On 10/27/2012 08:27 PM, Stan Hoeppner wrote:
I don't know if this makes a difference, but... While this is a home machine there are three of us here. Myself, my wife and daughter. We are all logged in all the time and we are all running separate X sessions all the time. That way, it is just a Ctl-Alt-Fx keystroke for any one of us to get to our session as we left it. Will multiple X sessions each run in their own core, or will they all be running in a single core. If the former, then I can make use of some of those extra cores, if the latter, then fewer cores running at faster speeds does make more sense. Can anyone answer this question?On 10/27/2012 7:29 PM, Marc Shapiro wrote:I'm really getting annoyed by my random system lockups, so I have been looking at new motherboards, new systems, etc....I saw a Fry's add for a motherboard, an AMD 8 Core CPU and memory forThat's a 125 watt CPU (ouch!). That's two 60 watt incandescent bulbs worth of juice and heat output at full load, one bulb worth at idle, and a relatively loud stock cooler to prevent it from melting. Coming from a 2800+ which is a ~60 watt CPU, and given the fact you'll never make use of more than 2 of those 8 cores, I recommend a dual core AthlonII X2 @ 3.4GHz. I have the 3GHz model and the 2nd core is pretty much always idle, with primary core being idle most of the time as well, as is everyone's.
If I decide that the extra cores are not useful then the hardware that you recommend is a distinct possibility. I like the idea of simply using an SSD. That would really speed things up and make the system more responsive and 120GB is more than enough space for me if the old box stays up as a server. If it does not, then the 1 TB drive goes into the new machine. I have several extra cases around that I could probably fit it into, still allowing me to keep the old box if it will run properly without X on it.
Lee
My main worry is the hard drive. I currently have what I think is its older cousin, a 1 TB SATA II drive.
Is there anything that speaks against keeping it?As I mentioned to Stan, I am hoping that the old box will run OK as a server, without X and multiple logins. If so, then it will keep the old drive.
Marc