Urgent hardware purchase advice needed!

[23meg]

Situation (skip to next paragraph if uninterested): my only computer (an old tablet PC) is about to die. For some weeks it has been failing boot intermittently, and crashing with graphics corruption; probably the GPU or BIOS is damaged. It's out of warranty, and even though there's hope of getting it fixed, it would take days, if not weeks. I have critically important work that must be completed within a few days, and I've been putting off the task of buying a desktop PC for a while.

Requirement: I need to put together a computer today. I'll be using it for years, possibly with some upgrades, and I can't mess too much with configuring stuff because there's urgent work waiting, thus I need 100% Linux compatible hardware that's known to be working without (much) configuration in Ubuntu.

I'll be using this machine for some heavy graphics and audio production work (think Blender, Processing, SuperCollider, Ardour) as well as development and [buzzword warning] general purpose computing. I'll probably only be running Ubuntu and Debian on it.

This is where you come in. I've already bought a monitor (Samsung 2232BW, looks good so far), and more or less decided on some other components. I need advice for the following hardware:



A CPU fan. I've been using laptops and tablets exclusively for some years, and don't know much about desktop specific hardware, so I'm caught off guard here. I'm willing to pay a fortune for a quiet fan; it matters for audio work, as well as sanity. Zalman and Thermaltake seem to get the most praise, and are available widely.


A Lightscribe capable DVD writer. Some easily available candidates seem to be: Asus DRW-2014L1T, Philips SPD6002BM and Samsung SH-S203B, but it's likely that I can find any recent model around. Linux compatibility info for Lightscribe seems to be scarce on the web.


A motherboard that will host an Intel Core 2 Quad (1333MHz FSB) processor. I'll be deciding between about a dozen models with P35, P38 and X48 chipsets. The main things I'm not sure about are: which chipset to go with, and whether it's worth going with a model with DDR3 support for the sake of being "future proof" (a flawed concept if you ask me) at a time when DDR2 is very cheap. A few likely candidates are: Asus P5K64, Asus Maximus Formula X38, Gigabyte GA-EX38T-DQ6 X38, Gigabyte GA-X48-DQ6 X48.


A video card: it will be an NVIDIA. No SLI for now, no less than 512MB of RAM, dual DVI, regular TV out, no real need for HDMI or DisplayPort. I did consider the Quadro series but the recent ones seem to be out of my league, and the consumer series seem to be better value, so it will be either a Geforce 8800GT(S)(X), or a 9800GX2/GTX. Basically I'm stuck as to which series to go with, but my impression is that actual differences are subtle and are overhyped by the tech media.


A PSU that will drive all of this. Again desktop specific so I have no idea what is good and what will do. As quiet as possible; money is no object when it comes to noise suppression.


Wireless presenter: I need a mobile trackball, and the Trust TK-4300P (http://www.trust.com/products/product_detail.aspx?item=14832) is cheap, looks like just what I need, but I've not been able to find Linux compatibility info. If anyone has tried this, please give a shout.



Since I'll certainly be buying today no matter what, I'd appreciate any amount of help; if you can advise on just one of the above, don't hesitate to.

[kevin11951]

I didnt really read your post much, but if you need 100% compatable H/W go to http://www.system76.com, they have what you need!

[kevin11951]

On further reading, it seams like this is the best computer they have that would support your needs:

http://system76.com/product_info.php?cPath=27&products_id=82

[Saya]

System76 don't sell outside of the U.S.

[kevin11951]

System76 don't sell outside of the U.S.

ah, see, thats why i need to learn to read EVERYTHING! of course if he had a friend in the US or canada he could use them.

[dhughes]

I'm willing to pay a fortune for a quiet fan

There are some pretty crazy fans out there, the one I'm thinking of doesn't have a fan but it's a huge, very tall fanless heatsink but I can't think of the name. If I remember the name I'll let you know. It's probably a name brand such as Thermaltake.

If you want quiet maybe there is a quiet water cooled system that has a quiet fan?

[23meg]

If you want quiet maybe there is a quiet water cooled system that has a quiet fan?

They cost a lot, and take some time to build and test, so I'll have to do with a good fan. The reason I've started this thread is that this computer needs to be ready within 12 hours; I can't place online orders, wait for shipments or do extensive testing.

[madjr]

They cost a lot, and take some time to build and test, so I'll have to do with a good fan. The reason I've started this thread is that this computer needs to be ready within 12 hours; I can't place online orders, wait for shipments or do extensive testing.

wow in just 12 hours...

try http://www.phoronix.com

search their articles and ask in their forums

[ShodanjoDM]

A motherboard that will host an Intel Core 2 Quad (1333MHz FSB) processor. I'll be deciding between about a dozen models with P35, P38 and X48 chipsets. The main things I'm not sure about are: which chipset to go with, and whether it's worth going with a model with DDR3 support for the sake of being "future proof" (a flawed concept if you ask me) at a time when DDR2 is very cheap. A few likely candidates are: Asus P5K64, Asus Maximus Formula X38, Gigabyte GA-EX38T-DQ6 X38, Gigabyte GA-X48-DQ6 X48.

