Recommend hardware for Linux box.

Computer Forum CPU, Motherboards and Memory
1

If this is not the correct forum, I’m sure someone will let me know :slight_smile: . Please pardon the length of this post; I hope to provide the necessary information.

There are two objectives I hope to achieve: 1) to install a RAID 1 array for backup/redundancy, and 2) to put together a Linux box. I haven’t previously done either. I have zero interest in overclocking [am I the only one :-)?]; my primary concern is stability. I prefer a Canadian source for the components. All the prices below are $CDN, and I’ve included shipping and tax.

For a very long time, I’ve been wanting to put together a Linux box, and now I hope to do so, as inexpensively as possible. Components I already have, include monitor, keyboard, mouse, 160GB WD Caviar PATA, 2 x 80GB WD Caviar PATA, 40GB WD Caviar PATA, 40GB IBM PATA, 40GB Maxtor PATA, 250GB Acomdata External USB2.0, Yamaha CD-RW, NIC100 PCI, Leadtek GeForce 2 64MB 4x AGP video card, and Gigabyte GA-7VTXE mainboard (VIA KT266A chipset). A DVD-ROM and 3.5 floppy are cheap. Some of those hard drives are presently on my Windows box, so they won’t all be going in the Linux box; but any of the currently used ones can be swapped out.

What I need: a CPU, memory, a case and power supply, and a PCI RAID controller.

The case and p/s I’ve already picked out (about $220), but feel free to recommend them anyway :slight_smile: .

For the RAID controller, I was considering the Promise Fasttrak 100 TX/2 or TX/2000 at about $115 to $140. The 7VTXE mainboard takes up to an XP 3000 processor ($145 locally). Memory, 2 x 512MB sticks for about $145.

That’s $700, which seems outrageous, considering the number of components I already have. But here’s where it gets even more interesting: for only very slightly more than the cost of the RAID controller card, I can get a new socket 939 mainboard with onboard serial/parallel RAID, dual 1G NICs, firewire2, and lots of other goodies! The same 1G RAM (dual channel) won’t cost any more, and the Athlon 64 3000 will be about $100 more.

So really, the new board route will be only $100 more than using the old mainboard, and be (I presume) much faster. The hard part is in choosing the mainboard. I would like a 939 board, and I would like an nForce chipset, because it supports RAID across parallel and serial drives. I don’t presently have any serial ATA drives, but the thing is that the VIA chipset boards I’ve found either don’t meet other requirements, or have only one RAID-capable IDE channel–and it’s no good to put two drives in a RAID 1 array on the same cable. I also need the mainboard to be AGP, to use my video card. PCI-E mainboards are similarly priced, but then I would need a new video card, and PCI-E video cards can be very expensive. [Unless there’s a cheap PCI-E card that will in fact provide performance equal to my old GeForce 2 4x AGP card?]

So, should I go with the old mainboard, or with a new one. Either way, please recommend some good components :smiley: . Thanks for reading, and all input is appreciated.

2

That depends on the motherboard you’re looking at. The Gigabyte GA-7VAXP Ultra (KT400) has both SATA and PATA RAID, and ran great for me. It’s got an on-board Promise RAID controller that could be configured to do RAID or just be an additional IDE controller. The 7VAXP also should fill the requiremnts for everything else you need. SATA is pushing PATA out of the way, but I do understand wanting to keep your good IDE drives (I’m in the same boat).

PCIe cards are coming down in price as it’s a technology that will replace it (or has, depending on your view), and even a lowly Radeon X300, or GeForceFX 5700 PCIe card will beat the crap out of any GeForce 2. If you’re going for Linux, it’s best to stick with nVidia, mainly due to the mature drivers (although ATI is improving).

To be real honest, I can’t see a good reason, given your requirements, to go to the A64 platform, much less PCIe. Yes, it’s most certainly better than what you have now, but I can’t see it being a real wise upgrade considering your goals for this box.

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If you’re really into gaming, you’ll need a new video card, but that goes without saying. Otherwise your existing card will work fine. Either way, definately stick with NVidia, as ATI isn’t a crucible you want to put yourself through. As far as the RAID, unless you want to spend several hundred bucks on a decent 3Ware controller for a hardware RAID, a cheap Promise or RocketRaid IDE controller will do the job just fine for a software one. SATA is better, but since you already have PATA drives I’d go that route. It’s best to have identical (or nearly identical) drives for a RAID, and I’d avoid using that Maxtor drive altogether. Everything else will work fine, depending of course on what you want to do with it. What will the machines primary duties be?

-AT

4

Thanks for the replies, guys.

