Cheap Desktop or Laptop?

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NaXuh

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Hey everyone,

I'm looking into buying a new laptop or desktop computer that I am going to put ubuntu onto. I'm wondering if anyone had any suggestions on brands or places to get cheap laptops? I don't need anything fancy like a 1TB harddrive with the best graphics card in the world. Ubuntu doesn't take much to run, so I am hoping to find a decent cheap computer.

If it comes with something old like Windows XP or even no OS, that would be fine as I am just going to wipe it for Ubuntu anyway.

Thanks for your help & suggestions! 🙂.
 
Are you looking for onboard graphics or a dedicated GPU? :O

Also, I've heard that Ubuntu isn't the best for laptops. You might want to go for a cheap desktop. 😉
 
Thanks, Snobo! I have used ubuntu before on a desktop (that is how I have experience with it) but not on a laptop. That is good to know - I will be sure to consider that now!

I am not really looking for anything special with the graphics, an average graphics card should work fine. I already have a pretty nice monitor so I only need the desktop unit. 🙂.
 
Do you plan to do some light to moderate gaming on the machine? :O
 
You can't really game on ubuntu so if you're looking to play any games at all Ubuntu isn't the ideal OS for that. If not then try tigerdirect.com or newegg.com for cheap stuff 😀
 
Hey,

I am probably looking at no gaming on the machine. I have a nice laptop (the one I am currently one) that runs all the games I play great. I am looking for this desktop for more of computer to mess around with ubuntu, write code on, etc. 🙂.
 
Hey there, DarkGizmo.

I am probably willing to spend around $300, so the first one is a bit above my price rang at the moment. I was just looking at the second one myself, and I am considering it. It looks nice for what I am looking for.

Thanks for taking the time and looking! 🙂.
 
That looks like a nice computer Snobo, and for a awesome price!

I'm trying to find a picture of it, though as the site doesn't show one. 🙂.
 
Yeah. The processor is actually really good for the price. The graphics are pretty bad, though. You could probably pick up an acceptable graphics card for it pretty cheaply, though, since you're not planning to do many graphically intensive things on it. 😉
 
Yeah, thanks for looking.

I'm going to create a list of some nice ones I find and I'll show it to you guys when I get it. Always taking suggestions, though. 🙂.
 
Thanks for that link froggyboy, but after checking the prices I think they are a bit high for what I am able to do at this moment. Thanks, though! 🙂.
 
Indeed, they are kind of high price, but I think the hardware which System76 uses looks more higher quality then Dell, Acer, HP, Lenovo, and many other OEM computer makers which try to use cheap lower quality parts, and sell their PC at a cheaper price while still making a profit since they used lower quality cheap parts.

System76 uses better power supplies like: Power Supply: 380 Watt 80 Plus Certified. 80% or greater power on most of their models like http://www.system76.com/product_info.ph ... cts_id=104

System 76 support will be better for Ubuntu and their computers since they only sell Ubuntu. I'm not sure how well trained are HP, and Dell support on Ubuntu Linux. They might even refuse support once they learned you installed Ubuntu onto your PC.

Most Dells, HP, and other cheaper brands still use 250W power supplies which can be unreliable and break faster compared to a 80Plus Certified Power Supply which also does not get as hot, or uses as much electricity as inefficient power supplies.

Plus, System 76 has less bargaining power then the big PC makers like HP, and Dell since System 76 pay more for computer parts. I think the computer parts prices get cheaper if you buy larger amounts of PC parts since the PC parts maker make a greater profit when you buy a lot of parts, so they can afford to give bigger companies with more orders a better deal on parts.
 
You have made some very good points, and I totally agree with them. I would love to be able to use more quality parts.

I unfortunately just don't have enough money (and I can't really get enough in a good amount of time).

I currently have around 100 and I am saving up for a new cheap desktop - but I do not have a job at the moment, so I can only do work around the house & neighborhood to earn money. 🙂.
 
