# new machine just for Gentoo

## mounty1

Hello, I want a new workstation and it will be running Gentoo.  Now I could just go out and buy a beige box but I've been thinking about what I want and these are the criteria.  Maybe people could comment.It does not necessarily have to be x86.  I run Gentoo on an Apple G5 currently so am comfortable with non-x86 architectures.Super super fast, of course.  I'm thinking of a multi-CPU box.Lower power.  Maybe ARM ?Extremely quiet as normal computer hum gives me a headache.  A system with a separate PSU like the old Apple mini would be attractive, as it would reduce the need for cooling fans in the main box.  Maybe a separate HDD box as well.Graphics not so important as it will not be used for gaming;  just development, email and WWW.It is likely that I would have to have the machine built to order rather than off the shelf.  Suggestions are gladly received.

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## John R. Graham

Super, super fast and ARM are currently not compatible goals.  If you want super quiet, you may want to consider water cooling.

- John

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## Shining Arcanine

Could you specify a target budget and target date to have the system? IBM makes systems that meet most of your needs fairly well, but they are likely out of your price range:

http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/power/hardware/795/browse.html

Anyway, depending on when you plan to receive the system, you might be able to wait for Intel's Sandy Bridge architecture, which is more energy efficient than anything Intel or AMD sells now and outperforms all existing x86 processors on the market. Here is a preview of the processor:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/3871/the-sandy-bridge-preview-three-wins-in-a-row

The preview lacks certain performance enhancements such as software that can take advantage of the new AVX vector instructions, Turbo Boost for single-threaded workloads and also possibly turbo boost on the integrated GPU, but it is still a very impressive demonstration of Intel's technology and it is probably something you would want to consider.

By the way, by CPUs, do you mean threads, cores or physical CPUs?

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## mounty1

Well, I would need 8 Tb but this is for Gentoo not Vista.    :Wink: 

I suppose a limit of AU$3000 | EUR 2100.  No specific date, so if there is this super-spiffy Sandy Bridge architecture round the corner, I don't mind waiting for say a year for mobo etc. to become available.  But then it would be necessary to wait for the GCC people to add support for all the new instructions.

When I say "multiple CPUs", that's only the means to the end of higher speed so it doesn't matter if that multiple dies, hyper threading or multiple separate packages.

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## Shining Arcanine

 *mounty1 wrote:*   

> Well, I would need 8 Tb but this is for Gentoo not Vista.   
> 
> I suppose a limit of AU$3000 | EUR 2100.  No specific date, so if there is this super-spiffy Sandy Bridge architecture round the corner, I don't mind waiting for say a year for mobo etc. to become available.  But then it would be necessary to wait for the GCC people to add support for all the new instructions.
> 
> When I say "multiple CPUs", that's only the means to the end of higher speed so it doesn't matter if that multiple dies, hyper threading or multiple separate packages.

 

While there are some very nice systems available based off Intel's older processors now, it would probably be best to wait for Sandy Bridge, which is supposed to be released in the next 3 months.

As for AVX support, GCC has AVX support as of version 4.5.0, although I do not know how good it is:

http://gcc.gnu.org/onlinedocs/gcc-4.5.0/gcc/i386-and-x86_002d64-Options.html

The specifications for the AVX extensions have been available for a few years, so in theory, the GCC team has had plenty of time to implement support for them.

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## dol-sen

For a super quiet system. I purchased a Cooler Master Sileo case with power supply.  It is super quiet, and you can barely hear it run, even though it is right beside me.  The case and PS fans are large & slower spinning (quiet), the entire case is lined with sound deadening foam.

I would get those from now on, even if I have to order it in.  It'll take pretty much any mobo's, mutiple hdd's,...

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## Shining Arcanine

 *dol-sen wrote:*   

> For a super quiet system. I purchased a Cooler Master Sileo case with power supply.  It is super quiet, and you can barely hear it run, even though it is right beside me.  The case and PS fans are large & slower spinning (quiet), the entire case is lined with sound deadening foam.
> 
> I would get those from now on, even if I have to order it in.  It'll take pretty much any mobo's, mutiple hdd's,...

 

For a quiet system, it would be best to follow advice from SPCR, which specializes in that:

http://www.silentpcreview.com/

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## dE_logics

 *John R. Graham wrote:*   

> Super, super fast and ARM are currently not compatible goals.  If you want super quiet, you may want to consider water cooling.
> 
> - John

 

Or nitrox along with super fast.

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## disi

My desktop at home is watercooled and there are really really a lot of different systems. I have a radiator with a fan, there are also fanless solutions.

