ADVERTISEMENT

Hay Unka Marky . . .

Sope Creek

Hall of Famer
Feb 5, 2003
47,641
11,467
113
. . . have you gotten your hands on a new Mac with that new M1 chip to play around with yet? All the supposed experts are claiming that the new chip - proprietary to Apple - has wicked good (I'm out of it . . . don't know the current slang to replace the shizzle) performance . . . supposedly faster and more efficient than any chip out there except for power users, which I ain't.

I know, I know . . . build your own unix box . . . *sigh*.
 
. . . have you gotten your hands on a new Mac with that new M1 chip to play around with yet? All the supposed experts are claiming that the new chip - proprietary to Apple - has wicked good (I'm out of it . . . don't know the current slang to replace the shizzle) performance . . . supposedly faster and more efficient than any chip out there except for power users, which I ain't.
LOL. No, I haven't. I have zero experience with Apple products. They may be fine products, but I'm not going to pay 3-5 times the money for something I can get a generic PC for.
I know, I know . . . build your own unix box . . . *sigh*.
Of course. That's what I've been doing for years. My current box was built in late 2011 for round $650. At the time, it was pretty damn hot. I've since bumped the RAM and gone with SSDs, but otherwise it's the same. As much as I'd like to get myself upgraded to the latest and greatest, I can't justify it.
mark@MX-KDE:~
$ inxi -F
System: Host: MX-KDE Kernel: 5.6.0-2-amd64 x86_64 bits: 64 Desktop: KDE Plasma 5.14.5
Distro: MX-19.3_KDE_x64 patito feo August 16 2020
Machine: Type: Desktop Mobo: ASUSTeK model: M4A87TD/USB3 v: Rev 1.xx serial: <root required> BIOS: American Megatrends
v: 0601 date: 04/02/2010
CPU: Topology: Quad Core model: AMD Athlon II X4 630 bits: 64 type: MCP L2 cache: 2048 KiB
Speed: 800 MHz min/max: 800/2800 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 800 2: 800 3: 1600 4: 2800
Graphics: Device-1: NVIDIA GF119 [GeForce GT 610] driver: nouveau v: kernel
Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.9 driver: modesetting unloaded: fbdev,vesa resolution: 1440x900~60Hz, 1440x900~60Hz
OpenGL: renderer: NVD9 v: 4.3 Mesa 20.1.8
Audio: Device-1: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD/ATI] SBx00 Azalia driver: snd_hda_intel
Device-2: Brooktree Bt878 Video Capture driver: bttv
Device-3: Brooktree Bt878 Audio Capture driver: snd_bt87x
Device-4: NVIDIA GF119 HDMI Audio driver: snd_hda_intel
Sound Server: ALSA v: k5.6.0-2-amd64
Network: Device-1: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet driver: r8169
IF: eth0 state: up speed: 100 Mbps duplex: full mac: 48:5b:39:c9:4d:e6
Drives: Local Storage: total: 1.83 TiB used: 316.53 GiB (16.9%)
ID-1: /dev/sda vendor: Western Digital model: WD5001AALS-00E3A0 size: 465.76 GiB
ID-2: /dev/sdb vendor: Western Digital model: WD5001AALS-00E3A0 size: 465.76 GiB
ID-3: /dev/sdc vendor: Mushkin model: MKNSSDRW480GB size: 447.13 GiB
ID-4: /dev/sdd type: USB vendor: PNY model: USB 3.0 FD size: 28.90 GiB
ID-5: /dev/sde type: USB vendor: Western Digital model: WD5000BEVT-22A0RT0 size: 465.76 GiB
Partition: ID-1: / size: 429.50 GiB used: 112.09 GiB (26.1%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sdc1
Sensors: System Temperatures: cpu: 58.0 C mobo: N/A gpu: nouveau temp: 46 C
Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A gpu: nouveau fan: 0
Info: Processes: 196 Uptime: 13h 43m Memory: 7.78 GiB used: 2.33 GiB (29.9%) Shell: bash inxi: 3.0.36
mark@MX-KDE:~
$

I built a high end box for a buddy about three years ago. It was about as hot as you could get without going exotic and high dollar. Again, around $600. I believe we went with a fast Ryzen 3, 16GB RAM, and SSDs of course. The user does a lot of graphics and AV encoding. It blew him away performance-wise. It's now considered a fairly nice but nothing to brag about machine, but he still calls it his "rocketship".

