Do most Linux users DIY or have OEM systems?

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Fred Barclay
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Re: Do most Linux users DIY or have OEM systems?

Post by Fred Barclay »

I've always had OEM systems, but one day I want to build my own computer.
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Re: Do most Linux users DIY or have OEM systems?

Post by whm1974 »

Fred Barclay wrote:I've always had OEM systems, but one day I want to build my own computer.
It is really easy to do, and there are plenty of YouTube videos that will show you how to do it.
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Re: Do most Linux users DIY or have OEM systems?

Post by Jim Hauser »

As pointed out earlier in this thread, home-building a computer may no longer have any financial incentives. However, it can still be fun and very satisfying to assemble your own rig. Even upgrading an OEM system on your own has it's advantages.

The most important thing, as I see it, is to do your homework. Not just on the hardware but on your operating system and possible usage of the machine.

Do most Linux users DIY or have OEM systems? That is hard to tell.

I will say that most Linux users will be qualified for DIY. But that could change too. There are a lot of people coming over from Windows and Mac and many of them are used to off the shelf systems.

As for me, it will probably be another 5 or 6 years before I even consider a new system.
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Re: Do most Linux users DIY or have OEM systems?

Post by Petermint »

My suggestion for buying off the shelf is to take a live Linux USB stick, get permission to boot Linux, then do a hardware display to record all the bits inside. You can save the report to the USB stick. You can then check out the components away from the high pressure of the sales room.

One thing I notice often is a cheap model with a small SSD and a ridiculously expensive model with a full size but slow SSD. I am happy to buy the model with the small SSD and replace the SSD with a full size fast SSD.
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Re: Do most Linux users DIY or have OEM systems?

Post by chiefjim »

For desktops DIY better fulfills my requirements. Over the years I may have wanted eSATA, additional USB 3.0, more sata ports, etc. Picking my own motherboard solved that. Off the shelf boxes built to a price point often had inferior power supplies. DIY meant I could build in surplus capacity with a better quality power supply.

When selecting the components I look at what is state of the art now and subtract 6-12 months. Prices will have dropped and better chance they will be supported by Linux. Besides it will all be newer and better as far as I'm concerned.

My current backup system is a Gigabyte model: GA-MA785GM-US2H running a triple core AMD Athlon II X3 425 has been in regular use since January 2010. Used several times a week it currently has Mint 18.3 MATE and is doing fine.

For laptops I wait for close out sales from Newegg. Yeah they come with 'doz but I wipe out most of what it shipped with and resize the partition to minimal. Remainder of machine gets Linux
Rearden

Re: Do most Linux users DIY or have OEM systems?

Post by Rearden »

Mine is kind of both. I bought a refurbed oem board cpu and ram from a business machine off of ebay. Then put it in a case,added a video card and more ram.
This is the most cost effective upgrade I could come up with. Luckily the hardware all works great with mint.
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Re: Do most Linux users DIY or have OEM systems?

Post by Arch_Enemy »

Hoser Rob wrote: Mon Jan 29, 2018 11:12 am I've always installed it on laptops but I agree that DIY is better. Because it's a very good way to avoid hardware support issues.

As long as YOU can support the hardware! ;)
I have travelled 37629424162.9 miles in my lifetime

One thing I would suggest, create a partition as a 50G partition as /. Partition the rest as /Home. IF the system fails, reinstall and use the exact same username and all your 'stuff' comes back to you.
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Re: Do most Linux users DIY or have OEM systems?

Post by Arch_Enemy »

The only time I have had OEM systems were when someone has given me one.

Having been a computer/network tech since 1992 I've run across a lot of hardware, and always built my own, because I got a huge discount on parts until the last 12 years. A lot of my clients have 'dustbins' full of old computers, and if they allowed it I would take whatever good machines they had (and sometimes, not so good if they had proprietary parts that worked...like DELL POWER SUPPLIES! :twisted: ) so I could fix machines for fun and profit. I have adopted a couple of those acquired systems over time, and use them for tasks like virus removal and data recovery. Most of the time my computer has been a homemade unit I constructed myself, because if I had to BUY something like this I'd be paying AlienWare prices for them. Or worse, Apple prices...
I have travelled 37629424162.9 miles in my lifetime

One thing I would suggest, create a partition as a 50G partition as /. Partition the rest as /Home. IF the system fails, reinstall and use the exact same username and all your 'stuff' comes back to you.
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Re: Do most Linux users DIY or have OEM systems?

