Question:
New Linux/Whatever-I-want computer?
Hi, I am currently in college and I was considering putting together a medium end system to use as a Linux/whatever-the-hell-I-want box.
I am looking for hardware recommendations for my new machine.
I'm probably going to be running across some money between now and christmas so I figured that after the holiday season I would be able to put together a new computer (on the cheap) before I had to go back to school. I was wanting to get the system for no more than $500 USD (preferably less!) That doesn't necessarily have to include the monitor, but should include a case, PSU, and the rest of the 'guts' of the computer.
I already have a nice new Dell E1505 that I don't really want to mess up too much. I was dualbooting Ubuntu and XP on it, but I only have a 60GB hard drive. I was running out of space and because of school programs and games, XP won. I've been wanting to have a dedicated linux machine for a long time now. I've also always wanted to mess around with overclocking and several other little odds and ends. The computer would be used for listening to music, surfing the net, the occasional school assignment, light gaming (It's linux, I'm not expecting games), maybe some photoshop, recording TV (I already have a PCI tv tuner card), encoding music and movies. You know, the basics and some more processor intensive tasks. I don't think the budget is too bad considering I don't need a super expensive video card or CPU.
The hardware doesn't have to be anywhere near the highend at all (the closer the better obviously, but I'm not going to spend money on something that won't help me).
I was thinking about getting a system made around a pentium D 805 (or maybe an AMD 64 3000 venice) because they are so inexpensive, and can be overclocked like nobody's business. I was also thinking about getting a nvidia video card since their linux driver/compatibility is a lot better than ATI (I love ATI cards, but getting one to work in linux is more trouble than it should be...) What nvidia card to buy is up for debate. I was thinking the 7600GT was the best card I could possibly afford with my budget. A lesser card would probably suit my needs just fine so I'll probably save the money. A relatively large HDD (160GB or more) would be nice also, but they're so cheap now that it's probably not a problem.
What hardware combo would you use given my budget and my needs? Is the D805 (price/overclocking) a good choice or should I go for a newer or older CPU? Which nvidia (7 series or 6 series?) card would you reccomend? I'll probably go ahead and get a pci express mobo. How much RAM do I need (I was thinking 1GB would be good). Which motherboard do I need (has to be a decent overclocking board and the more features the better)? This whole system is about price/performance within limits. I need a DVD burner also
All recommendations are welcome (even if you tell me just to shut up and wait a while before buying anything), and if you have any questions I'll be happy to answer back ASAP.
Thanks in advance,
Robert
Answer:
Re: New Linux/Whatever-I-want computer?
Well, you certainly like to write lol
I would get the following:
ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard
AMD Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego 2.2GHz 1MB L2 Cache Socket 939 Processor
G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel Kit System Memory
Western Digital Caviar RE WD1600YS 160GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
LITE-ON 16X DVD±R DVD Burner W/ 5X DVD-RAM Write Black ATAPI/E-IDE
eVGA 256-P2-N615-TX GeForce 7600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card
FSP Group (Fortron Source) AX500-A, 2.0 version, 2 SATA, PCI Express, 500W
Put 64 bit Kubuntu or Ubuntu (depending on whether you like GNOME or KDE). That rig will fly like there is no tomorrow. The A8N Deluxe should get you good overclocking features, and you should get to 2.4 GHz on stock cooling (with arcticksilver 5), and you could probably get 2.6 GHz with a Zalman cooler. I wouldn't get the 805, only because you can't put the 64 bit kernel on it. Remember, Linux uses all your installed RAM, so getting 2 GB will be a big improvement over 1 GB even if you don't game. Also, the 160 GB hard drive should be fine. I am running Kubuntu on a 15 GB partition with the K7 kernel on my Aspire 3000 with the specs below, and it is fast. I can't imagine how fast it would be on that rig.
http://www.ubuntu.com/
http://www.kubuntu.org/
Answer:
Re: New Linux/Whatever-I-want computer?
Thanks for the quick reply.
@TwilightVampire: Any more details on the AM2 system for only $510? Sounds like you got a pretty sweet deal to me.
How about good overclocking AM2 motherboards?
Biostar seems to make some great AM2 boards. I'm using the following board. Its rock stable and has an awesome overclock bios. Its price went up a few bucks though :(
I only have 1 gig of RAM however. Corsair XMS.
I'm using a Radeon x1600pro for video however.
I also have a cheep case. And a Sony DVD drive.