[Lancaster] linux gaming + PC hardware

[Cefn Hoile]

I've had good experiences with Dell running Ubuntu for the last 5
years or so as they sometimes distribute Ubuntu with their machines
and their support for linux drivers tends to be better than most.

I bought my current laptop with an expectation of gaming, although
it's not a full-fledged "gaming laptop", it's more than respectable
for the job. I picked it up from Dixon's Refurbished line - it's a
Dell Q15R. With a Refurbished discount on top (at the time) it was
426.55 with Intel® Core™ i7-2630QM 4G Memory, 640Gb hard drive, NVIDIA
Geforce GT 525M (1GB video memory) and so on. Better spec than a
Macbook (at least at the time I bought it - they've upgraded since
then).

A touchpad issue I had was fixed pretty immediately through the
forums. Power was amazing after configuring Jupiter (7 hours).
Bumblebee or Ironhide provide NVidia graphics switching. All in all
I'm very happy and I use it every day for work, including running Mac
and Windows OS in Virtualbox (helps to have 4 true cores for this).
I'm running Oneiric Ocelot. I haven't tried Ubuntu Precise (12.04 long
term support release) yet, but hoping for no regressions.

Here's a link to Dixon's cheapo section, but worth looking at PC World
and Curry's websites for similar deals (they're the same company, but
don't cross list). Somehow they're trying to sell Dell Q15R i5 laptops
for £100 quid more than my i7, which is mad, but I still saw the i7s
reappear at the £449 price from time to time.
http://www.dixons.co.uk/gbuk/refurbished-laptops/117_1101_10102_xx_xx/line/xx-criteria.html

Get an on-site hardware warranty if you're picking up the cheap dell
refurbs - it's really good value and guarantees you a 'new quality'
laptop for 3 years. I already got my speakers fixed by an engineer
coming out.

Good luck.

Cefn
On 11 June 2012 09:24, andy baxter <andy at earthsong.free-online.co.uk> wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I've been considering buying a new PC recently, partly because I've been
> thinking about getting back into gaming. Probably I'd keep my laptop for
> travelling and get a desktop PC.
>
> Has anyone on the list any experience with gaming on linux? E.g. how many
> games are released for linux, and how many is it possible to run using Wine
> or in a windows VM?
>
> Also, I was wondering if people with a bit more hardware experience than me
> could advise me on a good choice for a linux compatible desktop PC? I want
> something pretty high spec, so it will last me at least 5-7 years. I saw
> this on the linux emporium site:
> http://shop.linuxemporium.co.uk/hardware/hardware-desktops/antec-based-high-performance-desktop-computer.html
>
> I'd be up for supporting them if it's not vastly overpriced, just to save
> myself the hassle of checking hardware compatibility, but I don't know
> enough about current hardware to know what's good and how much I should pay
> for it.
>
> Thanks,
>
> andy baxter
>
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