On Fri, 11 Oct 2019 at 22:27, Sam Varshavchik <mrsam@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Tim via users writes:
> On Wed, 2019-10-09 at 22:08 -0400, Sam Varshavchik wrote:
> > My C++ compiles are getting longer. It's time to get new hardware,
> > but I'm having some difficulty finding Fedora-friendly hardware,
> > that's slightly above average grade, such as dual CPU and spinning
> > rust (I haven't gotten quite aboard the SSD train, with its built-in
> > expiration date).
>
> You should probably tell people more of your requirements, if you're
> after recommendations. Such as do you need a sound card, graphics
> card, will on-board do?
My requirements are not very stringent. Onboard video and audio will do, as
long as it works out of the box with x.org, and has reasonable compositing
and can keep up with full screen video playback. Dual 1GB NIC, a pair of
SATA drives, and then as many cores and RAM as I can get, hopefully 12 cores
at least. I guess what I'm really looking for is some place which offers a
wide selection of hardware that I can match up to within my budget. But all
the places that I looked seemed to be limited to 5-6 models, and quite
limited customizations options. I end up with either having my only video
choices be the latest and greatest Nvidia chipsets that only work with their
binary blobs (no thank you), or all the 12+ core options are ridiculously
overpriced Xeons; or they seem to intentionally hike up their prices by
having no storage options other than high capacity SSDs, for storage.
Video and AI drive the market for high-end workstations. For a niche
application you either configure your own or look for the best match
in mainstream hardware. When get into heavy processing, the cooling
system becomes an important consideration. The big vendors have
gone to some lengths to ensure CPU's don't slow down under heavy
workloads. For remote sensing and video workloads, heat from HDD's
was an issue some years ago. These days the HDD's are all in
external cabinets and the workstations boot from SSD's.
There are core i9 models with 18 cores and 165 watt TDP (14 nm process)
In 2017:
says: "Intel’s Core i9-7900X is a good choice for enthusiasts running well-threaded
professional tasks, particularly when a Xeon-based workstation might be overkill. "
Dell came pretty close, if slightly pricy. They actually have a workstation
that they certify RHEL for (but ship with Ubuntu). I would've overlooked
having to overpay for Xeons (no AMD options), except that I looked at their
manual. Their motherboards have button cell batteries. Maybe I'm off base,
but who still puts button cell batteries on their motherboards? Dell can't
just pay a few more cents for proper NVRAM? So they go with button cells, to
keep the lights on for the BIOS settings. This is obviously intentional;
this is their business product, clearly the reason for that is to have the
CR2032 go flat in a few years, and lose all BIOS settings; but who cares
since they expect that business will replace their hardware every three
years. Still, this is just plain silly.
I've had those batteries die after a couple years in lowest bid
no-name boxes, but the big vendors use higher quality batteries
and maybe lower power demand clock/BIOS backup memory.
Failures were rare under a 5-year replacement schedule.
says:
"You’ve checked out Dell, you’ve checked out HP. Companies like these want
$5,000+ for a PC that would suit your needs, and unfortunately while you’d be
happy to blow $2,000, you’re not ready to drop $5,000. Understandable. What
can you do? Well, how about buying some hardware and building it all yourself!"
They are using Windows, but for $3000 you can afford to swap out problematic
components. Note the advice on graphics cards.
offers Fedora on Core i9 workstations. They only sell the high end i9's in a case with power
and cooling for multiple graphics cards. For your needs that is overkill, but most systems
with high-CPU's are used with multiple graphics cards.
George N. White III
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