PC Build

[Bismuth]

I am going be replacing my PC during the course of this month, probably towards the end of the month, and invite comments/suggestions/criticism etc. on my proposed build. It will be a desktop system running Ubuntu Ultimate Edition, and will be my foray into the 64-bit world, finally.

Now I will not be gaming on it, except for whatever is native to Linux, at this stage. I will be primarily doing web development on it (Joomal, MySQL, PHP etc.), and obviously internet and email, and as it is my personal PC, listening to music and watching movies on it.

I will quote the list as best I can remember, as it is on my home pc:

i5-760 2.8Ghz Lynnfield (?)
Asus MoBo, capacity up to i7-8xx and 16Gb RAM-2xxx, so open for upgrades in future
8Gb DDR3-1333 RAM (Can't remember brand, I prefer Transcend here)
1Tb HDD (Had no issues in the past with Western Digital, but don't have a preference here)
Nvidia GT240
20-22" LCD, either Samsung, Phillips or LG, again no preference (no issues with Phillips CRT previously)
SoundBlaster X-Fi Sound Card - not top of the range, but it's a bit higher than entry-level
5.1 Speakers - Either Soundblaster or Logitech (no preference)

As much as I despise MS software, I have always liked their hardware, and will probably go with another MS keyboard (curve-type). I have a Razer DeathAdder from when I was still gaming in Windows, don't know if I need such a fancy mouse for Linux again, but might get another Razer, will see.

Alrighty, essay over.

B

 

[Dimpie (COMPUTEK)]

Laying out specs now for something you might only get "towards the end of the year" is just wrong. :wtf:
The technology changes so fast that today's specs might be EOL by year end.

 

[Lounger]

I'll second that. What games are available for Linux?

 

[ponder]

Come back here when you are ready to buy. For now look at Intel Sandy Bridge and somewhere in the future AMD Bulldozer will be available.

 

[Bismuth]

Alrighty, didn't get much sleep last night, meant month, not year!

B

 

[sn3rd]

Everything seems fine except for the Xi-fi... I have had issues with them in the past, but maybe things have changed. You might want to check your distribution of choice for compatibility.

You don't mention what chipset is on the motherboard you're looking at? Could play an important role in the decision.

 

[Bismuth]

Everything seems fine except for the Xi-fi... I have had issues with them in the past, but maybe things have changed. You might want to check your distribution of choice for compatibility.

You don't mention what chipset is on the motherboard you're looking at? Could play an important role in the decision.

Will double-check on the Xi-Fi. Not sure on the chipset, have details at home, will check and report back.

B

 

[ponder]

Alrighty, didn't get much sleep last night, meant month, not year!

B

In that case look at the Sandy Bridge stuff, it's the way to go. There are a couple of threads in the hardware section dealing with this.

 

[Bismuth]

In that case look at the Sandy Bridge stuff, it's the way to go. There are a couple of threads in the hardware section dealing with this.

Ooh, haven't really looked into Sandy Bridge, besides my comment about sticking with Intel even though they are including DRM stuff with it. I think I will be going to with Sandy Bridge, prices don't look too bad at the moment. I want this system to be as upgradeable as possible within my budget (10-11k), so this should be good.

BTW, what is the difference between a GT240 and GTS250?. Must still look into further, but at a glance didn't see a huge difference, except maybe in clock speeds?. Need to do a side-by-side comparison, if it's worth it.

B

 

[koffiejunkie]

Since you mention web development, allow me to give you the perspective of a sysadmin at a web hosting company with a six figure number of servers that clients have root access on:

1. Don't use Joomla. Please please please, don't use Joomla. Security is a very distant incestuous third cousin in that that miserable pile of fail's design. Use Drupal if you have to use a CMS.

2. Don't develop on Ubuntu if you're going to host on something else. Or at least, make sure you have a virtual machine (Virtual Box is free for now) running the exact same OS and versions of the LAMP stack as your host does.

With respect to hardware I'm well out of date, so I'll let the other guys advise you. I'll just say, don't worry about using MS hardware. The MS mice are among the nicer ones on the market. I use a MS Wireless Mouse 4000 at home (where I use a Mac). I wouldn't recommend this mouse for Linux, for the simple reason, the middle button (paste) is too stiff At work (where I use Linux) I have the MS Wireless Mouse 2000, which works good and has a much softer action on the middle button - I do a *lot* of copy/paste. My only complain is that it has the old stile wireless dongle - the big flat round thing you have to put on your desk, instead of the nice new thumb-size ones.

 

[milomak]

i would second sandy bridge.

given most mobos come with onboard sound, why are you buying a soundblaster?

 

[Bismuth]

Since you mention web development, allow me to give you the perspective of a sysadmin at a web hosting company with a six figure number of servers that clients have root access on:

1. Don't use Joomla. Please please please, don't use Joomla. Security is a very distant incestuous third cousin in that that miserable pile of fail's design. Use Drupal if you have to use a CMS.

