Advice on my new PC

[KillerSponge]

I'm currently ordering parts for my new pc. It's a bit hard to find out wheter a certain part works well in Ubuntu (Googling helps, but many times the article is outdated), so I was wondering if you guys could help me out.

This is what I currently have in mind:

Processor: Intel Core2Duo E8400
Motherboard: Gigabyte P35C-DS3R
Memory: OCZ 4GB 800mhz "Vista" (I know, I know, but it's cheap :-P)
Videocard: Asus Nvidia Geforce 8800GT 1GB
Harddrive: Samsung F1 750GB
Case: Coolermaster Cosmos 1000
PSU: Enermax Modu82+ 525W
CPU cooler: Scythe Ninja Mini
VGA cooler: Arctic-Cooling Accelero S1

Besides compatability, any other recommendations?

:)

[Game_boy]

If this is a long-term thing, don't you think AMD/ATI graphics would be a better choice? AMD has committed to freem, open-source and fully-featured drivers in the long run, and your card will be better supported than Nvidia after Nvidia drops support for your card.

Also, you will get AMD64 Ubuntu, right? 4GB of RAM cannot be fully used on an x86 OS.

[KillerSponge]

Yeah, I thought about the AMD/ATi thing, but I read numerous problems with current ATi drivers. The current nVidia drivers are working flawlessly at the moment. Also, I have rather good experiences with other nVidia cards. If ATi ever surpasses nVidia in driver performance, I might switch to ATi :)

And yes, I was indeed planning on using 64-bits Ubuntu, although I am prepared to (temporarily) switch over to 32-bits if certain hardware doesn't work.

:)

[herbster]

What is the intended usage of the computer? Will you be playing a buncha games with a dual boot/wine, watching HD video, tons of multitasking, etc.

[isecore]

If this is a long-term thing, don't you think AMD/ATI graphics would be a better choice? AMD has committed to freem, open-source and fully-featured drivers in the long run, and your card will be better supported than Nvidia after Nvidia drops support for your card.

Also, you will get AMD64 Ubuntu, right? 4GB of RAM cannot be fully used on an x86 OS.

When has Nvidia ever "dropped" support for a card? Their drivers support everything back to the Riva TNT, which is absolutely ancient. Unless you're planning on running the same graphics-card in a decade this is a completely moot point.

ATI is showing good promise, but as of current trends it is still quite a hassle to get ATI-cards running well in Linux. Of course I hope this will change soon, but Nvidia is currently the best choice if you're going to be doing more than just casual Linuxing.

[KillerSponge]

I will be dual-booting Windows and Ubuntu, Windows for playing games, and Ubuntu for the rest, the rest being just listening to music, surfing the web, chatting, and the scripting/programming (nothing heavy, mainly simple things). In the future I will probably watch HD video with it. :)

[madjr]

What is the intended usage of the computer? Will you be playing a buncha games with a dual boot/wine, watching HD video, tons of multitasking, etc.

did you see the specs?

all of that can be done :guitar:

this PC will work fine (but i would test the hard drive and video card first on a similar PC with a live-cd)

the problem with linux is usually peripherals...

[herbster]

But that's my point, why should he have an 8800GT if he for example wouldn't be playing games? It helps to know before one risks wasting money/spending on the wrong parts.

If you're set on those parts in your OP, then compatibility isn't an issue. I will, however, warn against Asus 8 series cards. I built my computer recently and purchased an Asus 8800GT 512, fine card an all, but they use a proprietary thermal sensor on the card, so you cannot read the temperature of the card without using their terrible Smart Doctor software in Windows. I cannot speak for that specific card but I cannot foresee them altering this aspect on a similar base card with nothing but some more VRAM.

It may seem slight, but it's incredibly stupid on their part. I exchanged for an eVGA and all is well now.

