Linux users with uncommon or unusual setups: tell us about it

Cyclohexane@lemmy.mlmod to Linux@lemmy.ml – 196 points –

I'll start with mine. yes part of this was to brag about my somewhat but not too unusual setup. But I also wanna learn from your setups!

Anyways: I primarily use Gentoo Linux.

I have two headless servers: a Raspberry Pi 4B and a Oracle cloud VM (free tier). Both running OpenRC, and both were running mainline kernel with custom config (I recently switched the Pi to PiFoundation kernel due to some issues). The raspberry pi boots from SSD and has no sd card inserted.

Both servers were running musl libc instead of glibc for a while. This gave me a couple of random issues, but eventually I got tired and switched back to glibc.

I have a desktop running gentoo and a laptop running arch, but hoping to switch the laptop to gentoo soon.

Both are daily driving wayland (the desktop had nvidia card and used for gaming). The desktop is running a kernel with a minimal config that compiles in 2-3 minutes.

What's your unusual setup like?

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Libreboot Gaming Desktop

  • Dell OptiPlex 9020 MT Motherboard
  • i7 4790K
  • 32GB DDR3 1600Mhz RAM
  • 9TB (1TB M.2 NVME, 2x4TB Hard drives) RAID 0 with LUKS and LVM (/boot stored on SD card)
  • NVIDIA 2080 SUPER 8GB VRAM
  • NZXT S340 Elite Case
  • EVGA 700W BR
  • Kicksecure GNU/Linux

Libreboot Server

  • Dell Precision T1650
  • Xeon E3 1275 V2
  • 32GB DDR3L 1600Mhz RAM (ECC)
  • 8TB (2x4TB Hard drives) RAID 1 with LUKS and LVM (/boot stored on SD card)
  • AMD RX580 8GB VRAM
  • Proxmox VE / Learning to use YunoHost inside VM

Libreboot Laptop

  • Lenovo Thinkpad T440P
  • i7 4810MQ (Recommend i7 4700MQ for better battery life)
  • 16GB DDR3 1600Mhz RAM
  • 1TB SSD (/boot encrypted with Argon2)
  • 100% Free BIOS (LibreMRC), Intel Management Engine is still present but neutered
  • Intel AC 7260 (Can run without blobs when running Linux-libre kernel)
  • AR9271 USB for WiFi (100% FOSS)
  • Kicksecure GNU/Linux with Linux-libre kernel (Removed all non-free-firmware with vrms)

GrapheneOS Phone (100% FOSS in the OS layer)

  • Cheogram / JMP.chat for Calling / Texting
  • Mint Mobile for Service (Cash)
  • Ported number into JMP.chat
  • F-Droid

LibreCMC Routers (100% Free Firmware/Software)

  • ThinkPenguin R1400 Ethernet (1Gbps)
  • ThinkPenguin R1300 WiFi Router (100Mbs)
  • Running under MullvadVPN (Paid in XMR)

OpenWRT Network Switch

  • D-Link DGS-1210-28MP
  • VLAN Support

Yeah that's pretty much my setup, don't know if it's really strange or not lol

How does it game for you so far?!

It can play all my games at 1440p and ultra settings (RDR2, GTA V, etc.) I've never had a time where I've wanted to upgrade from it. I built most of this computer for about $450-$500, all used parts I got off eBay plus some other parts that I pulled from my other computer

The Optiplex gaming setup is quite bizzare. Isn’t that CPU a bit of a bottleneck for this relatively powerful GPU?

Btw I used to own the same Thinkpad but it was supplied with a dedicated NVIDIA GeForce 6xx-something, but never tried Libreboot on it. Given that I sold it in 2020, not sure if libreboot was even doable on it back then.

A bit, it's actually not too bad. Rarely any micro stuttering on ultra settings in RDR2, I am actually planning on buying the AMD 7900XTX graphics card to put in this machine. I want to run local LLMs on it, I'm not too much of a gamer as I used to be. Anyways, this thing rocks! I love it. Eventually, I'll plan on buying a MSI Z690-A DDR5 motherboard and install Dasharo firmware onto it.