[clue-tech] Suggestion for upcoming presentation - build you own PC

[chris fedde]

If you know the overall process, then selecting parts is pretty
subjective.  As long as all the parts fit together you'll end up with
a working configuration.   As with any engineering activity, selecting
parts for a system is a matter of designing for the goals and
constraints.  If you have some goals in mind then you can select parts
differently to accommodate those goals.

For the average desktop linux system even the most basic low end
components will probably meet the average to mid level users goals.
For your first system I'd recommend using a supplier like NewEgg and
pick parts that have good recommendations.  (http://www.newegg.com/)

There is a lot of discussion on the relative merits of different cpu,
ram, and other component choices. But when it comes down to making a
final choice, a system built today at some given price point will far
outperform a system built two years ago at the same price point.  And
two different systems built today at that same price point will
perform very similarly.

For detailed discussion of various components I'd recommend Tom's Hardware Guide
(www.tomshardware.com/) Several times a year Tom's publishes a guide
for building a number of systems at different price points.  Here, for
example, is their recommendations for a $400 "Game" system:
 http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-pc-build-a-pc-overclock,2739.html

Shake well before using
cfedde

On Sat, Nov 6, 2010 at 9:15 PM, Mike Bean <beandaemon at gmail.com> wrote:
> I'd be curious not so much for the process, just to get a good idea about
> recommended parts.
>
> On Sat, Nov 6, 2010 at 9:01 PM, chris fedde <chris at fedde.us> wrote:
>>
>> I'd be happy to help anyone who wants to put together a linux PC.
>> It's really pretty straight forward once you know the moving parts.
>> I suppose that the process could be bundled into a presentation for
>> CLUE.  if there is any interest I can work up such a presentation.
>>
>> chris
>>
>> On Sat, Nov 6, 2010 at 2:48 PM,  <wpsmithii at msn.com> wrote:
>> > Hi Collins, I've built a few and have repaired some as well. I think the
>> > trick is to pay attention to current pricing (micro center, tiger direct and
>> > newegg are the ones I watch) and buy the best components you can afford at
>> > the time. It changes from moment to moment. Bill Smith
>> > Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®
>> >
>> > -----Original Message-----
>> > From: Collins Richey <crichey at gmail.com>
>> > Sender: clue-tech-bounces at cluedenver.org
>> > Date: Sat, 6 Nov 2010 11:42:53
>> > To: CLUE technical discussion<clue-tech at cluedenver.org>
>> > Reply-To: CLUE technical discussion <clue-tech at cluedenver.org>
>> > Subject: [clue-tech] Suggestion for upcoming presentation - build you
>> > own PC
>> >
>> > Perhaps others are in the same boat as I am. I've spent 10+ years
>> > tinkering with Linux, etc., and I've done some repairs on PC's, but
>> > I'm still a complete dummy when it comes to selecting cases,
>> > motherboards, etc., etc. I'm in the market for building a new PC, and
>> > I'm sure there might be others who would love to know more about this
>> > arcane science!
>> >
>> > What I'm looking for is a good virtual base to make it easy to tinker
>> > with various OS, so there would be plenty of ram, fast CPU with
>> > virtual assist, large drives (maybe RAID). I'm not interested in one
>> > of the giant gaming cases with flashing lights, but rather a medium
>> > sized box (either mid tower or one of the newer cube shapes) with
>> > quiet fans and lots of usb connectors since almost everything plugs
>> > into USB these days. Probably a quad-core cpu with something like 8G
>> > memory. Many of the available standard boxes from the big hitter
>> > manufacturers have disabled virtual assist, so their boxes are
>> > worthless for my wants and needs. There must be 100K or greater
>> > options for this type of equipment, and how does an amateur/idiot go
>> > about selecting select the right thing?
>> >
>> > So, would one or some of you guys who have hardware savvy please put
>> > together a presentation, perhaps something like the following?
>> >
>> > * how to select cases, power supplies, motherboards, etc.
>> > * best sources for equipment
>> > * techniques for building
>> > * gotchas
>> > * etc.
>> >
>> > --
>> > Collins Richey
>> >      If you fill your heart with regrets of yesterday and the worries
>> >      of tomorrow, you have no today to be thankful for.
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