Building ones own allows you to essentially "future proof" your kit if you spec it out with recent components that you can rely on being available it bigger/better/faster versions for a number of years.
 
Last edited:
LOL. No, I haven't. I have zero experience with Apple products. They may be fine products, but I'm not going to pay 3-5 times the money for something I can get a generic PC for.

Of course. That's what I've been doing for years. My current box was built in late 2011 for round $650. At the time, it was pretty damn hot. I've since bumped the RAM and gone with SSDs, but otherwise it's the same. As much as I'd like to get myself upgraded to the latest and greatest, I can't justify it.
mark@MX-KDE:~
$ inxi -F
System: Host: MX-KDE Kernel: 5.6.0-2-amd64 x86_64 bits: 64 Desktop: KDE Plasma 5.14.5
Distro: MX-19.3_KDE_x64 patito feo August 16 2020
Machine: Type: Desktop Mobo: ASUSTeK model: M4A87TD/USB3 v: Rev 1.xx serial: <root required> BIOS: American Megatrends
v: 0601 date: 04/02/2010
CPU: Topology: Quad Core model: AMD Athlon II X4 630 bits: 64 type: MCP L2 cache: 2048 KiB
Speed: 800 MHz min/max: 800/2800 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 800 2: 800 3: 1600 4: 2800
Graphics: Device-1: NVIDIA GF119 [GeForce GT 610] driver: nouveau v: kernel
Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.9 driver: modesetting unloaded: fbdev,vesa resolution: 1440x900~60Hz, 1440x900~60Hz
OpenGL: renderer: NVD9 v: 4.3 Mesa 20.1.8
Audio: Device-1: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD/ATI] SBx00 Azalia driver: snd_hda_intel
Device-2: Brooktree Bt878 Video Capture driver: bttv
Device-3: Brooktree Bt878 Audio Capture driver: snd_bt87x
Device-4: NVIDIA GF119 HDMI Audio driver: snd_hda_intel
Sound Server: ALSA v: k5.6.0-2-amd64
Network: Device-1: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet driver: r8169
IF: eth0 state: up speed: 100 Mbps duplex: full mac: 48:5b:39:c9:4d:e6
Drives: Local Storage: total: 1.83 TiB used: 316.53 GiB (16.9%)
ID-1: /dev/sda vendor: Western Digital model: WD5001AALS-00E3A0 size: 465.76 GiB
ID-2: /dev/sdb vendor: Western Digital model: WD5001AALS-00E3A0 size: 465.76 GiB
ID-3: /dev/sdc vendor: Mushkin model: MKNSSDRW480GB size: 447.13 GiB
ID-4: /dev/sdd type: USB vendor: PNY model: USB 3.0 FD size: 28.90 GiB
ID-5: /dev/sde type: USB vendor: Western Digital model: WD5000BEVT-22A0RT0 size: 465.76 GiB
Partition: ID-1: / size: 429.50 GiB used: 112.09 GiB (26.1%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sdc1
Sensors: System Temperatures: cpu: 58.0 C mobo: N/A gpu: nouveau temp: 46 C
Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A gpu: nouveau fan: 0
Info: Processes: 196 Uptime: 13h 43m Memory: 7.78 GiB used: 2.33 GiB (29.9%) Shell: bash inxi: 3.0.36
mark@MX-KDE:~
$

I built a high end box for a buddy about three years ago. It was about as hot as you could get without going exotic and high dollar. Again, around $600. I believe we went with a fast Ryzen 3, 16GB RAM, and SSDs of course. The user does a lot of graphics and AV encoding. It blew him away performance-wise. It's now considered a fairly nice but nothing to brag about machine, but he still calls it his "rocketship".

Building ones own allows you to essentially "future proof" your kit if you spec it out with recent components that you can rely on being available it bigger/better/faster versions for a number of years.
How portable is your system? Is it under 3.5 pounds?
 
