I’ve decided to build my own new computer with more graphics capability for editing and probably a bit of gaming in the winter months. (looking forward to Formula 1 2010 out in September).
I was looking at the following suppliers:
I have chosen the following:
Mother Board Asus P7P55DLE
Processor Intel i5 760
Graphics Card ATI Radeon HD5770 1Go
4go DDR Mem in two bars.
Samsung Spinpoint F3 1to hard drive.
Antec Sonata III Case
Any suggestions would be welcome.
One particular question: Do I also have to buy the heat sink for the processor or is it included?
Looking forward to some input
Regards
Thanks Nick
I’ll take a look.
Yes Stuart, if you install virtualbox, you can have both running at the same time, or as many as your system can support, and you can switch back and forth between.
It’s a great way to look at the system before you convirt. It is also a very handy way of having an ultra secure system for browsing the web, when you need real security, like accessing your bank accounts etc. There is a post on my blog on how to do that.
Regards
Nick
I’ve installed Ubuntu in parallel to windows and I am given the choice when booting up. By running virtualbox can you run them in parallel?
Stuart
The easiest way to start if you have windows as you base, is to download and install virtualbox, and then grab a copy of Ubuntu Linux in the form of an ISO file, and you can use this as your second OS to have a look at.
This way you can have a look at / play with any new system before you actually have to install it on bare metal hardware.
With modern hardware, you get extremely good performance, and I use them all the time for various things.
Yes have a play, the documentation is very good, but if you get stuck, start another discussion and we can work through any problems.
regards
Nick
Thanks Nick, very enlightening if a little complex for my mechanically engineered brain.
I’ll take a look.
Stuart
Stuart, I have been using AMD processors for years and they have always been very good. They also offer a better price point on the motherboards and processors, so you can spend more on the RAM which always makes a big performance difference. I think these days as well, if you can stretch to using a Solid state disk for your OS, you will also see a massive performance boost. The key to using those, is to make sure your OS swap files are on normal disks.
To answer your other question, I use virtualization to run multiple operating systems at the same time. I always have Linux as the base system, but then I can run Windows, BSD, Solaris all on the same box for different tasks and projects. Also with virtual machines you can move them around between machines without rebuilding them, which saves massive amounts of time.
If you want to have a play then visit Virtualbox.org as it runs on all modern operating systems and is very easy to install and play with.
Regards
Nick
Oh, I forgot, to add to my question about Intel versus AMD, what do you mean by virtualisation?
Stuart
Strangely I was going for the Intel i5 but I currently have an AMD Athlon. I just want the best value / performance.
I too would like to know this! I’ve only ever had Intels, but it seems to me that like MAC a couple of years ago, once you try an AMD, you don’t go back…
Hi Dave
I thought I’d replied to this earlier but it seems to have disappeared.
Thanks for the reply.
I agree with you on Ccleaner, you forget it’s there after a while, just working away when you boot up.
I also use Avast for protection, but the updates are a bit slow when I boot up. Probably the old computer and a poor internet connection. Two teeange boys on the home network downloading , chatting and playing games on-line doesn’t help.
Cheers
Stuart
Nick
Can you tell me why you would go for an AMD rather than Intel, better performance versus price? Type of application?
Thanks
Stuart
Thanks guys. I shall be surfing round those site prior to the footy tomight.
I’ll let you know how things go.
Stuart , that looks like it will be a great unit once it is built.
I use scan.co.uk to have a good look around the hardware, and then use Hexus.net to look for indepth reviews of the various bits and pieces. I would definitely get a Coolmaster processor top cooler, as they are worth every penny. The new ones are really good value as well.
I have also come across this site , which ship to France, that will build your motherboard with the processor and memory and then send it to you PC build
I’m about to upgrade the machine I use for virtualization - so it has to be very beefy - with the following:
ASUS M4A89GTD-PRO/USB3 MOTHERBOARD DDR 3 - motherboard
8GB of DDR3 Ram
AMD Phenom™ II X4 965 Quad-Core 3.4GHz 8MB Cache
Crucial Memory SSD 64GB solid state drive - just for the OS
I’m going to use the SATA disk’s I have and upgrade my external storage cases to support eSATA and USB 3 to speed things up some more.
I will upload some pictures when I have done, and it would be great to see some of your unit once you have it up and running.
Regards
Nick
All looks good to me… The heatsink will be included but I would probably upgrade to this or similar … can make a huge difference but read reviews before you get one. Do you use Tom’s Hardware? Great site. Good choice on the mobo too, I had P4c, P5 and P5q in mine over the years with no problems ever.
Good luck!