linux on msi computers

[Tony Baechler]

I haven't closely followed this discussion, so sorry if my comments don't 
apply here.

On 4/18/2016 3:53 AM, Tobias Vinteus wrote:
> I would choose the newer model, simply to be future proof, i.e. not needing
> to by a new machine for many years to come and also to get better
> performance. Of course, even a slightly older system will be good to go for
> many years to come.

I disagree. First, Linux runs great on older hardware. That's one of the 
nice things about it. We got it running on an ancient Dell Pentium with a 
single core. The problem with bleeding edge hardware is often the 
proprietary chipsets don't have kernel drivers. That means either you have 
to wait for the latest kernel or live without certain features like sound. 
Even with older hardware, proprietary drivers can be a real pain. I always 
check the hardware now before buying to make sure Linux supports it. I got 
tired of compiling custom modules.

>
>
> I haven't heard of any problems with Linux on newer architecture, but if
> there are issues, they are most certainly going to be resolved in the near
> future. After all, Linux wants to be on top of development, and people will
> of course want to be able to run it on newer hardware. It could also be a
> matter of BIOS firmware updates, which would make a system more stable for
> all OS:es. If one wants to be as future-proof as possible, on could wait
> till the next version of one's chosen distro is released. Ubuntu usually
> releases in late april/early may; the next Fedora has a release later in May
> I think.


Yes, Ubuntu 16.04 should be released by the end of the month. I think the 
actual release date is next week. What is the name of the new architecture 
you're talking about? Again, the problem is that even if the latest bleeding 
edge kernel supports the latest arch, most distros won't until the next 
version comes out. If you go with Debian, that could be 1.5 to 2 years 
unless you want to build your own kernel. With Ubuntu, it's 6 months and 
they offer daily kernel builds, but you have no security support. Since the 
kernel is a monster to maintain, there are security fixes constantly being 
made, besides the obvious stability issues. That's why Debian, Ubuntu and 
presumably Fedora pick a stable kernel branch and backport fixes rather than 
shipping the latest. If you go with Gentoo, Arch or compile your own, it's 
not an issue, but you won't have the stability either. My suggestion is find 
one to borrow, such as at a computer store. Take a Linux USB stick with you 
or whatever it uses to boot. Try it and see what happens. Of course another 
option is to run Debian testing or unstable, but as the names imply, they 
won't be stable.