Building a new PC for Ununtu 12.04

**AmpersUK** · May 27th, 2014

Will move to 14.04.1 when it comes out. (probably by September).

HARDWARE

What are the bad models of hardware I should avoid?

I believe the latest nVidia Optimus graphics card is a no-no?

Bearing in mind that I don't want it for games, but do a lot of work with manipulating photographs, and that I'm not going to do it on the cheap, what does the team suggest?

8GB or 16GB of DDR3 memory? I have a feeling I should go for 16GB?

1GB or 2GB DDR3 memory on a graphics card?

Will I be able to use two 1TB disks in a damaged notebook I have?

And any other pitfalls I should avoid?

Ampers

**open2reason** · May 27th, 2014

Do you have any idea as to which software you may be using to manipulate your images as some software may work better with some graphics cards than others?
I may be wrong, but I have a feelings that some software, graphics cards & hardware combinations work better together than others.
Will you be building from scratch or purchasing the kit as a whole following your specifications?
I see from your name that you may well reside within the UK so would suggest that you look through the kit provided by http://www.quietpc.com/systems as the have both big and little boxes running Windows or Ubuntu and from the specifications may well be able to take care of your photo manipulation tasks. may well give you a few ideas.

ATB.

**Yellow Pasque** · May 27th, 2014

Originally Posted by AmpersUK

I believe the latest nVidia Optimus graphics card is a no-no?

Optimus isn't a concern for a desktop. You are talking about a desktop, right?

8GB or 16GB of DDR3 memory?

Have you ever checked your memory usage with the free command? Unless you're working with huge photographs and/or having > 30 tabs in a browser, I doubt you've used more than 4GB of RAM (much less 8).

1GB or 2GB DDR3 memory on a graphics card?

It's not the first question I'd ask when buying a GPU (unless someone stuck me in a time machine and sent me back a decade or more). Keep in mind that video card manufacturers have been known to take weak cards and load them up with cheap RAM just to make their card look better on paper, so caveat emptor...

The real question someone like you (i.e. non-gamer) should ask is, "Do I need a discrete GPU?" Onboard graphics may be more than enough for your usage, and you can always add a card later if they're not. That said, if you want a good mid-range, discrete card that's efficient/quiet, look at the GTX 750/Ti.

Will I be able to use two 1TB disks in a damaged notebook I have?

Why wouldn't you? They are regular SATA drives, correct? You can buy mounting kits to put them in desktop (3.5") drive bays or get creative and use cheaper solutions. (I've used foam I had lying around to rest drives on the bottom of the case.)

**gordintoronto** · May 28th, 2014

Hardware which is newer than the OS is more likely to be a problem than the other way around. Go with 14.04 now. (I built my main system a few years back, and the on-board Ethernet port was not supported until a year later.)

**AmpersUK** · May 29th, 2014

Thank you for all your advice, every message has something useful which, taken as a whole, will help me avoid pitfalls.

Gordintoronto, I'm a little wary of 14:04 at present as it is so new. Should I consider 13:10 and move up in a few months, then stay till 16:04? I tried it on my Notebook (Samsung RF-711) and it kept crashing and now has ruined my boot sector.

**open2reason** · May 29th, 2014

Amper,
Would you consider running a live cd of 14.04lts, recording any errors and then posting on this forum so that 14.04lts could be improved for your hardware combination?