Do most Linux users DIY or have OEM systems?

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

Post by Moem »

MurphCID's post seemed ambivalent. It seems to be about installing, not building, but I may be mistaken.
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JerryF
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Re: Do most Linux users DIY or have OEM systems?

Post by JerryF »

I've thought about building my own computer, but the cost was the deterrent. I found that I could get an OEM system cheaper than building a system with the same specs as the OEM.

Now with refurbished systems, I won't even bother about a DIY.
Last edited by JerryF on Wed Jan 31, 2018 11:34 am, edited 2 times in total.
sevendogs

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

Post by sevendogs »

Currently running on oem workstation but considering building next time. Personally I think building a PC is a PITA but then again I am not a young guy. Used to enjoy it years ago.
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Re: Do most Linux users DIY or have OEM systems?

Post by whm1974 »

JerryF wrote:I've thought about building my own computer, but the cost was the deterrent. I found that I could get an OEM system cheaper that building a system with the same specs as the OEM.

Now with refurbished systems, I won't even bother about an DIY.
Yeah with finding refurbished systems with decent specs at rather cheap prices does make it harder to justify buying new hardware, either DIY or OEM doesn't it?
Mattyboy

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

Post by Mattyboy »

I build my own systems and primarily use Linux. I also use Windows for gaming. I like building them, makes a pleasant Sunday afternoon with the reward of that satisfying first beep.

I also have a laptop, not likely to build one of those. The Mrs the same. So, swings and roundabouts.

Would have thought the Windows gamer was the more probable builder demographic to be fair. Laptops are so popular these days and they're intentionally making them harder to install Linux so who knows?

DIY fits in with the whole freedom of choice Linux mantra but lugging a desktop round with you is hardly practical is it.

Horses for courses, don't think the OS really matters.
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JerryF
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Re: Do most Linux users DIY or have OEM systems?

Post by JerryF »

whm1974 wrote:
JerryF wrote:...
Yeah with finding refurbished systems with decent specs at rather cheap prices does make it harder to justify buying new hardware, either DIY or OEM doesn't it?
Oh yeah! My main laptop is a refurbished HP Elitebook 8460p. Paid about $200 for it and came with a warranty.
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Re: Do most Linux users DIY or have OEM systems?

Post by MurphCID »

You are right I misread the intent. I thought DIY meant installing it on laptops or other hardware. I tried on my gaming system to dual boot, but the X370 gaming k7 did not play well with Linux.
Moem wrote:MurphCID's post seemed ambivalent. It seems to be about installing, not building, but I may be mistaken.
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Re: Do most Linux users DIY or have OEM systems?

Post by all41 »

I have assembled a few scratch-builds but as has been mentioned it's not always the most economical solution.
Indeed, by the time you do your research, order the goodies, get them all, put it together, wahla--something better is announced, and one could have saved a bundle by waiting a month or two.
But lately I had been planning a new build effort--perhaps Ryzen, but with the Spectre/Meltdown revelations I'll just continue using what I have and wait (perhaps years?) for new processors.
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Re: Do most Linux users DIY or have OEM systems?

Post by whm1974 »

I build my Haswell i5-4670 w 16GB ram and two 1TB SSDs back in June 2013. If you told me then that not only will I still be using it five years later, but planning on keeping it for another two to three years by choice, I would have laugh my arse off at you.
jglen490

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

Post by jglen490 »

I can't speak for all Linux users, but I can say that I have built my own computers and I have used "off the shelf" computers. Both have worked perfectly fine with Linux - there is no difference! What is different has to do with your personal preferences and the fun of buying components and assembling your box. If you have some specific combination of components not normally found in pre-built computers, then build your own. If you just enjoy building your own computer regardless of any specific use case, then build your own. By the same reasoning, if you find a pre-built, then make it your own.

The rock on with Linux :lol:

That's really the goal.
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Re: Do most Linux users DIY or have OEM systems?

