Build or Buy Built

[Boris Devouge]

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Messer, David wrote:
| How do you buy your machines?  Select components and put them together
| or buy an off the shelf machine such as a Dell?
|
| I’ve put together components – motherboard I think I like from ASUS, an
| AMD 64 X2, DDR2 ram that the ram manufacturer said would work with the
| motherboard, and a case that proved to have too little air flow.  Still
| waiting for more fans by mail.  I’ve put MS windows on it to try to get
| a feel for how well it’s going to run as I’m not up to speed on Linux
| benchmarking.  I’m hoping it will work when I try to put RHEL5 on it.
| Its purpose is to give me a place to learn Linux - it’s a home machine.
| Thanks,
|
| David
|

I will generally prefer to build my own from some quality components i
have come across over the years. Specifically, i am mentioning them
below. Your mileage may vary, but essentially those have been a great
experience/rewarding purchase for me :

Cases: Prefer well built aluminum cases. They help to stay cool, do not
vibrate and provide lots of airflow, have no sharp edges, usually
already setup with dual 120mm case fans. One name: Lian Li. They are
sure expensive, but IMHO really worth the cost.

http://www.lian-li.com/product/product.php

Power supply : Tagan : Quiet, powerful enough and really reliable

http://www.tagan.com/

Motherboards: usually Asus, Abit or Gigabyte.

Ram: Do not believe the hype and buy expensive low latency ram that
barely nobody could see the difference. Rather, get some Kingston dimms
as they are guarantee for life !

http://www.kingston.com/

CPU fan / cooler : Zalman coolers are big, but they are sure effective.
They will bring your processor temperature way down compare to the stock
fans, but do not hesitate to invest into some very good thermal paste to
put between your cooler and the CPU. Artic Silver is a good option.

http://www.zalman.co.kr/
http://www.arcticsilver.com/

Again, all those are my personal preferences and experiences over the
year building many boxes. If you want to learn linux on it, any box
really will do, but the components i have highlighted, they will sure
provide a durable and reliable machine. Do not under estimate the value
of the case, as it is a easy upgrade, and really makes wonder when
hosting the hardware. Of course this comes at a price, so starting with
a Dell solution and slowly upgrading components is a good solution to
spread cost over some length of time.

Hope this helps.

- --
Boris Devouge                <bdevouge at redhat.com>
Senior Solution Architect    mobile: +44 7921 700937
Red Hat UK
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