another "i'm thinking of buying a comp" topic!

[SuperGenius]

Well, I'm thinking of buying a computer for a number of reasons, and I would appreciate some advice.

1. I want a computer that i can have my way with: ex. install linux
2. I could use some more hard drive space

I want to do this fairly low budget, but I would hope to be able to play some games, although not top of the line ones such as doom3.

I would also love to get a SFF case (small form factor, like a mac mini, which I would like to have, but a pc would be better for me. I digress...)

I looked quickly about sff pc's and I didn't see too much about them. I found one site, but I'd like to find some more to compare.

any suggestions?

[Tony]

what advantages would a pc have over a mac in your case?

[wtd]

A Mac, in fact, would be a great way to go for someone who likes to experiment. Every Mac sold comes with the full OS and software on CD. Many Windows PCs just come with some lame recovery CD, so you're hard pressed to do a Windows install from scratch without resorting to a pirated copy.

Plus, it's a Unix system from the start, and you can install a number of different Linux distributions.

[SuperGenius]

mainly i wanted to get something that I could learn/use linux on before. I've never used or even seen it, but I hear nothing but good things.


i was wondering about installing linux on a mac mini.... i was thinking about a pc with an ati radeon all in wonder card. I've wanted one of those for a long time... anyone actually have one?

One of the things that I wanted to do with this computer is use it as a PVR, sort of, and to my knowledge the mini does not have the applicable ports.

[wtd]

SuperGenius wrote:

One of the things that I wanted to do with this computer is use it as a PVR, sort of, and to my knowledge the mini does not have the applicable ports.

It has a Firewire port, and external devices which accomplish this can be purchased.

[SuperGenius]

wtd wrote:

SuperGenius wrote:

One of the things that I wanted to do with this computer is use it as a PVR, sort of, and to my knowledge the mini does not have the applicable ports.

It has a Firewire port, and external devices which accomplish this can be purchased.

great. i'll look that up.... but what of installing linux, or (drool) a dual boot setup?

[Bacchus]

can you do that on any computer as long as you partition your harddrive? accually thats wat i did and ive been meaning to instal linux... which version..

[Martin]

wtd wrote:

A Mac, in fact, would be a great way to go for someone who likes to experiment. Every Mac sold comes with the full OS and software on CD. Many Windows PCs just come with some lame recovery CD, so you're hard pressed to do a Windows install from scratch without resorting to a pirated copy.

Plus, it's a Unix system from the start, and you can install a number of different Linux distributions.

That's no longer the case. By law, PC manufacturers have to package an install CD for the OS.

Also, I really think that it's a good experience for you to build your own computer. The suprisingly simple task will make you learn a lot about computers.

[SuperGenius]

I read about some guy setting up a debian/OSX system... which worked, sort of.

But, looking over the specs, to get it somewhere near what I want will be costly. I was hoping to get a HD in the range of 200GB, but it only supports 40/80GB, which means that I have to buy an external drive in addition to the gizmo that wtd told me I needed. I'm also not too excited about 32MB of video memory... can anyone comment on that?

I've always wanted to build my own pc, specifically taking a micro-atx board and stuffing it into a NES case, but that's way over my head.

[Blade]

haha mini itx - those are crazy.

but, if you are planning on experimenting with linux, try to get an nvidia card because ati has virtually no support for ati drivers... i spent like 2 months trying to get my radeon 9800pro to work with slackware 10 - i ended up giving up. didnt want to buy another card cuz i spent about $375 on my radeon.

people are also saying that athon 64's are remarkable in linux, might wanna give that a look over. there aren't nearly as expensive as they used to be, and get more bang for the buck compared to p4. ive seen a S754 2800+ for 150. which is about 15$ cheaper than a p4 2.4 prescott, but the 2800+ is supposed to be comparable to the p4 2.8 (hence the serial number for it).

[rizzix]

SuperGenius wrote:

i was wondering about installing linux on a mac mini.... i was thinking about a pc with an ati radeon all in wonder card. I've wanted one of those for a long time... anyone actually have one?

ATI cards have poor support for linux. i suggest u stick to nVidia for compatibility sake.

[rizzix]

SuperGenius wrote:

great. i'll look that up.... but what of installing linux, or (drool) a dual boot setup?

Not many distros currently support the ppc arch completly or at all. There's usually some software or the other missing, or not ported. Why? compared to x86 the ppc is almost never used.

Yellow Dog Linux is a linux distro that was designed for a mac. It has full support for the mac hardware etc. You might want to check it out. And yes you can dual boot.

Debian is also good, but i dont think debian by it's self is very usable (well it's usable, just that you'll have a bad experience). You might want to take a look at Ubuntu or something, that extends debian a bit here and there.

[wtd]

Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, Mandrake, the aforementioned Yellow Dog. What more do you want?

[Martin]

Yes, the real problem with apple isn't its lack of support, it's just the very limited potential for upgrades.

[[Gandalf]]

Quote:

Also, I really think that it's a good experience for you to build your own computer. The suprisingly simple task will make you learn a lot about computers.

If you're going to build your own computer, make sure good documentation comes with everything. It's probably going to result in a better computer if you buy all the parts and make it yourself, but you could run into a few problems. I came across two in my recent experience:

1. If there is one small thing wrong with the computer - it could not even boot up once you're done. I had a random CD ROM that caused my comp to not start up for some random reason - so I had to remove it.

2. In my case, I was missing 1 pin on my soundcard (brand new), so I only have speakers plugged in when I should be able to have mic too. <== example that you need good documentation, if some problem arises.