Retail PC Linux Testing & Benchmarking

It's approaching five years since Phoronix was conceived and in that time we have published 1,300 featured articles (many of them can be found here) and thousands of news postings that relate to using computer hardware -- both desktop and server related -- on Linux. A vast majority of these articles have been about computer components like motherboards, graphics cards, and processors, but very few have been about retail PCs that consumers can easily buy in stores or on the Internet. That, however, may change.

Over the next few months we'll begin testing a greater number of PCs (primarily notebooks and netbooks) at Phoronix under Linux. Like our component testing, we'll also be delivering Linux benchmarks from these PCs using the Phoronix Test Suite. Testing of individual computer components will continue to be our greatest focus at Phoronix, but with more PC vendors now offering Linux on their products, we are extending our test coverage.

The first of these system reviews will start appearing later this month or in early January as we begin with a Dell Inspiron notebook and Samsung NC10 netbook. We'll be looking at all aspects of the system along with Linux compatibility, performance, and providing other unique angles.

If you happen to work for a PC vendor and would like your systems featured on Phoronix, contact Phoronix Media. If you're a reader and interested in supporting our operations, consider joining Phoronix Premium where you'll also have the benefit of ad-free browsing and single-page article viewing.

We welcome your thoughts and feedback on this expanded coverage in the Phoronix Forums.