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Hi, all.
I'm putting together a "big" computer (finally), and thought I'd run my selections and options through the MURC filter
This will be a dual Opteron system (obvious from the MB choices), running Linux (2.6.x). I will probably have a Windows (2000, since I have no desire to buy XP) installation on VMWare as well.
So - the big issues are Linux drivers and stability. Stability and data security are definitely more important than speed, since this will become my main work machine. This will be a workstation, so I'll probably stick to IDE/SATA drives. I'll be doing some high quantity / high res image processing, and the cost for high capacity SCSI is a bit too high IMO.
So - here's the hardware I'm looking at:
Motherboard: Tyan K8WE (S2895A2NRF), $426. Possible alternate is the Asus K8N-DL ($187). I like the 1000MHz HT speed on the Asus, but I like the fact that the Tyan supports dual-channel RAM and NUMA (which I would assume provides some benefits under Linux). Of course, NUMA may not be worth the $240 price difference. Other recommendations are appreciated.
Processors: Dual Opteron 244 ($187). Possibly the 246 ($234) if the price comes down a little. At some point, I would expect to upgrade to dual-core processors, but they're too expensive for now. The 244 is below the knee of the price/performance curve, the 246 is just over it (roughly a 20% increase in cost, for a 10% increase in clock, and probably only 3% in actual speed) It looks like the "Troy" core is the first with 1 GHz FSB and SSE3 (other than the dual-cores), so it may behoove me to wait for that, since my main application is imaging.
Memory: 4x Corsair XMS PC3200 1G (CM72SD1024RLP-3200). 3-3-3-6 timing, so I might be able to find something faster, but for $136 each, I think these are probably a good deal. Thinking about it, I'm not sure that any 1G registered ECC DIMMs will get much faster without costing exponentially more.
Hard Drive: Maxtor MaxLine III 250G/16MB buffer ($108) (or 300G, depending on pricing when I actually hit the "submit" button). StorageReview picked this as the fastest desktop drive around. I'm not sure if the Linux usage patterns are closer to a server, even if the machine is used as a workstation.
DVD recorder: Not sure exactly which one to choose. I've seen people liking the Plextors and Pioneers. Open to suggestions - the main thing is that I'd like to be able to record basically every format: CDR/RW, DVD-R/RW, DVR+R/RW, DL, etc.
I'd like to be able to get a QID/HR256 or similar card - my triple 19" CRTs @ 1280x1024 are getting cramped I may have to settle for dual high res LCDs - something like the 20" 1600x1200 ones that are in the $550 range. I'm not sure if I'll reuse my Parhelia or get some NVidia card. I'm not too concerned about 3D FPS, and since I'll be using DVI + LCDs, image quality shouldn't be a big issue. Does anyone know if you can install dual Parhelias and get 4 or 6 monitors out of the deal (on Linux, remember)? I'd imagine a 2x2 arrangement of 20" LCDs would be enough, and I can grow into that later.
As for a case - I'll just find something in the right price range ($70-$150) - I already have a couple of Soyo Raptor 400W power supplies - I'd assume that one of those will be OK, and if not, I'll jump straight to a PC Power&Cooling supply. If anyone has some favorite case, let me know.
Thanks for any info
- Steve
I'm putting together a "big" computer (finally), and thought I'd run my selections and options through the MURC filter
This will be a dual Opteron system (obvious from the MB choices), running Linux (2.6.x). I will probably have a Windows (2000, since I have no desire to buy XP) installation on VMWare as well.
So - the big issues are Linux drivers and stability. Stability and data security are definitely more important than speed, since this will become my main work machine. This will be a workstation, so I'll probably stick to IDE/SATA drives. I'll be doing some high quantity / high res image processing, and the cost for high capacity SCSI is a bit too high IMO.
So - here's the hardware I'm looking at:
Motherboard: Tyan K8WE (S2895A2NRF), $426. Possible alternate is the Asus K8N-DL ($187). I like the 1000MHz HT speed on the Asus, but I like the fact that the Tyan supports dual-channel RAM and NUMA (which I would assume provides some benefits under Linux). Of course, NUMA may not be worth the $240 price difference. Other recommendations are appreciated.
Processors: Dual Opteron 244 ($187). Possibly the 246 ($234) if the price comes down a little. At some point, I would expect to upgrade to dual-core processors, but they're too expensive for now. The 244 is below the knee of the price/performance curve, the 246 is just over it (roughly a 20% increase in cost, for a 10% increase in clock, and probably only 3% in actual speed) It looks like the "Troy" core is the first with 1 GHz FSB and SSE3 (other than the dual-cores), so it may behoove me to wait for that, since my main application is imaging.
Memory: 4x Corsair XMS PC3200 1G (CM72SD1024RLP-3200). 3-3-3-6 timing, so I might be able to find something faster, but for $136 each, I think these are probably a good deal. Thinking about it, I'm not sure that any 1G registered ECC DIMMs will get much faster without costing exponentially more.
Hard Drive: Maxtor MaxLine III 250G/16MB buffer ($108) (or 300G, depending on pricing when I actually hit the "submit" button). StorageReview picked this as the fastest desktop drive around. I'm not sure if the Linux usage patterns are closer to a server, even if the machine is used as a workstation.
DVD recorder: Not sure exactly which one to choose. I've seen people liking the Plextors and Pioneers. Open to suggestions - the main thing is that I'd like to be able to record basically every format: CDR/RW, DVD-R/RW, DVR+R/RW, DL, etc.
I'd like to be able to get a QID/HR256 or similar card - my triple 19" CRTs @ 1280x1024 are getting cramped
I may have to settle for dual high res LCDs - something like the 20" 1600x1200 ones that are in the $550 range. I'm not sure if I'll reuse my Parhelia or get some NVidia card. I'm not too concerned about 3D FPS, and since I'll be using DVI + LCDs, image quality shouldn't be a big issue. Does anyone know if you can install dual Parhelias and get 4 or 6 monitors out of the deal (on Linux, remember)? I'd imagine a 2x2 arrangement of 20" LCDs would be enough, and I can grow into that later.As for a case - I'll just find something in the right price range ($70-$150) - I already have a couple of Soyo Raptor 400W power supplies - I'd assume that one of those will be OK, and if not, I'll jump straight to a PC Power&Cooling supply. If anyone has some favorite case, let me know.
Thanks for any info
- Steve
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