  • Like
Reactions: iuwclurker
LOL. No, I haven't. I have zero experience with Apple products. They may be fine products, but I'm not going to pay 3-5 times the money for something I can get a generic PC for.

Of course. That's what I've been doing for years. My current box was built in late 2011 for round $650. At the time, it was pretty damn hot. I've since bumped the RAM and gone with SSDs, but otherwise it's the same. As much as I'd like to get myself upgraded to the latest and greatest, I can't justify it.
mark@MX-KDE:~
$ inxi -F
System: Host: MX-KDE Kernel: 5.6.0-2-amd64 x86_64 bits: 64 Desktop: KDE Plasma 5.14.5
Distro: MX-19.3_KDE_x64 patito feo August 16 2020
Machine: Type: Desktop Mobo: ASUSTeK model: M4A87TD/USB3 v: Rev 1.xx serial: <root required> BIOS: American Megatrends
v: 0601 date: 04/02/2010
CPU: Topology: Quad Core model: AMD Athlon II X4 630 bits: 64 type: MCP L2 cache: 2048 KiB
Speed: 800 MHz min/max: 800/2800 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 800 2: 800 3: 1600 4: 2800
Graphics: Device-1: NVIDIA GF119 [GeForce GT 610] driver: nouveau v: kernel
Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.9 driver: modesetting unloaded: fbdev,vesa resolution: 1440x900~60Hz, 1440x900~60Hz
OpenGL: renderer: NVD9 v: 4.3 Mesa 20.1.8
Audio: Device-1: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD/ATI] SBx00 Azalia driver: snd_hda_intel
Device-2: Brooktree Bt878 Video Capture driver: bttv
Device-3: Brooktree Bt878 Audio Capture driver: snd_bt87x
Device-4: NVIDIA GF119 HDMI Audio driver: snd_hda_intel
Sound Server: ALSA v: k5.6.0-2-amd64
Network: Device-1: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet driver: r8169
IF: eth0 state: up speed: 100 Mbps duplex: full mac: 48:5b:39:c9:4d:e6
Drives: Local Storage: total: 1.83 TiB used: 316.53 GiB (16.9%)
ID-1: /dev/sda vendor: Western Digital model: WD5001AALS-00E3A0 size: 465.76 GiB
ID-2: /dev/sdb vendor: Western Digital model: WD5001AALS-00E3A0 size: 465.76 GiB
ID-3: /dev/sdc vendor: Mushkin model: MKNSSDRW480GB size: 447.13 GiB
ID-4: /dev/sdd type: USB vendor: PNY model: USB 3.0 FD size: 28.90 GiB
ID-5: /dev/sde type: USB vendor: Western Digital model: WD5000BEVT-22A0RT0 size: 465.76 GiB
Partition: ID-1: / size: 429.50 GiB used: 112.09 GiB (26.1%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sdc1
Sensors: System Temperatures: cpu: 58.0 C mobo: N/A gpu: nouveau temp: 46 C
Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A gpu: nouveau fan: 0
Info: Processes: 196 Uptime: 13h 43m Memory: 7.78 GiB used: 2.33 GiB (29.9%) Shell: bash inxi: 3.0.36
mark@MX-KDE:~
$

I built a high end box for a buddy about three years ago. It was about as hot as you could get without going exotic and high dollar. Again, around $600. I believe we went with a fast Ryzen 3, 16GB RAM, and SSDs of course. The user does a lot of graphics and AV encoding. It blew him away performance-wise. It's now considered a fairly nice but nothing to brag about machine, but he still calls it his "rocketship".

Building ones own allows you to essentially "future proof" your kit if you spec it out with recent components that you can rely on being available it bigger/better/faster versions for a number of years.

My wife bought me an Apple computer when I retired. After using PC’s my entire career the learning curve has been a complete pain in the ass. I’m sure the reverse is true, but man I wish I had my PC back.
 
My wife bought me an Apple computer when I retired. After using PC’s my entire career the learning curve has been a complete pain in the ass. I’m sure the reverse is true, but man I wish I had my PC back.
What learning curve? My experience going from PC to Mac is that there might be a forgetting curve, but man is that nice and easy . . . .
 
