I have successfully loaded openSUSE 10.3 on existing hardware, but received a warning that additional applications could not be loaded because of memory limitations (256 MB). I do not wish to add these applications ‘through the back door’. Bringing the memory up to 2 GB would cost another $300 and I could buy a new system for $450 which would give me greater disk capacity, a DVD reader/writer and other advantages. However, finding a desktop system by checking the compatibility web site has become a nightmare. Has anybody had any success with a configuration in this class?
A couple of thoughts. Firstly, unless you are doing things that require large
amounts of memory, adding another 256 MB of RAM would probably be enough and
should cost less than $50. I have several systems that only have 256 M, but I do
not run X (graphical applications) on them. Linux with 512 MB works roughly as
well as Windows XP with 1 GB. You only need 2 GB if you also want to run Vista.
Secondly, the base components of any desktop system should work “out-of-the-box”
with openSUSE 10.3 or 11.0. The places where incompatibilities show is in RAID
controllers, wireless network adapters, fringe peripherals such as SD card
readers, and modems. Modems are a problem because the hardware is crippled and
most of the functionality is done in the Windows driver.
>
> I have successfully loaded openSUSE 10.3 on existing hardware, but
> received a warning that additional applications could not be loaded
> because of memory limitations (256 MB). I do not wish to add these
> applications ‘through the back door’. Bringing the memory up to 2 GB
> would cost another $300 and I could buy a new system for $450 which
> would give me greater disk capacity, a DVD reader/writer and other
> advantages. However, finding a desktop system by checking the
> compatibility web site has become a nightmare. Has anybody had any
> success with a configuration in this class?
>
> Phil
>
>
Since you don’t say what hardware you have this may not help. I just bought
2GB of DDR 400MHZ memory for $73.00 plus tax. This is from Crucial, the
only memory I have never experienced a failure with. I have three systems
now all using crucial memory with its life time warranty.
> A couple of thoughts. Firstly, unless you are doing things that
> require large amounts of memory, adding another 256 MB of RAM would
> probably be enough and should cost less than $50. I have several
> systems that only have 256 M, but I do not run X (graphical
> applications) on them. Linux with 512 MB works roughly as well as
> Windows XP with 1 GB. You only need 2 GB if you also want to run
> Vista.
>
> Secondly, the base components of any desktop system should work
> “out-of-the-box” with openSUSE 10.3 or 11.0. The places where
> incompatibilities show is in RAID controllers, wireless network
> adapters, fringe peripherals such as SD card readers, and modems.
> Modems are a problem because the hardware is crippled and most of the
> functionality is done in the Windows driver.
>
> Larry
Hi
You may also look at a lightweight desktop such as XFCE.
–
Cheers Malcolm °¿° (Linux Counter #276890)
SLED 10 SP2 i586 Kernel 2.6.16.60-0.23-default
up 19:05, 2 users, load average: 0.20, 0.28, 0.33
GPU GeForce Go 6600 TE/6200 TE Version: 173.14.09
Sorry for the delay in getting back, but had trouble accessing the Forum. Russ, I ordered the memory from Crucial as you suggested. Larry, I elected to upgrade the existing system (eMachines T2642) w/ 2 MB memory. Later I’ll replace the CD-RW drive w/ DVD/CD-RW, and may need some help from the Forum in identifying a compatible drive. Thanks to both of you. I am looking forward to installing openSUSE 10.3 with the additional memory.