Important to know:

the water going through the pump makes a gulping noise (annoys me, when I am in bed)

the fan (if you have one at all) is usually very quiet and not noticeable, this depends on where you connect it and you BIOS settings

usually the systems are overcooled (my AMD Phenom X4 runs on ~28 degrees celsius, the GPU ~40), so use less and it makes less noise  :Smile: 

be prepared to be a "handyman", those systems need some metalwork and practical thinking to fit into the case

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## tomk

Moved from Gentoo Chat to Kernel & Hardware as it's not about Gentoo specifically.

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## Shining Arcanine

 *disi wrote:*   

> My desktop at home is watercooled and there are really really a lot of different systems. I have a radiator with a fan, there are also fanless solutions.
> 
> Important to know:
> 
> the water going through the pump makes a gulping noise (annoys me, when I am in bed)
> ...

 

The best pumps emit 26 dBm. Good fans can be at 15 dBm, although in practice, they can range from that to very large numbers, such as 50 dBm. Getting them to 15 dBm requires undervolting them, because no fans are sold that are that quiet.

I have heard of someone using running water as coolant for his computer, which I have also heard is illegal. For the majority of people, watercooling is probably not the wisest choice if they are trying to minimize noise emissions.

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## 1clue

When you say, "not necessarily Intel" do you mean "I don't want Intel" or do you mean that you're open for all options?

I built an i7 920 that was pretty pimped out for a little over $3000 USD.  I know that's out of your range unless Aussie dollars are worth more than I think.  But as for quiet I think I did pretty good.  I got a case with 5 fans in it, and paid attention to the power supply fan and the CPU fan to get everything low noise.  Since I don't game and don't overclock, everything runs very cool except for the power supply, which should be  a 1000 w instead of 700.

The thing is, I hooked all the fans up to CPU control so they turn at very low speed.  I can hear the system running if nothing else is going on, but if there's any other noise I don't hear anything.

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## mounty1

 *1clue wrote:*   

> When you say, "not necessarily Intel" do you mean "I don't want Intel" or do you mean that you're open for all options?

 All options.  I'll have a good look at the i7 920, of which I had not previously heard. *1clue wrote:*   

> I built an i7 920 that was pretty pimped out for a little over $3000 USD.  I know that's out of your range unless Aussie dollars are worth more than I think.

 I reckon they are:  USD3000 is approx. AUD3290 and I'd stretch to that if the system were worth it.

Thanks to you and all for your comments.  I appreciate people's time in giving their ideas.

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## 1clue

An i7 is not a low-power system.  It's a quad core with hyperthreading so it looks like 8 cores.  It's a high performance tower that sucks power like crazy.  I was building the fastest box I could afford, basically, without concern for power saving but also without overclocking.  I only used my system as a reference--unlike some of these guys I don't build a new box every few days so this is the only recent box I know.   :Smile:   You could probably build my same box for significantly less right here near Chicago today, don't know about Aussie stores.

The reason I posted is because I think careful choice of enclosure with good air channeling and way more fans than you actually need, with slow spinning fans which are under control of temperature sensing circuitry, makes a huge difference with noise.  I don't know if I buy into the water cooling idea for a quiet workstation, I think what you're after could be done with a lot lower tech/lower priced parts for less money.

Frankly I think some noise insulation and all would make my i7 be virtually silent, and I have 5 high RPM drives in here too.

Again let me say I'm not the expert here.  I had what I consider to be relevant information and shared it, for you to use or ignore as you wish.  If one of these other rocket scientists disputes what I say, they're probably right and I'm probably not.

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## Shining Arcanine

 *1clue wrote:*   

> An i7 is not a low-power system.  It's a quad core with hyperthreading so it looks like 8 cores.  It's a high performance tower that sucks power like crazy.  I was building the fastest box I could afford, basically, without concern for power saving but also without overclocking.  I only used my system as a reference--unlike some of these guys I don't build a new box every few days so this is the only recent box I know.    You could probably build my same box for significantly less right here near Chicago today, don't know about Aussie stores.
> 
> The reason I posted is because I think careful choice of enclosure with good air channeling and way more fans than you actually need, with slow spinning fans which are under control of temperature sensing circuitry, makes a huge difference with noise.  I don't know if I buy into the water cooling idea for a quiet workstation, I think what you're after could be done with a lot lower tech/lower priced parts for less money.
> 
> Frankly I think some noise insulation and all would make my i7 be virtually silent, and I have 5 high RPM drives in here too.
> ...

 

A POWER7 would use more power than a Core i7. It probably would also outperform it.

The Core i7 has a great deal of circuitry dedicated to power management, so it tends to idle much less power than scaling the POWER7's idle power consumption to be proportional to the differences in their respective thermal design powers would suggest. I believe Anandtech.com measured its idle power consumption at something like 6 watts DC power.

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