[KillerSponge]

Really? Why on earth would they do that... Ah well, I don't really plan on overclocking or anything, so I don't think I will be monitoring the temperature that much. Under Ubuntu, the card will hardly get stressed as I don't play games then, and under Windows I will just be forced to use their stupid proprietary software... Stupid, but the card is incredibly cheap ;)

Anyway, after reading your comments, I decided to take the plunge and order all the parts (cost me a lot of time to find a retailer that had the E8400 in stock... but I found one ;) ), so now I can't wait 'till they arrive :)

[LaRoza]

@OP It is all good hardware it seems, but if you don't do intense graphics, you might want a lesser video card. I use intergrated Intel video on all my computers (except the old iBook) and it works fine with Compiz and everything I do. If you are not a gamer or do a lot of video work, I would suggest getting a lesser video card, and saving money, or buying other hardware. I personally would go for more hard disks :-)

[KillerSponge]

I play a lot of RTS games (that's what the dual-boot is for, can't wait for game developers to support linux), so the graphics card is most certainly nescecary ;)

[LaRoza]

I play a lot of RTS games (that's what the dual-boot is for, can't wait for game developers to support linux), so the graphics card is most certainly nescecary ;)

Ok. Have fun with it :-)

[cprofitt]

I'm currently ordering parts for my new pc. It's a bit hard to find out wheter a certain part works well in Ubuntu (Googling helps, but many times the article is outdated), so I was wondering if you guys could help me out.

This is what I currently have in mind:

Processor: Intel Core2Duo E8400
Motherboard: Gigabyte P35C-DS3R
Memory: OCZ 4GB 800mhz "Vista" (I know, I know, but it's cheap :-P)
Videocard: Asus Nvidia Geforce 8800GT 1GB
Harddrive: Samsung F1 750GB
Case: Coolermaster Cosmos 1000
PSU: Enermax Modu82+ 525W
CPU cooler: Scythe Ninja Mini
VGA cooler: Arctic-Cooling Accelero S1

Besides compatability, any other recommendations?

:)

My only concern would be the potential power issues with the Enermax -- depending on how the 12v rails are done it may cause you an issue. I have a 550W though with my 8800GTS 320 and it is working fine.

I am not a big fan of Enermaz either... I would recommend the following:

SeaSonic S12 Energy Plus SS-550HT ATX12V / EPS12V 550W Power Supply 100 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151027)

FSP Group FX600-GLN V2.2/EPS12V 600W Power Supply 100 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817104014)

I linked them to Newegg.com which also has customer reviews of those units.

The case you chose is a very good one, I went with the P180b but yours was one I considered. The Coolermaster has a VGA wind tunnel and two upper fans, but the PSU is on the bottom like mine.

Good luck with your build!!

[KillerSponge]

How would the PSU be an issue? I looked it up, my system should pull around 250W at full load, so it should be fine, shouldn't it?

The Enermax had an extremely good review at silentpcreview.com, and since I am looking for a quiet PSU, I thought it was a pretty good choice.

[herbster]

PrivateVoid's concern is fairly valid, but not in your or most peoples' case. An SLI/Crossfire box or something at the minimum is where issues like that arise. The PSU is a strange situation in that most computer buyers never think of it, yet it's the most important component; and the crowd that does focus on its importance far too often overdoes the minutae.

[KillerSponge]

I still don't really get it. Even with an SLI setup, there is no way the setup would come near 425W. I know that PSU's are the most efficient at 50-60% load, so it would be wise to select a more powerfull PSU with such a setup, but still, it would work, right?

[cprofitt]

How would the PSU be an issue? I looked it up, my system should pull around 250W at full load, so it should be fine, shouldn't it?

The Enermax had an extremely good review at silentpcreview.com, and since I am looking for a quiet PSU, I thought it was a pretty good choice.

The issue is that a PSU has to break up its total power rating (550W) to the 3.3v, +5VSB, +5V, +12V, etc. Some PSUs do one powerful 12V rail and others use 2,3 or even 4 12V rails. If a unit is not spec'd properly on the 12V rail(s) you will have stability problems due to the draw being placed on them.

I chose an Antec PSU for silence (but only after the SeaSonic I wanted was out of stock and the initial report was that it was going to be 14+ days until it was in again). The SeaSonic I wanted was the S12 Energy+ 550 - which at the time was SilentPCreview.com's #1 ranked unit. The Enermax they have listed above it now is the 625W version -- so not sure if the one you are looking at is the same as far as fans, etc.

The Antec unit I have is very silent... the only noise I hear a year after getting the PC is the damn GPU fan.

