Those (at least) who kindly responded will remember my request
for advice re the new machine I am designing to run Gentoo.
After reading the replies & making some Internet inquiries,
I've revised my list of likely hardware to the following (prices CAD):
(1) Machine
(a) CPU -- Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 65 nm 2,67 GHz 4 MB : $ 235
(b) Mobo -- Asus P5K-VM DDR2 1066 MHz graphics : $ 134
(c) Memory -- Kingston DDR2 1066 MHz 2 x 512 MB dc kit : $ 132
(d) Graphics card -- none : graphics chip on mobo
(e) HDD -- Seagate 320 GB 16 MB 5-yr warranty : $ 86
(f) DVD-RW -- Samsung SH-S183A/BEBN DVD-W 8x CD-W 40x : $ 35
(g) Case -- CC Radiant P4 Mid 500 W : $ 36
(2) LCD Monitor
Samsung SyncMaster 931BW 19 in 1440x900 2 ms : $ 223
I plan to buy the pieces in the 2nd half of September,
hopefully after a further round of price cuts (grin).
My comments :
(1a) The Intel CPUs do indeed look better at present than the AMDs :
they seem to have as much speed, but make less heat;
also, the Intel has a 4 MB L2 cache usable by either processor,
whereas the AMD has 2 x 1 MB L2 caches, 1 for each processor;
also, the latest Intels support 1066 memory, which is now affordable;
last, Intel's PDF is dated 2007, but AMD's is 2005 & looks rather old.
(1bd) The mobo listed is described on the ASUS site under 'VGA' as
"Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3100
integrated High-definition video processing
with maximum resolution 2048 x 1536 bpp @ 75 Hz ;
maximum shared memory 256 MB ; supports OpenGL 1.5, Pixel Shader 2.0 ".
It appears that with this mobo I don't need a separate graphics card
unless I want very high-performance gaming or similar;
also, it uses open-source drivers (can anyone confirm?).
(1c) I'm usually using 300 - 400 / 1000 MB memory at present,
so this sb enough, while giving me higher speed + certified dual-channel.
(1e) Seagate does indeed have a much better warranty than WD.
The extra CAD for 250 -> 320 GB is proportionally much less
than for 320 -> 500 GB : currently, I'm happy with 40 GB (wry smile).
(1f) The store I go to in downtown Toronto has had a very good record
with everything I've bought since 2000 , so I'm willing to trust
their in-house cheap case + PSU to start with. If it overheats,
I can replace the PSU with a brand-name at that time.
There seems no reason to pay for a shiny exterior, extra bays, etc.
(2) My Samsung SyncMaster 550S CRT continues to give good service
after being in use continually for nearly 7 years.
Any further comments, suggestions or warnings are very welcome.
I hope the info is useful to others planning new boxes for Gentoo.
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SUPPORT ___________//___, Philip Webb : [EMAIL PROTECTED]
ELECTRIC /] [] [] [] [] []| Centre for Urban & Community Studies
TRANSIT `-O----------O---' University of Toronto
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