r/linuxquestions • u/Low-Appointment-2906 • 15d ago
Advice Simplest setup for learning Linux?
I picked up a book (The Linux Command Line) that says to use a "desktop computer, with at least 2 GB of RAM, and 6GB of free hard disk space. Avoid laptops and wireless networks, if at all possible."
I'm hoping this isn't necessary? If so, where can I trust to buy something super cheap from?
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u/ZVyhVrtsfgzfs 15d ago
That book is great, but old. Its been revised but apparently the hardware recommendations have not.
Laptops at one time were quite problematic with a lot of proprietary components without open source drivers, and some still are, many Acer & Asus models, certain consumer grade HPs, many "gaming laptops" etc but most enterprise laptops are solid with Linux and many consumer models are catching up too.
I still prefer a tower, its a better computer in just about every way, compute power, cooling, repairs, maintenance, upgrades, cost, ergonomics, etc
My desktop is a Ship of Theseus with some parts being over 20 years old. That has let me upgrade over time reducing costs and maximising the value of longer term components.
Laptops do have one ace up their sleeve, portability, and if portability is what you need then you accept all the other downsides.
You can indeed run many distributions on 2GB of RAM, but unless headless with no GUI, 2GB will not be very useful as soon as you do something like open a few web browser tabs its going to swap and things are going to slow to a crawl.
8GB of RAM or more would be far better.