desktop hardware advice

[Robin Paulson]

hi all,
i'm building a new ubuntu desktop over the next couple of weeks, and
am seeking advice on hardware. based on pricespy and some cpu
benchmark sites, i've put together the following as a wish list. does
anyone have any particular experience, good or bad, with the
following, or any other relevant advice? i'll be plugging in a couple
of Seagate SATA drives I already have, and a low-end Radeon graphics
card

ASRock X58 Extreme
Gigabyte GZ-X7 420W
Intel Core i7 950 3.06GHz Socket 1366 Box
2 x Kingston HyperX Blu DDR3 PC10600/1333MHz CL9 2x2GB

cheers

[t94xr]

Post by Robin Paulson
hi all,
i'm building a new ubuntu desktop over the next couple of weeks, and
am seeking advice on hardware. based on pricespy and some cpu
benchmark sites, i've put together the following as a wish list. does
anyone have any particular experience, good or bad, with the
following, or any other relevant advice? i'll be plugging in a couple
of Seagate SATA drives I already have, and a low-end Radeon graphics
card
ASRock X58 Extreme
Gigabyte GZ-X7 420W
Intel Core i7 950 3.06GHz Socket 1366 Box
2 x Kingston HyperX Blu DDR3 PC10600/1333MHz CL9 2x2GB
cheers

Yeah I've had enough experience with Asrock hardware to know to stay
away from it, Foxconn is cheap but I don't buy those boards either. Buy
a decent Asus, MSI or Gigabyte - I prefer MSI but Asus make great boards
for cheap too. I would recommend you don't buy the cheapest board you
can find, $150-$250 worth of motherboard can get you a motherboard with
decent features, reliability, durability and should last you quite a few
years.

CameronW

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[Nick Rout]

Post by Robin Paulson
hi all,
i'm building a new ubuntu desktop over the next couple of weeks, and
am seeking advice on hardware. based on pricespy and some cpu
benchmark sites, i've put together the following as a wish list. does
anyone have any particular experience, good or bad, with the
following, or any other relevant advice? i'll be plugging in a couple
of Seagate SATA drives I already have, and a low-end Radeon graphics
card

My experience of multimedia on linux tells me to avoid radeon if you
want to use this at all for playing video. nVidia will do a much
better job.

There is a long standing debate over the use of nVidia's closed
drivers and the philosophical implications of that. However my
perspective is that:

1. I would obviously prefer open drivers; but

2. on my media machines performance counts more; and

3. nvidia works well, including amazing graphics performance when
using vdpau; and

4. ati have been very vocal about getting open drivers out there; but

5. they just don't work very well!

Of course if multimedia isn't your objective, my thoughts are somewhat
useless to you :)

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[Robin Paulson]

Post by Nick Rout
4. ati have been very vocal about getting open drivers out there; but
5. they just don't work very well!
Of course if multimedia isn't your objective, my thoughts are somewhat
useless to you :)

multimedia is a possibility. i was under the impression ati os drivers
were pretty decent. maybe i give nvidia a go

are ATi purely after the cred of open source without actually
delivering, i wonder?

[Robin Paulson]

Yeah I've had enough experience with Asrock hardware to know to stay away
from it, Foxconn is cheap but I don't buy those boards either. Buy a decent
Asus, MSI or Gigabyte - I prefer MSI but Asus make great boards for cheap
too. I would recommend you don't buy the cheapest board you can find,
$150-$250 worth of motherboard can get you a motherboard with decent
features, reliability, durability and should last you quite a few years.

hmm, funny you say that - that is the cheapest intel socket 1366 on
pricespy, at $275...

mobo is a bad place to skimp on costs, so i'm prepared to pay a bit
more, but 275 seems a bit steep

[Jamie Walker]

Post by Robin Paulson
hi all,
i'm building a new ubuntu desktop over the next couple of weeks, and
am seeking advice on hardware. based on pricespy and some cpu
benchmark sites, i've put together the following as a wish list. does
anyone have any particular experience, good or bad, with the
following, or any other relevant advice? i'll be plugging in a couple
of Seagate SATA drives I already have, and a low-end Radeon graphics
card
ASRock X58 Extreme
Gigabyte GZ-X7 420W
Intel Core i7 950 3.06GHz Socket 1366 Box
2 x Kingston HyperX Blu DDR3 PC10600/1333MHz CL9 2x2GB

Do you really need a socket 1366 CPU? The 1156-based i7s should be
just about as fast at lower cost. Also socket 1366 wants RAM in lots
of 3 for maximum performance.

[Robin Paulson]

Post by Jamie Walker
Do you really need a socket 1366 CPU? The 1156-based i7s should be
just about as fast at lower cost. Also socket 1366 wants RAM in lots
of 3 for maximum performance.

not particularly - i'm after the fastest i can get for my dollar, and
that chip is near the top of the i7 quad-core line at only 450.

i'll check out the 1156 chips and see what the comparison is.

