Hi, I am considering getting a used IBM Lenovo Thinkcentre 8808 pc to try linux. It is core duo 1.86ghz with 3gig ram and 80gig hard drive. It is from a local company that sells refurb corporate pc's and it is selling for 109.99 with Windows 7 but you get -29 off if choosing Ubuntu instead so only around $80. Does that seem like good or at least decent deal? And would those specs be enough to run Ubuntu fairly well? Ubuntu would not be my choice but when I asked about linux that is all they will install. But I assume I can easily change to something else myself like Linux Mint or whatever I choose right? I've never used linux installed but I have played around using live usb's so I have at least seen it before. There is an option with this pc to have 120gig ssd upgrade instead of hard drive but it will cost $130 more so I doubt I will do it. I am also considering instead the following new pc option: http://www.amazon.com/Dell-Inspiron...1452283039&sr=8-2&keywords=dell micro desktop It is a micro pc but I am not sure about that j800 processor but doubt it is very good. It has only 2gig of ram also and 32gig ssd with windows 10 but my idea would be to install linux. Would that be a good choice for linux and could many or most linux run well from those specs? I am guessing this option is not nearly as good as the first but apart from linux this sounds like a decent enough deal if that micro pc runs fairly well. Does anyone have anyone idea? Or are those specs likely too low powered so even web browsing not particularly fast with windows on it. I am also concerned in that any linux I have ever tried was from normal bios but now all new pcs seem to have uefi and secure boot so not sure if that will make installing linux much more complicated for me with something like this. Anyway just looking for advice. I thought the used Thinkcentre seemed like pretty good deal but welcome opinions on both. Thanks.
I view these questions primarily from a $ pov. Buying from a reputable vendor $80 is a good deal. If you had a friend like me (LOL) you could possibly get similar for $50 or less maybe free.
Lenovo computers generally work very well with Linux. Ubuntu on a core 2 duo machine will be much lighter and faster than Windows 7. On my W520, Ubuntu uses around 600mb of ram while Windows 7 uses close to 2gb without running any apps. It is the same with hard drive use. Ubuntu uses around 8gb and Windows 7 around 30. Boot time for Ubuntu is around half of what Windows takes to boot and Ubuntu doesn't have the post boot slowdown as background apps and services load that Windows has. Once you see the desktop, it is ready to go at full speed.
On this system it definitely is. Most noticeable with VMs. Windows has way too many processes and services going. Windows memory management is also part of it. Windows makes much more and much more constant use of the page file. All I have to do is look at the Ubuntu system monitor and compare it to the Windows task manager to see how much better Ubuntu is in system resource use. That being said, Window 7 works very well in this system but it has enough power that almost any compatible OS should and does. I also have Windows 10 and Qubes on it and both of these resource intensive systems perform well.
I have a Lenovo G500 laptop preinstalled with Ubuntu, so there is a precedent for Ubuntu compatibility with Lenovo machines. Mint should also run on your computer as it's only basically Ubuntu anyway.
