[Leaplist] new low end linux computers

[Jim Hartley]

When I bought my new machine last winter, I hit a sale at Office Depot 
and got an e-machines box very similar to the one described below for 
about $350 (after all the damn rebates, of course!). It came with a nice 
17" CRT monitor and a rotten printer (the Linux printer compatibility 
list rated it "doorstop"). My wife got a somewhat more expensive Compaq 
with an LCD display and an HP printer, so I got her old HP printer that 
works fine with Linux (luckily my computer still had an LPT port). Gave 
the "doorstop" Canon printer to my daughter who needed a new one (and 
still runs Windoze).

I booted some kind of a rescue disk I had and crunched the Windoze 
partition down real small - I figured I might find an occasional use for 
it, I can always delete it later if I need the space. Installed with TWO 
"system" partitions and a separate "home" partition so I can do upgrades 
or experiments without crunching my working system -tried Centos, it 
worked OK but was kind of back level so I put Fedora 6 on. Plan to wipe 
the Centos pretty soon and go to Fedora 7.

Don't know about graphics, I'm fine with the ATI Radeon Xpress 200 on 
the mobo. Had to play a little to get it to switch resolutions smoothly, 
other than that there were no problems.

So my advice, just look around for a sale, a "bundle discount," whatever.

Jim Hartley

Fuzzy Conner wrote:
> Assuming you have a monitor already...
>
> Some of the low dollar Compaq machines at Wal*Mart
> feature some decent hardware for the $350 price.
>
> This model does not come with Linux pre-installed, but is just a decent deal I saw today.
>
> Compaq SR5013WM
> http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5707025#Specifications
> 3.2 GHz Intel Pentium 4 processor 641
> 	512 MB PC2-4200 DDR2 memory
> 	160 GB SATA hard disk drive, 7200 rpm
> 	SuperMulti DVD burner with dual-layer capability
>
> More about that mobo/PC here:
> http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c00864946&lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&product=3380263〈=en
>
> ...and...
> "Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950 with 32 MB of dedicated graphics memory."
> I'm not sure if that included video would make you happy, especially if you're
> used to better stuff by nVidia.  For a new PC that won't break the bank I would
> spend a bit more on video and buy a nVidia card like this one:
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130062
>
> Since the PC itself is possibly on display at your local Wal*Mart, it would be
> easy to take a live CD with you to check it out.  (Always a good idea if you're
> buying a machine built by someone else.)
>
> Hope this helps. :)
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>        
> ____________________________________________________________________________________Ready for the edge of your seat? 
> Check out tonight's top picks on Yahoo! TV. 
> http://tv.yahoo.com/
> _______________________________________________
> Leaplist mailing list
> Leaplist at leap-cf.org
> http://lists.leap-cf.org/mailman/listinfo/leaplist
>
>