Buy me a workstation for ~$3000

[spundun]

Hi all.. (new member)

I need help buying parts for my next workstation and you people seem like the right bunch for guidance.

Here are my needs (tried to put them in most-imp-first order)

-> Budget is near 3000$ (not a hard limit but I will need a good story if I want to go above it)
-> minimum 20" flat panel display (is getting any larger better?)
-> good processor/memory performance.. not sure if i/o is important.
-> has to work fully with linux (gentoo probably)
-> next has to be hard disk I guess
-> Suggest me a good mouse-keyboard pair
-> Less noise is a good thing.
-> a dvdwriter/sound system wont hurt but its a work computer so I guess i will go for regulation models
-> graphics card is not that important either for the same reason as above.
but all hardware should have as good a compatibility as possible on linux.
-> While I want the chasis to look more professional/classy and less game-nerdish, I dont want it to look boring either.
-> I dont care about overclocking at all.. I dont think I am going to overclock it ever.

Suggestion on any of the above(and also the parts that are not mentioned.. like power-supply etc) are wanted... if you are not sure about the linux part please post your os-neutral opinion anyway. Oh and I also want to know whats a good place (online/offline) to buy these things if I am in Los Angeles? Should I go to a store or buying online is good enough?

as for cpu I am inclining towards amd since they seem a lot cheaper than intel for the same performance. Also 64 bit computing is important. Whats a good balance betn processor/memory? dual processor sounds cool :D

Eventhough graphics card is not an important deciscion, I hate to buy hardware that supported poorly on linux.

I am buying this machine as my workstation at my workplace.... last year I used gentoo and liked it so I will probably be installing it on this machine also. Hopefully gentoo will have complete 64bit architecture support by now.

The machine is going to be mainly used as a developement workstation, a non critical web server (like hostinga bugzilla, a wiki software maybe and so on) and occasionally for benchmarking. My work is related to optimizations in compilers so having a good 64bit machine should help. Since its sompiler related... most of the benchmarks are going to be non-io intensive (I am assuming). It will be used most often for coding and compiling software like gcc and open64.

This much should be more than you would ever want to know about my requirement. :)

Thanx
Spundun

 

[Big B]

Well, I don't live over in Cali, but I do buy from Newegg and haven't had a problem with them. Since they are in Cali, you'll still end up paying sales tax, so keep that in mind.

I'm not sure if Gentoo is 64-bit yet, but I believe Mandrake and Suse both have 64-bit versions available. I'm also not sure on how the DVD burner support is under Linux, so I'm not going to put one on. Same thing with a Serial ATA hard drive.

Here's what I came up with, and there's plently of wiggle room for stuff like tax and stuff. Since it's for work, I really didn't look at the sound at all. While I did put a flat CRT monitor on the list, I'd still suggest looking at them at a retail store before you buy. You're going to be looking at this for up to 8 hours a day, so you know what'll be good for you, but I did go ahead and include it.

While I've been an ATi fan, the drivers for their graphics chips aren't nearly as good as those for nVidia based chips. What I've put is probably more than enough for your needs, but if you go with something else, make sure it's running an nVidia chip for best results under Linux.

System:
Motherboard: Abit AV8, K8T800 Pro -- $116.00
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3500+ (2.2GHz) Socket 939 CPU, retail -- $459.00
Memory: 2x512MB (1GB) Kingston ValuRAM dual-channel kit -- $156.00
Video card: MSI FX5700LE-TD128, GeForce FX 5700LE 128MB AGP card --$100.00
Optical Drive: Samsung DVD-ROM/CD-RW TS-H942A/WBGH -- $45.25
Hard Drive: Seagate 120GB 7200RPM IDE, 8MB cache --$119.00
Floppy Drive: Mitsumi black 1.44MB -- $12.99
Case: Silverstone Temjin series, SST-TJ05-BT -- $165.00
Power Supply: Vantec VAN-520(A), 520W ATX 2.03 PSU -- $96.50
Monitor: Samsung 1100DF Ivory 21" DynaFlat CRT, 0.20mm dot pitch -- $479.00

Total: $1,748.74 + tax and shipping


You also mentioned looking at dual processors. Now, I'm not sure if you'll really make use of it, but, what the hell, let's see what we come up with. I'm taking out the Abit AV8 and Athlon 64 3500+, but leaving everything else the same. The mobo and CPU get replaced with this:

MSI K8T Master 2 FAR K8T800 (MS 9130) dual Socket 940 -- $220.00
AMD Opteron 246 (2.0GHz), retail -- $445.00 x 2 = $890.00

Dual Opteron total: $2,283.74


All prices are from Newegg.

The only thing I don't know is if the Broadcom Gigabit NIC on the MSI board works under Linux. If it doesn't, there's 4 PCI slots to work with. Of course, that may be more grunt that you actually need, but it's still within your grasp. Even if you add in a sound card and speakers, you'll still be okay. You might even consider adding another GB of that Kingston stuff as well since it is pretty cheap.

I'm sure Anti-Trend might have some better insight, as I really don't use Linux, so my info is a bit limited.

