After looking at the best use of the computing resources I have the following changes are being implemented:
- Mediapc taken down from 12 GB RAM to 4 GB RAM
- The 8 GB from mediapc put into mainpc as they have similar memory specs, this gives mainpc a total of 32 GB. Mediapc manages just fine with only 4 GB because Linux is so resource efficient (Debian - XFCE).
- I plan to shift the low resource day to day stuff such as blogging, emails, facebook etc onto possibly the Windows 10 computer. Another option may be to set up the Windows 10 computer as a dual boot Windows and Linux and use it on Linux for stuff as well as Windows when required.
- So then mainpc and serverpc will handle the high resource stuff (Gimp etc) without wasting resources on email and stuff I don't need running on them.
- The connections and arrangement of screens is the key question. I have three screens in the lowest position on the desk and probably they will stick with the two on mainpc and the third on serverpc. The Windows 10 computer screen would be moved to the secondary desk which holds the music keyboard at present and its role would also be displaying chart PDFs on its screen. I will consider mounting that screen on an adjustable arm to allow for the multiple use requirements. In the second row of screens we have mediapc's 32" playback monitor and probably its second screen and the 22" screen I now use with the satellite receiver. The third (highest) row is limited to the 32" TV that can be used to watch Freeview on very rare occasions, its main function is Raspberry Pi playback.
So there we have it - how to be able to use the resources to the best use - I don't need a good computer with 32 GB of RAM that can be editing big Gimp projects wasted on email and FB stuff - I still want to use them but putting them onto another PC specifically is a better use of my resources.
Mainpc is not fully optimised for Gimp the way I have optimised serverpc so I will look at that as well. This involves changing the swap configuration so Gimp can have dedicated space on the SSD for its own swap. This may well dictate a reinstall of Debian as the SSD partititions are best resized but this is a relatively straightforward step however I will check if it is possible to resize with Gparted as I do wish to be able to get this set up without reinstalling where possible.
I did try the resize of the partitions but ended up with an unbootable system so have reinstalled Debian 9.4 which I have done so many times it is down to a fine art now. The SSD originally was partitioned into 2x 56 GiB partitions but it now has 24 GiB for the root partition of the operating system, 48 GiB for the swap partition and 40 GiB for application use (Gimp swap). However I have not yet got Gimp working optimally because with Flatpak it uses different config files than the default ones. This also means I have not been getting it optimally working on serverpc either so there is work to be done there as well. As far as shifting lower priority tasks onto another PC goes, it will be a trial to see if that is really necessary but there is no doubt that I can make better use of the Windows 10 PC than just for downloading photos off my camera, running a download manager off websites or running a Powershell script every so often.