+1 for Phoronix.com. They got some good motherboard reviews for Linux. As for DDR, if I'm in your position, I'm more inclined for DDR2 boards. A good combination of DDR2 RAM sticks and a good motherboard will probably still good for atleast three years.


A video card: it will be an NVIDIA. No SLI for now, no less than 512MB of RAM, dual DVI, regular TV out, no real need for HDMI or DisplayPort. I did consider the Quadro series but the recent ones seem to be out of my league, and the consumer series seem to be better value, so it will be either a Geforce 8800GT(S)(X), or a 9800GX2/GTX. Basically I'm stuck as to which series to go with, but my impression is that actual differences are subtle and are overhyped by the tech media.

I'd rather choose the 8800 since it's an older and presumably has a better Linux driver support than the newer card.

[23meg]

I've been reading various articles on phoronix.com for the last few hours. Looks like I'll settle on the Gigabyte X48-DQ6, which is the DDR2 variant of the X48T-DQ6, which they have reviewed (http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=intel_linux_x48&num=1).


I'd rather choose the 8800 since it's an older and presumably has a better Linux driver support than the newer card.

I was assuming the same thing; I'm doing searches at nvnews.net to find out whether that's actually true.

[madjr]

I've been reading various articles on phoronix.com for the last few hours. Looks like I'll settle on the Gigabyte X48-DQ6, which is the DDR2 variant of the X48T-DQ6, which they have reviewed (http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=intel_linux_x48&num=1).



I was assuming the same thing; I'm doing searches at nvnews.net to find out whether that's actually true.

the 8800 is also cheaper and the more tested in hardy i think.

maybe u could start a thread asking about the 8800.

i do have an 8400 (yea big speed difference, but about the same arquitecture) working well in hardy

[KillerSponge]

As for a CPU fan: I recommend a fanless heatsink. I have a C2D E8400 with a Scythe Ninja-Mini (about €30), and it keeps my CPU at about 40C. You will probably have to combine this with one or more casefans: I can recommend the Nexus RealSilent Basic casefans: they are incredibly cheap (about €5) and nearly inaudible.

As for a graphics card, I currently have an 8800GT 512mb, they are cheap, very good performers, but the default fan is extremely noisy. I replaced mine with a Arctic Cooling Accelero S1 (passive), and it now stays at 50C idle, and 70C under load. The airflow in my case isn't as good as it should be atm, I'm concidering an extra case fan.

I have a Gigabyte P35C-DS3R mainboard, which supports DDR2 and DDR3, so I can upgrade to DDR3 in the future, if nescecary. What I also like about the board is that it has a lot of SATA ports (8), and a lot of USB ports (8 at the back, 2 more up front).

Note: I haven't tested this setup under Ubuntu yet, I am waiting for the final release of Hardy today, so I can't guarantee anything about compatibility with Linux.

Good luck :KS

[mips]

Get an Antec Sonata II case (or Solo or P150) + Antec PSU. The Antec PSU units are really quiet. I replaced mine after 4yrs of use and regret not getting another Antec PSU.
http://www.antec.com/InternationalWelcome.php

Get Acoustipack insulation material for sound damping, works very well.
http://www.acoustiproducts.com/en/acoustipack_antec_sonata_2.asp
http://www.acoustiproducts.com/en/acoustipack.asp
http://www.acoustiproducts.com/en/products.asp

Get a Lite-On DVD burner, most manufacturers use their mechanisms anyway, just rebranded.

Go with a GigaByte motherboard of your choice. I find them the best brand out there and after sales service is excellent.

If you can go for a GFX card using heatpipe technology instead of fans, much quieter.

[Amorphous_Snake]

I also recommend the 8800GT. I have the Gigabyte model which comes with a custom Zalman fan.

For the motherboard, I recommend the Gigabyte P35-DS3R (or P35C-DSR3 if you can find it, it has DDR3, but DDR3 is expensive anyway, and by the time you decide to upgrade to DDR3 you will be getting a new motherboard anyway), or the P35-DS3L if you are short on money.

I have the P35-DS3R, which has 8 SATA ports and 12 USB ports (8 on back and 4 via external connections). It's really a great motherboard.

As for the CPU fan, why do you need one. If you go with a Core 2 Duo, the default fan is great. I have one of the new Wolfdale (45 nm) processors: E8400, it's running with the default fan, and I do live in Egypt which is very hot now! The fan is not noisy and the temp is very good. 40 - 50 degrees Celsius.

The 8800GT will need the new 169 drivers from nvidia. They are not included in Gusty repos (unless you use Envy), but then again, I think you will be using Hardy!

I have the Samsung SH-S203B, it doesn't have Lightscribe. So, go for the ASUS one which has it.

As for the PSU, get at least a 550W one. I don't know a lot about PSUs brands, but I have a HEC one which works great (580 W with two fans).

[KillerSponge]

I forgot about the PSU: I have a Enermax MODU82+, 520W, it it extremely efficient, and extremely silent.

(And yes, I am a silence freak, my desktop is almost inaudible, even under load :D )

[mips]

Oh, you might want to order an external HD enclosure for your failing tablets HD. This would make it easy to hook up to your new pc and transfer the data :)