[CLUE-Cert] new box

[Dennis J Perkins]

Sean LeBlanc wrote:

>On 07-05 14:20, Dennis J Perkins wrote:
>  
>
>>I finally started ordering parts for a new box.  I did choose the Hornet 
>>case by Monarch Computing with an MSI motherboard for an Athlon 64 and 1 
>>GB of memory and a Plextor DVD burner. 
>>
>>I haven't decided on a hard drive yet.  Hitachi has a nice 160 GB SATA 
>>drive at 7200 RPM with avg access time of 8.5 msec for about $92 from 
>>New Egg, but Western Digital has a 74 GB SATA with 10000 RPM and average 
>>access time of 4.5 msec at $188.  I don't know if I want the capacity or 
>>the performance more.
>>    
>>
>
>Are there any heat or noise issues with the 10000 RPM? I think Doug
>suggested something like getting one more for "storage" and one that would
>have to be faster...of course, that involves buying two drives...
>
>  
>
Most of the comments posted by buyers of the WD drive said that it is no 
louder than older drives and some said it is quieter.  Buyers of the 160 
GB Hitachi seemed impressed with how quiet it is.  I haven't heard much 
about how much heat te Hitachi generates, altho someone said that a 
10000 RPM drive will generate more heat that a 7200 RPM.  That is not an 
absolute, however.  If you can pack more data on fewer disks, a faster 
drive might generate less heat.  And it sounds like WD managed that by 
producing a drive that only stores 78 GB, hence less platters.

I'm not building a PVR like you and Doug, so I don't know if I will 
approach drives the same way Doug is.  The motherboard I chose does have 
RAID-0 and RAID-1, so I could get two WD for a total of 140 GB, but that 
would cost about $336.

>Speaking of heat/noise issues, what's the word on the Athlon 64 and heat?
>  
>

I haven't heard much about how much heat the Athlon 64 generates, but I 
did see one posting that claimed that it generates less heat than the 
older Athlon chips.

> 
>  
>
>>I haven't chosen a video card either.  I'm not a gamer, so the high end 
>>cards don't interest me.  I have had excellent luck with Matrox in the 
>>past, but it looks like the newer Matroxes are not supported in 
>>XFree86.  Any suggestions?
>>
>>I'm hoping I can bring the system to our next meeting.
>>    
>>
>
>Sweet! I look forward to that. 
>
>I was going to start buying stuff as well, but unexpected car repairs (when
>are they ever expected?) set me back a bit...
>
>  
>
Three-paycheck month. :)