Newbie here

Yo,

So to start off, I don't even have a pc at this point. Long story short, life is a roller-coaster. Sometime in spring I'd like to either build or buy a rig and I'm looking to spend a good bit of money on one. Thing is, I want to with Linux. Now, I'm no idiot when it comes to computers. I've been around them since I was 3 or so, so I've learned a few things here and there. I'm certainly not an expert, though, which is compounded by the fact that I've been computer-less for a few years now. I'd like to have a stellar rig and I want it to be free of as much of the bullsh!t floating around out there.

Cutting to the chase, what advice do you guys have for someone who wants to get a brand new pc?

First of all Welcome.

congrats on your new purchase and my advice would be to may be go the Ubuntu route first up until you find your feet in the Linux world. Then if that is not your thing there are other distros to look at Mint and Linux Lite etc.

I also want to recommend some excellent links below....
http://www.youtube.com/user/LinuxSpatry/videos?view=0
http://www.youtube.com/user/tostoday


Finally take your time and when looking for a distro check out their community forums - to be honest some are more friendly than others. Again have fun and enjoy your new computer and don't be afraid to ask questions.

Aloha and welcome to Linux.org! Feel free to ask any other questions about Linux here on this site. The main page displays the newest articles/tutorials. If you see a post that you like or found helpful, click "Like". If you ask a question and someone answers it to your satisfaction, click "Best Answer". Enjoy the site!

The Raspberry Pi motherboard is a powerful, but inexpensive motherboard. Just add a Wifi dongle, RCA cable to a TV, mouse, keyboard, and memory card and you are set.

You could try to bid on computer parts on Ebay and build your own. Or, you could bid on multiple broken computers and swap the good parts.

If all else fails, steal one. Just joking about the Ebay bids. No, I am joking about the stealing. Or am I?

Welcome and good to see your interested in Linux!

If you're interested in a desktop, I'd suggest getting a cheap, older model PC off of craigslist for like $30-50. Linux (especially something lightweight like Xubuntu or Mint) runs incredibly well on older hardware and will give you all the functionality you need (albeit, I'd likely not use steam).

Otherwise, if you're going to shell out good money on a new setup, perhaps go the route of dual booting just to be sure you like it.

Welcome aboard the forums, Have a great stay in here and have an awesome time as well.

Probolan 50