Please help me find the most graphically competant PC in existance

dav7 · 2008-09-14 13:40:47

Hi there.

This isn't strictly Arch-related, but probably the best place for a post like this nonetheless

The mandatory story (scroll down if you're short on time or are like "TL;DR")

Over the past few weeks, I've posted on forums, listened to people on IRC, thought, thought some more, and tried to get an idea of the kind of the computer I need. And, after way too much stringing myself out over the whole issue, I've finally decided to give up.

You guys know Linux, in the sense that some of you use Linux for the reasons I want/need to run Linux for, and run the applications I want/need to run. So you're walking reviews of how responsive your hardware is under the stress you put it under (if you do at all), and in a prime position to explain to me what I need.

Up until now, I've used old hardware that's anywhere between "OUCH." and "*faints*" behind today's tech - I was using DOS in 1997, Win 3.1 in 2000, and Win98 in 2005-2006. Then things took a turn for the better (I believe in God so I know he had something in that change of events) and I got an old P4 with 512MB RAM. And that's when I was able to finally install XP - and when XP went to the "wow" I could never make my own to the "bleough, get this thing off me" it is, aka I "saw the light". And installed Linux. Arch Linux.

But I've finally outgrown this PC by several Saturn-sized margins, and need a new one. I've processed a lot of information, did quite a cram (that didn't even break a sweat although I thought it would, like this comic strip ) and learned about FSBs, RAM speed/timings and the like in less than a week, finally put my finger on the reason why my PC is so slow, learned about RAM size and so on... and started churning out keywords like a quad-core processor, 8GB RAM, etc... then it went to 16 cores, 32GB RAM, then 64GB RAM... and then things got really bad.

Everything reached a "capacity head" when I noticed that Intel are going to be releasing a 6-core chip as the last of their Penryn line, and mentioned this to a friend (who has a way bigger handle on hardware than I do, and taught me most of what I know), and shortly after other (related) topics were discussed he showed me this motherboard (he actually showed me this URL, the first URL the product page) that would work with it. That board has space for 192GB of RAM... enough said? Enough said. Ooh, right - it also has space for 4 of those 6-core Intel thingies. I don't think anyone can beat 24 cores. Well, AMD will be able to, with their 12-core chips they're releasing sometime... but then Intel will pwn them with their own 6-core Nehalems (which have HT, so 12-core) and we'll have 48 cores... and it will all continue.

Now, that server board is only $1195. I'd think that a few people could manage to do a bit of saving and scrimping to get a board like that, and I was figuring out how to do exactly that... until my friend told me the small issue that that board has 24 RAM slots, and a single 8GB stick of FBDIMM RAM is going to set me back a relatively manageable $1,100! $25k for RAM anybody?!

That board was off the list quickly. Very quickly

And my ideas... they just all ended. I like the idea of 24 cores a lot, because I'd be able to run 24 different Linux distros at once, or perhaps encode a DVD while playing a really intensive game through WINE through while being logged in to 10 Folding@Home accounts while load-testing 8 different Linux distros in VMs to see their performance differences while watching a Blu-Ray disc on another screen while keeping an eye on a full-motion animation I was developing using Blender while I was running Chrome over WINE in another window for the lulz. But... who's going to do that, except for a "look at me" video or two (that would quickly become one of the most viewed videos whereever it went )?

I mentioned the current hardware I have above to give you an idea of what I can, and can't, do right now - what I can't do includes animation. My PC maxes out watching youtube - or any video for that fact. It just makes the CPU hit 100%. And if you think that's because of Flash being absolute garbage on Linux, when I play stuff in mplayer, it typically hits 70% at the default window size. Yes, this is the bane of having a garbage GPU, one of the other things I need to upgrade. But case in point, not only can I not do animation, I can't do a lot of other things, and since pretty much most of my friends are online and not physical (how I like it), I'm not really able to try out other PCs from a "local" standpoint and see how they fare under differing circumstances. Plus, most of my friends' PCs are as bad as mine . If I look at that system from a possibility perspective, I see a system that can do whatever I want it to. Not mainly from a RAM perspective, but from a processing perspective - animation. And I want to get into animation, but I don't know where to start spec-wise. And I think that a server board with 192GB of RAM will be able to render animation really well. Scheduled animation, that is, not realtime animation, and area I want to get into also. Plus, that board doesn't have a lot of PCI slots...

But in case you haven't noticed, I don't know what I need in order to do what I want so I'm massively overcompensating to the extent that I'm breaking the bank.

The point

What I want is to be able to...

...throw any type of visual medium at my PC and expect it to respond in a nanosecond. Be that a high-definition movie from a BD-DVD or my hard disk, a complex realtime animation I just coded (or however you create that sort of thing), or both at the same time, I want it to play with graphics capability to spare for a (considerably) graphically complex game, even one running through WINE.
...run 3 30" displays off my system and expect them all to run at 50 or 70fps with all 12288000 pixels of the 3 screens updating at the same time.
...run a decent number of VMs at once, say 8 or 12.
...edit impossibly large images and still have a responsive system.
...keep an insane (1000+) number of tabs open in Firefox, indefinitely.

I think (read: hope) you're getting an idea of the kind of system I want here. Something that heads heavily into the field of realtime graphics management, but also something that functions just as well as an ordinary PC.

