Rocky Smolin
rockysmolin at bchacc.com
Mon Jun 13 08:00:07 CDT 2011
Pondering...pondering... :) First decision is Intel vs. AMD. Will there be any detectable difference in speed between the two chips in otherwise identical machines? Rocky -----Original Message----- From: dba-tech-bounces at databaseadvisors.com [mailto:dba-tech-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of Mark Breen Sent: Monday, June 13, 2011 1:37 AM To: Discussion of Hardware and Software issues Subject: Re: [dba-Tech] OT: Shopping for a new comp Hello Rocky, I think that I would not buy hardware components like these in a bricks and mortar shop - it is too difficult to do comparisions standing at the counter. Mr Colby can let us know what site he uses, for Ireland, I use www.overclockers.co.uk. If you have a look at their site you will see that they structure the components section into sub sections in the probable order you will need to work with. IOW, you first of all decide Intel or AMD, then you choose the processor. Once you have chosen a processor, then you choose a M/B to match. Then you choose a case. Just as an example, 1) I built a machine with (approx) €120 case and €120 PSU and it works fine and I have two video cards running on it. 2) I also bought a case with built in PSU for €30 and it also works fine and looks nice. The first case is beautifully made and the second have some sharp edges on the inside but my wife would probably not know which is which. The 650 Watt PSU in the first machine can run 6 hard disks and two high performance video cards, the PSU in the second machine is 350 Watts and only runs one video card. Incidentally, I took a look at an expensive dell machine I bought two years ago and the PSU was 350 watts, so if you buy the entry level PSU, you are still in the ball park of respectable specifications. Dan gives and good example of what SSD's should be used for, but I have instead gone with the new SATA 3 (6 Gb/s) and can buy 3 GB drives for approx €100 - €120. Why not try out a cheap build, then do a second one, and then do a $1000 machine, you will love it. Mark On 12 June 2011 14:48, Rocky Smolin <rockysmolin at bchacc.com> wrote: > I've seen the motherboards hanging on the rack at Fry's but never paid > much attention. Maybe I'll take a field trip there and spec out a > box. The components are pretty much plug and play I know - gotta buy > a copy of W7 though. Do you use an SSD? > > R > > -----Original Message----- > From: dba-tech-bounces at databaseadvisors.com > [mailto:dba-tech-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of Mark Breen > Sent: Saturday, June 11, 2011 10:20 AM > To: Discussion of Hardware and Software issues > Subject: Re: [dba-Tech] OT: Shopping for a new comp > > Hello Rocky > > I listened to a podcast last year by Joel Spolsky and his partner in > Stack Overflow. In that podcast they discussed the ultimate developers machine. > They went on to discuss building your own box. Their summary was the > Jedi warriors build their own light sabres, they never just buy them. > > When I listened to it, I smiled smugly and thought "I do not waste my > time building my own machines". Well guess what, after 20 years of > buying Dell, I am have switched opinions to building my own machines. > > I was so surprised at what can be built. I can build a machine for > myself for USD 200, which is OK, but I can also build a machine for USD 1200. > Both > are fun to build and there is a price break anywhere in between. > > I have to say that since then, I have built approx 4-5 machines and > loved doing it. It is so simple to do and really fun. > > Finally, let me tell you about my main machine. I bought the Intel i7 > 950 processor, which is a 3.00 GHz (approx) processor. I also bought > a USD 80 heatsink. I then simply changed a few settings and I now > have my machine running rock solid at 4.5 GHz. > > Do give it a try, it is really fun. > > Even the USD 200 machines are fun to build > > Mark > > > > On 11 June 2011 14:26, <rockysmolin at bchacc.com> wrote: > > > Dear List: > > > > It's time. My current development box is 4-5 years old. Dell P4, > > 3GHz, XP, limited to 2 GB RAM. And the HD is pretty small (<100 GB, > > IIRC - I'm not at home at the moment - in Chicago, actually), though > > it was huge at the time. Been a very solid workhorse but (like me) > > is slowing down. I think part of the problem is that I have more > > stuff open than I used to so there's some swapping going on. > > > > I could dump the HD, reformat and reload I suppose. > > > > My 14 y.o. wants a more powerful box, too and needs better graphics > > than he has. So I told him with the right GPA at the end of the > > year I'll get him a new box, too. > > > > All we need are the boxes, BTW - got plenty displays and external HD. > > > > I need speed, not a lot of graphics, and no need for huge HD storage. > > Any new box will have a big enough HD for me. > > > > But the new crop of multi-core processors is unfamiliar to me. > > > > We'll probably take a field trip to Fry's but if Dell has a good > > price I usually order from them and have it delivered. > > > > What would you advise? > > > > TIA > > > > ROcky > > > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > dba-Tech mailing list > > dba-Tech at databaseadvisors.com > > http://databaseadvisors.com/mailman/listinfo/dba-tech > > Website: http://www.databaseadvisors.com > > > _______________________________________________ > dba-Tech mailing list > dba-Tech at databaseadvisors.com > http://databaseadvisors.com/mailman/listinfo/dba-tech > Website: http://www.databaseadvisors.com > > _______________________________________________ > dba-Tech mailing list > dba-Tech at databaseadvisors.com > http://databaseadvisors.com/mailman/listinfo/dba-tech > Website: http://www.databaseadvisors.com > _______________________________________________ dba-Tech mailing list dba-Tech at databaseadvisors.com http://databaseadvisors.com/mailman/listinfo/dba-tech Website: http://www.databaseadvisors.com