Post by powerwagon75 »

Jim Hauser wrote: Wed Feb 07, 2018 12:04 am As pointed out earlier in this thread, home-building a computer may no longer have any financial incentives. However, it can still be fun and very satisfying to assemble your own rig. Even upgrading an OEM system on your own has it's advantages....
Couldn't agree more. Built my first decent setup two years ago, and have been extremely happy with it. Also glad I built it then, as now it has appreciated, and would take over $200 more to replace identical parts it today. (most of that due to crazy markets on RAM and GPU's.)

As desktops go, I don't think that I'd ever buy a new one off the shelf again. The whole experience, from reading/researching, to ordering, to assembling is great fun. You get to put in it exactly what you want, and the learning experiences are great. (ahh.. there's nothing like a first-time power up....)
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Re: Do most Linux users DIY or have OEM systems?

Post by sarge816 »

Have four (4) desktops in the house, 3 of them are custom-built (by me) and the other is a super cheapy Dell Optiplex 780 SFF I got refurbished with a 17" old school 3:2 LCD monitor for the kids to play ABC Mouse and browser flash games on Nick Jr., PBS Kids, etc. Spent just over $100 on that combo, couldn't have built one for less. They all run Linux Mint except for the desktop in the home office, which has Windows 7 for my wife's business. I'd have Linux on all of them except she has to have full printer/scanner capability from our Brother laser printer (Linux has poor support for some things and printers is one of them) and she needs full functionality of MS Office.
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Re: Do most Linux users DIY or have OEM systems?

Post by Petermint »

I have a new monitor 1080 pixels tall and an old monitor 1200 pixels tall. I would be happy to replace the new monitor with another one of the old monitors. With these movie screen shaped monitors, you have to buy a 150" screen to get the same vertical space as an old 30" screen.
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Re: Do most Linux users DIY or have OEM systems?

Post by Arch_Enemy »

sarge816 wrote: Sun Feb 11, 2018 9:26 pm Have four (4) desktops in the house, 3 of them are custom-built (by me) and the other is a super cheapy Dell Optiplex 780 SFF I got refurbished with a 17" old school 3:2 LCD monitor for the kids to play ABC Mouse and browser flash games on Nick Jr., PBS Kids, etc. Spent just over $100 on that combo, couldn't have built one for less. They all run Linux Mint except for the desktop in the home office, which has Windows 7 for my wife's business. I'd have Linux on all of them except she has to have full printer/scanner capability from our Brother laser printer (Linux has poor support for some things and printers is one of them) and she needs full functionality of MS Office.
Well, now is the time to make the switch!

Brother has a full compliment of printer and scanner drivers for Linux, either RPMs or .debs, and if you really want, you can get the .tar.gz and compile it yourself! My Canons were not cost effective, and the only one that was had no driver (thanks to the good people here, it now does). I didn't really want the scanner; I wanted a large, front-panel paper tray so I got an all-in-one at Staples for $60. I whipped out my phone and sure enough, the scanner was listed in the SANE database.

Go to Brother's support site, and enter the model number. http://support.brother.com/g/b/products ... content=dl

Chances are it has the necessary drivers. A tip of the hat to Brother for supporting us Linux users!

PS: They even work if the printer is connected by WiFi.
I have travelled 37629424162.9 miles in my lifetime

One thing I would suggest, create a partition as a 50G partition as /. Partition the rest as /Home. IF the system fails, reinstall and use the exact same username and all your 'stuff' comes back to you.
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Re: Do most Linux users DIY or have OEM systems?

Post by sarge816 »

Arch_Enemy wrote: Mon Feb 12, 2018 7:59 pm
sarge816 wrote: Sun Feb 11, 2018 9:26 pm Have four (4) desktops in the house, 3 of them are custom-built (by me) and the other is a super cheapy Dell Optiplex 780 SFF I got refurbished with a 17" old school 3:2 LCD monitor for the kids to play ABC Mouse and browser flash games on Nick Jr., PBS Kids, etc. Spent just over $100 on that combo, couldn't have built one for less. They all run Linux Mint except for the desktop in the home office, which has Windows 7 for my wife's business. I'd have Linux on all of them except she has to have full printer/scanner capability from our Brother laser printer (Linux has poor support for some things and printers is one of them) and she needs full functionality of MS Office.
Well, now is the time to make the switch!