Post by TeaSwigger »

By 'linux' I assume a distro like Mint is meant, given linux variants are in so many devices as OEM or the sole option. Around here it seems anyone who uses such a linux distro does so by installing it themselves on a pre-built or used computer with OEM windows. It may well be a different story in another country.

Seems from newegg ads and such that MS is trying hard to brand, if you will, the "refurbished" (used) market, having found another way to do what they do best, which it would seem is to make themselves an unbeneficial cost burden.

The desktop I'm using at the moment was self built (not my first build), but with the used computer market as it is and my spec needs modest by the standards of this decade, I have to confess one reason was extremely superficial: I really liked the way the mb looked! :lol: They can be so fancy these days, what with the effort to bling up the evidently lucrative gaming market. All my prior kit was strictly utilitarian (read: ugly!). Of course having indulged that sudden whim and built what seems to me, after my prior kit, a lovely 'super computer', I ended up putting the lovely looking mb and ram kit in an understated, simple cheap (well ventilated) black box where it will very seldom be seen... :mrgreen:
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Re: Do most Linux users DIY or have OEM systems?

Post by Bolle1961 »

My desktop is a semi custom build computer (2010 September).
Bought it at OS4Free.nl, (Maarten123 at forum.ubuntu-nl.org) unfortunately he has stopped his business. He sold computers pre-installed with Ubuntu or any other linux version you wanted. At the moment Linux Mint 18.3 MATE, Xubuntu 18.04 and Ubuntu-MATE 18.04
I kept my old HD (from 2006 and it's still working) en got more memory in it.
My laptop is a BTO 15" no OS pre-installed (2015 January), fully compatible with Linux. At the moment Linux Mint 18.3 MATE and Xubuntu 16.04.x
Last edited by Bolle1961 on Wed Jan 31, 2018 2:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Do most Linux users DIY or have OEM systems?

Post by Neil Edmond »

Don't know about "most", but this Linux user has only customer built desktop machines. But, I do have a stack of old ThinkPads to choose from when i want/need a laptop. Some of the ThinkPads might even qualify for DIY machines, as I've dis-assembled most of them to swap parts at one time or another.
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Re: Do most Linux users DIY or have OEM systems?

Post by Tomgin5 »

Myself! I either buy or resurrect scrapped windex machines and even a few trashed MacBooks and either upgrade the RAM and HDD or just the HDD. I clean out the heatsinks and replace the thermal compound. I check out the fan function and make sure the accessory drives are RW DVD's. I have even come up with some very nice appearing 32 bit machines that are now running the latest distros of Cinnaqamon. Ebay has been a source of some of the RAM and SSD's along with new batteries. I have primarily bought laptops because they typically run in the $10-20 range. The HDD about $12 and the wallwarts are in the $2 to $5 range. Desktops I do if they have SATA drives, and the owners have decent displays. usually the RAM is already maxed and the HDD is flaky. I will drop in a 200-500GB SSD and a 2 to 3 TB archive drive. The owners are as happy as the proverbial "Clam at high tide." Over 175 machines converted to LM in the last 2 years.
BTW I am retired at over 73.
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Re: Do most Linux users DIY or have OEM systems?

Post by Petermint »

Desktops are usually built with flashy fast processors on cheap motherboards with slow support chips and pathetically slow noisy everything else. My builds have everything matched for optimum speed and almost no noise.

For a laptop, I buy last year's model from the clearance bin when the 5% faster new model arrives. I rip out Windows and install Linux to make the old model 10% faster than the new model. The dollars saved on the most recent purchase price financed a 1 TB SSD, the latest waterproof digital camera, and several afternoons at the Six Strings craft brewery where I told my friends how to save money by buying last year's model from the clearance bin, ripping out Windows, and install Linux to make the old model 10% faster than the new model, which helps them save dollars on the purchase price which finances a 1 TB SSD, the latest waterproof digital camera, and several afternoons at the Six Strings craft brewery where they tell their friends how to save money by buying last year's model from the clearance bin, ripping out Windows, and install Linux to make the old model 10% faster than the new model, which helps ...
Jim Hauser

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

Post by Jim Hauser »

Petermint wrote:Desktops are usually built with flashy fast processors on cheap motherboards with slow support chips and pathetically slow noisy everything else. My builds have everything matched for optimum speed and almost no noise.
I have never had a laptop and do not like the idea of cramming so much hardware into a small package. This could change in the future and I might have one someday...

