[gentoo-user] new computer : any advice ?

[Philip Webb <purslow@ca.inter.net>]

I've built  4  machines starting in 2000 ,
all with parts bought from Canada Computers in downtown Toronto.
ANB1 + ANB3 had Intel CPUs, ANB2 + ANB4 have AMD CPUs
('ANB' = 'Aristotle's new body', Aristotle being my computer spirit (grin)).
ANB1 (2000) went to the recyclers long ago, ANB3 (2007) is a door-stop ;
ANB2 (2003) still wakes up, but can't talk to a present-day mouse ;
ANB4 (2012) has worked perfectly to date ; ANB2-4 all run Gentoo.

Since I currently have only  1  usable machine, ie no stand-by,
I want to build a new cutting-edge replacement with ANB4 becoming stand-by.

Below are what I put into ANB4 & what is offered today for ANB5 :
I've marked my 1st-take choices with a '*'.
Since my AMD machines have been more successful than the Intels,
I intend to use an AMD CPU again & anyway they seem to be cheaper & faster.
Gigabyte mobos are cheaper & it has been good in ANB4.
I've always used Kingston memory with no problems.
I want Nvidia graphix & the faster card seems a better choice.
SSD HDD DVD drives don't offer much choice, but these seem adequate.

I use the machine for typical desktop office + personal work :
no gaming, no movies, no music (I might try enabling sound in ANB5).
Efficient handling of Gentoo emerges is important.

I am a bit shocked at the big increase in price
for a smaller increase in overall performance,
but I can afford the parts as described ; prices in CAD, of course.

ANB4 :

  120823 CPU : AMD Bulldozer X4 FX-4170 4-Core 4,2 GHz 8 MB    :  129.99
           Item CPUA003075 ; Part FD4170FRGUBOX
  120823 Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 990FX+SB950 1866/1600/1333/1066 : 144.99 M20
          4x PCI Express x16 Gigabit LAN
          6x SATA 6GB/s 2x eSATA 6GB/s 4x USB 3.0+ 14x USB 2.0 AM3+ ATX
           Item MBGA001655 ; Part GA-990FXA-UD3
         Direct replacement : 1 yr                             :   15.95
  120823 Memory : Kingston HyperX 4 GB DDR3 1600 MHz CL9       :   24.99
           Item RAMK003793 ; Part KHX1600C9D3/4G
  120823 Graphix : Asus GT520-1GD3-CSM Nv GT520 810 MHz 1 GB   :   54.99
           Item VCAS002280 ; Part GT520-1GD3-CSM
  120823 SSD : OCZ Vertex4 128 GB SATA3 R 560 MB/s W 430 MB/s  :  114.99
           Item SMOC001080 ; Part VTX4-25SAT3-128G
  120823 HDD : Seagate Barracuda SATA3 500 GB 16 MB 6 Gb/s     :   69.99
           Item HDSG002084 ; Part ST500DM002
         Ont recycle fee                                       :    0.05
  120823 Case : Thermal Master TC-102 ATX Tower 500 W          :   42.99
           
                                                      subtotal :  598.93 
                                                           tax :   77.86
                                                         total :  676.79

ANB5 :

  CPU : AMD :
  
    CPUA003145 FD8320FRHKBOX : Downtown 4 : $ 205
    X8 FX-8320 (125 W) 8-Core Socket AM3+  3.5 GHz   8 Mb Cache  32 nm

    CPUA003140 FD8350FRHKBOX : Downtown 6 : $ 239
    X8 FX-8350 (125 W) 8-Core Socket AM3+  4   GHz   8 Mb Cache  32 nm

    CPUA003445 FD837EWMHKBOX : Downtown 3 : $ 269
    X8 FX-8370E (95 W) 8-Core Socket AM3+  4.3 GHz   8 Mb Cache  32 nm

  * CPUA003454 FD8370FRHKBOX : Downtown 1 : $ 279
    X8 FX-8370 (125 W) 8-Core Socket AM3+  4.3 GHz  16 Mb Cache  32 nm

  Mobo : Asus :

    MBAS003960 M5A97 LE R2.0    : Downtown 5 : $  95
    ASUS M5A97 LE R2.0 Socket AM3+ AMD 970/SB950 Chipset
    Dual Channel DDR3 2133(O.C.) MHz, 2x PCI-Express x16
    GLAN, 6x SATA 6.0 Gb/s, 2x USB 3.0, 6x USB 2.0
    ATX

    MBAS003965 M5A97 R2.0       : Downtown 2 : $ 130
    ASUS M5A97 R2.0 Socket AM3+ AMD 970/SB950 Chipset
    Dual Channel DDR3 2133(O.C.) MHz, 2x PCI-Express x16
    GLAN, 6x SATA 6.0 Gb/s, 2x USB 3.0, 6x USB 2.0
    ATX

    MBAS004035 M5A99X EVO R2.0  : Downtown 2 : $ 145
    ASUS M5A99X EVO R2.0 Socket AM3+ AMD 990X/SB950 Chipset
    Dual Channel DDR3 2133(O.C.) MHz, 3x PCI-Express x16
    GLAN, 6x SATA 6.0 Gb/s, 2x eSATA 6.0Gb/s, 2x USB 3.0, 8x USB 2.0
    ATX

