Re: [tlug] Need purchasing advice for a linux compatible desktop

["Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon" <ronfaxon@example.com>]

Botond Botyanszki wrote:

>Sorry to say that, but socket 754 is getting obsolete. (The year quoted
>above is most probably the design date, not manufacturing date). If you
>are collecting old hardware, why don't you try the auctions ;)

Ha-ha!  Yeah.... actually, after ten years of buying nothing but either
the cheapest new things I could find or decent (when it was new) used
stuff (which I've had better luck with than cheap new stuff), I'm
feeling hungry for something new and proper.

>Anyway if you want to go AMD, then get a socket 939 mobo that supports
>Athlon64-X2 at least. You can plug a cheap processor in it, but this
>ensures that you can upgrade later if you need some more CPU >horsepower.

Okay - then I guess the AMD I just bought will have to become a
paperweight.  It does look nice, so it'll be a nice paperweight (I'm
using a couple of very heavy P-I 90MHz chips for a paperweights now).
Well - no - it's too soon for that, but I'll shelve it (some new parts
I've shelved before came in handy when the right equipment came along).

>Before you go shopping, make a list of your current parts that you'd 
>like to keep (without having to invest in a new one) and check some 
>online shops (dospara, whatever) for what's available and pick the 
ones >you can afford. Visiting asus.com and abit.com will give you a 
good >insight about what's on market.

The only thing that I really want to carry over is the capability of
using my old hard drives.  Down the road, I want to use the new type,
but for now, I've got enough things on the old type that I'd rather not
have it only accept the new type.  The rotten design motherboard has
connectors for both types - do the current ones still have that?
Hopefully they do.

>Now with the maker-model names, search the web (the maker's site
>should suffice) about specifications for compatibility with the parts 
>you want to keep (memory, video card, hard disk). Then further narrow 
>down your choices by reading up on reviews, usually best rated stuff 
>tends to be more expensive, but still worth reading.

Come to think of it - if I can use the video board I mentioned and the
memory I just bought, that would help.

>Also an issue to look out for is fans on the mobo. If you want a 
silent >PC (who doesn't?), then get a mobo with heatsinks only. The 
other is >the layout, if you have a small case (which you seem to have). 
Check if >your power supply can provide at least 300W, that seems to be 
necessary >lately.

Then some motherboards are fan-less?  That does sound nice!  I suppose
the heat sinks for them must be huge!  (Are their power supplies
fan-less too?)

>Good luck.

Thanks!  I'll see what I can come up with!

Lyle