What about the power supply?
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| ComputerBob Aug 20, 2009 9:48 PM EDT |
Maybe I just didn't read the article carefully enough, or maybe I'm just too tired, but I didn't notice any price or specs for a power supply. The Thermaltake case's specs state that it doesn't come with a power supply, so having to buy one would significantly add to the cost of the system. |
| Sander_Marechal Aug 21, 2009 3:39 AM EDT |
Also: Graphics hardware. Usually one of the more expensive pieces to go in your case. |
| Bob_Robertson Aug 22, 2009 8:54 AM EDT |
I just bought a new PC, through one of the white-box sellers that uses an Ebay store. AMD PhenomII 4-core 3GHz, 4Gram, 500Ghd, 400Wps, onboard fglrx ATI video. $709. The ASRock motherboard was running the CPU at 800MHz (times 4 it was still plenty fast!) so I contacted the store, they sent me to ASRock. They said to upgrade the BIOS. They have no Linux BIOS update code, just Windows and DOS. Thankfully, a live CD of FreeDOS and a thumbdrive with their updater and binary blob worked just fine. By Cromm, I am pleased with the variety of the F/OSS community. But I agree with Sander, there is something about video. Even though the fglrx driver seems to work fine, there is something strange going on. With XINE playing, there are sometime random screen artifacts, little undrawn lines in other graphical things like games. Occasionally, when XINE reaches the end of a video, not even in full screen mode, the screen goes blank and the console locks up. I can still log in remotely, so it's just X that's hosed, but it's rather annoying. Must remember to memorize the "magic sysreq sequence", since c-a-backspace stops working. Sadly, the fglrx driver refused to compile, so I'm using the Debian pre-packaged one. Maybe I need to update that, too. Anyway, if anyone is interested in the seller and model, let me know. I don't want to turn this into an unpaid ad. |
| gus3 Aug 22, 2009 9:56 AM EDT |
Here's your "magic sysrq sequence": 1. Hold down both Alt and SysRq. 2. Press "S" three times to sync buffers good and hard. Wait for the drive light to stop flickering. 3. Press "U" to remount read-only. Wait again for the drive light to stop flickering. 4. Press "B" to reboot the system. The display should go dark as soon as you press the key. 5. Release the Alt and SysRq keys. Jealous yet, Microsoft? |
| Bob_Robertson Aug 22, 2009 1:26 PM EDT |
From the Microsoft Astroturf Handbook: "Obviously, Linux is so unstable as a desktop system that such a 'magic' sequence is required. Windows doesn't have it, because Windows doesn't need it. The maturity of the Windows platform shows in its inherent stability and ease of use. Having to memorize such archaic key sequences is an artifact of the command-line thinking that still pervades the UNIX mindset of 'everyone has to be a systems engineer just to use it'. The desktop user is interested in actually getting work done, not having to spend all their time with their nose pressed into dusty manuals and searching endlessly for fixes to problems that would never have occurred on a unified platform from a responsible software vendor." etc. Excuse me, I have to go wash my typing fingers out with soap. |
| caitlyn Aug 22, 2009 1:35 PM EDT |
Bob, I think you just gave tuxchick material for her sarcastic next article about MS astroturfers :) |
| gus3 Aug 22, 2009 1:49 PM EDT |
More like the "Microsoft Mindless Automaton Handbook." |
| Bob_Robertson Aug 22, 2009 2:28 PM EDT |
TC, if you see this, you are welcome to use any/all of that paragraph to your liking. Please. Public domain. |
| caitlyn Aug 22, 2009 3:08 PM EDT |
The question is: can she use gus3's title? |
| hkwint Aug 22, 2009 6:17 PM EDT |
Power supply is a bit of a 'nasty' topic, just as TDP. That's because there's no standard according to which PSU should be measured (neither is there a standard for TDP, Intel measures TDP in a different way than AMD and probably VIA do). Some manufacturers 'add up' mutually exclusive power channels, that would be: You cannot use those two power lines at the max at the same time. Other's don't. Suffice to say I'm happy with my 280W Tagan power supply (not even sold today, 350W is the minimum!) which happily powers my 4HD / AM2 dual core / 4 fan / seperate video accelerator PC. Not even grounded, no problems ever. Video cards is also a bit of a difficult topic, for some 'branches' of workstations (the ones we use at work; quadro and stuff like that), they start at $500 - more than the cost of the entire cheap workstation envisioned in the article. The almost equal 'gamer' versions of those video cards are about only one third of the price. |
| gus3 Aug 22, 2009 6:36 PM EDT |
Carla may use the "Microsoft Mindless Automaton Handbook" title. Remember, facts can't be copyrighted. |
| Sander_Marechal Aug 23, 2009 4:25 AM EDT |
Quoting:Here's your "magic sysrq sequence" Are you sure that's right? I was learned the line "Raising Skinny Elephants Is Utterly Boring", a.k.a: Alt+SysRq+r Take control of keyboard from X Alt+SysRq+s Sync to disk Alt+SysRq+e Terminate programs (SIGTERM) Alt+SysRq+i Kill programs (SIGKILL) Alt+SysRq+u Unmount filesystems Alt+SysRq+b Reboot Wikipedia gives the same in a slightly different order: "Raising Elephants Is So Utterly Boring", "Reboot Even If System Utterly Broken". Makes sense as well to sync disks after programs have been killed. |
