Lord Torgamus computer build Mar 2013

Lord Torgamus

Mar 10, 2013 19:03

I'm trying to figure out how to build a decent computer from scratch.

Ivo Flipse

I bet you have the page on refresh :P

Depends what you consider decent :)

Lord Torgamus

Thank you, Clippy, for redirecting me to a search page with zero results.

I was watching the primary pretty carefully, but once the final round of voting started I stopped.

Wouldn't even have cared that much about the primary if I hadn't been doing my totally unscientific vote tracking science project.

Ivo Flipse

Yeah you can't do anything about it anyway

Lord Torgamus

I'm honestly surprised that I made the final round, given my "I don't really want the job" stance.

Ivo Flipse

It beats those who desperately want it

Lord Torgamus

Mar 10, 2013 19:06

Okay, not decent, then. I want a really good machine. But not for gaming.

I've been a laptop-only guy for over a decade though, so what little I used to know is totally outdated.

Ivo Flipse

What will you be doing with it?

Lord Torgamus

And all my questions are too broad for SU.

So I'm a little confused on where to start.

Ivo Flipse

You have no desktop parts?

like a case or even a screen?

Lord Torgamus

Regular junk like web browsing and office stuff, occasional Photoshop and assorted software development.

I have one screen. That's about it.

Ivo Flipse

That doesn't need a really good machine ;)

Lord Torgamus

Mar 10, 2013 19:08

Still want one.

If only so it lasts a couple extra years.

Ivo Flipse

Besides I'm personally waiting for the next gen of intel processors to come out

Lord Torgamus

Why's that?

Ivo Flipse

well I guess power savings aren't important

but each generation gets a small performance boost

they generally break compatibility between tick and tocks in their cpu designs

so you often need a new motherboard, having the 'newest' gen means at least you'll be able to get new stuff

but I reckon Ivy Bridge is very good too

Lord Torgamus

Yeah, all those names and numbers are foreign to me at this point.

Ivo Flipse

Do you have any thunderbolt or USB3 peripherals?

Ivy Bridge is the current generation of Intel CPU's

Lord Torgamus

Mar 10, 2013 19:11

My external HD might support USB 3.

Ivo Flipse

Haswell is the next generation

Lord Torgamus

I picked up that much from my searching, but I have no idea how to quantify how much difference Ivy Bridge vs. Haswell will make in my day-to-day life, or even whether I should go for Intel or AMD.

Ivo Flipse

anandtech.com/show/6355/intels-haswell-architecture

I prefer Intel, though that's totally unscientific

also, Anandtech is a great resource for such info

there are no official benchmarks yet, so we can't tell whether Haswell is worth it

Lord Torgamus

I also keep getting links to Tom's Hardware.

Ivo Flipse

how big is your screen and do you plan on getting another?

you'd might be able to simply use the integrated gpu

Lord Torgamus

Mar 10, 2013 19:14

Not big, and yes. I was thinking of looking into Jeff's semi-recent blog post about Korean screens actually.

I'm happy to buy a bunch of parts myself from Newegg or wherever but I'm not sure I know enough about compatibility.

Ivo Flipse

I have one, Oliver and Nhinkle have one too

Lord Torgamus

Like, I've definitely bought the wrong shape of RAM before, and that sort of problem is only going to be magnified if I'm doing things a la carte.

Ivo Flipse

I bet it offers a 'builder' where you can put stuff together and it'll tell you

You can easily find out whether your motherboard supports DDR2 or 3

Lord Torgamus

I guess what I really need is a tutorial or "for Dummies" book to get me started and then I can understand the stuff on the web better.

Ivo Flipse

at the moment, DDR3 is all the rage

naah, that's what we have chat for :)

Lord Torgamus

Mar 10, 2013 19:15

Heh.

Ivo Flipse

What kind of budget are you thinking off

Btw doesn't Tom's Hardware have best buy guide

Lord Torgamus

Small. <$1000. But I've just started looking, and it's not a high priority (my current machine still works, obviously).

Ivo Flipse

tweakers.net/reviews/2963/4/…

Lord Torgamus

This might end up just being something I have fun thinking about for two weeks and then don't end up actually doing. Got some other projects on the table right now that are more pressing.

I've never actually been to their home page. Will check it out.