 

[spundun]

Thanx Big B for the detailed answer.

Well, I don't live over in Cali, but I do buy from Newegg and haven't had a problem with them. Since they are in Cali, you'll still end up paying sales tax, so keep that in mind.

okkey. BTW I forgot to mention... I can get educational discount of products since I work for a university... will I get better deal with that somewhere else?

I'm not sure if Gentoo is 64-bit yet,

Yes it is. http://www.gentoo.org/proj/en/base/amd64/technotes.xml

Here's what I came up with, and there's plently of wiggle room for stuff like tax and stuff. Since it's for work, I really didn't look at the sound at all. While I did put a flat CRT monitor on the list, I'd still suggest looking at them at a retail store before you buy.

Whoops! Sorry I didnt make it clear... I want a flat panel LCD. Apart from occupying less space and looking cool, LCD is also easy on eyes.. right?

System:
Motherboard: Abit AV8, K8T800 Pro -- $116.00
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3500+ (2.2GHz) Socket 939 CPU, retail -- $459.00
Memory: 2x512MB (1GB) Kingston ValuRAM dual-channel kit -- $156.00

Is 1 GB enough? I mean does law of diminting returns start to apply beyond that?

Video card: MSI FX5700LE-TD128, GeForce FX 5700LE 128MB AGP card --$100.00
Optical Drive: Samsung DVD-ROM/CD-RW TS-H942A/WBGH -- $45.25
Hard Drive: Seagate 120GB 7200RPM IDE, 8MB cache --$119.00
Floppy Drive: Mitsumi black 1.44MB -- $12.99
Case: Silverstone Temjin series, SST-TJ05-BT -- $165.00

How's the noise in this case? I will also google for the review of this.

Power Supply: Vantec VAN-520(A), 520W ATX 2.03 PSU -- $96.50
Monitor: Samsung 1100DF Ivory 21" DynaFlat CRT, 0.20mm dot pitch -- $479.00

If I go for lcd here is there a better choice than the dell 2001 which is available at about 800(edit: actually 899( (after educational discount)?

Total: $1,748.74 + tax and shipping


You also mentioned looking at dual processors. Now, I'm not sure if you'll really make use of it, but, what the hell, let's see what we come up with. I'm taking out the Abit AV8 and Athlon 64 3500+,

How is the memory access on this system? I am no expert at this but numa seems to be very efficient.

but leaving everything else the same. The mobo and CPU get replaced with this:

MSI K8T Master 2 FAR K8T800 (MS 9130) dual Socket 940 -- $220.00
AMD Opteron 246 (2.0GHz), retail -- $445.00 x 2 = $890.00

Dual Opteron total: $2,283.74

The only thing I don't know is if the Broadcom Gigabit NIC on the MSI board works under Linux.

In my experience NIC enjoy the best support of all peripherals on linux so I wouldnt be worrying about that.... Anyway my work network is 100Mbps

If it doesn't, there's 4 PCI slots to work with. Of course, that may be more grunt that you actually need, but it's still within your grasp. Even if you add in a sound card and speakers, you'll still be okay. You might even consider adding another GB of that Kingston stuff as well since it is pretty cheap.

I'm sure Anti-Trend might have some better insight, as I really don't use Linux, so my info is a bit limited.

Thanx again for your help Big B

 

[Big B]

Educational discounts: I'm not sure, but I've only seen those apply for software, not hardware.

Gentoo 64-bit. Not a Linux user myself, so I don't keep up on it. You might consider Mandrake or Suse because they have discs with extra stuff on them that you wouldn't have to download.

LCD's...I'd look at Samsung, Viewsonic, or Dell for the LCD's. The LCD's I've seen aren't enough to make me want to toss my CRT yet, but you will pay some serious cash for anything good. Again, I would look at the LCD before buying it.

Under Linux, 1GB is plenty, since they aren't as resource heavy by default. The Abit AV8 supports up to 4GB and the MSI K8T goes up to 8GB, but getting 2GB memory sticks is going to cost an arm and a leg. I'm not a Linux guru, but from what I do know, I can't seen 1GB being an issue for it.

The noise on that case shouldn't be too bad, but the airflow should be quite nice, since it's got a 120mm fan in the front and back. The thing about larger fans is that they can run at a fairly low RPM and still move a ton of air. When a fan doesn't move as fast, it's going to be quieter than a smaller fan running at top speed.

NUMA requires a motherboard that supports it, and those are server-grade ones. They don't have AGP in many cases and require Registered DDR.
You're also looking at an EATX motherboard, and I'm pretty sure that case I listed doesn't support that. Additionally, you'll need an EPS power supply, which limits your choices.

Basically, yes, it does help. Weather you're willing to spend $500+ on a motherboard is another matter.

Now if you go with the above, you'll need Registered DDR. Sticking with the 1GB as before, you're looking at around $350-400 for anything worth it. You can get cheaper, but then you've got to go to slower speeds like PC2700 or PC2100, and that would likely negate the extra effects of NUMA. It also might make getting that LCD an issue since you'd be out of your budget.

NUMA does require a compatible OS, but from what I understand, Linux should be fine.