| gus3 Aug 23, 2009 5:45 PM EDT |
Quoting:Are you sure that's right?It's right enough for me. Sometimes it needs to check the filesystems afterwards, sometimes not. But if it doesn't reboot after the "b" strike, then it's hosed anyway. |
| Bob_Robertson Aug 23, 2009 6:10 PM EDT |
Well, I wrote it down and stuck it to the back of the monitor. ...and within an hour, used it because XINE reached the end of a short video and LOCKUP. Argh! I should have gotten a motherboard with nVidia graphics. At least those I know work. |
| gus3 Aug 23, 2009 6:51 PM EDT |
Not necessarily. I've encountered xine hangs on my nVidia card. The only thing I can figure is that it's a conflict between xine's assumptions and the kernel's reality. |
| Sander_Marechal Aug 23, 2009 7:20 PM EDT |
I used to have Xine problems a year ago. I switched to gstreamer-based apps and never looked back. |
| Bob_Robertson Aug 23, 2009 7:50 PM EDT |
Interesting. In 6 years I never had a problem with XINE on an nvidia card. It was my old laptop, which finally had the screen cr@p out. But now, it's got a green stripe across the bottom of the XINE window, there are flashes and lines in the video when it's moving quickly, and little things like locking up the machine that just annoys the heck out of me. Anyway, I had my choice of mobos and picked this one. I will deal with it, since by any objective measure it's my choice in software that's messing up. |
| caitlyn Aug 23, 2009 9:55 PM EDT |
I don't have any nVidia cards but... I've never had a problem with Xine, an app I really like and use regularly. As always, YMMV. |
| softwarejanitor Aug 24, 2009 9:38 AM EDT |
@gus3 I use nVidia cards in every machine I have except my netbook, and I've never had problems with Xine. |
| jdixon Aug 24, 2009 9:51 AM EDT |
> I switched to gstreamer-based apps and never looked back. Whereas I've had problems with everything but Xine at one time or another. Oh well, as Caitlyn notes, YMMV. |
| Bob_Robertson Aug 24, 2009 2:02 PM EDT |
> YMMV That reminds me of the movie _Herbie The Love Bug_ (the original, with real actors and a script), where they discuss the idea that even with mass production, "identical" things aren't actually identical. Even with the "same" hardware and software, systems end up being just a little bit different. So when do we reach the singularity? When I try to turn off my PC some day, with it say "I'm sorry Bob, I can't do that."? |
| mrider Aug 24, 2009 3:15 PM EDT |
That's not a Love Bug, that's a Love Feature! :) http://www.windowsnetworking.com/kbase/WindowsTips/WindowsXP... |
| Sander_Marechal Aug 24, 2009 5:48 PM EDT |
Quoting:So when do we reach the singularity? When I try to turn off my PC some day, with it say "I'm sorry Bob, I can't do that."? Nah. When we reach the singularity we will all have computers embedded in our skull running 24/7. Go Captain Cyborg! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Warwick#Robotics:_Project... |
| tuxchick Aug 24, 2009 5:51 PM EDT |
This is one funny thread. I shall certainly find a way to use the "Microsoft Mindless Automaton Handbook". Paul will address PSUs in part 2 next week. He was so overcome by having a high-end mobo and quad-core CPU to play with it rattled his composure. |
| softwarejanitor Aug 24, 2009 6:40 PM EDT |
I don't always put much stock in power supply ratings... I've seen a lot of cheap, crappy power supplies (mostly very cheap Chinese built ones) that I'd have serious doubt actually lived up to their advertised specs or that failed within a shorter time than they should have. On the other hand, for example, the last three machines I've built are in the Shuttle xPC "shoe box" case/power supply/mobo combo... And the video cards I've put in them (nVidia GeForce 9x00 chipset) claim that they require way more than the total rated output of the power supply by themselves... But they seem to run stable nonetheless. |
| Sander_Marechal Aug 24, 2009 7:35 PM EDT |
Quoting:they seem to run stable nonetheless. Are you pushing all your hardware to the limits at the same time? I'd try playing something like ET: Quake Wars. The Megatexture features used by the engine will keep your disks busy while the rest of the game stresses your CPU and GPU. |
| softwarejanitor Aug 24, 2009 9:28 PM EDT |
@Sander_Marechal No, the most stressful games I've run have been Doom 3, Unreal Tournament 2004 and the Penumbra Collection. But those all seem to run fine. |
| Bob_Robertson Aug 25, 2009 9:58 AM EDT |
> He was so overcome by having a high-end mobo and quad-core CPU to play with it rattled his composure. I'm right there with him on that one. Except the "high end mobo" part. :^( |
| gus3 Aug 25, 2009 10:08 AM EDT |
Quoting:He was so overcome by having a high-end mobo and quad-core CPU to play with it rattled his composure.One sure way to contain the enthusiasm, is to let it sit for 24 hours. That's what I did with my AMD64 dual-core. And I really do think the wait calmed me enough to keep me from doing something really stupid. |
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