Small form linux workstation (for video&graphics) - suggestions?

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marius77
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Small form linux workstation (for video&graphics) - suggestions?

Post by marius77 »

Hello. My old computer (a 9 year old desktop) passed away, aprox 6 tb of diskspace is being relocated to a nas so i have no longer need for a large computer.

I have a 27" monitor, keyboard etc, and im looking to replace it with something smaller, more energyefficient but powerful computer since i sometimes do photo editing, mainly making huge posters for a business (primarily in gimp), work with webpages, plus id like it to be a good machine for video editing, primarily 1080p but also 4k for the future. Gaming is not really important, but would be a bonus if it doesnt mean big extra expenses, the focus here is ability to edit video and images, which i guess means i want an i7 and probably 16-32 gb ram, i also know for rendering alot of software makes use of the GPU, which would make gaming ability a "bonus" if you suggest a strong GPU, but i dont know how relevant this is since i have been "out" of the computer hardware world for a long time and havent catched up with the development here.

Key here is good linux support since im fine with linux software for my work, i can do with gimp or krita, inkscape and kdenlive or shotcut + maybe blender. It will also be used for occasional office work, handbrake, surfing, movies, music etc. I want good compatibility with linux.

I live in Norway, and pricing here might differ from the US due to transportation costs etc, but i have looked at a couple of options here (imports isnt an option due to taxes):

Lenovo thinkcentre M910x (i7-7700T, AMD radeon RX 460, 16GB ram, 512 GB m.2 SSD + win10 as bonus): https://www.komplett.no/product/917126/ ... al-details
Cost: 13 990 NOK,-

Intel NUC NUC6i7KYK (i7-6700HQ, Intel iris pro 580, complete with 16GB ram, 500 GB m.2 samsung 960 SSD:
https://www.proshop.no/Stasjonaer-Mini- ... M2/2545729
Cost: 9 690,- NOK

HP Z2 mini workstation (i7-7700, Nvidia Quadro M620 - specially designed for CAD, 16GB ram, 256 GB m.2 SSD)
https://www.komplett.no/product/952722/ ... orkstation#
Cost: 14 990,- NOK


These are the ones im looking at, all have perfect formfactor for me and the specs look atleast to me to be somewhat similar. The one that stand out reg price is the skull canyon (intel nuc), but it has a big drawback reg. intel graphics only (for video rendering) but well supported in linux due to intel components, so question is, would it or either of these serve my needs or would i be better off looking for something else? Im hoping to have this computer do what i need it to do for atleast 5-7 years ahead before i look at another upgrade, and then use this machine as a HTPC connected to a TV or something instead.
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kc1di
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Re: Small form linux workstation (for video&graphics) - suggestions?

Post by kc1di »

You may want to take a look at the mint boxes here:
http://www.fit-pc.com/web/products/mintbox/mintbox-2/
they come with mint pre installed.
Another possiblity is the chimpbox Here:
http://www.chimpbox.us
but not sure of it's availability in Norway. Both machines would run mint without problems.
Easy tips : https://easylinuxtipsproject.blogspot.com/ Pjotr's Great Linux projects page.
Linux Mint Installation Guide: http://linuxmint-installation-guide.rea ... en/latest/
Registered Linux User #462608
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Re: Small form linux workstation (for video&graphics) - suggestions?

Post by MintBean »

The Airtop is worth a look. Comes with the Endorsement of the Mint project leader.
https://airtop-pc.com/
phd21
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Re: Small form linux workstation (for video&graphics) - suggestions?

Post by phd21 »

HI "marius77"

I just read your post and the good replies to it. Here are my thoughts on this as well.

As you already know, to comfortably do any high-end (1080p, 4k) video, image, and or audio editing, you must have a computer with the resources to handle those tasks, like a fast multi-core CPU processor, a fast video card with a lot of memory (1gb or more), and a fair amount of system memory (ram) at least 8gb or more, a large fast SSD hard drive would be good too. Most newer computers with decent video cards have HDMI out for TV's and Monitors with HDMI input.

+1 for the Mint Computers mentioned, AirTop, MintBox Pro, etc...

