Author’s Note: This article is based on parts of Chapter 4, “Using Linux – Choosing Hardware,” of my book, “Linux for Small Business Owners,” with my co-author, Cyndi Bulka. Some changes have been made to bring it more up to date and to better fit this format.

In a previous article I looked at how to choose a computer store, but it’s also important to have enough knowledge to be able to define what you need in a computer, and then to purchase it. Regardless of whether you’re looking to purchase a computer for a small business or for yourself as a home user, this article can help you with that task.

But one of the obstacles that many individual users and small business owners crash into is that of technology. This is especially true of computers and all the stuff that surrounds them. Who even knows what a Gigahertz is, or RAM, GUI, CPU, or any of the other multitude of terms and acronyms surrounding computers? How many Giga- or Mega-somethings do we need?

In this article, I’ll explore a reasonable set of hardware requirements for purchasing new computers. I also discuss a bit about where to purchase new computers, what to look for, and why. We can’t cover every possibility but we think there is enough information here to allow you to make informed decisions about computer purchases.

However – if you have a store or person you trust to help you purchase a new computer, let them advise you. A trusted person at a local computer store can help you choose a computer or at least assist you with understanding what you need. Such a person can be very helpful and can save you some time. That does not mean that you should ignore this article or completely delegate responsibility for choosing a computer to someone else.

Most likely a store or person is going to try to guide you to buy and use Windows, or at least they won’t understand why you intend to use Linux. That’s just to be expected, so you should expect it, be OK with it, ultimately ignore it – and smile sweetly, nod, and carry on.

Even with an advisor you should know enough to understand their advice and why what they tell you makes sense – or not.

Bottom Line

There is a lot of technical information coming and many of you will not want to deal with all of those details. So we put the bottom line at the beginning for those of you who just want to get going and purchase a computer.

1. Never get a so-called all-in-one computer in which the display and motherboard with the processor and memory are all part of a single unit. These may look great and they do save desk space but the repair parts are expensive because they are non-standard and must be purchased from the vendor. Sometimes you can get parts for these on Amazon or other places on line, just don’t count on it.
2. Pick the processor first when purchasing a new computer. This defines memory speeds and motherboard choices. In general the more recent Intel i5 and i7 processors at 3GHz or more will provide the best overall performance, value.
3. New computers should have no less than 16GB of RAM. Most of my computers have 32GB or 64GB because I run a lot of programs and use multiple virtual machines (VMs) for research on my books and articles. I recommend 32GB which is more than enough for most purposes while providing enough for advanced tasks like audio and video editing and creating graphics.
4. Get Solid State Drives (SSDs) for better performance. A 500GB SSD is more than enough for most users and small businesses unless the computer will be used for creation or download of large numbers of graphics, audio, or video files.
5. For desktop computers stay away from Dell and Hewlett-Packard (HP) if possible because they use non-standard cases and parts to lock us in to their repair services and unique, proprietary hardware. Upgrades to new motherboards that take faster processors are not possible with these systems. If you do get one of these, prefer Dell over HP and be aware of the limitations.
6. Use one of the Linux distributions more suited to new users, such as Fedora, Ubuntu, Mint, and Pop_OS!, which are far more similar than they are different. We use Fedora in our book because it is what I started with and what we are both familiar with.
7. Get a good keyboard such as a gaming keyboard with mechanical switches. They can be expensive but are well worth it and can be used with laptops as well as desktop systems.
8. Get a 24” or 27” HD or 4K display with HDMI and DVI inputs. Built-in speakers are a plus. Although this would be a good primary display for a desktop it can also make an excellent secondary display for a laptop.

Keep reading if you want to know the details and why we make these specific recommendations.

The gory details

The purchase of a new computer can be as fraught with trepidation as that of selecting a used computer. Fortunately we can use the same criteria, along with a few more, but apply them a bit differently for a new computer.

Guidelines for new computers

Even when you know what you need in a computer, the act of purchasing a new computer is a challenge even for those of us who are familiar with technology and know what we are doing. Even armed with the knowledge from this article you might want to enlist a knowledgeable friend to help you choose a new computer.

This section is intended to help you understand a little about what is being offered to you off the shelf or by the sales staff when you go to purchase a computer. Figure 1 lists the criteria you should consider when looking for a new computer.

Figure 1: Use this table to help select appropriate components when purchasing a new computer.

Processor details

It is important to have a basic understand some additional details of processors in order to ensure that you get the most processing power for your money when purchasing a new computer.

There are two vendors that produce microprocessors⁴ for personal computers, Intel and AMD. Intel developed the first microprocessors suitable for use in the original IBM PC and AMD later created a series of microprocessors that were functionally identical while offering greater power and more cores and CPUs. Intel and AMD are in a competition for the fastest and most powerful processors which is a good thing for computing in general because it ensures we have faster/better processors appearing continuously. Many gamers prefer AMD processors for their extra bit of power and speed.

In general, both AMD and Intel processors are fine for most business uses and Linux works equally well on both. There are differences in the motherboards for AMD and Intel so an AMD processor must be used on a motherboard designed for AMD and an Intel processor must be used on a motherboard designed for Intel.

Let’s look at some specific things to consider for each.

Intel

Intel processors fall into several families. The Intel Celeron and Pentium processor lines are targeted at very low-cost, entry-level personal computers which are not a good choice for a small business. The Xeon family of processors are most frequently found in servers and high end workstations that may need multiple processors where each processor contains multiple cores.

