"Rate my Rig" thread

[The Jester]

Right. So I'm going to need a new PC as my current processor is becoming woefully inadequate for my needs. I'm presently studying Machine Learning and Data Mining, so good Matlab performance is the most important determinant (so long as the CPU is not too expensive). So any processor recommendations? Am I better waiting for cheaper motherboards for Nehalem processors and go with one of those?

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

Right. So I'm going to need a new PC as my current processor is becoming woefully inadequate for my needs. I'm presently studying Machine Learning and Data Mining, so good Matlab performance is the most important determinant (so long as the CPU is not too expensive). So any processor recommendations? Am I better waiting for cheaper motherboards for Nehalem processors and go with one of those?

You will have to wait for 6 months or so (?) for the mid-range motherboards to come I think. The Intel i7 is a nice chip so yeah, you can go with that one, if you are willing to wait for the motherboards.

[Arthur_Tuxedo]

i7 is a great chip, but so is Core 2, and right now i7 mobo's are expensive and require expensive DDR3 RAM. Sure, you get a ~20% clock-for-clock performance boost, but for the amount you spend you could have just picked up a faster Core 2 and canceled the difference. Or better yet, just saved the money.

[phongn]

Oh, hell. That figures. Where have you been hearing it?

The usual message board suspects, but it's enough to make me wary.

Right. So I'm going to need a new PC as my current processor is becoming woefully inadequate for my needs. I'm presently studying Machine Learning and Data Mining, so good Matlab performance is the most important determinant (so long as the CPU is not too expensive). So any processor recommendations? Am I better waiting for cheaper motherboards for Nehalem processors and go with one of those?

If you're just taking classes, a current-gen Core 2 should be more than enough compute power for you.

[The Jester]

I'm doing my Master's degree, so I'm expecting the need to perform research later on. As it stands for courses, I already need considerably more horsepower than what I presently have, (I'm currently using an Athlon64 3400+) which can take a considerable amount of time for computing on class projects already (hours to days).

[phongn]

I'm doing my Master's degree, so I'm expecting the need to perform research later on. As it stands for courses, I already need considerably more horsepower than what I presently have, (I'm currently using an Athlon64 3400+) which can take a considerable amount of time for computing on class projects already (hours to days).

Are you able to multithread at all? And if you're going to be doing research, you should be able to get access to department machines or clusters.

[The Jester]

Matlab supports concurrency and the work is highly parallelisable. And yes, we do have clusters but being able to do some work from my home machine will make life easier.

[Seggybop]

My Nehalem system is alive today! 920, 3ghz.
I can't say anything that hasn't been more objectively and exhaustively detailed on review sites, but I'm really happy with it!
I am rendering in Lightwave right now and the render time is comparable to a 3ghz * 8 core Mac Pro.
For anyone making a system to use with effectively multithreaded applications, it is definitely the way to go right now.

[General Zod]

After doing some significant looking around, I've eventually settled on getting this machine in the next week or two, when my bonus gets deposited. Anything I should probably be wary about?

basic specs:

• Operating System Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit
  CPU Type Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 2.4GHz
  Screen 18.4"
  Memory Size 4GB DDR2
  Hard Disk 250GB
  Optical Drive BD Combo
  Graphics Card NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT
  Video Memory 512MB

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

^Can you afford a HD4850?

[Stark]

9600s are significantly cheaper, but it's 100% worth the jump in price if you can manage it. Or even, 250-300% really.

[Dominus Atheos]

Er... First off Zod's computer is a prebuilt one so it's not as cheap to upgrade as on he's building himself. There's another reason why your recommendations aren't going to work, but I'm not going to mention it and see if you can figure it out on your own.

[Stark]

Eww, prebuilt.

And I'm onto you DA!

[General Zod]

Eww, prebuilt.

And I'm onto you DA!

Well, they don't exactly make laptops in non prebuilt varieties. I could customize it on the manufacturer's website but I'd wind up paying several hundred more for a marginal increase, and increase the wait time to about two or three weeks to get it.