You’re right that my current hardware would do fine for a Linux box, and I don’t really need all the new toys right now. It’s just frustrating that the cost is so high for an old CPU and some memory, and that a new mainboard with all the goodies would only add about $100-150 to what I’d have to spend anyway, so I thought that might be worthwhile to take me into the future.

For the RAID drives, I can move the two WD 80’s out of the Windows box, and put the 40’s in that Windows box. The 160 is in the Windows box and is used for video editing. That might change once I become more familiar with Linux.

Other than that, the boxes are used mostly for programming, office apps, internet, etc. I don’t do gaming; the video editing is probably the most stressing application.

My long term goal is complete migration to Linux; primary concerns are integrity and stability, but I’d also like to be ready for future technology :slight_smile: .

5

[QUOTE=JustJoe]
My long term goal is complete migration to Linux; primary concerns are integrity and stability, but I’d also like to be ready for future technology :slight_smile: .
[/QUOTE]
Very smart move. You’ll have my support here on the forums during your endevour.

-AT

6

Thanks for the support, Anti.

If the Promise PCI card isn’t going to benefit me for Linux RAID any more than straight Linux software, then eliminating that card would make the price difference between the new vs old route much greater. But it’s still a lot of money to spend for the old setup, and doesn’t provide any future-proofing. I guess I need to sit down and count my pennies, and come to a decision on which route to go. Any additional thoughts are appreciated.

7

Regarding case and p/s, I had wanted to go with this Chieftec Dragon case and this Antec TruePower Blue 480W supply, for a total (with shipping and tax) of $241.

But, if I stay with my old mainboard, I could cut costs by going with this Chieftec Matrix case with Ultra 400W supply combination, for $155 (w/s&t), a savings of $86. 400W should be adequate for the old mainboard.

Both cases use the identical chassis style with a different bezel (I like the Dragon bezel better), but the Dragon chassis is aluminum, the Matrix is steel. The big difference is, of course, the power supply. I really wanted an Antec TruePower; I don’t know anything about the Ultra. Can anyone shed some light?

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That’s a pretty popular style of case. I’ve got one in black like the Dragon, and it’s very nice to work with due to the use of drive cages and rails.

Ultra is not a brand I’d recommend. It’s a rebadged, pimped out brand made by some Chinese-named company. Some PSU gurus at a couple other forums I hit up know more about the specifics, but the Ultra brand is one in a long list of un-recommended brands.

I’d recommend the Antec over the Ultra anyday. I don’t know the prices off-hand, but you might check out power supplies by Fortron/Sparkle (same company, different brands), Enermax, and Thermaltake.

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Yes, this is exactly the same case style that my current Windows box is in (in biege), and I really like it. The Windows box has an Enermax supply (only 330W).

So, pretty much as I figured, I’ll avoid the Ultra. Have to check the prices on others, but guess I’ll go for the Antec :slight_smile: .

I just realized that if I go with a blue box, I’ll never find matching blue drives :confused: .

10

Enermax is pretty conservative in rating their PSU’s by the watt, so I’d say you’re probably pretty set with that unit. You might run into trouble if you’d get a high-end card like a GeForceFX 5900 or GF6800, but it’s a bit different field than under Windows. Hell, that GF2 MX might be plenty, depending on the drivers you have and what you want to play.

I have seen some optical drives by Artec with a blue face, but I’m unsure of their quality. You could always give a shot at painting them too (although it can be kind of a pain to get them off).

11

[QUOTE=Big B]
I have seen some optical drives by Artec with a blue face, but I’m unsure of their quality. You could always give a shot at painting them too (although it can be kind of a pain to get them off).
[/QUOTE]
Artec drives are, meh, so-so. They work alright, and they’re fairly fast. I don’t know about long-term reliability, because I am not exposed to any which are particularly old. If you’re going to paint plastics, definately use Krylon® Fusion. Normal spraypaint will peel off, but that stuff actually bonds to the plastic permanently. Pretty cool stuff!

-AT

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Hi B. Saw the Artec at my suppliers in yellow, and says they make 'em in different colours (including blue), but not available at those suppliers . Guess if I keep the case front door closed I can (or will have to) live with the beige drives in the blue case.

Power supplies: big topic :slight_smile: . Yes, the Enermax is good, but no less expensive than the Antec TruePower. I did find some cheaper Sparkle and Thermaltake ones, though. You indicated those are good brands? The Thermaltake is a 420W unit for $60 plus s&t, the Sparkle is only 350W for $55 plus s&t. Would 350W be adequate for a box based on my old mainboard? Given the difference in price/power/name, would you choose either of these to save money over the Antec? Thanks.

13

Hi Anti. Nice tip on the spray-paint :slight_smile: . I think I’ll pass on painting, though. I could always get the same tower in beige, but the funny thing is that it would cost quite a bit more than the blue one :confused: .