Last edited:
If all you are doing is browsing the internet, checking email and writing an occasional word doc then check out a chromebook. Secure, fast and boots in seconds.

Chromebooks can even install android apps now and some can even do linux apps if you really can't find something you need. Getting the linux app sandbox setup can be a bit difficult for someone not savvy with computers but everything else is fairly simple. If you can get around an android phone, then you can use a chromebook.

I have a dell chromebook and it accomplished what little i needed in a laptop, even do some gaming on it with google stadia and a few android games.

It won't have as powerful of specs as a mac or windows laptop but chrome os doesn't need much. i3 processor and 4-8 GB ram and it's zippy.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: sglowrider
I think the learning curve on a mac and windows machine is fairly equal. More people will think a mac has a bigger learning curve simply for the fact that they are used to windows and the general interface for an end user hasn't changed much since windows 95.

Windows 10 would be better if they converted everything into settings app instead of being stuck in limbo between control panel and settings. I think they're trying to streamline stuff but released it when they were halfway there.

Mac has stuff better organized for settings and stuff but something as simple as installing a printer can sometimes go wonky on a mac from my experience.
 
What learning curve? My experience going from PC to Mac is that there might be a forgetting curve, but man is that nice and easy . . . .
Once it's set up, the operating system should just get out of your way. People use programs, not operating systems. I've converted a couple dozen people to desktop Linux, and trust me they are not what you could call computer savvy in any way, shape, or form.
 
  • Like
Reactions: IU_Hickory
Once it's set up, the operating system should just get out of your way. People use programs, not operating systems. I've converted a couple dozen people to desktop Linux, and trust me they are not what you could call computer savvy in any way, shape, or form.
I can't imagine what learning curve SSB has had . . . my eldest was on a Mac when he had just turned 3 and ran with it . . . this was back in 1990 when we were sold on a $2800 Mac with 40 MB of storage and 10 MB of RAM because "that's all the storage and RAM you'll ever need". 🤮
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: UncleMark
Chromebooks can even install android apps now and some can even do linux apps if you really can't find something you need. Getting the linux app sandbox setup can be a bit difficult for someone not savvy with computers but everything else is fairly simple.
If I can ever get my hands on one I'm going to try installing Debian on it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: IU_Hickory
I tried out ubuntu and suse about 20 years ago. At the time not something i would have recommended to non-tech savvy people. I am sure it is much better now though.

Nice thing about linux is you can make an older pc feel like new.
 
  • Like
Reactions: hookyIU1990
I can't imagine what learning curve SSB has had . . . my eldest was on a Mac when he had just turned 3 and ran with it . . . this was back in 1990 when we were sold on a $2800 Mac with 40 MB of storage and 10 MB of RAM because "that's all the storage and RAM you'll ever need". 🤮

Everyone has different levels of comfort with tech. I unfortunately know people that would likely have a heart attack if i set a mac in front of them.

It took my parents a while to get comfortable with an ipad but my 4 year old navigates his kindle fire like a pro after a few seconds.
 
I tried out ubuntu and suse about 20 years ago. At the time not something i would have recommended to non-tech savvy people. I am sure it is much better now though.
My first successful Linux install was either Ubuntu 4.10 (October 2004) or 5.04 (April 2005). I installed and played with a dozen or so different distros after that, but always defaulted to my trusty Windows 2000 install. I finally went with Linux full time with SimplyMEPIS 6.5 in late 2006. I haven't looked back since.
Nice thing about linux is you can make an older pc feel like new.
Desktop Linux does breathe life into old hardware as long as you don't have unrealistic expectations. Linux won't run on a toaster, and a full featured DTE still requires considerable resources. That said, I've taken older Windows machines that were barely usable and made them downright spunky by getting rid of Windows (7, 8, or 10, doesn't matter) and replacing it with a user friendly Linux install. For a number of years I went with Mint KDE, but am now installing MX-KDE and am using it myself.
 
  • Like
Reactions: IU_Hickory
How much RAM does your PC or Mac need? (2021 edition)
The bottom line is that you probably need more RAM than you think you can get away with, especially with modern systems where upgrading is not an option.
+++++++++++++++++++++++

TLDRs: Its all about the RAM.
LOL. I remember building a box for myself a number of years ago and people thought I was showing off when I went ahead and maxed it out with 1024MB.

