Found a retail computer that ships with NO OS

[pqwoerituytrueiwoq]

I hate for this to sound like a add, but retail computers without the 'windows tax' are quite rare

Seems a little pricy to me, but i am not counting the premium for the militarization and ascetic look
http://www.newegg.com/product/Produc...82E16856173100 (with 3.5" 500GB 5400 RPM HDD/4gb single channel ram, laptop size)
http://www.newegg.com/product/Produc...82E16856173099 (without HDD/ram)
probably better off getting it without the hdd/ram for 2 reasons,
1. Nobody likes a 5400rpm hdd, nuff said
2. 4gb ram + 1 hdd is about $80 onsale so it saves 10$

[QIII]

That's, uh, waaaay to much for the specs if you ask me.

The coolness factor is not impressive.

[pqwoerituytrueiwoq]

agreed, i can build a better system for that easy, but hey maybe the price will drop
edit: wow that i5 is only a dual core, lame

[oldfred]

One user posted that he would buy laptops with slow hard drive to be lower cost and immediately remove hard drive before even booting Windows. And add SSD for a fast Ubuntu system.
Then when he later sells system, he puts hard drive back in and it has a "brand new" Windows install.

[mastablasta]

sneaky...

though I can't remember the last time I said "my computer has such a slow hard drive...."

for cheap laptops 5400 is good enough. they are not ment for highend.

[pqwoerituytrueiwoq]

sneaky...

though I can't remember the last time I said "my computer has such a slow hard drive...."

for cheap laptops 5400 is good enough. they are not ment for highend.

says the guy who has never tried a SSD

[irv]

This past year I bought 2 older Dell laptop (1521), max out the memeory (4gig) and installed a SSD in both. I used one for a sound system and the other I gave to my son as a gift. I had about $150 in each. Both run like new system with Ubuntu.

[rrnbtter]

Greetings,
Regarding the hard drive business, no question that SSD gets rid of an eternal wait state. That darned energy eater has always been the slowest part of the system (not counting storages devices of course).

Regarding the no OS. I would just as soon buy the Windows machine. Actually, with all of the crap-ware price concessions that come preloaded MS is actually making it possible for us to get a really good deal even with with the Windows on board. The prize is that if I want a legal Windows install to perhaps update my TomTom I have a legit way to do that at a factory discounted price. The Windows computer is a win win for me. Also, the Linux preloaded machines seem to cost more just because they don't have the crap-ware discounts.

[kurt18947]

Greetings,
Regarding the hard drive business, no question that SSD gets rid of an eternal wait state. That darned energy eater has always been the slowest part of the system (not counting storages devices of course).

Regarding the no OS. I would just as soon buy the Windows machine. Actually, with all of the crap-ware price concessions that come preloaded MS is actually making it possible for us to get a really good deal even with with the Windows on board. The prize is that if I want a legal Windows install to perhaps update my TomTom I have a legit way to do that at a factory discounted price. The Windows computer is a win win for me. Also, the Linux preloaded machines seem to cost more just because they don't have the crap-ware discounts.

Updating a GPS is one reason I maintain a Windows instance. Other hardware - printers come to mind - have firmware updates that are only available as an .exe file. I don't know of any non-Windows way to install those files.

[Tar_Ni]

I wish there were retailers that would sell budget computers with Linux pre-installed. All the retailers like Dell, System76 or Zareason are selling high end hardware for Linux which is kind of disappointing to be honest since you would expect that budget hardware would be attractive Linux machines as OSes like Xubuntu or Mint XFCE can fit in most anywhere and give decent performance..

I have never bought a computer above 400$ so until such retailer come to exist, the second-hand or refurbished market remains the best option for me.