[Robin Paulson]

Post by Jamie Walker
Do you really need a socket 1366 CPU? The 1156-based i7s should be
just about as fast at lower cost. Also socket 1366 wants RAM in lots
of 3 for maximum performance.

if i used RAM in pairs instead of sets of 3, what would be the effect
on performance? am i limiting memory transfer to 2/3 the maximum, i.e.
4800MT/s x 2/3?

[Jamie Walker]

Post by Robin Paulson
if i used RAM in pairs instead of sets of 3, what would be the effect
on performance? am i limiting memory transfer to 2/3 the maximum, i.e.
4800MT/s x 2/3?

I think in practice you'd probably find the difference difficult to
spot. That I'm aware of, the only major performance difference between
1156 and 1366 i7 quad cores is when running more than one video card
for gaming purposes.

[Robin Paulson]

Post by Jamie Walker
I think in practice you'd probably find the difference difficult to
spot. That I'm aware of, the only major performance difference between
1156 and 1366 i7 quad cores is when running more than one video card
for gaming purposes.

right, so the difference is all about CPU <--> Northbridge transfer,
not related to memory throughput?

that's a help then. the CPU for comparable performance is about the
same, 1156 to 1366, but the motherboards start at a realistic $140
instead of double that.

cheers

[Cliff Pratt]

Post by Robin Paulson
hi all,
i'm building a new ubuntu desktop over the next couple of weeks, and
am seeking advice on hardware. based on pricespy and some cpu
benchmark sites, i've put together the following as a wish list. does
anyone have any particular experience, good or bad, with the
following, or any other relevant advice? i'll be plugging in a couple
of Seagate SATA drives I already have, and a low-end Radeon graphics
card
ASRock X58 Extreme
Gigabyte GZ-X7 420W
Intel Core i7 950 3.06GHz Socket 1366 Box
2 x Kingston HyperX Blu DDR3 PC10600/1333MHz CL9 2x2GB

Now you've done it! Ask X geeks the best hardware configuration and
you'll get at least X + 1 opinions. Oh, by the way, make sure it has
water cooling.

Cheers,

Cliff

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[Adrian Mageanu]

Post by Cliff Pratt

Post by Robin Paulson
hi all,
i'm building a new ubuntu desktop over the next couple of weeks, and
am seeking advice on hardware. based on pricespy and some cpu
benchmark sites, i've put together the following as a wish list. does
anyone have any particular experience, good or bad, with the
following, or any other relevant advice? i'll be plugging in a couple
of Seagate SATA drives I already have, and a low-end Radeon graphics
card
ASRock X58 Extreme
Gigabyte GZ-X7 420W
Intel Core i7 950 3.06GHz Socket 1366 Box
2 x Kingston HyperX Blu DDR3 PC10600/1333MHz CL9 2x2GB

Now you've done it! Ask X geeks the best hardware configuration and
you'll get at least X + 1 opinions. Oh, by the way, make sure it has
water cooling.
Cheers,
Cliff

If you use water cooling using a reserator make sure you don't include
both the CPU and the GPU in the same water circuit because they work at
different temperatures. I did it and in 2 years I had to replace the
graphic card.

Adrian





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[t94xr]

Post by Robin Paulson
DR3 PC10600/1333MHz CL9 2x2GB
Now you've done it! Ask X geeks the best hardware configuration and
you'll get at least X + 1 opinions. Oh, by the way, make sure it has
water cooling.
Cheers,
Cliff
_______________________________________________
http://www.linux.net.nz/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/nzlug

Ah yes definately - I purchased a Corsair Hydro H50 recently and on my
previous Intel C2D E6750 2.66G Conroe all my temps dropped 10c and on
100% load they never went above 40c when they topped out on 50-56c on
air cooling.

There is a better H70 version, I would recommend that. Computer noice
has reduced a fair amount too.

CameronW

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[Robin Paulson]

Now you've done it! Ask X geeks the best hardware configuration and you'll
get at least X + 1 opinions. Oh, by the way, make sure it has water cooling.

i've never done the water-cooling thing before. is this something the
mobo or cpu should support? or the case?

any recommendations for setup/hardware/technology to choose/avoid? or
good learning resources on t'web?

cheers

[Nevyn]

Post by Robin Paulson

Now you've done it! Ask X geeks the best hardware configuration and you'll
get at least X + 1 opinions. Oh, by the way, make sure it has water cooling.

i've never done the water-cooling thing before. is this something the
mobo or cpu should support? or the case?
any recommendations for setup/hardware/technology to choose/avoid? or
good learning resources on t'web?
cheers
--
robin

It's kind of one of those things that has some geek appeal but
personally, I avoid it like the plague. I think the comment may have
been sarcastic.