A cheap desktop would be good for you, and if you're a gamer, you shouldn't use Ubuntu for that kind of stuff.
 
You can try asking people if they have free desktop computer they do not need anymore, or volunteer/work in exchange for a free computer. You can also try looking on Craigslist, Ebay, and Amazon Marketplace for cheap computers.

I got my first used Ubuntu Linux based desktop by volunteering 24 hours.

Free Geek is a non-profit organization which gives a way free "used" computers pre-installed with Ubuntu Linux, but you have to volunteer at FreeGeek for 24 hours of volunteering, and they are only in a few cities in the US and Canada according to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_Geek

In addition to Portland, a number of other cities have started their own Free Geek organizations.[5]
Portland, OR ("the Mothership")
Fayetteville, AR
Central FL
Chicago, IL
Columbus, OH
South Bend, IN (Michiana)
Vancouver, BC (Canada)
Seattle, WA
Murfreesboro, TN (Born Again—no longer recycling)
Minneapolis-Saint Paul, MN (Twin Cities)
Toronto, ON (Canada)
Providence, RI
Ferndale, MI (Greater Detroit area)
[edit]

This is how I got my first Ubuntu Linux based desktop by volunteering 24 hours at FreeGeek doing varies tasks like cleaning, fixing computers, taking apart computers, house work.
 
Thanks for that information, froggyboy!

I have been looking around craigslist for awhile and found a few nice used cheap ones, which would probably be a lot better then buying a new system.

I am looking at the following:

Two different: Dell GX620 Desktops 3.2GHz / 2GB / 160GB / CDRW/DVD-ROM - cheaper one with no OS, expensive-er one with windows 7 ultimate.

They both are priced in the mid $100, so I think it is a fairly good deal. What do you think of it? 🙂.
 
The less expensive one would be fine unless you want to use Windows 7 to install Ubuntu by using the Windows Ubuntu Installer also called Wubi.exe on the Ubuntu install disk to install Ubuntu via Wubi.exe to create a dual boot Windows 7 and Ubuntu computer.

You can learn how to use Wubi.exe to install Ubuntu at http://johnsonyip.com/wordpress/2010/12 ... ller-wubi/

The Advantage of using Wubi.exe to install Ubuntu is it is easy. The disadvantage of Wubi.exe is the disk read and write speeds for your Ubuntu OS would be slightly slower then installing it by booting from the install CD for Ubuntu. However, if you do not like Ubuntu, you can easily uninstall it by using the default add/remove programs program in Windows 7 control panel.

The PC should work fine. I'm running Ubuntu 10.04 on a much slower computer (1.86GHz, 1GB of RAM, DVD-RW, onboard video, 320GB hard drive) then the system you mention, and it is good enough for most of my daily tasks like web browsing, watching HD videos on YouTube or my computer, listening to songs, basic photo editing in Gimp, and office work.

The minimum requirements for Ubuntu 11.04 Desktop Edition are
Processor (x86) 1 GHz
Memory (RAM) 384 MiB
Hard Drive (free space) 5 GB
Monitor Resolution 1024×768

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubuntu_(operating_system)#System_requirements

You can bring a long a copy of the Ubuntu Linux Live CD or a USB Flash drive with a bootable version of Ubuntu 11.04 or an older version of Ubuntu like 10.04, 10.10 to test to see if everything like sound, video, keyboard, mouse, and USB works. Also, test to see if the wired or wireless internet adapter works on Ubuntu at going on the internet before buying it if you can.

You can download a copy of Ubuntu from http://www.ubuntu.com/download/ubuntu/download

and use http://cdburnerxp.se/ to burn the ISO file or you can use http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/ to make a USB bootable flash drive loaded with Ubuntu on it. You may need to mark your USB drive partition as active before you can boot to your USB drive from a computer which can boot from a USB drive.

Learn how to mark your USB Drive's partition as active with command prompts in Windows or Disk Management here : http://johnsonyip.com/wordpress/2009/11 ... -diskpart/
 
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