I’m considering replacing a couple of my computers when Rocky 10 becomes available. If I’m going to be setting my stuff up again from scratch I might as well set up on new machines so this is a good opportunity to update my main computers. They’re now 13 years old so they don’t owe me anything.
If I’m going to replace these machines I’ll replace them with “beasts” since that’s what I did when I bought what I’ve got and as I said, they’ve lasted me 13 years.
I was looking at the Lenovo website and saw a few interesting looking workstations but I’m wondering if any of you have any experience with them and have any observations or comments about fan/cooling system noise? Since these things will be going into my living room I really don’t want jet engines. My existing machines are very nearly silent unless they’re under load and it would be nice to keep it that way if I can.
Any other comments or recommendations for a workstation for Rocky 10 would be appreciated as well. I’d like to get something that’s “certified” to run Rocky and I’m not stuck on Lenovo. That’s just where I started looking.
Where I live that’s not really an option since I’m not much of a hardware guy any more and I don’t live in a place with easy access to stuff like that. Back in the days of 286’s and MFM hard drives I built my own computers (and some for other people) but I’ve lost touch and track of newer stuff.
I’d like to buy something pre-built that I can have delivered to my door, that I can take out of the box and install Rocky Linux on without a great deal of hassle.
I don’t really need a fancy GPU either; what I’ve got now has built-in Intel graphics and that’s always been adequate for my needs since I don’t play games.
I want two high-powered desktop computers that I’ll be using for stuff like checking my email, running Firefox, writing programs and manipulating data files.
I’ve just been looking at the Lenovo P3 Tower and it looks like I can get two of them set up with what I think I want for a total of something just over $5000, so that doesn’t seem too extortionate.
And as I said, the pending release of EL10 seems like a good opportunity to upgrade my computers.
I would always go for something with an AMD Ryzen CPU. I have found those are normally more powerful than Intel of the same generation.
Noise these days is in my point of view not a big issue anymore. CPU’s generally seem to run cooler than some years back, & you can also move over to SSD’s so HD noise will also be moot.
If you don’t need a lot of additional internal hardware I’d also rather suggest a Laptop rather than a Desktop PC (the internal PSU with additional FAN then also goes away).
These days almost everything can be connected via USB so you normally don’t need additional internal hardware, so laptops usually aren’t a drawback. The only things would be to make sure the RAM isn’t soldered on so you can upgrade it, get as much of it as you can, make sure you can install a 2nd SSD, if possible NVMe. I would also look for a laptop where the battery isn’t internal, so it can easily be removed & replaced. Many laptops these days only have internal batteries.
Thank you for the advice, but there are three factors that seem to be opposed to using a laptop for my applications.
I leave my computers running 24/7 and desktop cases tend to run cooler than laptops due to the extra space in the case and the chimney effect of the tower form factor.
I currently use 27" monitors that don’t need to be replaced at this time.
And I use Microsoft ergonomic keyboards (the ones with the split layout) and as far as I know that’s not available in a laptop.
Again, thanks for the input but I think something in tower cases will be better suited for my use.
My laptops are also on 24/7 & I haven’t had any heat issues with them. Usually laptops use components that don’t create as much heat as desktops do, the CPU’s etc. are optimized for mobile use for example, & don’t need as much electric power. They still have a lot of work power.
The displays of modern laptops are often better with a much higher resolution than many older external displays offer, so it often is easier to work using the laptop displays than external ones as you have a bigger “Desktop Real Estate” available. The doesn’t mean you can’t connect additional external displays, keyboards & mice. Many laptops have at least 2 display output ports, or you can use docking stations which offer such outputs.
For example I’m currently using an M$ Surface Laptop 4 running an AMD Ryzen 7 with 8 Cores/16 Threads & 16GB RAM. The Display resolves at 2496x1664, which is much better than an HD monitor which has a resolution of only 1920x1080. I’m running a version of Debian on it (not Rocky), & the only thing that doesn’t work on this particular laptop under Linux at the moment is the touch screen functions. But those I really don’t need. I got the laptop 2nd hand for far less than SFr. 100.-- & am very happy with it. I have a docking station with 2 Display ports & 4 USB outputs,
Another Laptop I have is an HP, also with a Ryzen, but with 4 cores & only HD Display, but in there I have 32 GB RAM it is also very fast & reliable. It has an HDMI video output, but you can also use the USB-C port for Video output (or for example a Belkin Adapter that also has an HDMI output along with further ports.
A 3rd laptop I use is a Lenovo thinkpad t480, also with 32 GB RAM. This one, although it uses an Intel i Core 5 CPU, is still very robust & if I’m on the road I use that one, as I got a large external battery for it. When at home It is also on 24/7, & it was also 2nd hand, for about SFr. 20.–
I bought two Lenovo P3 workstations which were delivered yesterday.
I’ve spent most of the day setting them up and I’ll say that so far I’m very impressed with these machines.
The fan noise is pretty much nil. They’re even quieter than my existing computers and I always thought those were pretty quiet. You have to put your ear right by the case to hear the fans, otherwise you hardly even know it’s running.
The hardware appears to be 100% supported by EL9, so I’m doing a bit of speed learning on the differences between EL8 and EL9 since I’ve not used EL9 before.
And they’re even pretty. I never thought of computers in terms of appearance but you can see that these cases were designed by some kind of an industrial artist.
The CPUs are ISA level 3 so I should now be future-proofed in terms of running EL10 and beyond for at least a few years.
Bottom line: If any of you fine folks need a new workstation a Lenovo P3 is a pretty safe bet.