The box I'm currently using is one I built around nine years ago and thought I was giving myself plenty of "elbow room" going with 4G. I recently bumped it to 8G; it really wasn't necessary, but it did spunk it up a bit.

Now I'd be going with 8G for a general use office workstation and 16G for anything that got any heavy graphics use.
 
  • Haha
Reactions: sglowrider
LOL. I remember building a box for myself a number of years ago and people thought I was showing off when I went ahead and maxed it out with 1024MB.

The box I'm currently using is one I built around nine years ago and thought I was giving myself plenty of "elbow room" going with 4G. I recently bumped it to 8G; it really wasn't necessary, but it did spunk it up a bit.

Now I'd be going with 8G for a general use office workstation and 16G for anything that got any heavy graphics use.

🤣 🤣 🤣

I tend to max out the RAM or change it either on the purchase or later after a couple of years of use. Am using i7 chipset and 16Gb Ram on a PC I bought 6-7yrs ago.

My biggest issue is getting cat fur stuck in it! Once a year, I will take it down to the computer shops and get them to take it apart and vacuum, grease parts and then it becomes stable again.
Use to hang/freeze, or even blue screen in the past due to the cat fur!

Then a $28 service and bob's your uncle. Good as new!
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: iuwclurker
LOL. I remember building a box for myself a number of years ago and people thought I was showing off when I went ahead and maxed it out with 1024MB.

The box I'm currently using is one I built around nine years ago and thought I was giving myself plenty of "elbow room" going with 4G. I recently bumped it to 8G; it really wasn't necessary, but it did spunk it up a bit.

Now I'd be going with 8G for a general use office workstation and 16G for anything that got any heavy graphics use.

I don't buy anything less than 32gB these days for the engineers on my team. We're about split down the middle on Macs and PCs, with several of each of those also running a linux distro on their box. For as much as everyone talks up the price of Macs, we pay barely more for the same level of performance and much higher reliability, we do a lot more exchanges and repairs on the Dells. Mostly laptops though, the desktop market is where you can save a lot of money by not going Mac, but I'm looking for machines that can be a daily driver for a software engineer on a complex distributed system and also be portable.
 
Once it's set up, the operating system should just get out of your way. People use programs, not operating systems. I've converted a couple dozen people to desktop Linux, and trust me they are not what you could call computer savvy in any way, shape, or form.
Serious question: Can I easily play my Steam games on a Linux system? Games are probably the only thing keeping me attached to Windows at this point. It's become less and less bearable with each iteration, but I don't want to give up Crusader Kings 3.
 
Serious question: Can I easily play my Steam games on a Linux system? Games are probably the only thing keeping me attached to Windows at this point. It's become less and less bearable with each iteration, but I don't want to give up Crusader Kings 3.
I don't do games, but I believe that Steam is Linux compatible. If you're seriously interested, go to the MX forums and do a search, or sign up and post a query.

There's also no reason not to set up a dual boot and just boot into Windows whenever you want to play games. I know that's the approach many have taken. Heck, I still have a load of Windows 7 on my machine. It gets booted once a year during tax season and that's it.
 
Last edited:
There's also no reason not to set up a dual boot and just boot into Windows whenever you want to play games. I know that's the approach many have taken. Heck, I still have a load of Windows 7 on my machine. It gets booted once a year during tax season and that's it.
Is that a hard partition of the drive?
 
Is that a hard partition of the drive?
Yes. W7 on a separate partition. Actually, it's on a separate drive altogether. Regardless, it's a rather trivial to set up. On startup (or reboot) the Linux bootloader gives you the choice to boot to whatever drive/partition you chose.
 
Yes. W7 on a separate partition. Actually, it's on a separate drive altogether. Regardless, it's a rather trivial to set up. On startup (or reboot) the Linux bootloader gives you the choice to boot to whatever drive/partition you chose.
Yeah, I once had a laptop that was hard partitioned between Windows and MacOS. Ran my business on one side and my personal stuff on the other. Got to be a PITA. I wanted some software that big lawfirms used, and that could only be run on Windows natively, hence the partition . . . ended up being not worth the trouble.
 
