Ohio Chatter
Ohio Chatter

Forums

All Threads Serious Business Sports Politics Archive Pick 'ems
Log In Create Account

Building a computer, give me recommendations...

Home ▸ Archive ▸ Serious Business ▸ Building a computer, give me recommendations...
justincredible's avatar

justincredible

Nick Mangold

32,056 posts
Jul 12, 2010 10:13 PM
Looking to build a Linux (Ubuntu) machine that will eventually dual boot with Windows 7. I've never built before so I'm looking for some help.

I am currently thinking of going with the following:

AMD Athalon II X2 dual core processor
Either an ASUS or GIGABYTE motherboard
2x 2GB Memory (Patriot, Mushkin, Crucial, etc. Whatever I can find a good deal on)
1 (or 2x) 1TB hard drive
Lite-On DVD/CD burner
Probably some sort of all-in-one card reader
Epson 5.25" floppy drive 'cause it's cutting edge

Need some reco's on cases, maybe video cards, as well as opinions on what I've already listed. The dual core Athalon has some great reviews and doesn't give you much of a performance hit compared to the Phenom processor. With the Phenom, though, you've got the chance of lucking into a dual core processor that can be unlocked into a tri or quad core.

I'm kinda liking these cases:
http://www.xoxide.com/aerocool-m40-cube-black.html
http://www.xoxide.com/thermaltake-lanbox-lite-window.html
http://www.xoxide.com/aspire-x-qpack-case-silver.html

I also like this style, but it's not a micro-ATX:
http://www.xoxide.com/sunbeam-ufo-cube-case-clear.html
Jul 12, 2010 10:13pm
Mooney44Cards's avatar

Mooney44Cards

Senior Member

2,754 posts
Jul 12, 2010 10:16 PM
What are you using the machine for? That might help with recommendations.
Jul 12, 2010 10:16pm
justincredible's avatar

justincredible

Nick Mangold

32,056 posts
Jul 12, 2010 10:23 PM
Mooney44Cards;421862 wrote:What are you using the machine for? That might help with recommendations.

Yeah, good call. I thought I put that in my post.

It'll mostly be an open source web development machine so I'll be running stuff like Netbeans, some sort of MySQL GUI, GIMP (and/or CS5 once I put on windows). Probably use in to download movies/music and possibly stream music. It won't be used watching movies so I don't necessarily need to run HD video.
Jul 12, 2010 10:23pm
J

June18

Senior Member

298 posts
Jul 12, 2010 10:31 PM
AMD Athalon II X2 dual core processor
Either an ASUS or GIGABYTE motherboard
2x 2GB Memory (Patriot, Mushkin, Crucial, etc. Whatever I can find a good deal on)
1 (or 2x) 1TB hard drive
Lite-On DVD/CD burner
Probably some sort of all-in-one card reader
Epson 5.25" floppy drive 'cause it's cutting edge


=


ラドクリフ、マラソン五輪代表に1万m出場にも含み
Jul 12, 2010 10:31pm
M

MontyBrunswick

Jul 12, 2010 11:48 PM
I'll whip up a build for you. What are you willing to spend? Do you need a keyboard, mouse, speakers, monitor?
Jul 12, 2010 11:48pm
Apple's avatar

Apple

Prost!

2,620 posts
Jul 12, 2010 11:54 PM
Just get a mac and be done with it already.

:p
Jul 12, 2010 11:54pm
justincredible's avatar

justincredible

Nick Mangold

32,056 posts
Jul 12, 2010 11:55 PM
dlazz;421941 wrote:I'll whip up a build for you. What are you willing to spend? Do you need a keyboard, mouse, speakers, monitor?

Keep it budget-minded, though I don't really have a limit on what I am willing to spend. I won't be doing any gaming (outside of some emulation) so it doesn't have to be really high powered. I'll eventually need monitors, I'll be going with a dual monitor setup mounted to the wall. I am not worried about getting them yet, I've got one I can use until I find a great deal. Won't need keyboard, mouse or speakers.
Jul 12, 2010 11:55pm
justincredible's avatar

justincredible

Nick Mangold

32,056 posts
Jul 12, 2010 11:56 PM
Apple;421948 wrote:Just get a mac and be done with it already.

I have one already (macbook pro). I'd like to have another machine, though.
Jul 12, 2010 11:56pm
M

MontyBrunswick

Jul 13, 2010 12:15 AM
Here's a quick build. I pretty much stuck with AMD stuff and sorted everything that you didn't specify about by "Best Rating/Top Seller". If the price seems high to you, you can afford to knock the processor down a peg or two, and lose one of the TB drives.

I also didn't pick a video card as you didn't specify what all you intended on doing with it. If no games, you could opt for this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102829

If you want to dive into games in the future, the GTX 260 (216 Core) is one of the better "bang for the buck" cards, but it'll set you back almost $180
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133270



Oh, should also mention the case. I only picked it because I have the same one and I know it doesn't suck. That's another way you can knock a few bucks off here or there.
Jul 13, 2010 12:15am
justincredible's avatar

justincredible

Nick Mangold

32,056 posts
Jul 13, 2010 12:23 AM
Is the Phenom x4 at $180 worth that extra money compared to an Athalon x2 at $59 (I think)? I was likely going to go with a dual core regardless, and most benchmarks put the Athalon less than 10% behind the Phenom overall.
Jul 13, 2010 12:23am
M

MontyBrunswick

Jul 13, 2010 12:29 AM
There will be a substantial difference in applications that are designed for use in multi-core systems...

