On 12/14/2013 10:48 PM, Patrick Bartek wrote: > On Sat, 14 Dec 2013, Stephen Powell wrote: > >> On Fri, 13 Dec 2013 23:21:22 -0500 (EST), Patrick Bartek wrote: >>> >>> On Fri, 13 Dec 2013, Stephen Powell wrote: >>>> >>>> I have decided to buy a 64-bit system for myself for Christmas. >>>> But [snip] >>>> >>>> (1) As a host system for Hercules. Hercules is an open source >>>> [snip] >>>> >>>> (2) This system will also double as a desktop system. I'm not a >>>> [snip] >>>> >>>> Does anyone wish to contribute any opinions? Anything from general >>>> advice to specific hardware recommendations is welcome. And feel >>>> free to ask follow-up questions. >>> >>> What's your budget? >>> ... >> >> Good question. I'm not sure what things cost these days; but for >> planning purposes, lets try a ballpark figure of somewhere around >> $500 US. If I find that I cannot get what I want for that price, I >> may be willing to spend more. > > $500, I think, is overly optimistic. My main system which I built from > components cost $600 seven years ago. And I even used parts (graphics > card, DVD burner, keyboard, mouse, and CRT monitor) from my previous > system to keep the cost down. It had a single core 2.0 GHZ Athlon64
It highly depends on whether one wants a "business" system (which will be around $600 or $700 I guess) or a "consumer" system, which one could get at $400 to $500: http://www.dell.com/us/p/inspiron-660s/pd?oc=fdcwsx389&model_id=inspiron-660s Since I have first used a "business"-class computer I have decided to _never_ buy a "consumer" device again (as long as there are not strong reasons for doing so) but that might be a matter of personal taste (many people think I am wasting money on that preference). I have not bought any Dell computer recently, so I can not comment on the quality. Also, I have not explicitly researched for the Linux compatibility on the system but that is easy to do. If I understood the requirements correctly, the system linked above might be a solution. (It still has a Windows License included however). My general advice would be to look at the large companies' offers (business or consumer / following preferences) and if the price for the consumer version is too high, start comparing the individual parts. Also, I would look for tests in computer magazines. HTH Linux-Fan -- http://masysma.ohost.de/
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