[kwlug-disc] new hardward for linux - recommendations?

[Darcy Casselman]

If you've got an old or low-end consumer processor that doesn't
support virtualization extensions, that's definitely something to
consider upgrading.

It doesn't hurt to buy the SSD and give it a try.  If it's good
enough, you've saved a lot of money.  And if it's not, you can still
put it in the new machine, and you haven't lost anything.  If you get
another drive in the new machine, just use it as a data drive.  You
might need the space anyway.

Darcy.

On Wed, Sep 29, 2010 at 11:16 AM, Insurance Squared Inc.
<gcooke at insurancesquared.com> wrote:
> Huh.  So maybe I'd be better off keeping her existing machine, and just
> switching to an SSD hard drive?  Seems cheaper and probably easier?  The
> machine already has 3 gigs of ram.
>
>
> On 29/09/10 10:46 AM, Darcy Casselman wrote:
>>
>> On Wed, Sep 29, 2010 at 7:58 AM, Insurance Squared Inc.
>> <gcooke at insurancesquared.com>  wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> We need:
>>> 1) powerful processor.  I want to run a 64 bit version of linux on it
>>> though
>>> of course we don't need much power for that.  But she also runs
>>> virtualbox
>>> with XP inside it and that does need some horsepower.
>>>
>>
>> Any desktop processor is going to be 64 bit these days.  And processor
>> isn't your biggest concern for virtualization, honestly.  Although
>> make sure you get a processor with virtualization support.
>>
>> RAM is the biggest concern for running virtual box.  2GB minumum (1GB
>> for WinXP, 1GB for Linux).  More is better, as always.
>>
>> The other big performance factor for virtual machines is harddrive.
>> The difference in performance between a disk image file on a spinning
>> disk and a disk image file on a SSD is staggering.  If you're going to
>> splurge on anything, get a fast SSD.  It's worth it.
>>
>>
>>>
>>> 2) quiet.  The box sits on her desk in our home so quiet is better.
>>>
>>
>> Beware chipset fans!  Also VGA fans.  Tiny fans in general are bad
>> news.  You're probably looking at something less than top of the line
>> power-wise if you want quiet, unless you feel up for putting together
>> a liquid cooling rig.  Try to get something with as few fans as
>> possible.  And if there are fans, make sure they're big.
>>
>> Darcy.
>>
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>>
>
> --
> Glenn Cooke
> Insurance Squared Inc.
> (866) 779-1499
> www.insurancesquared.com
>
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