[GTALUG] NUC NUC NUC

[Giles Orr]

On Fri, 17 May 2019 at 11:38, Lennart Sorensen via talk <talk at gtalug.org>
wrote:

> On Fri, May 17, 2019 at 05:05:52AM -0400, Evan Leibovitch via talk wrote:
> > Hi all,
> >
> > I'm looking to upgrade my PC that's served me well for about 8 years, but
> > it's starting to be unreliable and I can't upgrade the RAM beyond 4GB. So
> > I'm looking at a new desktop system that will be used mainly for
> > many-tabs-open browsing and multimedia editing using openshot, audacity,
> > etc. Of course must run Linux well.
> >
> > I am currently looking at two NUC-form-factor barebones systems that use
> > the 8th gen Intel i7, an Intel model available through CC
> > <
> https://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=570_7_1203_1157&item_id=130569
> >
> > and a Zotac model available from Amazon
> > <https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B079H24SWZ/>. Both are about the same price. I
> > would be installing 16GB RAM, an SSD and two screens.
> >
> > Can anyone offer any advice whether to go with one, the other, or
> neither?
> > Are there better places to buy?
>
> Are you particularly attached to the tiny size for any reason?
> Remember smaller always costs more for the same thing.
>
> My 6 year old laptop has higher specs than that NUC, never mind what my
> 6 year old desktop has in it.  I guess they were a bit overkill at the
> time and the reason I haven't had to upgrade anything in years (and
> still don't).
>

Lennart: One problem with claiming "my 6 year old X has higher specs" is
that it doesn't account for the generational differences in the Intel
chips.  Our desktops got "upgraded" at work, but I was thoroughly
unimpressed because we went from an i5 to an i5, and from 8G to 8G ... but
we also went from 3rd to 8th generation.  A clunky Python script I run
weekly to process web statistics went from 20 minutes to 2 minutes.  (Part
of this could be throughput on the motherboard, or from the change from
spinning disk to SSD, but I think it's mostly processor.)  An order of
magnitude is nothing to scoff at.

Evan: From a security point of view (Rowhammer, Fallout, RIDL, ZombieLoad
...) I would encourage you to consider an AMD processor.  (Or better yet,
ARM - but that's not really viable on the desktop yet.)  AMD isn't totally
immune to the plethora of recent attacks, but it's a lot better off.  (I
say this, but I'm writing you from an 8th gen i7 bought in the middle of
that series of appalling revelations.)

-- 
Giles
https://www.gilesorr.com/
gilesorr at gmail.com
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