So if you're doing stuff like encoding video or ripping music or things like that, you'd see a difference.

If you're doing other stuff you won't notice much of a difference.

This is the reason that you don't see much of a difference in benchmarking applications, because they're designed for single-core environments.

The board is a AM3 board...so even if you opt for a cheaper processor, you could always drop a "better' processor in there fairly easily later on down the road.

If you want a cheaper one, I'd opt for this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103847

FWIW: I have a quad-core Phenom and it demonstrates when it's awesome to have the four cores, and when it isn't.

For instance, I game. Most games are NOT designed for multiple cores. However, if a process gets hung in the background and is sitting there chewing up CPU cycles, I rarely notice it because it's only tying up one of my four available cores. I've had VLC hang on me multiple times and I only notice it when I glance down at my CPU usage and see its constantly at 25%
Jul 13, 2010 12:29am
justincredible's avatar

justincredible

Nick Mangold

32,056 posts
Jul 13, 2010 12:35 AM
That Phenom is one of the "unlockable" processors that I was looking into. Sure, the chances of getting one that actually has extra usable cores is low, but even if I don't get lucky it's still a great processor and a nice price.
Jul 13, 2010 12:35am
M

MontyBrunswick

Jul 13, 2010 12:38 AM
You just have to weigh the pros and cons of each one. They both will shine in their own aspects. Once more applications start utilizing multiple cores, the quad-core I picked out would run laps around the dual-core.

Not sure how that is in the linux world, but in Windows world progress is slow.
Jul 13, 2010 12:38am
justincredible's avatar

justincredible

Nick Mangold

32,056 posts
Jul 13, 2010 12:46 AM
Linux is slow as well, I think. I think for what I want, at least for now, a dual core is more than enough. It's what I am running on my Macbook Pro and I don't have any issue running Netbeans, Sequel Pro, MAMP, Gimp, 3 browsers, itunes, multiple terminal instances, Preview, and more at the same time.
Jul 13, 2010 12:46am
justincredible's avatar

justincredible

Nick Mangold

32,056 posts
Jul 13, 2010 12:47 AM
And, so long as the mobo is compatible with both I could just slap in a new processor in the future, like you said.
Jul 13, 2010 12:47am
M

MontyBrunswick

Jul 13, 2010 12:54 AM
as long as you match the socket on the motherboard (AM2, AM2+, AM3) to the one on the processor (in this case they're both AM3's) it should work. It may require a BIOS flash, but that's only going to be in rare circumstances with relatively new processors.

Since nothing we've discussed is that "new", you should be fine.

I did "aim high" on almost all of the components though. If you want to shave a few bucks off here and there the processor would be the first place to start, followed by hard drive and case.

I'd leave the power supply untouched. You can find cheaper ones, but you absolutely do NOT want to cheap out on the power supply.
Jul 13, 2010 12:54am
justincredible's avatar

justincredible

Nick Mangold

32,056 posts
Jul 13, 2010 12:55 AM
Good to know on the PSU, I would've probably tried to cheap out on it. Makes sense to spend for a better one, though.
Jul 13, 2010 12:55am
J

Jawbreaker

Senior Member

520 posts
Jul 13, 2010 8:47 AM
I used to be an AMD guy but I just did a computer build at home using a i3 core cpu and I am glad I did. Runs very cool and so far does a great job with the everyday computing as well as some video. I am still using a AMD chips in my 3 Ubuntu Server setups but as of right now, that will change in the future. I have also had great luck with Gigabyte boards and the one Asus board I use isn't too bad either.

Are you thinking of a RAID setup at all? Ubuntu has a decent software RAID (if you don't want to invest in a hardware RAID setup) and with how cheap hard drives are, it isn't a big price hit on the overall build.

I also usually use a Antec case for my builds. Very easy to work with and their power supplies have not let me down yet.
Jul 13, 2010 8:47am
TedSheckler's avatar

TedSheckler

Emporium Entrepreneur

3,974 posts
Jul 13, 2010 8:55 AM
And I can recommend building in a full tower. I will never go back to a mid tower. I build one with a ThermalTake Armor. http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=n82e16811133154 Looks like it's not available anymore, but they have similar cases.
Jul 13, 2010 8:55am
justincredible's avatar

justincredible

Nick Mangold

32,056 posts
Jul 13, 2010 9:15 AM
Space concerns will probably limit me to a mid tower.
Jul 13, 2010 9:15am
justincredible's avatar

justincredible

Nick Mangold

32,056 posts
Jul 13, 2010 9:15 AM
I Wear Pants;422005 wrote:Go with at least a Phenom these days. Also, as far as graphics cards go. Read this: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-radeon-hd-geforce-gtx,2676.html

What flavor of Ubuntu are you going to run?

Just regular Ubuntu. What's it up to now, Lucid Lynx or something?
Jul 13, 2010 9:15am
M

MontyBrunswick

Jul 13, 2010 11:06 AM
Latest Ubuntu is 10.04. Lucid Lynx sounds right
Jul 13, 2010 11:06am
I

I Wear Pants

Senior Member

16,223 posts
Jul 13, 2010 12:04 PM
Yeah, Lucid Lynx is right. I remember being all excited to install the new 7.04 Feisty Fawn back in 2007.
Jul 13, 2010 12:04pm