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Dec
10
 
One of the great things about Linux is how well it runs on older hardware. The combination of overcapacity in processors and the failure of the resource hog Vista has created a sweet spot. You can get a powerful processor that may be a generation or two back (but still overkill for daily usage) at a great price. You can also help the environment. I thought it would be interesting to review a system that may not be the latest and greatest, but still provided a big bang for the buck. Geeks.com has a great selection of desktop computers, and they provided a bare bones kit to review: Pentium 4 3.4GHz Bare bones Kit w/Foxconn MB 1GB DDR2 CD.
Update: The kit is now out of stock 
Here is a replacement link.
I’m sure most of you have built a computer before. If you haven’t, give it a try. This kit is an easy starting point. It comes with everything you need, sans a hard drive and video card. Included:
- Case
- ATX adapter cable
- Motherboard
- CPU
- DDR2 RAM
- Heat sink and fan
- CD-ROM drive
- Floppy drive
- Wireless keyboard & mouse
My initial impression was very positive. I was very impressed with the motherboard, FoxConn 925XE7AA-8EKRS2 Socket 775 ATX. I used to manage a computer store, and have sold countless motherboards. One of the biggest stumbling blocks to upgrading is a lot of times functionality is pulled from a board. I would find the perfect board but then hit the wall of only one IDE slot. There would be onboard video that you can’t disable. You would only have two slots for RAM. Inexpensive meant giving something up. Isn’t it better to go with a solid, older board with full functionality?
This Foxconn is a monster. It has three IDE slots, four serial ATA slots. Silicon Image 3114 RAID controller. No onboard video to waste resources. Three PCI slots, three PCI-E x1 slots and one PCI-E x16, so a fair amount of room to upgrade. It is a solid board. It comes with the most cables I have seen in a motherboard box. 3 IDE cables. 8 SATA data cables, 1 floppy cable, 4 2-port SATA power adapter cables, 1 4 port USB extension and 1 Firewire extension. This motherboard will hold up to 4 gigs of RAM. The included 1 gig of Kingston RAM is a nice touch.
Installation was simple and took about an hour. I put the processor and memory in, put in the I/O shield and attached the motherboard, connected all the cables. I dropped in the CD Rom and hard drive and connected them. I threw in a video card, Nvidia 8400 (not part of the kit), double checked everything and closed the case. It powered right up. I installed OpenSuse 10.3 to get it up and running.
This is a fast machine. So fast that it sometimes finishes a task before I even start it (kidding). If you run Linux, you will be more than happy with the performance. I have an Athlon64 system with 3 gigs of ram that occasionally runs Vista. The speed of Linux + this hardware blows it out of the water. That is like comparing apples to anvils (thanks Garry!), but helps illustrate my point. 1/3 the ram and a comparable processor running like greased lightning compared to Vista. If you miss spyware and viruses (viii?) I’m sure this machine would run XP well. OpenSuse 10.3 is very fast on this system.
The wireless mouse and keyboard (Kensington Wireless Mouse and Keyboard for Mac and PC) are very nice. I hadn’t used wireless before with Linux, I was pleasantly surprised to plug them in and have them work immediately. The mouse has some weight to it. It feels substantial, unlike the lightness of a cheap mouse. The keyboard is built well. It may not have the power and fury of the old IBM Model M, but the keys are responsive and it feels spacious. There are a lot of extra buttons that I don’t mess with too much. Surprisingly, the two scrolls on the keyboard worked right out of the box with OpenSuse. The other extra buttons all seem to work as well, this comes as a shock to me. I guess I need to get with the times.
The case is reasonable. It has six expansion slots and plenty of space inside. There is a front panel USB port, but no front panel audio. The 300W power supply is sufficient, but a bit on the lower side. The case has plenty of holes for good ventilation, but lacks any fans. Considering the price point, there is nothing to complain about here. Unfortunately mine got bumped around in shipping, but was still usable.
With the included CD Rom and Floppy, you can throw a nice workable system together easily. If you are upgrading, you will probably transfer your CD/DVD burner to this system along with your power supply. The great thing about this path is you could install the motherboard/processor into your existing system, build a computer for your kid/parents/grandma/aunt/weird cousin with the supplied case, CD Rom and floppy.
I can easily recommend this kit. I’m very happy with it. You simply cannot beat the power you get for this price. The components are quality. You aren’t getting some cheapo motherboard, you are getting a great older generation model. The excellent wireless mouse and keyboard are an asset. If you are running an older system and looking for an easy and inexpensive upgrade, this does the trick. If you want to build a system that and are unconcerned with running the latest and greatest, look here. I don’t want to look like a slappy here, but I have had no problem with this system and it has run nonstop for a week. If I had a complaint I’d be more than happy to let you know. You can’t beat the price at $189.
Full specs available on the product page, Click here.Even though the system is out of stock, you can be notified when it returns though the link.
I’m going to use this system to revisit Sabayon Linux. I’ve been itching to see how Sabayon is doing since my last review.
Finally, I’d like to give a shout out to the Metro Detroit Linux User’s Group, they reassured me that this hardware was very powerful for everyday desktop usage.