For typical business and home workstations the Intel Core⁵ line of processors provides a wide range of price and performance. Intel produces two series of processors that are suitable for most businesses. The i5 series is good for typical office tasks including video conferencing with Zoom, Jitsi, etc. and for viewing live streams. They are unsuitable for use in creating or editing videos. The i7 series is more powerful than the i5 series and can be used for video, audio, and graphic production.

Each of the Intel Core series of processors have generational releases. The newest generation as of this writing is 14^th Gen. Each generation packs more processing power than the last.

AMD

Despite being our technical expert, David has little knowledge or experience with modern AMD processors. So this research is limited to what we found on-line. The AMD processor lineage is newer and a bit less complex than that of the Intel processors. AMD produces two lines of processors designed for business use cases.⁶ The AMD Ryzen PRO Desktop Processors and AMD Athlon PRO Desktop Processors are all suitable for business use.

Processor comparison list

Tom’s Hardware publishes an excellent list⁷ that compares many AMD and Intel processors for each year. Not all processors are listed, only the ones they were able to test. This list will provide you a good idea of the relative power and cost of many processors on the market today.

Standardization

There are also some special considerations to take into account. The primary consideration is that of longevity — do you want to fix your computer by replacing parts or will you purchase a new computer when one part breaks? This question is one of long-term viability and requires you find computers that are completely standardized.

Many common computer components are standardized. For example DDR4 SDRAM will fit in any computer of any brand designed for DDR4 memory. All hard drives and solid state drives are interchangeable and can be installed in almost any computer with few exceptions so long as you purchase storage devices that are compatible with the available SATA or M.2 connectors on the motherboard.

Cooling fans also come in a number of different standard sizes and are usually simple to replace. Even CPU fans – but not the heat sink⁸ itself – can be a simple replacement.

Interestingly, the most important component for standards compliance is the case — the box that contains many of the other components such as the motherboard and power supply. Any good computer store will sell standard cases in various sizes and configurations.

What we have

David currently has about 10 computers in his home office. They range from a low-end, 20-year old Pentium 4 with 2 cores and no HT to a very high end Core i9X with 16 cores plus HT for 32 CPUs – and pretty much everything in-between. David’s main workstation is the Core i9 Extreme and he uses it for everything from video editing and processing, writing and testing code and automation tools for system administration, to more mundane tasks like writing articles and books.

Cyndi has only one computer, a Dell Inspiron laptop that she uses for all aspects of her business including Zoom yoga classes and creating audio and video sessions for teaching and meditation. All of our computers run the Fedora distribution of Linux.

Laptops

Laptop computers are totally different from desktop or tower computers. Although memory and storage devices are mostly standard and can sometimes be upgraded, nothing else is standard. If something breaks you will need to go directly to the manufacturer for repair or replacement.

Desktop SDRAM is not compatible with that for laptops. Although the performance characteristics are essentially the same, the physical packages are different, being shaped differently for laptops. The connectors are not the same and it is not possible to install laptop memory into a desktop motherboard or vice-versa.

Acer, ASUS, Lenovo ThinkPad, and Panasonic are all good choices for laptops so long as they meet the hardware specifications you need.

Specialized vendors such as Emperor Linux and System76 have excellent choices for laptops.

System76

System76 is an excellent option for most desktop computers and especially laptops, a relatively new company located in Colorado that designs and builds their own line of desktops. They design the laptops but those are still being built in other countries. They are working to change that.

System76 installs their own version of Ubuntu, “PopOS!” Linux on every computer. They do not do Windows in any form. Their support staff is smart, knowledgeable, and very helpful. The parts they use are high quality and their laptop keyboards are excellent, they are backlit, and have a nice tactile feedback.

Because their computers are well designed and extremely well-built, System76 computers tend to be expensive but they are worth it.

David has had a System76 Oryx Pro 4 laptop (Core i7-8750H with 6 cores with HT, 32GB of RAM, two 500GB SSD storage devices) for about 3 years and is still very happy with it. It has had no problems of any kind so far. He did install Fedora, his preferred distribution, on it after using PopOS! for a few weeks. This is not a casual use laptop. It is intended as a substitute workstation when he is traveling. He has used it for audio/video recording and editing, and running multiple virtual machines (VM) during demonstrations, and for Linux training classes.

The System76 web site is https://system76.com/.

Emperor Linux

Emperor Linux, based in Atlanta, GA, deals exclusively in laptops. They obtain laptops from quality vendors and install Linux on them. This company will install any version of Linux that you want.

David’s previous laptop was purchased from Emperor and it served him well for more than ten years. That laptop was a ThinkPad and was also used as a workstation on-the-go. He used it for teaching Linux classes and it was also capable of running multiple VMs in that role.

The Emperor Linux web site is http://www.emperorlinux.com/.

Footnotes

1. Wikipedia, DDR4 SDRAM, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DDR4_SDRAM. ↩︎
2. Unicomp Model M Keyboard https://www.pckeyboard.com/page/product/NEW_M ↩︎
3. If you are interested, check out this MX switch comparison video on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlSPH3HvxhQ ↩︎
4. Wikipedia, Microprocessor, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microprocessor ↩︎
5. Intel, https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/details/processors/core.html ↩︎
6. AMD Processors for Desktops, https://www.amd.com/en/products/processors-desktop ↩︎
7. Tom’s Hardware, CPU Benchmarks and Hierarchy 2021: Intel and AMD Processors Ranked, https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/cpu-hierarchy,4312.html ↩︎
8. A heat sink is a passive radiator that pipes heat out of and away from the processor and transfers it to the air inside the computer. Fans then discharge the hot air out of the computer and replace it with cool air. ↩︎