What CPU and video for a new computer? (It's here!)

[kbunt]

Re: What CPU and video for a new computer? (Preliminary picks)

Has Nvidia GeForce 9800 GT cards gone down to $100 yet? I want to upgrade my video card some time and build a computer for someone. I'd take the old 7950 GT I have and move it to that new system. Then, I'd install Kubuntu or something for them to get another user into Linux. ;-) Ah, I already have Mepis running on an older Pentium 3 but the computer is making a lot of noise lately. Not sure how long it'll keep on chugging...

[Telengard]

Re: What CPU and video for a new computer? (Preliminary picks)

oh - and on the RAID thing? The post you cited was correct - there's a difference between fakeraid and real RAID. Intel ICH* RAID configurations are fakeraid but are supported by Linux. My understanding is that Linux will see a mirror but not a striped volume on an ICH* chipset.

If that is true then maybe it will work. I am not interested in any kind of spanning or striping, only redundancy. That's why I want RAID 1 (mirroring). I will certainly be looking into it, but if you know a good place to begin my reading it would help a lot.

About SSDs: I still don't trust the technology. It's good enough as a substitute for floppies, but knowing that every bit of memory can only sustain a relatively low number of writes before failure is enough to scare me away. Real hard disks are still more reliable.

[Telengard]

Re: What CPU and video for a new computer? (Preliminary picks)

Just got the price quote back from the system builder.

cpu - intel i7 920 $339.00
MB - evga x58 c lassified 141-bl-e760-a1 $459.00
HD - WD RE3 WD1002fby3 x2 $458.00
CS - Silverstone Raven RV02 $279
OPT - LG Blue ray burner 8x $259
HSF - T hermal Right 120 extreme 1366 RT Rev C $119
MEM - Mushkin 3x2gb ddr3 CL6 kit pc 10666 $209
PSU - Coolermaster 1kw RS-C50-EMBA-D2 $339
VC - Evga 285GT X pc ie $399
lb - 3 hours to assemble $177
total after tax 3679.58

OP updated with the info above.

[Snowhog]

Re: What CPU and video for a new computer? (Got the price quote)

$3,679.58. Wow. When you said that money wasn't the deciding factor, you meant it. Who's giving you this quote? Have you looked at EVGA P55 FTW Edtion & Intel Core i7 Barebone Kit - EVGA P55 FTW Edtion MOBO, Intel Core i7 860 2.8GHz, 4GB DDR3, 1TB HDD, Case, PSU from TigerDirect? The base price on this is $879.99. I'm pretty sure that you could modify it to your specs for a lot less than the quote you got.

[Telengard]

Re: What CPU and video for a new computer? (Got the price quote)

Time is much more important. Tomorrow is my deadline to make the purchase. If I had more time, I know I could probably build a better system for about half the price.

[wizard10000]

Re: What CPU and video for a new computer? (Got the price quote)

Time is much more important. Tomorrow is my deadline to make the purchase. If I had more time, I know I could probably build a better system for about half the price.

Actually about a third the price

My i7 ran just under $900 with 6gb DDR3, 1TB hard drive, two Lightscribe burners, 650 watt PSU and a single GF9500. Three hours labor to assemble something that took me just under *one* hour is just insane - plus the guy's making a killing on the parts - either that or he has no idea where to get them

[Telengard]

Re: What CPU and video for a new computer? (Got the price quote)

Three hours labor to assemble something that took me just under *one* hour is just insane - plus the guy's making a killing on the parts

That's business. I bought the system today, and updated the first post in this thread.

Anyway, I made a last minute change to the power supply because I was not comfortable with the idea of pushing the 12 volt rail at maximum capacity 24/7. The new supply should be more than sufficient as long as I stick to just the one video card. If I ever want to add a second card for SLI operation then I'll have to get a new power supply.

[Ole Juul]

Re: What CPU and video for a new computer? (System purchased.)

Congratulations!

I was not comfortable with the idea of pushing the 12 volt rail at maximum capacity 24/7

What do you mean? The power supply has no relation to the draw. I=E/R

[Telengard]

Re: What CPU and video for a new computer? (System purchased.)

Congratulations!

I was not comfortable with the idea of pushing the 12 volt rail at maximum capacity 24/7

What do you mean? The power supply has no relation to the draw. I=E/R

You may not like the way I worded it, but here is what I mean. The previous power supply provided 12 Volts at 20 Amps on two separate rails. The video card requires 12 Volts at 40 Amps, and has connectors for two power plugs. Assuming I plug in two 20 Amp plugs, I am at the limit of those two 12 Volt rails. That leaves absolutely no room for varying operating conditions.

Yes indeed I=E/R. But in real world devices R is not a constant. Understanding tolerances is part of engineering.

[Ole Juul]

Re: What CPU and video for a new computer? (System purchased.)

Got it, thanks.

[Telengard]

Re: What CPU and video for a new computer? (System purchased.)

Ole Juul, my keyboard arrived minutes ago. I am going to plug it into the old Dell right now

Edit: The keyboard works great! Even the trackball mouse works, which I am mildly surprised about. The mouse has eight buttons but how do I figure out what they do?

[Ole Juul]

Re: What CPU and video for a new computer? (System purchased.)

Congratulations!
Lucky you! I have no idea of what to do with all those extra mouse buttons, but I've often thought that extra buttons would be handy to accommodate some personal quirks. I'd be interested in knowing how that works out.

How is the key pressure and clickity noise for you?

[Telengard]

Re: What CPU and video for a new computer? (System purchased.)

Honestly I don't think there is much difference in the key pressure, but it feels better when I push down and the key easily gives way. Most importantly, the keys don't get stuck half way down.

It doesn't seem noisy to me at all, but the click is noticeable. I'll have to wait until my girl firend gets home to see how she reacts.

I'm not sure, but it feels like I am typing more accurately. I feel more confident about my strokes.

[Telengard]

Re: What CPU and video for a new computer? (System purchased.)

Got the new system home yesterday, but I'm not ready to set it up yet. I screwed my back up badly Sunday and haven't recovered well.

[lmilano]

Re: What CPU and video for a new computer? (It's here!)

Congrats on the new system!, and I really wish you recover soon!

It will be fun to run some tests with the Phoronix test suite and compare systems (mostly bite the dust in my case, LOL)

Cheers!!!