[Atavarius]

Considering this:

WD VelociRaptor 150GB (Boot Drive, might downgrade this to a 74GB Raptor)

2 1 TB WD HDDs

4GB Crucial Mem

Scythe CPU Cooler

ASUS Maximus II Formula Mobo

Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300

750w PSU

SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 4850 X2

Already have a case, monitor, and optical drives. Mainly a gaming and video editing PC. Trying to stay around $2kish with shipping. Thoughts?

[Xon]

8gb of memory & a 64bit OS?

Btw, that ram is quite expensive. You would be better off getting cheaper stuff and 8gb or even 16gb and a 64bit OS.

Running with 4gb and Radeon HD 4850 X2 on a 32bit OS is going to have a noticable performance impact compared to 64bit and more memory.

[phongn]

Xigmatek has a superior cooler; that Scythe unit isn't so great. You don't need that much power (though it is a good PSU). You don't need that motherboard (get a P5Q-series motherboard or Gigabyte's EP45-UD-something series). If you are not overclocking, get normal PC6400 RAM and call it a day. I would suggest a standard 4870 card over a 4850X2. Finally, an E8x00 would be a better deal if you will not be doing heavy media encoding.

The 74GB Raptor is not really worth it (better seek times than any 7.2K HD but its transfer rates have been exceeded).

[Chardok]

So - possibiltiy #2 Refurbed Lappytop from Dell - - -


System Price : $749.00

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Operating System
Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Memory
3 GB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz (2 DIMMs)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hard Disk Drive
160 GB SATA Hard Drive (7200RPM)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Video
256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Media Bay
8X DVD +/- RW w/dbl layer write capability
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hardware Upgrade
Biometric Fingerprint Reader
6 Cell Primary Battery
90W AC Adapter
Dell Travel Remote Control
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Certified Refurbished
Certified Refurbished
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Base
XPS M1530 Laptop: Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T5250 (2MB cache/1.5GHz/667Mhz FSB)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Web Camera
Integrated 2.0 Mega Pixel Web Camera
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Software Upgrade
Microsoft Works 8.5 with MS Office Trial Version Software
Sound Blaster Audigy ADVANCED HD Audio Software Edition
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Network Interface Card
Intel 4965AGN Wireless-N Mini Card
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
System Color
Crimson Red
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bluetooth Wireless
Bluetooth Wireless Card 355
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Laptop Screen
15.4 WXGA Laptop Screen Display with TrueLife



Good price, decent performance (ie - will I be hurting if I play Spore, R:TW, etc?)

That FSB speed seems pretty slow....

[phongn]

1.5GHz might not cut it for Spore or R:TW.

[Chardok]

1.5GHz might not cut it for Spore or R:TW.

I thought since it was Dual Core it's like....double power...stuff? Admittedly I don't understand the whole dual quad core thing - but I thought that I can get a single core at 3.4Ghz, or a dual at 1.5ghz and the dual is faster. At least, that's what I thought....

[phongn]

I thought since it was Dual Core it's like....double power...stuff? Admittedly I don't understand the whole dual quad core thing - but I thought that I can get a single core at 3.4Ghz, or a dual at 1.5ghz and the dual is faster. At least, that's what I thought....

Many tasks cannot be nicely divided into more than one processor, so a dual at 1.5GHz is almost always slower than a single at 3GHz (assuming they're the same CPU design). A dual 2GHz processor may be faster than a single 3GHz one.

[Arthur_Tuxedo]

Core 2 @ 1.5 is probably almost equal to Prescott P4 @ 3.4, but that's not saying much because P4 sucked. Core 2 pummels it almost as much even with the second core disabled.

[phongn]

Core 2 @ 1.5 is probably almost equal to Prescott P4 @ 3.4, but that's not saying much because P4 sucked. Core 2 pummels it almost as much even with the second core disabled.

The laptop Core 2 processor is not as capable as its desktop brethren and the performance delta isn't THAT high.

[Arthur_Tuxedo]

Wasn't aware of the clock-for-clock difference between desktop and laptop. What's the GHz equivalent of a 2 GHz desktop Core 2?

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

Wasn't aware of the clock-for-clock difference between desktop and laptop. What's the GHz equivalent of a 2 GHz desktop Core 2?

I'm not entirely sure, but given that the laptop version uses less power, they had to do a trade off between processing power and power efficiency.