[ale] Building computers

[David Jackson]

>>In this case it was that the vendor claimed compatibility with the Dell
H305P-02 but it had a completely different motherboard connector.
<<

Okay, yeah.  Now I get it.  I remember buying a Dell once, and it was
really weird.  I think at the time I was Mr. Mom and struggling to keep up
with an infant, so I just bought something that was on sale.  And it was a
mistake when I later wanted to upgrade it.  IIRC, I took the CPU, memory
and drives and put them into another case and motherboard and PSU.  And
then I gave that box to my brother.  I just built another computer
altogether.  I had forgotten about all that.  I can see Dell for laptops,
but I haven't bought another desktop of theirs.

>>>Why DIMM Y and not X? A discussion on power
consumption and quiet operations.
<<<

On RAM, first is the slot:  DDR4, DDR3, etc.  Next are the timings:  3600,
3400, 3200, etc.  Next is the CASS latency.  And then is the price, which
is largely a product of current market supply and product lines.  We could
get into the quality of the brand names and the return guarantee, etc.
Nowadays, Ryzen motherboards might be certified with certain memory DIMMs
and not others.  I'm not sure if that is as much of a problem now as it was
a few years ago.  I kind of chalk that up to a new product line that DIMM
manufacturers haven't tested yet, but I don't know here.  If you're
interested in overclocking, you'll want to look at the best products for
that.  I've had good luck with G.Skill, Corsair, and some others.  I would
also look closely at the pairings of DIMM and motherboard chipset, check
reviews, your favorite hardware forums, etc.

I think I already gave my $0.02 on quiet operations here, right?  I have
tinnitus in my left ear, usually, so I'm picking up phones and yelling,
'Hello!  Hello!  Dammit, stop calling me!!!'   Well, some days are better
than others...

>>>That would take me an hour on YouTube, or sub 5 seconds on a wiki.
While there are unique system requirements, there seems to be a general
set of: desktop, desktop with video, desktop gaming, file server, backup
server (w/raid array), and firewall/proxy server. You could start that
sort of wiki page and save a lot of the emails.  :)
<<<

You've got the idea all fleshed out!  Sounds to me like you're volunteering
Buddy!  ;-D

On Mon, Aug 10, 2020 at 5:56 PM Leam Hall via Ale <ale at ale.org> wrote:

> On 8/10/20 5:03 PM, David Jackson wrote:
>
> > As far as PSU compatibility, size is the most frequent problem (ie, it's
> > got to fit inside the case).
>
> In this case it was that the vendor claimed compatibility with the Dell
> H305P-02 but it had a completely different motherboard connector.
>
> > I guess my thought here is that if you want to build a desktop box, Linux
> > compatibility is no longer a large problem.
>
> Less about compatibility, more about picking quality components from a
> wide variety of options. A good CPU for multi-core stuff, and a good
> motherboard it can sit on. Why DIMM Y and not X? A discussion on power
> consumption and quiet operations.
>
> YouTube is okay to learn the process, but doesn't do data well. If I
> look at a spec sheet that says "For 8+ core desktop, use CPU A,
> Motherboard B, at least Q RAM, and one of the F brand video cards." That
> would take me an hour on YouTube, or sub 5 seconds on a wiki.
>
> While there are unique system requirements, there seems to be a general
> set of: desktop, desktop with video, desktop gaming, file server, backup
> server (w/raid array), and firewall/proxy server. You could start that
> sort of wiki page and save a lot of the emails.  :)
>
> Leam
>
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