On Monday 17 September 2001 12:19 pm, Terry Smith escribi�:
> Ah, what's a newbie to do in searching for the best box :-)).
Your own research. Arguing what's best is right up there with
religion and politics ;> Even worse, what's 'best' hardware is a fast
moving target, and getting faster. Bottom line is you do the choosing.
You just said more'n you might realize tho. The 'best box' starts with
a good case and power supply.
> OK, I've calmed down on the RAID configuration. Clearly I'm not ready
> for RAID (or RAID's not ready for me).
RAID is fine, Linux has had it for a long time. You just don't need
or want windoze hardware to accomplish it, even with windoze. Study up
on 'Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks' + linux'. Google's your
friend ;> IMO tho, it's not needed or desirable for a desktop system.
> Tom made the excellent suggestion that I review what AMD was
> recommending. They reccommend 4 Asus boards three of which use the
> VIA KT133 chipset and the other the AMD-761/VIA-686B. The only
> recommended board that uses the Ali chipset is one offered by
> EliteGroup. How do I interpret this info?
They recommend various boards based on the cpu to be used. IOW's, one
board that is approved for a 1.0gig/200FSB Tbird, might not be for a
1.4/266. Still, this is no guarantee. Boards that were approved were
dropped as soon as new problems came to light with their design (eg,
Abit KT7*).
If you're tryin to use a lot of legacy hardware (as I did), the
kt133a chipset could be a good choice. If you build completely from
scratch, I believe I'd go with a K266a board at the present moment.
BUT, like I alluded to above, hardware is a rapidly moving target. Your
choices should be based on your own needs and research when you're
ready to buy and build.
I mainly suggest AMD approval because as fast as hardware options
change, I'd still be hesitant to jump into the latest and greatest
without some assurance that it's good, reliable, and somebody's tested
it first. For this I give 'official' approval must greater weight than
users experience. People tend to defend their recent purchases.
Case in point, the very recent exuberance over the SiS 735 chipset
boards from ECS. They're already showing performance and compatibilty
problems in just a matter of weeks. Also, be leary of the major
hardware pages. They're mainly win-hardware reviews, even if they give
Linux a mention.
> Tom (in a note in June) and Charles both suggest rolling my own. That
> may be wise but I've never done it before (well I did hand modify my
> Kaypro - cutting some traces on the mobo -soldering in a new clock -
> but that was a long time ago!).
You have nothin to fear but fear itself. Buildin a computer is
simple if you're at all handy with a screw driver. Here again, Google
is your friend, http://www.google.com/search?q=build+computer
Like with anything tho, preparation is 90% of the job. Study up.
FWIW, I recently built a 1.4, overclocked to 1.55 gig Tbird on a
Soyo K7VTA Pro reusing old sdram. I'm happy as heck with it. BUT that
was some months ago. My choices today might be quite different. I
sort'a keep my ear to the ground all the time, but I spent six months
of intensive research before making choices and actually buying my
current hardware. Well, 'cept for my decision to go over to the dark
side and buy a Geforce2. Their Linux support sux. I knew better.
I've been 'rolling my own' for years (since 386 was the hot setup,
oc'ing 'em all), and I've found it's sometimes better to shun the
latest and greatest, in favor of the tried and true. I'd also advise
that your decisions should be with a eye toward where you'll be
hardware wise in a year or two. As soon as you screw the cover on and
boot your new system for the first time .... it's obsolete.
--
Tom Brinkman Galveston Bay, USA
Admiral Yamamoto: "I fear that all we have done is to awaken a
sleeping giant, and filled him with a terrible resolve."
Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft?
Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