[ice60]

When has Nvidia ever "dropped" support for a card? Their drivers support everything back to the Riva TNT, which is absolutely ancient. Unless you're planning on running the same graphics-card in a decade this is a completely moot point.
i thought it is quite common to stop providing security updates for older cards so you are forced to update, i've no idea how long it takes and if it's something to consider, i don't really know much about it lol. however, if ATI cards become supported for good on the linux side maybe Nvidia will do the same?

[herbster]

I still don't really get it. Even with an SLI setup, there is no way the setup would come near 425W. I know that PSU's are the most efficient at 50-60% load, so it would be wise to select a more powerfull PSU with such a setup, but still, it would work, right?

That's incorrect. They can push some heavy wattage when being overclocked, etc.

Like I said, PSU is super important, but no need to go overboard in the details. You've got a solid PSU that should be just fine.

[drascus]

well The Nvidia cards currently have good support and work very well. If AMD and ATI start supporting Free Software (Like I hope they will) you can sell the Hardware you have and swap in their stuff no big deal. I agree the integrated intel graphics cards are great and there is great support for them. I sometimes wish I had gone that route and saved myself a few bucks.

[KillerSponge]

Ok, well then I'm not going to cancel my PSU then, thanks for the advice though ;)

As for the nVidia vs. ATi thing: Open source drivers for ATi cards would be great, but they are just starting on that. It will take some time before there are some decent drivers to replace the proprietary drivers. When that time comes (and I need a graphics card update ;) ), I will go for ATi, but in the meantime, I will just go with nVidia, as they always served me right :)

Btw, I just got an e-mail that the E8400 is out of stock again, and I have to wait at least 10 days to get one... :(

[herbster]

The Nvidia/ATI stuff is complete nonsense. A company that has for the longest time ignored linux friggon announces a commitment to open-source, and suddenly the ones who have given us working, perfect drivers for a long time are the second choice. It's laughable.

Yeah, the E8400 was out of stock when I built my box too. I just opted for a Q6600, it was only like $30 more.

[Extreme Coder]

The Nvidia/ATI stuff is complete nonsense. A company that has for the longest time ignored linux friggon announces a commitment to open-source, and suddenly the ones who have given us working, perfect drivers for a long time are the second choice. It's laughable.

Yeah, the E8400 was out of stock when I built my box too. I just opted for a Q6600, it was only like $30 more.
It seems you're not so up to date.
1) AMD/ATi has released a lot of documents to their cards, and they're helping in coding the opensource RadeonHD driver, in fact, they just got 3D on R500 parts running lately!
2) ATi's FGLRX is no longer that bad. The performance is better than in Vista, and most of the old problems are not there anymore. AIGLX and Compiz are working fine now, they just have to solve minor issues now.

You can find out more at www.phoronix.com , there's benchmarks, news updates, and all that :)

[Tomatz]

3.54 MHz Zilog Z80A CPU

128K RAM

Z80 bus, tape, RF television

RS232 - Midi Out, RGB, Joystick

:)

[herbster]

It seems you're not so up to date.
1) AMD/ATi has released a lot of documents to their cards, and they're helping in coding the opensource RadeonHD driver, in fact, they just got 3D on R500 parts running lately!
2) ATi's FGLRX is no longer that bad. The performance is better than in Vista, and most of the old problems are not there anymore. AIGLX and Compiz are working fine now, they just have to solve minor issues now.

You can find out more at www.phoronix.com , there's benchmarks, news updates, and all that :)

You're missing the point I was trying to make. Nvidia's superb track record is seemingly being ignored, while ATI's recent endeavors are being lauded. It's like someone asking me if they should buy the M-Audio card I have, which is fully and wonderfully supported and has been for some time, or go cop an X-Fi because Creative has just realized people use linux and is committed to improving! Yeesh.

Again, Nvidia has proven themselves to be more than dedicated to having the linux user enjoy their product properly. ATI has just gotten out of the driveway. I would love to see them kick butt and give Nvidia serious competition with compatibility/drivers in linux, but those of us with memories of brutal ATI support will be looking for serious, sustained results before giving them any recommendation.

[gn2]

I agree with Herbster. ATI have a long history of utterly appaling driver problems, both in Windows and Linux.

It will be a cold day in hell when I buy an ATI video adapter again after a simply dreadful experience with an (at the time very expensive) Radeon 8500 A-I-W card which was supposed to be an all singing all dancing wonder gadget.
It went back to the retailer after two weeks of total frustration.