Thinking about buying a new PC

[PapaParrot]

Or used, re-conditioned, does any one know if it is even possible now a days to buy a PC that does not have any OS installed, and preferably no UEFI or secure boot junk, just the legacy Bios. In the past, I have been able to find what I want in "pawn shops", or some PC repair shops, but I am unable to go out much these days, and also in my area there is not much good options, so I am thinking about just online, and have it shipped.
I do not want to get mixed up with Amazon, or Ebay, would prefer to purchase directly from a company. Also am doing some searches, but am interested if anyone has suggestions. It must be compatible /supported by OpenBsd.
Thanks

[ibara]

PA-RISC machines fit the bill!
But seriously, you're looking for some LibreBoot/Coreboot machines. But they're honestly way too expensive for what you get.

[PapaParrot]

Thanks,
Maybe I should try a different approach to this, yes the PA-RISC machines would be great, but I don't think I would be able to find one, or do you know where they can be found, ?
I do have a couple of HP laptops, that do not have the UEFI/secure boot junk, and they are great, OpenBsd runs well on them. But I want to get a new Desktop PC, so any way, maybe I don't even need to worry, and could just by something new, I like Dell as well, however since I have never delt with the UEFI abdomation, nor the secure boot mess that is used on the newer PC's, I am concerned about difficulties installing OpenBsd, I have no use for MS malware, and would be installing to the entire HD, would this be a problem on a newer PC that has the malware pre-installed ?
Here in Mexico, there are quite a few "new" still in the box PC's, that are a year or 2 old, but they all have MS malware pre-installed, and that is what worries me, MS malware might not allow installing any other OS,...or maybe I am misinformed, and it is not as bad as I think, simply wipe the drive, and install the OS I choose, let the installer take care of it ? The other thing though, is why pay extra for a OS that I won't be using ? But that is minor, I just would like to get a newer PC, ...

[PapaParrot]

Ahh, never mind, well actually still would be interesting to see what other ideas come up, but I got looking here:https://dmesgd.nycbug.org/
https://dmesgd.nycbug.org/index.cgi?do=view&id=4849

vendor Hewlett-Packard version "J01 v02.25" date 12/09/2013
bios0: Hewlett-Packard HP Compaq 8200 Elite SFF PC

All though I wanted to avoid using e-bay, when I did a search, the results showed one available, the price was low enough, I decided to take the chance, it has no OS installed, I just hope the seller does not send me a "boat anchor", it says it does boot to bios, but who knows, ? I guess that is a risk one takes buying something they can't see first hand,...any way, the seller had a good reputation, since 2000, so that is encouraging,..It is supposed to arrive around June 17 , 5 or 6 days...

[frcc]

Hope that purchase works out for you.
I have had good luck with Ebay and Craigslist in the past for multiple server purchases.

FYI
I purchased a new Dell Desktop recently (last couple years) with their factory Ubuntu installed (no-charge) which came with the new boot system. Replaced Ubuntu with OpenBSD without issue and was satisfied with its performance. I have since installed linux lite on that machine for specialized needs but there was no problem with the OpenBSD install.

Intel(R)Core(TM)i5-6600 CPU @3.3 GHZ Core Count 4 64 bit. Bios 1.4S

[Head_on_a_Stick]

I would buy one of Raptor's Blackbird POWER9 systems[1] if I had the money (they are rather expensive), the firmware for the motherboard is open & auditable, which is nice.

That all goes out of the window once you install a hard drive of course but there's not much we can do about that.

Related: https://www.talospace.com/2019/06/a-...blackbird.html

[shep]

Or used, re-conditioned, does any one know if it is even possible now a days to buy a PC that does not have any OS installed, and preferably no UEFI or secure boot junk, just the legacy Bios.

It has not been mentioned but it is possible to buy DIY bundles.

PortaTech


and

NewEgg Entry Level Bundle
I've got my eye on these
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Combo...=Combo.3845699
Preliminary support is reported in -current.
and

OutletPC bundles

My last upgrade (FM2 APU, Asus MOBO) was to get SATA 3.0/USB3.x and DDR3 memory. A new WD black HD, Antec Green PS, 8GB ram came in under $240 USD. I used the old case and Monitor.

Another cheap solution is embedded MOBO. I use one of these for my -Current/Development system
https://www.newegg.com/asrock-j3355m...82E16813157730. I had to disable some of C power saving states, but it otherwise works great in OpenBSD.

I would not try put alot of emphasis on avoiding UEFI - it is coming ready or not. Both systems above boot UEFI and the setup was fairly simple in recent OpenBSD releases.

[LeFrettchen]

FWIW, I would choose a ThinkPad.
It's a reliable machine, you can buy a 10 years old Thinky with no worries about compatibility, and you can find'em for any prices, between $150 and $2000, depending on the age.

My 2007 Thinky W500 works really fine, and I can find some W500 for 150 bucks.
I would like to buy a W540, or even a P70, but since the W500 works really fine, I assume I won't buy another laptop before 3 or 4 years

[PapaParrot]

Thanks all, for the additional info

[PapaParrot]

Well, it finally arrived, how ever, I had not noticed in the details when I bought it, it did not include any HD. So I had to buy also a HD, bought 2, any way it is working good and OpenBsd installed fine, everything just worked.
https://dmesgd.nycbug.org/index.cgi?do=view&id=5048

[scottro]

Meh, an HD, at least, is easy to find. (Though annoying, when you open it up, you're all ready to install and suddenly...NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO)

And glad that you did get something good, as opposed to, as you said, a boat anchor, but a good rep since 2000 still means a little.