Prev: mUAyZSnbAfat
Next: WDC HDD RAID Failure / Intel SATA controller (random, every 2-3weeks)
From: Vlad_Inhaler on 10 Dec 2009 17:41
On Dec 9, 7:22 pm, Vlad_Inhaler <andrew.willi...(a)t-online.de> wrote:
>
> A German Magazine called C't actually have suggestions for components
> for self-built Intel and AMD systems in their current (I think)
> issue.  What I found funny was they were not happy with any of the
> Intel Motherboards around.  I'll have to look up their recomendations
> when I have more time (= not now!!).

Variation 1 - Cheap PC
Biostar A760G M2+ (MicroATX) / 760G /SB710
Athlon II X2 240 (Regor) / 2.8GHz / 72mm fan
2 Gig PC2-6400 memory
Seagate ST3500412AS
Midi Tower
300W Power

Variation 2
MSI 785GM-E51 (MicroATX) / 785G /SB710
AMD Phenom II X2 550 (Callisto) / 3.1GHz / 90mm fan
4 Gig PC3-10600
Samsung HD103SJ
Midi Tower
385W Power
120mm case fan

Variation 3
MSI P55-GD65 (ATX) / P55
Core i5-750 (Lynnfield) / 2.66GHz / 90mm fan
next 5 positions the same as above
Radeon HD 4350

The point about AMD 4-core processors is that each core is slower than
2-core processors. Since most current software is not *that*
parallel, 2-cores are faster. Intel have that turbo boost mode but
C't really hated the Intel motherboards - some of them even burnt out
during testing.

They also said quite a bit about Bios settings. What a nightmare!
From: General Schvantzkoph on 11 Dec 2009 08:50
On Tue, 08 Dec 2009 12:38:34 +0000, John Martin wrote:

> My current machine is getting a bit long in the tooth ( like me ). MB is
> a gigabyte GA-7DXR and the CPU is AMD K6 1800. My question is, is it
> still cheaper to gather the bits and self-assemble? There do seem to be
> some very good value PC's online e.g these two :-
>
> http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/index.php?page=spec&&spec=home300
>
> http://www.dinopc.com/shop/pc/20-303-AMD-Phenom-X4-Quad-Core-
PC-95p550.htm
>
> I have little knowledge of hardware so any advice is welcome, I'm not a
> gamer, my main uses are for photographs, video and astronomy programs.

My recommendation would be a Core2 with a P45 chipset, 8G of DDR2, and an
Nvidia graphics card. Core2s are cheaper than iCore7s and their single
thread performance is better. You shouldn't have any compatibility
problems with any mainstream motherboard as long as you are using a
distro with a current kernel (Fedora 12 for example). CentOS will work
fine with any Core2, the iCore7s are newer so there might be some
compatibility issues with CentOS because of it's antique kernel. Nvidia
is always a safe choice for graphics. Intel is also a safe choice for
graphics but the performance is inferior. The only area you really have
to be careful of these days is WiFi, Intel is the safe choice there.

As for buying or building, it's a personal choice. On a low end system
there isn't likely to be huge savings by building it yourself, there is a
little more if you are getting a high end box. If you are going to
overclock the box then you'll want to build it yourself so that you can
pick the right components. If you are going to run at stock speeds then
the choice of components is a lot less important.
From: Darren Salt on 11 Dec 2009 18:47
I demand that General Schvantzkoph may or may not have written...

> On Tue, 08 Dec 2009 12:38:34 +0000, John Martin wrote:
>> My current machine is getting a bit long in the tooth ( like me ). MB is
>> a gigabyte GA-7DXR and the CPU is AMD K6 1800. My question is, is it
>> still cheaper to gather the bits and self-assemble? There do seem to be
>> some very good value PC's online e.g these two :-
>> http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/index.php?page=spec&&spec=home300
>> http://www.dinopc.com/shop/pc/20-303-AMD-Phenom-X4-Quad-Core-PC-95p550.htm

>> I have little knowledge of hardware so any advice is welcome, I'm not a
>> gamer, my main uses are for photographs, video and astronomy programs.

> My recommendation would be a Core2 with a P45 chipset, 8G of DDR2, and an
> Nvidia graphics card.

FWIW, open-source 3D support for RadeonHD 3xxx and 4xxx is on its way.

> Core2s are cheaper than iCore7s and their single thread performance is
> better. You shouldn't have any compatibility problems with any mainstream
> motherboard as long as you are using a distro with a current kernel (Fedora
> 12 for example).

If you're building your own kernels, again, current kernels should be fine;
that said, I'm running 2.6.27.nn on an Atom 330 board because it's that much
less of a moving target (wrt fixes etc.) than 2.6.31 and .32, and I usually
can tell more easily whether I need to upgrade. (Also, the chipset is ICH7,
which is well-supported anyway.)

[snip]
> Nvidia is always a safe choice for graphics.

#include <std-taint-disclaimer.h>

> Intel is also a safe choice for graphics but the performance is inferior.
> The only area you really have to be careful of these days is WiFi, Intel is
> the safe choice there.

Ralink is being worked on: some drivers are stable, some aren't yet. I have a
2860 here – the vendor driver (rt2860sta, which is in-kernel) is largely
fine, but duplicative in what it implements, and work is ongoing on rt2800pci
and related drivers.

I'm informed that the Atheros drivers are more or less fine now, at least for
hw typically found in EeePCs; beyond that, no idea.

[snip]
--
| Darren Salt | linux at youmustbejoking | nr. Ashington, | Doon
| using Debian GNU/Linux | or ds ,demon,co,uk | Northumberland | Army
| + http://www.xine-project.org/

If the facts do not conform to your theory, they must be disposed of.
From: Henrik Carlqvist on 12 Dec 2009 03:05
Darren Salt <news(a)youmustbejoking.demon.cu.invalid> wrote:
>> My recommendation would be a Core2 with a P45 chipset, 8G of DDR2, and an
>> Nvidia graphics card.
>
> FWIW, open-source 3D support for RadeonHD 3xxx and 4xxx is on its way.

So is the open-source 3D support for nVidia with nouveau. One day we might
be able to compare their performance and stability. Until then, I would
buy a motherboard with builtin intel graphics which is fully supported by
opensource drivers today. Maybe I would try to find a motherboard with a
PCI-e slot to buy better graphics later, but when that day comes I might
just as well buy a complete new system.

regards Henrik
--
The address in the header is only to prevent spam. My real address is:
hc3(at)poolhem.se Examples of addresses which go to spammers:
root(a)localhost postmaster(a)localhost

First  |  Prev  | 
Pages: 1 2 3
Prev: mUAyZSnbAfat
Next: WDC HDD RAID Failure / Intel SATA controller (random, every 2-3weeks)