Will Linux run on an HP m7680n?

[Lennart Sorensen]

On Wed, Apr 18, 2007 at 12:39:19AM -0400, Kevin Cozens wrote:
> Thank you both for the comments. I see ads quite often for machines around 
> $500 or less. They may be ok for a lot of people but I find they are often 
> lacking in memory or disk space. I don't really need a bleeding edge 
> machine but I am looking for something that is a bit higher up than most of 
> your average consumer level machines.

My experience with emachines (since a few friends have bought them), is
that the quality is really as bad as people say it is.  They do fail
much more often and sooner than most other machines.  Support is also
seriously lacking (don't ever expect bios upgrades to fix anything from
emachines or updated drivers for anything.  If you aren't happy with the
box running exactly as it came from the factory, well too bad since that
is what you get).

> I don't know where a Factory Direct place is near me. I'm also a bit 
> cautious about some of the places that try and keep their computer prices 
> low. I can't be sure of the quality of what is inside the box. I don't 
> drive which makes getting to a place such as Factory Direct (wherever the 
> closest one to me might be) not very convenient.

If the prices are low you can be sure of the quality of the components
in the box.  As low as they think they can get away with without too
many warranty or tech support calls.

> The last three times I've bought a machine off the shelf (or had one made 
> to my specs) they cost me around $3,000. I have been looking at Dell 
> machines. The starting prices are good but by the time I customize it I was 
> up around $2800. More recently, Dell machines price out at a bit over 
> $2,000. This HP with its features for only a touch over $1,000 seems like a 
> bargain.
> 
> The modem and WiFi I'll probably pull out. I don't need them. I also need 
> to make room for an old SCSI controller card which I still need in order to 
> use my scanner.

Is a scanner that old worth using anymore?

> This is definitely a plus! This machine is the last machine in the store 
> that does not come with Vista. I won't touch Vista. I've read the EULA and 
> won't accept it.

Have you read the one for XP SP2?  Which part makes you accept XP SP2
but not Vista?

> I have been. It looks like I should be ok from what I can find. I also 
> checked on the sound card and it should be supported with a recent version 
> of Alsa. It is the only slight question mark as it appears to be built-in 
> to the motherboard.

P965 has intel HD audio.  Alsa should support that.  It is new so there
may be bugs, but it will eventually work just fine.  Intel is generally
quite decent for supporting linux and getting things working.

--
Len Sorensen
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