Generally it's just a kit right? You need a place to put a reservoir
but apart from that it's fairly straight forward. Though don't quote
me on this. It's been years since I last looked.

Regards,
Nevyn
http://nevsramblings.blogspot.com/

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[Cliff Pratt]

Post by Nevyn

Post by Robin Paulson

Now you've done it! Ask X geeks the best hardware configuration and you'll
get at least X + 1 opinions. Oh, by the way, make sure it has water cooling.

i've never done the water-cooling thing before. is this something the
mobo or cpu should support? or the case?
any recommendations for setup/hardware/technology to choose/avoid? or
good learning resources on t'web?

It's kind of one of those things that has some geek appeal but
personally, I avoid it like the plague. I think the comment may have
been sarcastic.

"Sarcastic" is a bit stronger than I was trying for. "Humorous" would be
closer...

Post by Nevyn
Generally it's just a kit right? You need a place to put a reservoir
but apart from that it's fairly straight forward. Though don't quote
me on this. It's been years since I last looked.

Cheers,

Cliff

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[Volker Kuhlmann]

Post by Robin Paulson

Now you've done it! Ask X geeks the best hardware configuration and you'll
get at least X + 1 opinions. Oh, by the way, make sure it has water cooling.

i've never done the water-cooling thing before. is this something the
mobo or cpu should support? or the case?

Uhhm, Cliff was taking the mickey. ;-)

Post by Robin Paulson
any recommendations for setup/hardware/technology to choose/avoid?

Oh dang yes: anything that needs water cooling. It's only for
adolescents. Where exactly is the geek factor? (No don't answer that.)

Reminds me of this one (translated):

Two blokes meet in the Cray server room. Says one: Hey what's this
high-pitch noise - did a hard disk blow up? Answers the other: Nope,
the electricity meter is rotating. [Back in those days when meters had
those spinning wheels.]

Volker

[Adrian Mageanu]

Post by Volker Kuhlmann

Post by Robin Paulson

Now you've done it! Ask X geeks the best hardware configuration and you'll
get at least X + 1 opinions. Oh, by the way, make sure it has water cooling.

i've never done the water-cooling thing before. is this something the
mobo or cpu should support? or the case?

Uhhm, Cliff was taking the mickey. ;-)

Post by Robin Paulson
any recommendations for setup/hardware/technology to choose/avoid?

Oh dang yes: anything that needs water cooling. It's only for
adolescents. Where exactly is the geek factor? (No don't answer that.)

Not sure of the geek factor - although that I am, according to friends,
family and my kids - and I guess every one of us is an adolescent
trapped in a man's/woman's body, but mostly is the silence factor.

5dB water pump (reserator) & 7dB case fan makes pushing the power button
a treat. If not for the blinking LEDs on the case you'd wonder if
anything happened. My kids' laptops made bigger noises.

Having said that, it can be a bit challenging and is not that low
maintenance. Whatever water cooling technology you use, make sure you
understand the temperature regime of every component in you machine, use
separate water circuits where the case or use different water cooling
devices, and _always_ make sure to check regularly that water tanks are
full.

It can also get expensive, but if you get it right, in the end is very
rewarding if you're looking for a noiseless PC.


Adrian



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[Volker Kuhlmann]

Post by Adrian Mageanu
5dB water pump (reserator) & 7dB case fan makes pushing the power button
a treat. If not for the blinking LEDs on the case you'd wonder if
anything happened. My kids' laptops made bigger noises.

The water cooling won't do anything about the noise from disks and power
supply, but careful shopping and the information from silentpcreview.com
go a very long way (ignore anything said on packaging or by shop
assistants, there are no noisy components on the market and sales people
in shops on noisy streets are all deaf anyway).

The remaining cooling required you can achieve by putting fans in smart
places, and running their speed right down with a series resistor. Good
cooling for little money that is quieter than your hard disks. No water
cooling needed, cheap, easy, reliable and zero maintenance.

The remaining noise I find comes from two disks interfering with each
other in somewhat annoying ways. Again, water cooling won't do anything
about that.

Blinking lights I can have as many as I can be bothered soldering up...
;-)

Volker

[Brett Davidson]

Post by Volker Kuhlmann
The water cooling won't do anything about the noise from disks and power
supply, but careful shopping and the information from silentpcreview.com
go a very long way (ignore anything said on packaging or by shop
assistants, there are no noisy components on the market and sales people
in shops on noisy streets are all deaf anyway).
The remaining cooling required you can achieve by putting fans in smart
places, and running their speed right down with a series resistor. Good
cooling for little money that is quieter than your hard disks. No water
cooling needed, cheap, easy, reliable and zero maintenance.
The remaining noise I find comes from two disks interfering with each
other in somewhat annoying ways. Again, water cooling won't do anything
about that.
Blinking lights I can have as many as I can be bothered soldering up...
;-)
Volker

+1 for silentpcreview.com.
My rather grunty mediacentre machine in the lounge (800W PSU and a
gaming card - also serves as gaming machine) is quieter than my TV w/o
using watercooling. As Volker said though, quietening disks is a real
art which I have yet to completely master. (it's at the "good-enough"
stage at present).