Ivo Flipse

tweakers.net/reviews/2963/3/…

This is a Dutch site, but obviously the names aren't

Its not that hard, I've built all my computers in the past 7 years or so

And I refresh mostly everything over the course of 1-2 years

Lord Torgamus

Mar 10, 2013 19:19

So what is the deal with software development and super high-end machines, anyways?

Ivo Flipse

Probably depends on your programming language, some might benefit from fast compiling and stuff

Also, some people have 3 screens (like me)

Which requires a beefy GPU

Lord Torgamus

I never hear about programmers getting nice GPUs though... just quad-core CPUs, crazy amounts of RAM and maybe SSDs.

Ivo Flipse

I always keep open a ton of tabs in Chrome and possibly you use a lot of VMs like @OliverSalzburg

Then you can benefit from tons of RAM

you should at least put your OS on a SSD

So you need a case to put everything in

Then you pick a CPU that matches your budget

In your case, going with an Ivy Bridge i5 should be enough, somewhere between 70-120$

Then you pick a motherboard, depending on certain features you want (mostly based on ports, like USB) go with a brand you know/like

Lord Torgamus

So how'd you come to the conclusion of i5 instead of i3 or i7?

Ivo Flipse

The motherboard must have the right socket for the CPU, so that always narrows your choices

i7 is more expensive, probably not worth it for a ~1000$ budget

Besides, I have an i5 myself, which works really well (though it was 220 euro)

i3 is probably a bit more wimpy

Oliver Salzburg

Mar 10, 2013 19:24

@LordTorgamus Every plumber will have the best pliers available, because he uses the shit out the them. A carpenter will buy the best power tools. Programmers need the best tools for their job as well, their job is computering

Ivo Flipse

Amen

Lord Torgamus

Not sure I agree with that 100%... at some point, you can keep adding more shiny bits but not get much benefit out of them in practice.

Ivo Flipse

nl.hardware.info/reviews/2678/12/…

Here you can see a whole slew of Intel CPU models to get a feeling for their comparative power

obviously it doesn't tell you the performance/$

Oliver Salzburg

@LordTorgamus Even 1% improvement can make a difference when it is applied over a long period of time

Ivo Flipse

@LordTorgamus True, there's an optimum probably

but that's why you see a lot of programmers looking for deals too :P

Oliver Salzburg

Mar 10, 2013 19:28

Meaning, if you use something a lot, a slight improvement in the effectiveness can be relevant

Ivo Flipse

If you have a motherboard + CPU, you can pick RAM. Take whatever you have now and double it

Lord Torgamus

Double? Psh! I'm going from 3 to 16. Or maybe 32.

(Okay, realistically probably no more than 16.)

Ivo Flipse

Then you need hard drives. Get a reasonable SSD (preferably as large as you can afford) and a large drive

I have 32 too :P

I never use it, but meeh

Lord Torgamus

Have those calmed down, reliability-wise?

Ivo Flipse

I haven't had trouble with mine

Lord Torgamus

Mar 10, 2013 19:31

I remember hearing horror stories a couple years ago.

Ivo Flipse

knocks on wood

They have certainly improved and they are more affordable

If you're afraid of data loss, make sure to make backups :)

Don't waste money on a DVD drive unless you need one

Lord Torgamus

Man, I remember when I thought CD-ROM drives were the coolest thing.

Ivo Flipse

Yeah I remember being 10 too :P

You need a case to put everything in

Lord Torgamus

And Zip and Jazz disks!

Ivo Flipse

Depending on the model, you might be able to get one with an integrated power supply

Lord Torgamus

Mar 10, 2013 19:34

Ah, yeah, power supply. I've never put any thought into the process of picking one... the weakest one was always enough.

Ivo Flipse

Don't get me started on ZIP disks, they were the only storage I had in college, lost a whole project because someone overwrote the word doc on it :(

Lord Torgamus

Boo.

Any general power supply-picking guidelines I should know of? (And yes, I will Google it shortly.)

Ivo Flipse

@LordTorgamus I wouldn't get the cheapest one, make sure you have some head room and if anything goes wrong, it might fry your computer

Well you'll have to use some calculator to estimate how much power the whole system will use

which will depend on whether you'll include a GPU too

Lord Torgamus

The only reason I'd do that is to have enough plugs on the back for three screens.

Ivo Flipse

You can always add one later, but then you need the headroom in your power supply

Lord Torgamus

Mar 10, 2013 19:37

Gotcha.

Hmm, I gotta run. Thanks for the primer, talk to you later!

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