I've installed Arch and Linux Mint "bare-metal" on my main PC, which I built in 2011 and have upgraded a bit since.

I also have them both installed on my 2012 VAIO laptop, which I've just bumped to 8GB RAM and tossed in an SSD.

Rundown of my hardware

monitors (nVidia), sound (Audigy DG), Steam

• TODO: Disable "Hardware clock set to UTC!
• TODO: http://stevenrosenberg.net/blog/linux/debian/2012_0116_debian_shutdown_beep
• TODO: http://steamcommunity.com/app/378720/discussions/0/490125737485986607
• TODO: BitLocker
• TODO: swRAID - R: & S: Xfce: http://www.webupd8.org/2013/07/whisker-menu-update-brings-support-for.html