OT: Need a new computer

[Lennart Sorensen]

On Mon, Dec 07, 2009 at 03:47:19PM -0500, William O'Higgins Witteman wrote:
> My desktop is acting more and more strangely, and it may be time for an
> upgrade - unfortunately, it is a cute, tiny unit that is not
> upgrade/fix-able, so I may need to start over.
> 
> If you were trying to *cheaply* get a Linux-compatible desktop together
> that I won't have to think about for another 4+ years, what would you
> get?
> 
> I would like to get something for under $400, taxes in.

I would save my money until I could afford something that would last.

> I would prefer dual core, but the most CPU-intensive thing my machine is
> used for is Flash video (which is a lot, for no good reason).
> 
> 2D graphics are fine.  This computer from Filtech looks reasonable:
> 
> Weekly Special B
> $289.99
> Intel E5200 Dual Core 2.5GHz
> Asus P5KPL-AM SE M/B
> Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator
> (Intel® GMA 3100) O/B
> Kingston 1G DDR2-667
> Seagate/WD 80G SATA2 HDD

Good grief, an 80GB drive costs like $5 less than a 160GB.  Way to cut
stupid corners for a price point.  Where did they even find one?

160GB WD: $51
320GB WD: $54
500GB WD: $61
640GB WD: $66

Notice how many dollers it cost to go from 160 to 640?  Would you save
$15 for a 75% drop in disk space?  The 80GB is just a couple of dollers
less and even worse of a deal.

Same for the slowpoke 667 DDR2 ram, and only 1GB?  I have bouthgt 4GB
kits of DDR2-800 for $50 or so.

Avoid the Pentium Dual Core in my opinion.  It is a seriously low end
chip with none of the new features.  Some of those new features can be
really handy.  I can't imagine buying a machine without VT support
anymore.

> LG or Eq. DVD-RW
> ATX Case A601 w/420W
> 
> I know that the CPU is a bit limited, but it will probably be fine (web
> development, Python scripts and minor statistical number crunching will
> be just fine).  The MB is ASUS, which I like, and the video card should
> be easy to support - the only downside is that the PSU and case are
> likely going to be cheap, but I can't have *everything*.
> 
> Any other suggestions?

Stay away from "specials".  Their only purpose is to get rid of leftover
junk no one in their right mind would buy anymore.

The nicest budget machine I have ever built was when a friend really
wanted a new gaming machine but for cheap.  It came in around $800 and
was certainly not top of the line for gaming, but it was probably within
50% of the top performance which was a lot less money wasn't bad.

Basics needed:
640GB WD: $66
Case: Whatever you like
Powersupply: Something good around 500W.  Expect around $90.  Silencer
500W or TurboCool 510W are nice reliable models.
Video card: If you don't need much, you can find lots of nice nvidia
cards for about $50 to $60.
DVD: $30 LG or whatever you like.
Mouse,keyboard: whatever you like
Total: $300 or so for the base stuff

Either obsolete dual core:
Mushkin EM2-6400 DDR2-800 4GB: $100
Core 2 E7600 (or E7500 or E7400 if you can find the model with VT since
it doesn't cost extra): $160.
Asus P5QL/EPU: $93
Total: $353 on top of the base.

Or modern quad core:
Intel Core i5 750: $230
Asus P7P55D LE: $140
G.Skill 2x2GB DDR3-10666: $100
Total: $470 on top of the base.

So for $700 to $800 or so you can get a modern CPU, 4GB of fast ram,
640GB disk space, dedicated video, high quality parts, rather than the
cheapest parts that could be put in a case to build a "working" computer.

-- 
Len Sorensen
--
The Toronto Linux Users Group.      Meetings: http://gtalug.org/
TLUG requests: Linux topics, No HTML, wrap text below 80 columns
How to UNSUBSCRIBE: http://gtalug.org/wiki/Mailing_lists