Brother has a full compliment of printer and scanner drivers for Linux, either RPMs or .debs, and if you really want, you can get the .tar.gz and compile it yourself! My Canons were not cost effective, and the only one that was had no driver (thanks to the good people here, it now does). I didn't really want the scanner; I wanted a large, front-panel paper tray so I got an all-in-one at Staples for $60. I whipped out my phone and sure enough, the scanner was listed in the SANE database.

Go to Brother's support site, and enter the model number. http://support.brother.com/g/b/products ... content=dl

Chances are it has the necessary drivers. A tip of the hat to Brother for supporting us Linux users!

PS: They even work if the printer is connected by WiFi.
Thanks for the help, but already done that. Our printer works okay in Linux for printing, but will NOT print PDFs correctly and the scanner function is limited to "Simple Scan" and is very reduced in functionality compared to the Windows software suite that Brother provides. We have the Brother DCP-L2540DW, which works exactly as she needs it to in Windows 7. On another topic of Linux issues, I've always had huge issues making newer AC capable USB wifi dongles work. I went through about half a dozen before I said F-it and just used Powerline adapters downstairs. Maybe the newer kernels have fixed some of that though.

And then there is the whole MS-Office thing and WINE just doesn't cut it. If I have to run Win 7 in a VM I might as well just run it bare metal on that office pc, as it is strictly used for her business. Just makes more sense to keep Windows on it at this point.
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Re: Do most Linux users DIY or have OEM systems?

Post by Arch_Enemy »

sarge816 wrote: Mon Feb 12, 2018 8:23 pm
Arch_Enemy wrote: Mon Feb 12, 2018 7:59 pm
sarge816 wrote: Sun Feb 11, 2018 9:26 pm Have four (4) desktops in the house, 3 of them are custom-built (by me) and the other is a super cheapy Dell Optiplex 780 SFF I got refurbished with a 17" old school 3:2 LCD monitor for the kids to play ABC Mouse and browser flash games on Nick Jr., PBS Kids, etc. Spent just over $100 on that combo, couldn't have built one for less. They all run Linux Mint except for the desktop in the home office, which has Windows 7 for my wife's business. I'd have Linux on all of them except she has to have full printer/scanner capability from our Brother laser printer (Linux has poor support for some things and printers is one of them) and she needs full functionality of MS Office.
Well, now is the time to make the switch!

Brother has a full compliment of printer and scanner drivers for Linux, either RPMs or .debs, and if you really want, you can get the .tar.gz and compile it yourself! My Canons were not cost effective, and the only one that was had no driver (thanks to the good people here, it now does). I didn't really want the scanner; I wanted a large, front-panel paper tray so I got an all-in-one at Staples for $60. I whipped out my phone and sure enough, the scanner was listed in the SANE database.

Go to Brother's support site, and enter the model number. http://support.brother.com/g/b/products ... content=dl

Chances are it has the necessary drivers. A tip of the hat to Brother for supporting us Linux users!

PS: They even work if the printer is connected by WiFi.
Thanks for the help, but already done that. Our printer works okay in Linux for printing, but will NOT print PDFs correctly and the scanner function is limited to "Simple Scan" and is very reduced in functionality compared to the Windows software suite that Brother provides. We have the Brother DCP-L2540DW, which works exactly as she needs it to in Windows 7. On another topic of Linux issues, I've always had huge issues making newer AC capable USB wifi dongles work. I went through about half a dozen before I said F-it and just used Powerline adapters downstairs. Maybe the newer kernels have fixed some of that though.

And then there is the whole MS-Office thing and WINE just doesn't cut it. If I have to run Win 7 in a VM I might as well just run it bare metal on that office pc, as it is strictly used for her business. Just makes more sense to keep Windows on it at this point.
Yeah, SimpleScan works well, but I have mine able to scan in XSane, the OCR reader and the GiMP. Also have no troubles printing PDFs.
Interesting you're having these issues, but then, I have issues with my Canons.
I have travelled 37629424162.9 miles in my lifetime

One thing I would suggest, create a partition as a 50G partition as /. Partition the rest as /Home. IF the system fails, reinstall and use the exact same username and all your 'stuff' comes back to you.
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Re: Do most Linux users DIY or have OEM systems?

Post by AZgl1800 »

whm1974 wrote: Sun Jan 28, 2018 11:28 pm I do have to admit, that every time I look at Newegg's Refurbished section, I see really good deals on decently spec systems.
I too am a Newegg connoisseur, they tempt me way too often...

