[mike314]

I'm building a cheap linux machine and had a question. Since linux distros can run smoothly on even a PIII, is there any benefit to using a Pentium D 3.0GHz for word processing/internet use??? What about RAM, will having 1 GB have any added benefit like speeding up load times?

Also, will linux distros in general accept drivers for periphals such as cameras and printers??

thnaks

[macdude425]

Not really, no. I have a laptop with 512MB RAM and a 1.6ghz P-M which runs Linux just as well as my 1.0ghz Athlon used to.

Printers, not too bad. Digicams, I couldn't tell you.

http://linuxprinting.org

[The General]

Just get a card reader... I don't know what drivers would be needed for a digital camera anyway... 'cept USB mass storage...

[Skuzzle]

most digicams are fine as they are just mass storage devices.. they show the same as a usb hard drive

Higher spec will always improve performance, though im unsure whether linux is able to work with dual core as of yet.

[macdude425]

Yes - the kernel has supported dual core as far back as 2.6.8 (perhaps further) via SMP.

[The General]

I got this from Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_kernel

"Version 2.0 of June 1996 added support for more processors and included SMP support."

Haha, it supported dual-cores before dual-cores even existed.

[CalcProgrammer1]

Some digital cameras don't show up in Windows as USB Mass Storage devices, however, you could use an SD card reader or CF or whatever your camera uses. Also, there may be Linux software and drivers for your particular model. I have a Canon PowerShot A520, which shows up as a camera in XP.

[horndude]

Originally posted by The General
I got this from Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_kernel

"Version 2.0 of June 1996 added support for more processors and included SMP support."

Haha, it supported dual-cores before dual-cores even existed.

thats because it supported SMP for multi-processor boards before they started putting two or more cores on a die

linux has been SMP ready before windows even thought of it Im pretty sure

[mike314]

I just checked out a decent camera and printer with linux support

the reason why i ask about the dual core processors is because I really dislike PC's that wait a while after you made a request. I hate lag

I was hoping instead of using a Celeron D or PIII or even a Pentium M maybe a dual core could speed up request and load.

Also could games that support linux take advantage of the dual core???

as for the distro I'm thinking Linspire, looks easy to use of a windows user.

again thanks

[Enterpriser]

Linspire

I think Linspire has a bad reputation. But you should do what you want to do regardless.