Petermint is right about store bought desktops. That is why I like to assemble my own. This one is so quiet I have to put my hand over the vents to see if the fans are running.

Computer portability is not an issue with me. I guess I must be getting old. My cell phone doesn't have a camera in it.... :-)
Nate

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

Post by Nate »

I find I'm a bit of an opportunist with my desktops. If I can get a good price on something pre-built that fits my needs, I'll pretty happily snap it up, but whenever it's cheaper to build my own, then I will. With my laptops, I've only ever encountered prebuilt. Wouldn't know how to do it myself, outside of upgrading ram or a hard drive. I find either way, I'm googling hardware before I buy to make sure someone's been able to get it working properly with Linux but these days I only generally seem to have potential issues with specialised peripherals for the most part. My most used computer (a 2 in 1) didn't have any hardware incompatibility issues from a fresh install of the latest version of Linux Mint. It's usable as both a tablet with fully functional touch screen and a laptop.
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Re: Do most Linux users DIY or have OEM systems?

Post by Joe2Shoe »

I built a lot of Desktops for people back in the day, started with AMD Duron 800MHz CPUs. Haaa!
No more Desktops for me, as I like smaller & portable, so I have 7 laptops in the house. My wife gave the best Dell away, darn!
I personally don't care for Dells', but in the last year people have given me 5 Dell laptops. So, I installed LM Cinnamon on all of them, upgraded the CPU's to Core2Duo 2.2GHz, the RAM to 4GB, new 1TB 7200rpm HDDs, new CMOS batteries, new DC batteries, upgraded the CDRW/DVDR's to CDRW/DVDRW's. I recycled a Dell Latitude E6500 recently as it "got under my skin" one time too many, but I kept all of the detachable hardware.
My wife has a 3 year old Dell laptop, i5 2.5GHz, 8GB RAM, 1TB 7200rpm HDD; she hated it 'cause it had Windows 8.1 on it. I quickly downgraded it for her to Windows 7 and it's much better, but still "iffy". Ocassionally she's use one of the LM laptops.
My daily driver is a Sony Vaio i5 2.5GHz, 8GB RAM, Windows 7, but I use one of my 3 LM18.3 laptops 90% of the time.
Building rigs is over for me.
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Re: Do most Linux users DIY or have OEM systems?

Post by Petermint »

Code: Select all

upgraded the RAM to 4GB, new 1TB 7200rpm HDDs, new CMOS batteries, new DC batteries, upgraded the CDRW/DVDR's to CDRW/DVDRW's
Just need to replace the case, keyboard, screen, and motherboard. :D

Laptops can be used as desktops with built in power failure protection. I find old laptops, the giveaway variety offered to me, lack something important, like USB 3.0. Their fan whine is another problem. The good models of laptops are kept by the owners until the last bit drops out of the CPU cache.

This is different to the Apple market where last week's model is obsolete.
Citizen229

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

Post by Citizen229 »

I have built all my own since my first rig(K6-400). As a self builder I am at a cross roads. All the spare hardware I have is ddr3. I am finally going to have to move to DDR4. I dont remember alot of things. However I do not remember the sd to ddr jump(or any ddr generation) being so expensive.as this DDR4 jump i will make soon. The video card market has inflated prices right now thanks to the Bitcoin explosion. For a PC with any kind of GPU needed, the cost will be high and more than likely near equal in price.
0
Im holding out until later this year. AMD will be launching their new APU. 4 cores/8 threads and 8 or 11 vega cores. The only reason I have a stand alone GPU is for our Folding team. See Sig.

1)K6 and vodoo2
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3) Q9950 (best cpu ever made) and Ti4200
4)fx4350 and 5870 , then gtx 275,then r9 280x ( that rig is still running, testament to quality)
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