[OT]: Memory & Performance

[Chris]

On Wednesday, 4 September 2013 at 13:11:36 UTC, Wyatt wrote:
> On Wednesday, 4 September 2013 at 08:48:52 UTC, Chris wrote:
>> On Wednesday, 4 September 2013 at 06:47:15 UTC, Jacob Carlborg 
>> wrote:
>>> On 2013-09-03 23:10, Chris wrote:
>>>
>>>> The machine I was looking at is this one:
>>>>
>>>> https://www.system76.com/laptops/model/gazp9#
>>>
>>> A laptop! Buy parts a build your own desktop :)
>>
>> You are actually right. I should look into that possibility 
>> too, given the pricing policy most companies have. Thanks for 
>> the comment. Do you have any tips or useful links?
>>
> Yeah, if you don't need portability AND lots of power, I still 
> think a desktop is the way to go.  For a laptop, I prioritise 
> battery life and weight above all else, these days; if I need 
> heavy lifting, I'll just SSH into my desktop.  Best part is, 
> that portable unit only sets you back about the difference 
> between a high-end laptop and its desktop equivalent.
>
> If this isn't an urgent purchase, definitely watch for sales 
> and discounts; play your cards right, and you should be able to 
> get a nice Haswell box for about $600 with a display.
>
> You've more-or-less missed the US Labour Day sales, so the next 
> big "events" will probably be Halloween, and then Black Friday 
> (which is completely bonkers).  Outside of that, weekly 
> specials are...well, weekly (though usually weak).
>
> Outside of the big names, pricewatch [0] and slickdeals [1] are 
> probably still useful for finding low prices, though you'll end 
> up chasing across a bunch of different retailers on that path.  
> Another useful tool is the "Camelizer" [2], to see price 
> history for a potential buy.
>
> If you let up know roughly where in the world you are, someone 
> else may have some idea of what retailers will let you dodge 
> overseas shipping costs if it's a pressing concern.
>
> On to matters of part selection, since it sounds like your 
> first build, some general tips:
> - As a rule of thumb, if it's a "generic" brand part, avoid it 
> like the plague.  If there's one lesson I've learned, you tend 
> to get what you pay for with computer parts (...up to a point.  
> Those 6-core Xeons aren't really priced to move).  If you're 
> unsure, look up reviews on Newegg and Amazon.
> - Don't get _too_ caught up in the numbers. A couple hundred 
> MHz one way or another on a part won't be world-changing.  On 
> the other hand you're probably not going to buy a new machine 
> for a few years and my experience is you won't bother upgrading 
> anything but RAM and maybe GPU.
> - Do make sure to get a decent power supply.  A crappy PSU will 
> cause headaches and instability.  Pay special attention to the 
> PFC rating: efficient power delivery is good unless you live in 
> a state where electricity is dirt cheap.  Also keep an eye out 
> for "Modular" PSUs, which is a nice perk for keeping internal 
> cable clutter low.
> - Get a decent power supply even if one comes with whatever 
> case you buy (some people don't like their machines to be a 
> pile of parts on the desk.  I call them "uninspired" ;) ). The 
> pack-in PSU tends to be awful (as a rule of thumb, if it's not 
> heavier than it looks, it's rubbish).
> - I'd avoid motherboards from Foxconn, Biostar, and ECS.  
> Budget manufacturers, and I've had poor reliability from them 
> in the past.
> - For Linux, particularly pay attention to the network hardware 
> on the motherboard.  Buying something with Broadcom is playing 
> with fire.  Atheros and Intel are your friends.
> - If you don't need high-end graphics, the on-die Intel or AMD 
> solution should serve well. (It's too bad the Iris Pro trim 
> isn't available on the Haswell desktop parts; that even stacks 
> up favourably against low-mid tier GPUs).
> - The stock cooler that comes with a modern CPU is actually 
> fairly decent.  No need to get an aftermarket version.
> - A basic cheapo case is plenty for probably 95% of builds.  If 
> you can get one with a removable motherboard tray, that's a 
> nice feature, but not essential.
> - If you need a discrete GPU and you're using Linux, I'd 
> personally look for some kind of fanless Radeon. I find the 
> general driver situation is just better for AMD cards.
> - There's a lot of fluctuation in display prices right now, but 
> getting one for under a hundred bucks is probably doable.
> - You probably don't even need an optical device these days.  
> Just boot from a USB stick.
>
> Hope that helps!
>
> -Wyatt
>
> [0] http://www.pricewatch.com/
> [1] http://slickdeals.net/
> [2] http://us.camelcamelcamel.com/camelizer

Thanks a million.

PS The location would be Republic of Ireland (UK should be fine 
too, shipping wise).