt you'll use it much so it's not a priority.
  • For hard disk, that's up to you how much you need. You'll enjoy having a good SSD, as it will noticably speed up everything you do with your computer. Computer these days come sometimes with a SSD and hard disk, with the operating system being on the (smaller) SSD while your personal files being on the hard disk. Or they come with a hybrid hard disk, that has a small SSD built in used for caching most used files. Whether any of these are worth the money, that's worth considering depending on what specific model SSD or hybrid hard disk you can get.
You already have set your budget and considered what you'll be using the computer for, so the next step could be to narrow down on a few models you can get that match with the considerations above. I'm not in the US, but if you have a link to some online shop where you would consider buying I think me and others here would be happy to have a look also.
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gold_finger

Re: What Would You Get...

Post by gold_finger »

Good general advice already from xenopeek, so not much to add to that. Just a quick comment on one thing:
xenopeek wrote:If you want to connect to a TV you'll want to have a HDMI output connector on the computer. I don't know enough about this, but it might be a bit problematic to get audio also passed through HDMI connector using Linux.
I have one computer connected thru HDMI cable to my TV and have done same with one laptop. Neither one had any problems with sound output. Just selected the HDMI output in Sound Settings menu (vs. normal Analog) and it worked right away without issue. Don't know if that's been a big issue for others, but thought I'd just pass along my limited experience with it for whatever that's worth.
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xenopeek
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Re: What Would You Get...

Post by xenopeek »

Thanks for adding that :) I just wasn't sure about it.
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Lingula

Post by Lingula »

I echo Xenopeek's comments, but I'll take it a step further. If you have any inclination to take a laptop back and forth to the office, you may do well with a relatively inexpensive business-grade laptop with the specs he described and install your own SSD and RAM. The business grade machines are more durable and far easier to disassemble and replace parts. Be sure to check online for Linux or Ubuntu compatibility before purchase.

BTW, my first Mint install was dual boot on a laptop so I could continue to use the hospital network and my speech recognition software in Windows, and Mint at home for the stability and speed. :-) Being my office computer, I went with LTS rather than rolling release, but it's up to you.
tlcmd

Re: What Would You Get...

Post by tlcmd »

Thank you all for the replies and comments. Although I keep my medical license, etc up to date and continue to more than meet much more than the minimal medical education credits required for licensure, I have a very restricted practice so I have time for my other activities ranging from automobile detailing to gardening (and trying to learn more about Linux). So I actually have little need for a laptop. And with the internet available via our Blu-Ray player, little need for having a computer connected to a TV. As with automobiles, my wife and I generally make replacement purchases when the older ones become totally outmoded or unreliable. My Our automobiles are older reliable models with at least 100k on the odometer (The newest is a 2002 Lexus LS430 which still looks, runs, and handles like a new one). Likewise, my wife just replaced her 12 year old desktop running Windows XP with a new HP laptop with Windows 8.1.

Since my computer (as you can tell from my innumerable and repetitive taskbar posts) is a pain, I am, therefore, looking for one which, hopefully will function well into the future. My backup desktop is a dual boot with LMDE and Windows XP and is 14 years old with a 1.4 GHz Athlon and 1536 of RAM and runs fine, but quite slowly. Since it is a real pain to reload programs and files, I am considering a computer much more powerful in chip, RAM, and HDD size to avoid a repeat purchase in the near future.

Again, thanks for your input, comments, and suggestions. I now know the least I would accept in a new computer. interetingly, with office discount cards, coupons, and sales, I have time to shop. And we are fortunate in having a Wal-mart, Office Depot, and several other computer shops within 5 miles of our home. As of now, I'm seriously considering Office Depot's HP Envy 700-056 Desktop Computer With AMD A10 Quad-Core Accelerated Processor which has a 2 terrabyte HDD and 12 Gigs of RAM which I can get for well under my $600 with discounts, coupons, and sales.
Thanks again for your replies,
tlcmd (AKA Dick)
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xenopeek
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Re: What Would You Get...