Some other points to note:

* I want to be able to leave my PC on at night without it chewing its way through the local power station's reserves.
* I want a decent amount of diskspace, say 5 or 10 TB. I currently have around 400GB of old files and triplicates of my duplicates, and I've not been able to sort it out. Ever. In 7 years. Meep? Meep. And for the ickies among you lot, FYI, none of that will be for pr0n. Just in case you missed the vague I-am-a-Christian hint in the paragraphs above (or went TL;DR at it).
* I don't need a quiet system. Yes, I'm not joking, I don't care. Provided it's not a jet engine.
* Watercooling is out, Zalman CPU coolers are in.
* Overclocking is out - well, major overclocking anyway. I've never overclocked before, and I'll likely wander into my BIOS one day and be like *read manual* *doublecheck manual* "okay, if I raise that by 1 MHz..."
* Nehalem - no thanks. It's version 1.0 (well it will be when it comes out), and Linux hasn't had a chance to take advantage of all the new stuff that is likely to surface about the new chip. No, that isn't a hint, it's a random realization I just had, and I don't work for and am not related to Intel or anyone who works there.

What I've been thinking is a good target:

* An 8-core system by way of a dual-socket board and two 4-core chips
* Two ATI Radeon 4870X2s for graphics
* 3 HP LP3095 10-bit 30" LCDs
* A G15 keyboard
* Both MX Air and MX Revolution mice (for different situations)
* A Lian-Li PC-V2110B case (yes, $500, but it looks awesome while not looking violent)
* Somewhere between 8 and 64GB of RAM, depending on how much you think I need.

Price isn't really an issue here; I'm interested in knowing what I need for a working system - this is my first big upgrade and big upgrades don't cost $1. Or ¥1. Or €1.

So... that's all I know for sure. Everything else is "?!?!?!?!... *dies*". And I've given up trying to respawn and think about it anymore.

-dav7

Last edited by dav7 (2008-09-15 01:18:28)

jacko · 2008-09-14 14:25:16

* An 8-core system by way of a dual-socket board and two 4-core chips
* An ATI Radeon 4870X2 for graphics
* HP LP3095 10-bit 30" LCDs
* A G15 keyboard
* Both MX Air and MX Revolution mice (for different situations)
* A Lian-Li PC-V2110B case (yes, $500, but it looks awesome while not looking violent)

Just one video card? I'd buy a 1U rack over a case. After all, want you want is a high end server.

moljac024 · 2008-09-14 14:29:40

Wow, what you want is not a computer but a space station

Last edited by moljac024 (2008-09-14 14:31:23)

Garns · 2008-09-14 17:46:06

dav7 wrote:

* HP LP3095 10-bit 30" LCDs

How many? If you are thinking about two I would consider one 30" and two smaller monitors. I am not sure how that works out with the graphics card though. Plus I don't even run a dual monitor setup, so this is not based on actual experience and might depend on what you want to use them for. If your considering three already ignore this.

dav7 · 2008-09-15 00:23:26

jacko: I can't exactly head in the direction of one video card. I'll need two dual-head cards if I want to drive 3 displays.

moljac024: Ahahaha

Garns: Ah, yes, I forgot to say 3. I want to run many more, but that's a different story and is all part of my Gigantic Big And Awesome computer idea

-dav7

Last edited by dav7 (2008-09-15 00:40:03)

apaige · 2008-09-15 07:10:16

Did Gawd make you win the lottery?

dav7 · 2008-09-15 07:20:21

No, but I trust He'll help me get the hardware I need.

Just you worry about the hardware details, and He'll help with the money

-dav7

smakked · 2008-09-15 07:20:54

You really have no idea do you?
*sorry had to be said*

Any system you build will not run that, well not with the hardware you are suggesting. And you said Money is not an issue LOL.

WHY? No one needs overly powerful machines in this day and age unless you run some sort of weather simulator or something.
When you know what you want and why you want it i will be happy to help.

If you want raw power you would be looking at a blade system.

byte · 2008-09-15 07:36:39

That's going to be a ridiculous waste of money and energy.

First of all, the current ATI drivers don't support multiple GPUs, so at the moment even a single 4870X2 would be only a 'normal' 4870 (which is quite a speed beast already). GFX drivers evolve rapidly, so things might look different next month, but when it comes to Linux and hardware there's one Golden Rule: stay away from the newest stuff and wait for proper support to get coded.

I also wonder what power supply could possibly cope with the differences between idle and full load; that's way beyond 400W. But then, I'm one of those "quiet&green" types where >100W idle is already a bit much.

I kind of understand that you want to get it done and not worry about hardware for the next 10 years or so, but that's simply not how the hardware world works and never did. At least not for the average consumer.

neotuli · 2008-09-15 07:44:11

You know, I was going to poke a reminder in here with a link to the forum etiquette/rules, but I'm in a shitty mood so I'll just lock it now and be done with it (though the mods may bite my head off later).

Two things went wrong here:
- OP made a point of mentioning religion in their post. Why that was necessary, I'm not sure, but I am fairly sure that locking this thread will remind them to leave that bit out next time. As a rule of thumb, leave religion out of it around here. This is a part of the forum etiquette.
- Someone took the flame bait. Naughty naughty.

Arch Linux

#1 2008-09-14 13:40:47

Please help me find the most graphically competant PC in existance

#2 2008-09-14 14:25:16

Re: Please help me find the most graphically competant PC in existance

#3 2008-09-14 14:29:40

Re: Please help me find the most graphically competant PC in existance

#4 2008-09-14 17:46:06

Re: Please help me find the most graphically competant PC in existance

#5 2008-09-15 00:23:26

Re: Please help me find the most graphically competant PC in existance

#6 2008-09-15 07:10:16

Re: Please help me find the most graphically competant PC in existance

#7 2008-09-15 07:20:21

Re: Please help me find the most graphically competant PC in existance

#8 2008-09-15 07:20:54

Re: Please help me find the most graphically competant PC in existance

#9 2008-09-15 07:36:39

Re: Please help me find the most graphically competant PC in existance

#10 2008-09-15 07:44:11

Re: Please help me find the most graphically competant PC in existance

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