A bit of advice.

There are advantages to using open source software. I will name a few.
1) less processes. Processes run only if you want them to.
2. Swap space. "physical memory" on the hard drive allow system processes or background processes to not take up valuable RAM.
3. Scalability.
4. Each distribution has automatic hardware detection and - read this- there are also lists online which tell you if there are any compatibility issues.
5. Live CD'c can let you use a computer with 256 ram and no hard drive. You can have a firewall, router, server. The OS can be put into the ram and used from there.
6. More security tools. And, if you want to remove them, you can, and there is nothing left when they are gone.

You're asking about purchasing a machine. What are you using it for?
Processor speed and RAM are important; but, if I can accomplish the same tasks with 256M RAM and 3G swap as you do with 1G RAM, then you should rethink your choice of OS.


The only time a machine should be specific in manufacturer is if you run CAD/CAM 3 & 4dimensional software- sun sparc. A home server- HP and sun SPARC.
An apple computer can run other systems. A "PC" can run macintosh.

Think these things over.