On Wed, May 2, 2012 at 5:42 PM, Jack Coats <[email protected]> wrote: > I am considering purchasing a reasonable new (or nice used) machine > with a recent version of CPU that can do 64 bit and run ritualized > systems. > > Does someone have suggestions of appropriate systems? Mother boards? CPU's?
I gave up trying to build my own systems several years ago, once I realized that if I shopped smart, I could get something that would last me for many years and would actually have a bit of hardware support, should something go wrong. I'm currently addicted to my Dell PowerEdge T110 II. My main goal here was ensuring that I did not immediately have to upgrade it to its maximum capabilities, which means I have somewhere to grow. Some points from my purchase experience: 1) Servers are one of the few machines you can buy without paying the Microsoft tax. I can honestly say that Windows was never installed on my hard drive, not even at the factory. 2) Servers don't come with sound cards. However, cheap ($10-$15) USB sound adapters are supported in Linux quite well. I'm not an audio production engineer, but this is sufficient for my needs. 3) Your best price bet for expandability is to buy the processor you need from the manufacturer and forget the hard drive and memory upgrades. These can be obtained aftermarket for a much better price than the manufacturer can offer you. Currently, my desktop has 16GB of RAM and a Quad-core 3.3GHz Xeon processor, which, with hyperthreading enabled, acts like an 8-core. It will support 32GB of RAM, should I ever wish to expand it. I suspect, given the pace of technology, that this will serve my needs for at least the next 3-5 years, if not longer. -Tilghman -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "NLUG" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/nlug-talk?hl=en