Post by xenopeek »

While that looks like a good deal, some of the chips on the motherboard look problematic. I've looked up specifications here: http://h20566.www2.hp.com/portal/site/h ... .199480143
The AMD A10 is reportedly working fine, also for graphics--at least with the AMD closed source driver. So while it looks like a good deal, having no working ethernet and possibly no working wireless should probably scratch this one of your list (unless you have a ethernet or wireless card you could add to the system, one that does work on Linux).
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tlcmd

Re: What Would You Get...

Post by tlcmd »

Xenopeek, Thank you for the invaluable input. Some of the questions you raised I had already thought of asking, but you raised others which I don't know enough about to ask. I will keep you posted. I'm hoping my "computer guru" is back in business. He's been missing in action since right before Thanksgiving, family illness I believe. He built the long lived and continu8ng to work computers back between 2000 and 2007 (and not this thing with Windows 7 which has its own problems not to mention the ones with LMDE). I'd frankly prefer that he build my next one.
Thanks for your comments and advice,
tlcmd (aka Dick)
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Reorx
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Re: What Would You Get...

Post by Reorx »

Dick;

I have had good success getting a Linux (Ubuntu) laptop from Dell and then wiping the HD and installing Mint. Current offerings from Dell can be found here >>> http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/lapto ... 791343&p=1

I would also recommend using the next LTS version of Mint (17) rather than LMDE.

If you want a larger screen or keyboard, you can attach external devices and run with the laptop closed (think of it as a very small CPU tower!).

For me, the small size translates into easy hidability or portability. The fact that it comes with Ubuntu (12.04 LTS) means that it is reasonably compatible with your chosen environment and should not require a lot of tweeking just to get it to run... Intel on CPU video essentially guarantees no video problems and reasonable to very good non-gaming performance.

Just my 2 cents... YMMV! :mrgreen:

Enjoy the Mint!

- R -

P.S.: One down-side is that these laptops do not seem to have an optical drive so if you want or need to use one, you will have to get an external USB version. The good news is that they are widely available and inexpensive.
Full time Linux Mint user since 2011 - Currently running LM21C on multiple Dell laptops - mostly Vostro models.

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tlcmd

Re: What Would You Get...

Post by tlcmd »

Reorx,
Thanks for the laptop suggestion. I tend to burn a fair number of CD's and DVD's, and the cd/dvd "drawer" on laptops seems to be quite flimsy. have you seen problems with that. And the cost of a laptop is greater than a comparable desktop or even with a more powerful desktop.
tlcmd (AKA Dick)
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Re: What Would You Get...

Post by Reorx »

tlcmd wrote:Reorx,
Thanks for the laptop suggestion. I tend to burn a fair number of CD's and DVD's, and the cd/dvd "drawer" on laptops seems to be quite flimsy. have you seen problems with that. And the cost of a laptop is greater than a comparable desktop or even with a more powerful desktop.
tlcmd (AKA Dick)
If the machines are over budget, that's OK, I understand...

I did mention an external USB DVD device (neither laptop has an optical drive) - cheap and effective and easily replaceable if it goes south...

See "Ubuntu Desktop certified hardware" here >>> http://www.ubuntu.com/certification/desktop/ for a list of reasonably compatible hardware for "regular" (Ubuntu based) Mint. I'll bet you can find someting to make you happy on the list...

ENjoy the Mint! :mrgreen:
Full time Linux Mint user since 2011 - Currently running LM21C on multiple Dell laptops - mostly Vostro models.

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shengchieh

Re: What Would You Get...

Post by shengchieh »

You're welcome to surf thru a long list of pre0install linux vendors.

http://shengchieh.50webs.com/tuxslinks.html
-> Retailers
-> Linux pre-installed vendors (desktops, servers, laptops, tablets)

I go for a mint box (which is probably "optimized") for LM unless you have specific hardware requirements.

Sheng-Chieh
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