I have decided to buy a 64-bit system for myself for Christmas. But before I go out there and buy something, I thought I would solicit some advice. I want a 64-bit system (amd64) on which I plan to install Debian. I will use it primarily for two things:
(1) As a host system for Hercules. Hercules is an open source program (packaged for Debian in package "hercules") that can emulate a 64-bit IBM mainframe. And of course, I plan on installing and running a 64-bit version of Debian (s390x) under Hercules. The Hercules emulator adds a lot of overhead. The speed of Hercules is nowhere near the speed of a real mainframe, so I want to get the fastest and most powerful host system I can afford. But I don't want a system with lots of cores on it. The kind of software I will run probably can't exploit more than two cores effectively, so I'd rather have a two-core system with a fast clocking rate than an eight-core system with a slow clocking rate. (2) This system will also double as a desktop system. I'm not a high-end graphics user. I use the graphical desktop mostly for web browsing (including the use of a web-based e-mail client) and watching Youtube videos. I'm not a gamer. I'd like it to have a usable CSM, so I can continue to run my favorite boot loader, LILO. And I plan to partition the disk using the traditional MS-DOS disk partitioning system, so I don't want the hard disk to be larger than 2T. RAID is not necessary. I don't run a business. Although data loss is undesirable, it will not be catastrophic. I'd like a new monitor too. All my monitors are old CRTs, and I've run out of spares as old monitors die. I think I'm ready for a digital flat screen. I have plenty of USB mice and keyboards. I don't plan on running Windows at all, so if it comes pre-installed with Windows, the first thing I'm going to do is to delete the Windows partition. If I can get a system without a Windows license, that will save me some money. Due to preload agreements between Microsoft and hardware vendors, this may not be possible unless I buy separate components and integrate them myself. And that is fine. I don't mind doing that. I live in the US and will probably order my system, or its components, online. I might buy the monitor locally, though. Does anyone wish to contribute any opinions? Anything from general advice to specific hardware recommendations is welcome. And feel free to ask follow-up questions. -- .''`. Stephen Powell : :' : `. `'` `- -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-user-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org Archive: http://lists.debian.org/245855233.870480.1386984675250.javamail.r...@md01.wow.synacor.com
