Hello all.
This is my first post so I'm not sure if this post belongs here.
I'm going to be a Graduate student and am in need of a new desktop/notebook for data computation. Currently, I am running a Fujitsu S-series lifebook with a Pentium M 1.4ghz and 1gb of ram on Debian Linux/Windows XP.
It is clear to me that my laptop is not as fast as it could be. Transforming data and manipulating data (around a million lines and 20 columns per line) take a good amount of time. Usually what I do is code in a text editor, then alt-tab over to my Statistics package and load the code. I guess the wait-time is not *that* bad assuming your code does not mess up, but my code usually messes up 5 minutes into the process.
Another gripe I have is the intense alt-tabbing I have to do. Usually I have a few text editors open, gaim (AIM), a few mozilla firefox windows, some openoffice documents, and a few terminals open. It's getting annoying, so I'm planning to have at least two monitors.
So here is my proposed setup for the concerns I just described. I hope you guys will comment.
*AMD Athlon 64 single or duo core processor
*2gb (overkill?) ram
*any mobo that supports cpu and ram
*mid-range graphics card (preferably Nvidia as it has native Linux drivers) that supports two or more monitors
*new PSU
*a few 19" lcds
As for the other parts, I will salvage from a computer I have at home: old ATX antec case, 160gb 7200rpm 8mb cache Maxtor hard drive and dvd burner.
I'm not sure what video card I might need to support what I do. I don't game (although I can't resist a new game sometimes, but I am not a hardcore gamer). I hope to just have firefox, text editors, and an occasional movie playing all at once.
Is this setup ideal for what I described? My budget is most likely $1000. Will you guys help me fill in the blanks for some of the brands/model numbers?
OR do you guys think my old AMD Athlon XP 2100 with 1gb ram and the above salvaged parts is good enough for data manipulation? I honestly don't know how the old desktop will compare to my notebook.
Thanks
This is my first post so I'm not sure if this post belongs here.
I'm going to be a Graduate student and am in need of a new desktop/notebook for data computation. Currently, I am running a Fujitsu S-series lifebook with a Pentium M 1.4ghz and 1gb of ram on Debian Linux/Windows XP.
It is clear to me that my laptop is not as fast as it could be. Transforming data and manipulating data (around a million lines and 20 columns per line) take a good amount of time. Usually what I do is code in a text editor, then alt-tab over to my Statistics package and load the code. I guess the wait-time is not *that* bad assuming your code does not mess up, but my code usually messes up 5 minutes into the process.
Another gripe I have is the intense alt-tabbing I have to do. Usually I have a few text editors open, gaim (AIM), a few mozilla firefox windows, some openoffice documents, and a few terminals open. It's getting annoying, so I'm planning to have at least two monitors.
So here is my proposed setup for the concerns I just described. I hope you guys will comment.
*AMD Athlon 64 single or duo core processor
*2gb (overkill?) ram
*any mobo that supports cpu and ram
*mid-range graphics card (preferably Nvidia as it has native Linux drivers) that supports two or more monitors
*new PSU
*a few 19" lcds
As for the other parts, I will salvage from a computer I have at home: old ATX antec case, 160gb 7200rpm 8mb cache Maxtor hard drive and dvd burner.
I'm not sure what video card I might need to support what I do. I don't game (although I can't resist a new game sometimes, but I am not a hardcore gamer). I hope to just have firefox, text editors, and an occasional movie playing all at once.
Is this setup ideal for what I described? My budget is most likely $1000. Will you guys help me fill in the blanks for some of the brands/model numbers?
OR do you guys think my old AMD Athlon XP 2100 with 1gb ram and the above salvaged parts is good enough for data manipulation? I honestly don't know how the old desktop will compare to my notebook.
Thanks
