Re: [luv-talk] New Computer System
On Mon, 22 Apr 2013, Craig Sanders <cas@taz.net.au> wrote:
if your m/b takes DDR2 RAM then it' still possible that upgrading RAM alone may be enough, but it's a bigger gamble....if it doesn't work, you'll just be throwing the money away unless you have a use for a 2nd computer after you buy a new one. DDR2 is pretty much obsolete, and more expensive than newer DDR3 - 4GB of DDR2 costs $56.
Of course if they are going to keep using the old system then upgrading the RAM won't be such a waste. Having a second PC is a really good idea for anyone who's serious about a computer hobby and it could also be given to a friend or relative.
Alternatively, if you do go for a new system with an i7 CPU, you may find that the built-in Intel GPU is good enough - they're low-end if you're a gamer, but more than adequate for video playing, and they have good open source drivers.
My experience of Intel video cards is that they are quite good for playing video with the free Linux drivers. So far the only time I've found a built-in Intel video controller to be inadequate for my use (which is occasional video playing and other tasks that aren't particularly challenging - I'm not a serious gamer) is when I got a monitor with a resolution higher than FullHD.
The FX-8350 @ $209 is $100 cheaper than the i7-3770, and a decent AM3 motherboard is also about $50 to $100 cheaper (e.g. Sabertooth Z77 for i7 @ $244 vs Sabertooth 990FX for AMD CPUs at $197)
http://www.graysonline.com When I'm buying new hardware I visit Grays Online. You can get entire systems for less than the cost of the CPUs you list. Sure they won't be as fast, but I'd rather buy a new system every year or so than wait years for a big upgrade.
as Russell suggested, a RAID-1 array is better/safer. but if you don't need the extra terabyte of storage, 2x2TB drives is a lot cheaper than the 2x3TB drives he suggested.
http://www.tecs.com.au/shop/storage/desktop-sata-hard-drives.html?limit=30 At the above there's a Seagate 2TB disk for $119 and a Seagate 3TB disk for $139. Not a lot cheaper, only $20 for the extra TB. There's a WD Green 2TB disk for $99 and a WD Green 3TB disk for $159, so if you want the WD Green series then there's a significant price difference. But generally you won't want WD Green for a RAID array due to the head parking issues. -- My Main Blog http://etbe.coker.com.au/ My Documents Blog http://doc.coker.com.au/
On Wed, Apr 24, 2013 at 01:21:41PM +1000, Russell Coker wrote:
Of course if they are going to keep using the old system then upgrading the RAM won't be such a waste. Having a second PC is a really good idea for anyone who's serious about a computer hobby and it could also be given to a friend or relative.
yeah, that's the way i see it, i can always find a use for another computer or someone to give it away to. not everyone wants almost every available surface in the house covered in computers and parts though.
When I'm buying new hardware I visit Grays Online. You can get entire systems [...]
i've never actually dealt with them so maybe i'm wrong but whenever i look at the grays online website (usually because you mention it, so i check it out), something about them really creeps me out and they don't seem like the kind of company i'd want to buy anything from. their 15% "buyer's premium" is a large part of it. and a general vibe of used-car-salesman. i've also read several accounts of dummy bids to push your bid up to maximum if you're stupid enough to use their auto-bid feature (even when there are multiple listings for the same item, the one you autobid on will be bid up to maximum and the others will not be bid on at all - no real bidder would be that stupid). i'd buy stuff from a random seller on ebay before i'd buy stuff from them. (also, i like my ebay sniping program, jbidwatcher. i set my maximum bid in the software running on MY own computer and then ignore it until the auction is over. it gets bid at the last minute so i don't get into bidding wars with competitive morons and i avoid getting sucked into being a competitive moron myself by the adrenaline thrill of the chase. if i get the item, i get it at a price i'm willing to pay. if i don't get it, then tough luck to me but i don't really care because it cost more than i was willing to pay for it) and, really, buying parts to build a new, modern system isn't that expensive. it might cost you some time putting it together (or pay the shop to assemble & test it) but it's new, it's under warranty, and it'll be a shitload better than some crappy overpriced and underpowered 2nd-hand brand-name desktop machine from 3-5 years ago. and there's no bullshit gotchas like proprietary connectors or power supplies or whatever that prevent upgradability.
as Russell suggested, a RAID-1 array is better/safer. but if you don't need the extra terabyte of storage, 2x2TB drives is a lot cheaper than the 2x3TB drives he suggested.
http://www.tecs.com.au/shop/storage/desktop-sata-hard-drives.html?limit=30
At the above there's a Seagate 2TB disk for $119 and a Seagate 3TB disk for $139. Not a lot cheaper, only $20 for the extra TB.
that's probably just TECS being overpriced on the 2TB drives. MSY has 2TB Seagate for $93 and 3TB Seagate for $135 (4TB for $197)...that's a $42 difference per drive not $20, and adds up to $84 difference for the RAID-1 pair.
There's a WD Green 2TB disk for $99 and a WD Green 3TB disk for $159, so if
$94 and $133 for WD Green at MSY - about the same as the seagate drives. craig -- craig sanders <cas@taz.net.au>
On Wed, Apr 24, 2013 at 3:27 PM, Craig Sanders <cas@taz.net.au> wrote:
On Wed, Apr 24, 2013 at 01:21:41PM +1000, Russell Coker wrote:
When I'm buying new hardware I visit Grays Online. You can get entire systems [...]
i've never actually dealt with them so maybe i'm wrong but whenever i look at the grays online website (usually because you mention it, so i check it out), something about them really creeps me out and they don't seem like the kind of company i'd want to buy anything from.
They also have a nasty habit of 'accidentally' giving you the wrong item. ie: You won model X-6000 and they give you X-5000, a model down without the bells and whistles. They then hope you don't notice, or if you do they make it incredibly hard to exchange and get what you paid for "Oh, sorry we don't have any more of those." I've seen it happen time and time again. I wouldn't recommend anyone even look in their direction, personally. I'm sure Russell will say he's used them for X years and has never had a problem, but these problems do exist, and if you search I'm sure you'll find many people complaining about the dodgy practices that do happen at Grays. Be careful! / Brett
participants (3)
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Brett Pemberton -
Craig Sanders -
Russell Coker