I buy the "Refurbs" and get the normal 1 year warranty....

just bought my daughter a very fast Win10 ACER laptop for Christmas, half cost....
she loves it, won't ever use Linux as her job requires microSloth
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Re: Do most Linux users DIY or have OEM systems?

Post by ghoultek »

+1 DIY. I've been building PC's since the 80386 SX16 was released. The only PC I've bought was a Dell Laptop for myself and a inexpensive dell desktop for a younger relative. The desktop was so that I didn't have to play tech support if it got broken/destroyed.

FYI, Ryzen APUs are on the market.
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Re: Do most Linux users DIY or have OEM systems?

Post by Arch_Enemy »

Shoot, you guys...

I build my own LAPTOPS! :D

Dell does not take back a lot of plastic and trim parts, so I got stuck with them. I had enough parts to build 2 D610s and 3 D620s. I bought screens on line for <$50 and motherboards on Ebay for about the same, one even came with a 2.0G CPU. So, for ~$250, I got two laptops, one for use on the job and one for myself. :D
I have travelled 37629424162.9 miles in my lifetime

One thing I would suggest, create a partition as a 50G partition as /. Partition the rest as /Home. IF the system fails, reinstall and use the exact same username and all your 'stuff' comes back to you.
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Re: Do most Linux users DIY or have OEM systems?

Post by Pepi »

Fred Barclay wrote: Tue Feb 06, 2018 8:45 pm I've always had OEM systems, but one day I want to build my own computer.
Fred ... I imagine this for you
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Re: Do most Linux users DIY or have OEM systems?

Post by ghoultek »

Fred Barclay wrote: Tue Feb 06, 2018 8:45 pm I've always had OEM systems, but one day I want to build my own computer.
Depending on your needs and your wallet one day can be sooner than you think. Just to kick around some ideas:
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/z9hfr6

It has a Ryzen APU (CPU with AMD RX Vega 11 graphics hardware). I have not tested the new APU. However, at $683 it isn't bad, but it is a quickly put together list. If you shopped around and had mail-in more rebates the price could go below $600. Since the parts list has the motherboard and CPU/APU listed separately, there is the possibility to get a motherboard/cpu combo. from newegg or other retailer that might drop the price further. I purposefully did not include a display. My old display was a Asus VS247H-P 23.6" 1920x1080 flat panel. Its maxes out at 60hz but is good display going for $100 to $150. I also did not include any SSD or M.2 drives. Its a simple priority of space/price over speed. Lastly, the parts list does not include a DVD burner unit. An external USB DVD burner is usually $15 to $40. Although, my preference would be an internal SATA DVD burner, but that would require a different case (a $50-$100 price range). If you need additional info. just ask. There are lots of knowledgeable folks in the Mint community.
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Re: Do most Linux users DIY or have OEM systems?

Post by whm1974 »

ghoultek wrote: Sat Feb 17, 2018 5:08 pm
Fred Barclay wrote: Tue Feb 06, 2018 8:45 pm I've always had OEM systems, but one day I want to build my own computer.
Depending on your needs and your wallet one day can be sooner than you think. Just to kick around some ideas:
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/z9hfr6

It has a Ryzen APU (CPU with AMD RX Vega 11 graphics hardware). I have not tested the new APU. However, at $683 it isn't bad, but it is a quickly put together list. If you shopped around and had mail-in more rebates the price could go below $600. Since the parts list has the motherboard and CPU/APU listed separately, there is the possibility to get a motherboard/cpu combo. from newegg or other retailer that might drop the price further. I purposefully did not include a display. My old display was a Asus VS247H-P 23.6" 1920x1080 flat panel. Its maxes out at 60hz but is good display going for $100 to $150. I also did not include any SSD or M.2 drives. Its a simple priority of space/price over speed. Lastly, the parts list does not include a DVD burner unit. An external USB DVD burner is usually $15 to $40. Although, my preference would be an internal SATA DVD burner, but that would require a different case (a $50-$100 price range). If you need additional info. just ask. There are lots of knowledgeable folks in the Mint community.
That is close in price to what I pick with Pcpartpicker.com
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/JtG9TB
Now my preference would be to pick the Crucial MX500 1TB SSD over the WD 1TB HDD, most people probably won't as it doesn't come with a dGPU or more CPU cores.
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