    MBAS003885 M5A99FX PRO R2.0 : Downtown 3 : $ 160
    ASUS M5A99FX PRO R2.0 Socket AM3+ AMD 990FX/SB950 Chipset
    Dual Channel DDR3 2133(O.C.) MHz, 4x PCI-Express x16
    GLAN, 7x SATA 6.0 Gb/s, 1x eSATA, 2x USB 3.0, 8x USB 2.0
    ATX

    MBAS003995 SABERTOOTH 990FX R2.0 : Downtown 2 : $ 240
    ASUS TUF SABERTOOTH 990FX R2.0 Socket AM3+ AMD990FX/SB950 Chipset
    Dual Channel DDR3 1866 MHz, 4x PCI-Express x16
    GLAN, 8x SATA 6.0 Gb/s, 2x eSATA 6.0Gb/s, 4x USB 3.0, 8x USB 2.0
    ATX

    Gigabyte :

    MBGA002151 GA-970A-D3P : Downtown 4 : $ 105
    GIGABYTE GA-970A-D3P (rev. 1.0) Socket AM3+ AMD 970+SB950 Chipset
    Dual Channel DDR3 2000(O.C.) MHz, 2x PCI-Express x16
    GLAN, 6x SATA 6.0 Gb/s, 4x USB 3.0, 14x USB 2.0
    ATX

  * MBGA002794 GA-970A-UD3P : Downtown 6 : $ 120
    GIGABYTE GA-970A-UD3P (rev. 1.0) Socket AM3+ AMD 970+SB950 Chipset
    Dual Channel DDR3 2000(O.C.) MHz, 2x PCI-Express x16
    GLAN, 6x SATA 6.0 Gb/s, 4x USB 3.0, 14x USB 2.0
    ATX

    MBGA001655 GA-990FXA-UD3 : Downtown 3 : $ 150
    GIGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD3 Socket AM3+ AMD 990FX+SB950 Chipset
    Dual Channel DDR3 2000(O.C.) MHz, 4x PCI-Express x16
    GLAN, 6x SATA 6.0 Gb/s, 2x eSATA 6.0Gb/s, 2x USB 3.0, 8x USB 2.0
    ATX

  Memory :

    RAMK007183 HX318C10FRK2/8 : Downtown 6 : $  67
    Kingston HyperX Fury Red 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR3 1866MHz CL10

    RAMK007147 HX318C10FK2/8 : Downtown 1 : $  67
    Kingston HyperX Fury Blue 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR3 1866MHz CL10 DIMMs

  * RAMK007272 HX318C10FBK2/16 : Downtown 2 : $ 119
    Kingston HyperX Fury Black 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR3 1866MHz CL10 DIMMs

    RAMK007281 HX318C10FRK2/16 : Downtown 6 : $ 120
    Kingston HyperX Fury Red 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR3 1866MHz CL10 DIMMs

    RAMK007263 HX318C10FK2/16 : Downtown 1 : $ 120
    Kingston HyperX Fury Blue 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR3 1866MHz CL10 DIMMs

  Graphix :

    VCAS002435 GT610-2GD3-CSM : Downtown 2 : $  65
    ASUS GeForce GT 610 2 GB DDR3
    810 MHz Clock, 1200 MHz Memory
    PCI Express 2.0, D-Sub, DVI, HDMI

    VCAS003034 GT730-SL-1GD3-BRK : Downtown 3 : $  85
    ASUS GeForce GT 730 1 GB GDDR3
    902 MHz Clock, 900 MHz Memory
    PCI Express 2.0, D-Sub/DVI/HDMI

    VCAS002883 GTX750-PHOC-1GD5 : Downtown 2 : $ 150
    ASUS GeForce GTX 750 1 GB GDDR5
    1059 MHz Clock, 5010 MHz Memory
    PCI-Express 3.0, DVI, HDMI

  * VCAS002892 GTX750TI-OC-2GD5 : Downtown 2 : $ 170
    ASUS GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2 GB GDDR5
    1072 MHz Clock, 5400 MHz Memory
    PCI-Express 3.0, DVI, HDMI

  SSD :

  * SMKT001725 SV300S37A/240GCR : Downtown 10 : $ 110
    Kingston SSDNow V300 240 GB 7 mm SATA 6 Gb/s  Read: 450 Write: 450 MB/s 

  HDD :

    HDSG002093 ST1000DM003 : Downtown 10 : $  66
    Seagate Desktop HDD 1 TB 3.5in SATA3 64 MB Cache OEM

  * HDSG003374 ST1000DM003 : Downtown 10 : $  58
    Seagate Desktop HDD 1 TB 3.5in SATA3 64 MB Cache OEM

    HDSG002084 ST500DM002 : Downtown 5 : $ 60
    Seagate Desktop HDD 500 GB 3.5in SATA3 16 MB Cache OEM

  DVD :

  * DVSS004328 SH-224FB/BSBE : Downtown 4 : $ 22
    Samsung (SH-224FB/BSBE) Internal 24x DVD Writer, OEM
    Black, SATA, 1.5 MB Buffer

-- 
========================,,============================================
SUPPORT     ___________//___,   Philip Webb
ELECTRIC   /] [] [] [] [] []|   Cities Centre, University of Toronto
TRANSIT    `-O----------O---'   purslowatchassdotutorontodotca