Cheers,
Brat.

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[Nick Rout]

Post by Brett Davidson

Post by Volker Kuhlmann
The water cooling won't do anything about the noise from disks and power
supply, but careful shopping and the information from silentpcreview.com
go a very long way (ignore anything said on packaging or by shop
assistants, there are no noisy components on the market and sales people
in shops on noisy streets are all deaf anyway).
The remaining cooling required you can achieve by putting fans in smart
places, and running their speed right down with a series resistor. Good
cooling for little money that is quieter than your hard disks. No water
cooling needed, cheap, easy, reliable and zero maintenance.
The remaining noise I find comes from two disks interfering with each
other in somewhat annoying ways. Again, water cooling won't do anything
about that.
Blinking lights I can have as many as I can be bothered soldering up...
;-)
Volker

+1 for silentpcreview.com.
My rather grunty mediacentre machine in the lounge (800W PSU and a gaming
card - also serves as gaming machine) is quieter than my TV w/o using
watercooling. As Volker said though, quietening disks is a real art which I
have yet to completely master. (it's at the "good-enough" stage at present).

For media you need no more than a fanless atom processor and a recent
nvidia card.

gaming may be otherwise of course...

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[Nevyn]

Post by Adrian Mageanu
Not sure of the geek factor - although that I am, according to friends,
family and my kids - and I guess every one of us is an adolescent
trapped in a man's/woman's body, but mostly is the silence factor.

The geek factor is mostly in that long litany of specifications.

"Check it out y'all. My 'puter has twin quad core cpu's, a nVidia kick
bottom graphics card and water cooling".

In other words, it kind of sounds cool. And having tubes around the
computer probably looks kind of funky too. But for the most part, it's
quite a bit of money and hassle for something, that if you're not
doing something unnecessary like over clocking, you can accomplish a
lot more cheaply via other means.

Regards,
Nevyn
http://nevsramblings.blogspot.com

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[Robin Paulson]

Post by Volker Kuhlmann

Post by Robin Paulson
i've never done the water-cooling thing before. is this something the
mobo or cpu should support? or the case?

Uhhm, Cliff was taking the mickey. ;-)

oh, that'll be the whole sarcasm-not-working-over-email-thing-then...

[Cliff Pratt]

Post by Robin Paulson

Post by Volker Kuhlmann

Post by Robin Paulson
i've never done the water-cooling thing before. is this something
the mobo or cpu should support? or the case?

Uhhm, Cliff was taking the mickey. ;-)

oh, that'll be the whole
sarcasm-not-working-over-email-thing-then...

It was 'gentle humour' not 'sarcasm'.

Cheers,

Cliff

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[Cliff Pratt]

Post by Robin Paulson

Post by Cliff Pratt
Now you've done it! Ask X geeks the best hardware configuration and
you'll get at least X + 1 opinions. Oh, by the way, make sure it
has water cooling.

i've never done the water-cooling thing before. is this something
the mobo or cpu should support? or the case?
any recommendations for setup/hardware/technology to choose/avoid?
or good learning resources on t'web?

I was joking actually....

Cheers,

Cliff

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[Steve Holdoway]

Given that the 6 core 3.2GHz AMD Phenom II CPU's are a good $200 cheaper
than i7's, shouldn't they at least be considered??

Post by Robin Paulson
hi all,
i'm building a new ubuntu desktop over the next couple of weeks, and
am seeking advice on hardware. based on pricespy and some cpu
benchmark sites, i've put together the following as a wish list. does
anyone have any particular experience, good or bad, with the
following, or any other relevant advice? i'll be plugging in a couple
of Seagate SATA drives I already have, and a low-end Radeon graphics
card
ASRock X58 Extreme
Gigabyte GZ-X7 420W
Intel Core i7 950 3.06GHz Socket 1366 Box
2 x Kingston HyperX Blu DDR3 PC10600/1333MHz CL9 2x2GB
cheers

--
Steve Holdoway <***@greengecko.co.nz>
http://www.greengecko.co.nz
MSN: ***@greengecko.co.nz
Skype: sholdowa


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[Robin Paulson]

Post by Steve Holdoway
Given that the 6 core 3.2GHz AMD Phenom II CPU's are a good $200 cheaper
than i7's, shouldn't they at least be considered??

they should indeed

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_list.php

gives them some decent performance scores. sigh, back to the start.

thanks steve, i hadn't realised AMD were anywhere near intel