14

I have an artec drive. Very cheap, light, faster than LG. I’ve had mine for a little while now and have put it through some abuse. not one burning error yet.

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Well, I’ve searched and just can’t find blue drives (Artec or otherwise) :frowning: . Too bad.

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wats so awesome about linux is it doesnt demand as much as windows yet its sometimes more powerful, and if you build together an awesome system, with linux, its kick ass

17

Well, I’ve had some difficulty finding a 266FSB Athlon XP for the old mainboard, as they are no longer in production. I finally found a 2200+ (locally), for $80 + tax. While Gigabyte says the GA-7VTXE is okay up to 3000+ (266FSB of course), AMD indicates that board to be certified only up to 2100+, and only Model 6, not Model 8 (what does that mean?). I don’t know whether the local 2200+ is Model 6 or 8; it is OEM (a replacement part), but the price includes a heatsink/fan. But, I can return it if it doesn’t work, so all I’d be out (besides my time), is the price of the PC2100 RAM. Then, of course, I’d be back to using a new mainboard.

Okay, I picked up the 2200+ CPU yesterday. The cooler he included is a Speeze RaptorCool 1 5F273B1L3. I’ve never heard of Speeze, but googled it and found the reviews (like this one) to be quite good. I plan to order the rest of the parts tomorrow.

Here’s my parts list:

Case: Chieftec Dragon Sky Blue Aluminum $80.97
Power Supply: Antec TrueBlue 480W $116.15
Case Fans: 4 x Aerocool Aerolite Quad Blue LED $51.96
Mainboard: Gigabyte GA-7VTXE have it
CPU: AMD Athlon XP 2200+ OEM w/HSF $93.02
Cooler: Speeze RaptorCool 1 5F273B1L3 included with CPU
RAM: Kingston 512MB PC2100 DDR 266 $64.99
Video Card: Leadtek WinFAST GeForce2 MX MAX 4xAGP have it
NIC: D-Link DFE-530TXS have it
Hard Drive: Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 60 7200RPM 40GB have it
Hard Drive: Maxtor D740X-6L 7200RPM 40GB have it
Hard Drive: IBM Deskstar 7200RPM 40GB have it
Floppy: No-name 1.44 MB $9.75
DVD-ROM: LG 16X OEM $32.90
CD-RW: Yamaha CRW2200E-VK have it
Keyboard: Logitech have it
Mouse: Logitech have it
Monitor: NEC MultiSync FE950+ 19" have it

TigerDirect shipping and tax: $32.27
NCIX shipping and tax: $29.71
GRAND TOTAL: $511.72

Besides being way too much money :frowning: , does this sound like a good build for a Linux box?

The case and power supply should do well for future upgrades. Yeah, I know, $50+ is crazy for case fans, but these offered the best CFM/Noise ratio I could find, pushing 38.41cfm at 26dBa, and at only 2400RPM, they shouldn’t be squealers. The fact that they’re lighted, and blue to match the case, didn’t hurt, either :smiley: . I couldn’t find any reviews of this particular one, but Aerocool seems to be well reviewed in general. If anyone knows anything about these, please speak up.

Pushing a lot of air is important, as there’s eventually going to be a lot of hard drives in this box. The plan is to initially install the two 40GB Maxtors as master and slave on IDE1 primary, and raid them as I get my feet wet with Linux. Yes, I know this will hurt performance, but I will initially have only the two IDE channels, and the secondary will be cabled up to the top of the box for the optical drives. Then, when I’m comfortable with Linux, I plan to move the two Maxtors to the WinBox, and bring over from the WinBox the two 80GB WD drives, the 160GB WD drive, and the Promise Ultra-100 PCI controller, and add the IBM 40GB drive as well. The two 80GB WDs will go on channel 1 and channel 2 of the Ultra-100, will be RAIDed, and will be the boot drive. These will contain the system and data. The 160GB WD and 40GB IBM will go on the mainboard IDE primary master and slave, while the secondary will remain on the optical drives. These drives are basically scratch space, for things like video editing.

At that time I’ll also either move the Yamaha CR-RW to the WinBox and bring over the Sony DRU-530A DVD-RW drive, or just buy a new double-layer DVD drive for the Linux box.

The last item, which I’m really not sure about, is speakers (pointers welcome). I thought I’d just get a pair of cheap speakers and use the on-board sound initially, then later move the cheap speakers to the WinBox mainboard, and bring over the SoundBlaster Live and the good speakers.

Let me know what you think. If there’s something that could be done better, please speak up, as I’d like to get the parts ordered as soon as possible. I’m really looking forward to this Linux box :smiley: !