You probably want to look at an Intel Sandybridge CPU - one ending in "K" - very power efficient. I just built a new machine for Deb using a i5 2500K. This is a 4 core, 6M cache at 3.3Ghz. There is also an i7 version but it was way more compute power and money than she needed. I coupled that with a Intel DZ68BC motherboard because I wanted to take advantage of Intel's Rapid Storage Technology for RAID and at the same time use a 40GB SSD for caching the RAID array on the way to the CPU. The nice thing about this set up is that I did not need to buy a graphics card. This CPU and motherboard combo has a decent (no gaming) graphics performance with HDMI, DVI, and DisplayPort ports on the motherboard. There might be motherboards with more features such as ASUS or Gigabyte using the same chipset, but when I read the support forums, too many people were having trouble with Intel's RST. My stuff booted and ran perfectly on the first try. I put in 8GB of memory for $50. The PSU I used was an Antec EA650 (650 watt) which cost $75.
You can compare CPU performance, bang for the buck, including AMD at http://www.cpubenchmark.net/. This was a Windows 7 machine so I can't say anything about its Ubuntu or Linux virtualization capabilities. The hardware was very mainstream so I would be surprised if it would give Ubuntu a problem. Hal On Sun, Mar 18, 2012 at 4:12 PM, Joseph Apuzzo <[email protected]> wrote: > Two questions: > > 1) I use my computer for variable amounts of time 2 - 20 minutes and for > no reason ( as it can just be idling ) it reboots. The one thing I know > does that is a main voltage drop to the CPU. Does it sound like a bad MB or > Power supply? Please note that this box has been un-opened for 3+ years so > there was no recent change ( other then the last Ubuntu update ). Problem > is I can't really do anything before it reboots > > 2) I am not going to put $$$ in to 5+ year old hardware. What is the > current must have Intel chipset / CPU ( not looking for top of the line ) > Want to continue exploring Programming via Virtualization so I'm thinking > Intel 4 core with a new nvidia GPU. So I'm looking for mother board chip > set and nvidia recommendations, since I really think it's time for a new > system ( well that is parts Power, MB, CPU, Memory, GPU ) > > -- > /** Joe Apuzzo > ** Call: KD2AKU > ** PGP/GPG: key ID BB5C7 > **/ > > > _______________________________________________ > Mid-Hudson Valley Linux Users Group http://mhvlug.org > http://mhvlug.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mhvlug > > Upcoming Meetings (6pm - 8pm) Vassar College > Apr 4 - An Intro to Chef > May 2 - Git > Jun 6 - June 2012 Meeting > > -- No trees were killed in the sending of this message, but a large number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced
_______________________________________________ Mid-Hudson Valley Linux Users Group http://mhvlug.org http://mhvlug.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mhvlug Upcoming Meetings (6pm - 8pm) Vassar College Apr 4 - An Intro to Chef May 2 - Git Jun 6 - June 2012 Meeting