"System76" is a high end quality maker of Linux PC's
https://system76.com/

LinuxCity has some good options too which can be customized by you to add more memory, add a specific version and edition of Linux Mint, etc... (see Zbox, etc ...)
http://www.linucity.com/Scripts/default.asp


FYI: There are a few really good to great applications and printing options for creating and printing "Posters" available. Need a good printer with good Linux drivers.

PhotoCollage, PhotoPrint, Fotowall (very nice), PosteRazor, Shape Collage, VAP, etc....

Previous posts with good information on posters and other stuff
Take Screenshot - Select an area to grab - aspect ratio
viewtopic.php?f=47&t=227690&hilit=posters

see last reply in this link
viewtopic.php?f=90&t=227675&hilit=posters&start=20

Here is one app:
Vap - application for layout and print images
https://mintguide.org/tools/467-vap-app ... mages.html



Hope this helps ...
Phd21: Mint 20 Cinnamon & xKDE (Mint Xfce + Kubuntu KDE) & KDE Neon 64-bit (new based on Ubuntu 20.04) Awesome OS's, Dell Inspiron I5 7000 (7573) 2 in 1 touch screen, Dell OptiPlex 780 Core2Duo E8400 3GHz,4gb Ram, Intel 4 Graphics.
marius77
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Re: Small form linux workstation (for video&graphics) - suggestions?

Post by marius77 »

thanks for suggestions but none of the options are easily avaliable in my country, which means import which means i could possibly end up with a price 2 fold of what your prices are. i have to buy here (or head across border to sweden).

i have to go for whats avaliable, and the most common ones are intel nuc's, HP of various kinds etc. of all the ones you guys posted, the optimal one would probably be the airtop model, fanless mintbox 2 are nice computers too but seems to be a bit on the weak side in terms of processing power for video editing purposes, i need quad core in the i7 league. but thanks for the suggestions. a comment on which of the options i posted that would be best suited for my needs would be nice though :)

might even seem like a good idea to wait a bit for more fanless/mini high end systems to come out since it seems things are happening fast on that front. a fanless mini video editing capatable system with i7/xe3, lots of ram, m.2 ssd, capable nvidia/amd gfx and linux preinstalled would be awsome, and the closest one to having all that and being avaliable here in norway in mini format is the hp or lenovo option i posted. however the intel nuc has price going for it and fairly good specs minus only intel iris integrated gpu.

oh and reg. creating posters, no im using gimp and then sending the done work to a big commercial printing press, but images i use can be huge (4k-8k or more, to cover huge walls etc), just mentioned it to stress the importance of having alot of ram
mr_raider
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Re: Small form linux workstation (for video&graphics) - suggestions?

Post by mr_raider »

do you have online parts retailers? You could build an mATX or mITX system for much cheaper.
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phd21
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Re: Small form linux workstation (for video&graphics) - suggestions?

Post by phd21 »

Hi "marius77",

I contacted System76 and they service a lot of countries, including yours.

System76 ships to 61 countries!
UPS shipping rates make it affordable to have the quality and craftsmanship of System76 laptops, desktops, and servers delivered to your country.
https://system76.com/shipping

Hope this helps ...
Phd21: Mint 20 Cinnamon & xKDE (Mint Xfce + Kubuntu KDE) & KDE Neon 64-bit (new based on Ubuntu 20.04) Awesome OS's, Dell Inspiron I5 7000 (7573) 2 in 1 touch screen, Dell OptiPlex 780 Core2Duo E8400 3GHz,4gb Ram, Intel 4 Graphics.
marius77
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Re: Small form linux workstation (for video&graphics) - suggestions?

Post by marius77 »

getting a computer here is not the issue, the issue here is customs tax, often doubling the cost .. you wont know how much the goods you ordered cost until its here in the customs, and they'll throw in various fees until it cost you the double. its different if you're a business.
marius77
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Re: Small form linux workstation (for video&graphics) - suggestions?

Post by marius77 »

mr_raider wrote:do you have online parts retailers? You could build an mATX or mITX system for much cheaper.
sure, yes ive considered it, ill pay less and get more, but the size of the system will be larger too. i havent ordered anything yet and will take my time looking at various options.
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