Hello All,
I've been using Pep10 and 11 for a few years, on a couple of machines, as a very light user. I need to relearn the basics every time I need to do much of anything. However, I have basic command line experience going back to DOS days...
I'm looking into downsizing my home office setup. I bounce back and forth between replacing my heavily upgraded desktop tower set up with either a laptop connected to a docking station and a dual monitor setup or a MiniPC. I don't play games, I have no intensive graphics needs, just general home use. Features I'm looking for, mostly for future proofing, are dual monitor support, >1GB LAN, USB-C power and data, WiFi6+, somewhat configurable/upgradable and quiet operation.
Any thought's on these two options? I like the complete portability of the laptop but I am drawn to the minimal footprint of a Mini. What should I look for or look out for to ensure compatibility with Pep11? Other hardware features you'd recommend considering? I've recently updated from Pep10 to 11 on the desktop so I'm willing to jump in and get my fingers dirty as needed...
Thanks for any help,
Jay
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Anonymous
-
2023-11-10
Hi Jay,
There is no right or wrong way. It is what works for you. I'm just as guilty as you, when I remove my desktop and monitor and replace it with a laptop upon its laptop-cooler, as like the intimate up close personal feel.
Currently I'm utilising a a standing desk and have a four port (USB3) KVM set up for my Dell tower (personal stuff) and three Dell MFF for Peppermint business, with Debian Bullseye, Bookworm and Devuan Daedalus. Then I have my old portable desk on castors I can swap between an old NUC i5- 4th gen unit and a Dell 5430 latop, I use both for testing and are wifi only connection.
The four main machines are 9th and 7th gen are hard-wired with 1GB LAN connection. I upgraded the old Dell 5430 about 2 years ago dumping its steam powered wifi card of @45-65Mbs on a good day, to a modern card, now offers up to 866Mbs signal, with no dropping in or out issues. Maxed out the RAM to 16GB, it is over 10 years old and still serviceable, probably will encounter video issues in the next two or three years.
RAM and wifi upgrades add serviceable life to older machines, with parts sourced through ebay, at reasonable prices. YouTube has a large tutorial collections of HOW TO GUIDES to stripe and repair a specific computer.
I can't comment on dual monitor set up, I prefer a 21" screen, to emulate a laptop with a HDMI set up at 1920x1080. There are members who do have a dual monitor set up I'll leave them a message, to assist you.
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Anonymous
-
2023-11-11
The feedback on running dual monitors, is go with a quality desktop, and the consensus of opinion for a set up via a laptop is a challenge only for some one with "masochist" tendencies. I enclose a snapshot of their set up.
Their advice about a docking-station, their Dell laptop, experience was frustration bound with disappointment, as it functions better using M$ than Linux, can manage. Unless you are looking a for challenge, they do not advise either.
i ran dual monitors on debian before, worked fine but i had 2 different size ones.
used lxrandr to set the layout and had a blurred wallpaper to span across both because it looked weird in 2 resolutions. because of my setup and space restrictions its easier for me to run single monitor. hardest part of it was getting the right nvidia driver and setting it up.
If you would like to refer to this comment somewhere else in this project, copy and paste the following link:
Hello All,
I've been using Pep10 and 11 for a few years, on a couple of machines, as a very light user. I need to relearn the basics every time I need to do much of anything. However, I have basic command line experience going back to DOS days...
I'm looking into downsizing my home office setup. I bounce back and forth between replacing my heavily upgraded desktop tower set up with either a laptop connected to a docking station and a dual monitor setup or a MiniPC. I don't play games, I have no intensive graphics needs, just general home use. Features I'm looking for, mostly for future proofing, are dual monitor support, >1GB LAN, USB-C power and data, WiFi6+, somewhat configurable/upgradable and quiet operation.
Any thought's on these two options? I like the complete portability of the laptop but I am drawn to the minimal footprint of a Mini. What should I look for or look out for to ensure compatibility with Pep11? Other hardware features you'd recommend considering? I've recently updated from Pep10 to 11 on the desktop so I'm willing to jump in and get my fingers dirty as needed...
Thanks for any help,
Jay
Hi Jay,
There is no right or wrong way. It is what works for you. I'm just as guilty as you, when I remove my desktop and monitor and replace it with a laptop upon its laptop-cooler, as like the intimate up close personal feel.
Currently I'm utilising a a standing desk and have a four port (USB3) KVM set up for my Dell tower (personal stuff) and three Dell MFF for Peppermint business, with Debian Bullseye, Bookworm and Devuan Daedalus. Then I have my old portable desk on castors I can swap between an old NUC i5- 4th gen unit and a Dell 5430 latop, I use both for testing and are wifi only connection.
The four main machines are 9th and 7th gen are hard-wired with 1GB LAN connection. I upgraded the old Dell 5430 about 2 years ago dumping its steam powered wifi card of @45-65Mbs on a good day, to a modern card, now offers up to 866Mbs signal, with no dropping in or out issues. Maxed out the RAM to 16GB, it is over 10 years old and still serviceable, probably will encounter video issues in the next two or three years.
RAM and wifi upgrades add serviceable life to older machines, with parts sourced through ebay, at reasonable prices. YouTube has a large tutorial collections of HOW TO GUIDES to stripe and repair a specific computer.
I can't comment on dual monitor set up, I prefer a 21" screen, to emulate a laptop with a HDMI set up at 1920x1080. There are members who do have a dual monitor set up I'll leave them a message, to assist you.
The feedback on running dual monitors, is go with a quality desktop, and the consensus of opinion for a set up via a laptop is a challenge only for some one with "masochist" tendencies. I enclose a snapshot of their set up.
Their advice about a docking-station, their Dell laptop, experience was frustration bound with disappointment, as it functions better using M$ than Linux, can manage. Unless you are looking a for challenge, they do not advise either.
i ran dual monitors on debian before, worked fine but i had 2 different size ones.
used lxrandr to set the layout and had a blurred wallpaper to span across both because it looked weird in 2 resolutions. because of my setup and space restrictions its easier for me to run single monitor. hardest part of it was getting the right nvidia driver and setting it up.