Wanted - a new PC

I don't know a huge amount about PCs but I spent a little time learning a bit about them and managed to build my own about a year ago. Got all the parts off komplett.ie and am very happy with it. Never had any hardware problems. If you are not comfortable doing this, you can buy ready-made PCs off komplett.ie also.

I've only ever built by home PC's (servers come from work ). Like Dave the last couple have been all parts from komplett. It might seem a bit daunting at first, but once you start to make some specifications your choices narrow down a good bit.

1. Red hot graphics processing required
- are we talking about top resolution games with all the effects turned on, or processing your archive of images here? The former needs a good graphics card (expensive=good here usually!, but check reviews). The latter needs more CPU processing power. Some applications may make use of multiple processors some may not. I have no idea how the likes of photoshop maxumDL perform on multiprocessor systems. I would be surprised if the likes of photoshop could not take advantage of 64 bit multicore processors though.

2. Lots of storage
define Lots. You can get 500Gb disks almost as standard now. Internally these can be combined to create say a 1000Gb drive that is mirrored so even if a disk fails you'll be ok. Some motherboards will be able to do this, otherwise you may need to trust the OS. Thats not what I'd consider lots though, we got a new toy delivered recently with 24TB of internal storage

3. Top end monitors (yes, I'd like two)
I've gone from two back to one again. Then again the one is a 24" widescreen. The 2 21" CRT's took up too much space.Granted I have 10 workspaces open in gnome...

4. Tons of room for upgrades
- buy a big case with a big power supply and a decent motherboard!

Have a look through komplett though. When you select say a Processor the site will show you what Mainboards are compatible with it. From there you can see which board is the most upgradeable etc. That makes speccing out things much easier.

Oh and fwiw my desktop at work, which is the best thing I could lay my hands on is one of these www.sun.com/desktop/workstation/ultra40/index.xml , windows compatible ;-)

For the first time in over 3 years, intels top processors are beating the AMDs

I'm looking forward to getting some intel gear delivered at some stage this year! For home use AMD still has the price-performance sweet spot though. Right back to my nice 16core sparc CPU's

I wouldn't worry too much about being able to upgrade your system at some time in the future. Today's red-hot machine will be so out of spec and out of date by the time you >need< to replace it that it would be simpler to just buy new again.

Above all, regardless of what processor / graphics card / other bells and whistles you get, max out the mother-board with RAM. This above anything else will make it fast - especially if you go for Vista or other RAM gluttonous OS's.

You might check out the cost of building your own PC from scratch. That way you can choose exactly what hardware you get from the best of what is on the market today. Check out the PCW website for comparative reviews and compatibility of mother-boards, processors, RAM, graphics, and all the other bells and whistles. Building your own is not difficult and can be quite competitive on price.

Phil.

Dave Mac,
it sounds like you might be wanting to build a medium-end server but have it act as a high-end PC. I have my set up like this at home I built from scratch over 3 years ago, and it is still almost as fast of the 64 bit dual core machines of today. Plenty of grapics, digital sound, RAM, superior mobo, and a couple of RAID back-ups, and loads of storage... you won't buy all that as a unit. You can, however, build it together yourself quite easily with some guidance. Platforms are Windows and Linux Fedora Core. But, you'd have to raise your budget to about 3K. Still, it will last a very long time as a top spec, as I've already shown you.

Lotsof options have been given to you here. If you want to hear about recommended manufacturers of components, there are many.


Seanie.

From my own experience, I would be reluctant to buy a Dell. Can create upgrade problems later.

Tis true. Dell boxes are custom so even replacing a power supply can be a problem. Best bet for a high-end machine is to build. I can help out with that. I'll spec up a decent box for 2k from komplett and dabs.ie tomorrow and post it here so you can do a comparison with an equivalent from Dell.

For imaging CRT is best. You could get a CRT and an LCD - that's what I currently have myself but I'm replacing the CRT now - just waiting on my 2ms LCD to be delivered. You don't need a top range video card but you will need a decent one. A mate is selling an 1900XT second hand. I'll get a price off him - be cheaper than buying a new one and it's a very good card.

Regarding mirroring - RAID 0+1 will give you redundancy without out losing too much. 3*500Gb drives will give you 1Tb with a redundant disk. Make sure you get a motherboard that supports it - I wouldn't trust OS mirroring personally - prefer hardware.

How about the OS? Does it have to be Windoze? Ubuntu is a good novice Linux distro and you'll find there's plenty of software available too. And even then you can run Windows in a virtual PC too for things that don't have a linux option.

Dave Mac,
it sounds like you might be wanting to build a medium-end server but have it act as a high-end PC. I have my set up like this at home I built from scratch over 3 years ago, and it is still almost as fast of the 64 bit dual core machines of today. Plenty of grapics, digital sound, RAM, superior mobo, and a couple of RAID back-ups, and loads of storage... you won't buy all that as a unit. You can, however, build it together yourself quite easily with some guidance. Platforms are Windows and Linux Fedora Core. But, you'd have to raise your budget to about 3K. Still, it will last a very long time as a top spec, as I've already shown you.

Lotsof options have been given to you here. If you want to hear about recommended manufacturers of components, there are many.


Seanie.

What you're describing there is what's called a Work Station. Server level kit in a desktop.

That's exactly what the MacPro is. You get 8 hard drive bays (I think), 8 RAM slots, a server mother board and server CPU in the form of a dual core Xeon (or two). And because it's mainly used by graphics proffessionals it comes with great graphics cards too!

Have the pre-cursos of these machines at work, it's getting on a bit now but it's still head and shoulders above a regular PC. These mahcines just keep going!

Bart.

Folks - thanks for the info so far...

I have to say, the Apple MacPro is almost TOO yummy... If I purchased this Bart, would I have to go out and buy totally new software or could I simply run it as a Windows machine (or have my Windows programmes emulated somehow)? I guess I've invested a fair bit in Astro software that mostly only runs under windows...

It seems heresy to run an Apple as a Windows box - is there emulation software that would still allow my windows software to run in the Apple OS environment?

Also, would lower processor speed and more RAM be better than slightly higher processor speed and less RAM?

OK - too many questions... I would definately stretch the budget for this beauty. Oh, and two of those 20" monitors :shock:

that said, I won;t rule out self build - the only reservation there is a warranty. Also, with my electrical knowledge extending to three-pin plugs only, I'd need someone to build it for me.

On a final note, I understand the difference between CRT and LCD. Surely the top end LCD's are very close to CRT performance... Besides, since its mostly science I'll be doing, I'd be happy with mediocre looking pretty pictures.

I guess my key requirements, in order, are:

Reliability
Processing speed
Graphics speed (for two monitors - I'm just so used to two monitors...)
Storage capacity

Given the MacPro I configured was just shy of 6K, I guess that's my budget (no point in scrimping eh?)

Cheers
Dave