Yeah, I once had a laptop that was hard partitioned between Windows and MacOS. Ran my business on one side and my personal stuff on the other. Got to be a PITA. I wanted some software that big lawfirms used, and that could only be run on Windows natively, hence the partition . . . ended up being not worth the trouble.
Been there. The switching back and forth is a pain. I just defaulted to Linux, learned to use equivalent software that was available as FOSS, and adapted to not depending on Windows only software. In Goat's case, I'd have to believe that his wanting to be able to play his games wouldn't be such that he'd be needing to switch back and forth multiple times over the course of the day. BICBW. Some people have weird work habits.
 
Been there. The switching back and forth is a pain. I just defaulted to Linux, learned to use equivalent software that was available as FOSS, and adapted to not depending on Windows only software. In Goat's case, I'd have to believe that his wanting to be able to play his games wouldn't be such that he'd be needing to switch back and forth multiple times over the course of the day. BICBW. Some people have weird work habits.
When I set it up, I was under the impression (told this by an IT consultant to lawfirms) that there could be a hot switch between the two. I'd have never done it had I known you have to do a full reboot plus more to get to the switch.
 
When I set it up, I was under the impression (told this by an IT consultant to lawfirms) that there could be a hot switch between the two. I'd have never done it had I known you have to do a full reboot plus more to get to the switch.
He was probably referring to running a virtual machine.
 
He was probably referring to running a virtual machine.

I do this, my work machine is a Mac and I have a couple windows apps I use on a regular basis that aren’t terribly resource heavy. I just run a win10 virtual machine in virtual box, it’s nowhere near as performant as actually booting in bit doesn’t matter for my workload and it means I can do work in both at once (I regularly have 2 monitors with the main os and a third monitor with my windows vm).
 
  • Like
Reactions: UncleMark
I do this, my work machine is a Mac and I have a couple windows apps I use on a regular basis that aren’t terribly resource heavy. I just run a win10 virtual machine in virtual box, it’s nowhere near as performant as actually booting in bit doesn’t matter for my workload and it means I can do work in both at once (I regularly have 2 monitors with the main os and a third monitor with my windows vm).
. . . SWOOSHH . . . right over my head . . .

. . . I guess the question I'd have is whether the windows apps have to be run natively, or whether there are MacOS versions you could install . . . I'm guessing that they have to be run natively.
 
He was probably referring to running a virtual machine.
Maybe, but he did the partition . . . I think he didn't have much experience with Macs, and was trying to wing it.

But he wasn't a lawyer and hadn't had the training to do that . . . . :cool:
 
. . . I guess the question I'd have is whether the windows apps have to be run natively, or whether there are MacOS versions you could install . . . I'm guessing that they have to be run natively.
That question answers itself. If there are Mac versions of a particular software, then there's no sense in even discussing a Windows dual boot or virtual machine. But if they are truly Windows only, then you need to determine if it's worthwhile to do the setup (dual or virtual).

Many gamers who are also Linux/FOSS users simply have a separate Windows machine they use for gaming and another machine as their daily driver.
 
The best thing about ram is it is usually the easiest thing to upgrade, unless it is soldered onto the board. So can always just get 1 stick and get another later if needing to shave off initial costs.

I had a mac with work once and used a virtual machine application on it to run windows on it for stuff that required windows.
 
The best thing about ram is it is usually the easiest thing to upgrade, unless it is soldered onto the board. So can always just get 1 stick and get another later if needing to shave off initial costs.
When I'm speccing out a new build, I always start with the biggest/baddest/fastest processor you can afford and the most expandable compatible motherboard. You can cut corners after that, and still be able to upgrade or bump up later. That's how you "future proof" a machine. Barring a CPU or mobo failure (both of which are rare anymore), that should get you years and years of good service. As I've mentioned, this box of mine is going on nine years old and I can't for the life of me justify a new build no matter how much I'd like one.
 
  • Like
Reactions: IU_Hickory
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest posts

ADVERTISEMENT