Re: [tlug] Need purchasing advice for a linux compatible desktop

["Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon" <ronfaxon@example.com>]

Edward Middleton wrote:

> > Using two machines with a KVM switch might be easier.  I have a Brand-W
> > box running some old W-applications that is off-line and completely
> > isolated from my Linux box.  No amount of corruption can get around physics!  
> >    
> The hard drive in your GNU/Linux box can fail though.  I guess it
> depends how you want to go,  I find that windows eats all available
> resources so I don't like running it on anything that isn't well
> provisioned.  If I were to take your approach that means a fairly large
> outlay for a computer that will mostly be idle.  I gather your approach
> is to buy cheap second hand computers and run everything from a KVM switch.
>  
Right.  It worked out well for me due to the timing of buying some cheap
Dell OptiPlex boxes for Y2,000 and Y12,000 (that seem to be
pre-faulty-capacitor), when 120GB (previous generation - IDE?) hard
drives were available for about Y8,000 - Y10,000, memory (PC-133 256MB)
was also readily available and cheap.  The OptiPlex boxes (GX-1 &
GX-110) didn't initially work with the 120GB drives, but Dell provided
an on-line BIOS upgrade that enabled them to painlessly use large
drives.  After that I added DVD R/RW drives (about Y6,000 each) and
USB-2.0 (About Y1,200 per board).  So, for a low outlay of cash, I have
a couple of P-III boxes (450MHz & 600MHz) that work well enough,
although they are a little sluggish sometimes.

Re: "I find that windows eats all available resources"

The P-III 600MHz with 512MB RAM doesn't have any problem, although some
graphics work requires waiting a few seconds from time to time for
rendering.  Stability is fine - remember that it's an off-line machine
that has zero influence from the Internet.  My experience with most
Brand-W boxes is that the longer they're hooked up to the Internet, the
slower and weirder they get.  It's best to keep them off-line!

All of that said though, what with the high rate of defective capacitor
computers coming to light and decreasing availability of previous
generation computer parts, a new custom box probably is the best way to
go, and so... yeah, maybe one box is the best way!  I've gotten used to
using multiple boxes and like the redundancy of it (if one dies, I just
power up another), but what with wires going everywhere and some
problems with KVM switches, maybe I shouldn't recommend that others try
the same thing!  (For testing things, it's great to have an extra box
that you're completely unafraid to muck up though!)

Lyle