I've been using Joomla for almost two years know... but will take note of your advice/comment.

2. Don't develop on Ubuntu if you're going to host on something else. Or at least, make sure you have a virtual machine (Virtual Box is free for now) running the exact same OS and versions of the LAMP stack as your host does.

See comment on #1, I have multiple VMs on VirtualBox for testing apps etc., so yeah. But again, will take note of your advice/comment.

With respect to hardware I'm well out of date, so I'll let the other guys advise you. I'll just say, don't worry about using MS hardware. The MS mice are among the nicer ones on the market. I use a MS Wireless Mouse 4000 at home (where I use a Mac). I wouldn't recommend this mouse for Linux, for the simple reason, the middle button (paste) is too stiff At work (where I use Linux) I have the MS Wireless Mouse 2000, which works good and has a much softer action on the middle button - I do a *lot* of copy/paste. My only complain is that it has the old stile wireless dongle - the big flat round thing you have to put on your desk, instead of the nice new thumb-size ones.

Never met a mouse I don't like in Linux, but will see what's out there.

B

 

[Kasyx]

More hard drive space will benefit you far more than those 8gb of ram. Get rid of 4gb, use money to buy another hard drive or two. There is no reason to build a box with 8gb ram if you're just gonna be using it for web development/home use.

 

[ponder]

More hard drive space will benefit you far more than those 8gb of ram. Get rid of 4gb, use money to buy another hard drive or two. There is no reason to build a box with 8gb ram if you're just gonna be using it for web development/home use.

He runs multiple VM's so 8GB is not going to hurt.

 

[Bismuth]

He runs multiple VM's so 8GB is not going to hurt.

Heh, this is the exact reason I am going for 8Gbs, would go for more but not within the budget.

Anyway, have decided to can the separate sound card and test the onboard sound, if I decide I don't like it, will add a soundcard later on. Exactly what I did with my current system. I have decided to allocate the e extra amount available in the budget, to an better motherboard, this one: Intel® Desktop Board DP67BG

I have got prices from 3 different sources, not Esquire as they are not selling SandyBridge yet. I priced the above board from Prophecy Shop, but not all my components are from them, just the mobo and CPU, currently a i5-2500K Quad Core, 3.3GHz.

NOTE: I have a thing for Intel (CPUs, but not necessarily mobo) and Nvidia (uhmm, GPU), so please don't recommend anything else, as it will be politely ignored.

B

 

[Kasyx]

He runs multiple VM's so 8GB is not going to hurt.

My bad; must've missed that part.

 

[Synaesthesia]

Get a bigger screen. CPU's and GPU's outdate so quickly, but a good screen you can keep for years.

 

[Bismuth]

Get a bigger screen. CPU's and GPU's outdate so quickly, but a good screen you can keep for years.

This is true, I currently have a 17" Phillips CRT, and it has never given me a hassle, where other components have. I will take your advice into consideration, tnx.

B

 

[Kasyx]

Get a bigger screen. CPU's and GPU's outdate so quickly, but a good screen you can keep for years.

This is really good advice. I find having a good screen to be one of the most important parts of a pc build. Think about it; the screen is your primary interface with your PC - it is what you are actually looking at for the entirety of that 12 hour WoW raid.

 

[garyc]

Phoronix have done a preview of Sandy Bridge running Linux <http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=intel_sandybridge_linux&num=1>. Most of the test results are still under embargo, but it appears that you can get it up and running with some issues using Unbuntu 10.10 or similar. They predict that it should be an out of the box experience under Ubuntu 11.04 or Fedora 15. This means that Sandy Bridge will be a forward looking purchase (nothing really wrong with that).

I have always preferred the Intel motherboards since they publish the results of their Linux testing on them - look at <http://www.intel.com/support/motherboards/desktop/sb/CS-028648.htm>. The first column in the table is the name of the motherboard which has been tested for OS installation. Click on this to see how it went. Some of the boards have also been given certification for specific distributions. I recently got a DH55TC board based on their comments and it has performed without issues.

Regarding processors - there are only 4 benchmarks which are industry audited and verifiable <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benchmark_%28computing%29>. The only one that publishes the results openly is Spec <http://www.spec.org/cpu2006/results/>. You will need to read up the description on the site to be able to interpret the results. The interesting thing is that the speed of the processors does not increase with price nearly as quickly as the typical website reviews indicate. May be something to do with the fact that these sites link to on-line sales. You may be able to save some money here

I got hold of an Asus Xonar STX card recently that works very well with the current alsa drivers. This is plugged into a high end sound system. If you are not putting this into a good system them the current on-board audio is actually good and you will not need the additional sound card.