An $89 remanufactured Ubuntu workstation • Hacker News Board

Re: An $89 remanufactured Ubuntu workstation

#21

Post by Sanddancer » Mon, Mar 02, 2015, 4:30 PM UTC

dangerlibrary wrote: post #3

kogepathic wrote: post #2

From the photo it looks like they're using BTX motherboards (unless as the fine print states, the final version is different). Also I hope that they're aware of which Intel chipsets contain PowerVR graphics and steer clear of selling any systems with those. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_graphics_process...

For those of us who don't know: why would they need to steer clear of PowerVR graphics chips?

The PowerVR chips on Intel platforms came in binary blobs, and were only supported in a few fairly specific configurations. As such, they were obsolete almost as soon as they were released, with little to no support. Thankfully, though, they only put PowerVR chips in their Atom boards for a fairly short period of time, so you won't have to worry about them in these machines.

Re: An $89 remanufactured Ubuntu workstation

#22

Post by listic » Mon, Mar 02, 2015, 4:33 PM UTC

kogepathic wrote: post #2

From the photo it looks like they're using BTX motherboards (unless as the fine print states, the final version is different). Also I hope that they're aware of which Intel chipsets contain PowerVR graphics and steer clear of selling any systems with those. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_graphics_process...

I'm not sure whether it's actually possible to run Ubuntu on these?

Re: An $89 remanufactured Ubuntu workstation

#23

Post by zerohm » Mon, Mar 02, 2015, 4:34 PM UTC

jkot wrote: post #6

And people pay $80 for this? ARM device from China will be cheaper, smaller,more power efficient and will run Ubuntu just as fine. > 2.8Ghz P4 or better CPU (pentium 4 is very very green) > 80GB SATA HD (spin it yeah, Ubuntu comfortably fits to 5GB) > VGA port ???

The point is to recycle parts, not to make another great micro PC.

Re: An $89 remanufactured Ubuntu workstation

#24

Post by egd » Mon, Mar 02, 2015, 4:35 PM UTC

They're cheap enough that my first thought was to pick up a couple and figure out what I'd do with them later, but the disadvantage here is that they're older boxes, which means they're going to be energy hogs (for the performance point, at least).

That's what makes the eco pitch interesting - they're reducing e-waste, which is good, but energy efficiency on newer boxes (especially if you just need minimal performance) is worlds better than what these are offering. On the one hand, the recycling is great, but on the other hand, it's like putting a 1953 Chevy back on the road - sure, we didn't have to manufacture another one, but it still might not be the best thing for the environment.

Re: An $89 remanufactured Ubuntu workstation

#25

Post by sktrdie » Mon, Mar 02, 2015, 4:37 PM UTC

There are android mini pcs with Android OSs, much larger selection of apps/games, for less than half that price. They can easily be found for ~$35 http://www.laptopmag.com/android-sticks

Re: An $89 remanufactured Ubuntu workstation

#26

Post by listic » Mon, Mar 02, 2015, 4:38 PM UTC

I wonder how anyone makes use of Ubuntu for even just 'web work' with just 2GB RAM. The browsers are becoming ever more bloated; I know I had swap issues on my non-SSD laptop before I upgraded from 4 to 8. Right now it uses 3.3 with 9 Chrome tabs open, an IM client, gedit and terminal.

It's unfortunate, of course, because 4GB of older DDR1/DDR2 memory would be much more tough to find/expensive than 2.

Re: An $89 remanufactured Ubuntu workstation

#27

Post by jkot » Mon, Mar 02, 2015, 4:42 PM UTC

I am concerned with energy consumption of this device. Pentium 4 class computer consumes 40 watts while idle. ARM cpu would work just as fine (Ubuntu).

I think this devices should not be called green, unless they disclose power efficiency rating.

Re: An $89 remanufactured Ubuntu workstation

#28

Post by hayksaakian » Mon, Mar 02, 2015, 4:43 PM UTC

listic wrote: post #26

I wonder how anyone makes use of Ubuntu for even just 'web work' with just 2GB RAM. The browsers are becoming ever more bloated; I know I had swap issues on my non-SSD laptop before I upgraded from 4 to 8. Right now it uses 3.3 with 9 Chrome tabs open, an IM client, gedit and terminal. It's unfortunate, of course, because 4GB of older DDR1/DDR2 memory would be much more tough to find/expensive than 2.

Hey! I do this.

I'm still using a 10 inch netbook running Ubuntu for my typical web work (waiting for a retina macbook air).

You can't really watch videos or use flash without feeling the slowdown. As long as you stay under 10-20 tabs you're fine.

Running an IDE is out of the question, but sublime text does fine (probably more of a CPU limitation).

AMA I guess?

Re: An $89 remanufactured Ubuntu workstation

#29

Post by udev » Mon, Mar 02, 2015, 4:43 PM UTC

proveanegative wrote: post #17

udev wrote: post #10

Amazing price point. Are the computer parts refurbished? Otherwise I wonder where do you get 2GB RAM, 80GB HDD, and other older components at good prices these days? Usually, parts get cheaper as the become replaced by newer versions, but then become expensive again.

>Amazing price point. Is it really? It seems in line with eBay/Craigslist prices for similar hardware, expect for the "remanufactured" part.

It seems similar, but try to buy from ebay/craigslist anything in a reasonable volume, clean it, test it, ship it for less.

Re: An $89 remanufactured Ubuntu workstation

#30

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Mar 02, 2015, 4:46 PM UTC

egd wrote: post #24

They're cheap enough that my first thought was to pick up a couple and figure out what I'd do with them later, but the disadvantage here is that they're older boxes, which means they're going to be energy hogs (for the performance point, at least). That's what makes the eco pitch interesting - they're reducing e-waste, which is good, but energy efficiency on newer boxes (especially if you just need minimal performanc…

[deleted]