On Wednesday, 4 September 2013 at 10:45:50 UTC, monarch_dodra wrote:
> You don't need to go hardcore with a server or anything, but I think external storage is a superior solution. They make 2TB 2.5" external drives nowadays. All they need is a USB port and they are good to go.

SSD + sshfs <3

On 2013-09-04 12:36, Nick Sabalausky wrote:

> Heh, yea. Personally, I'd find 128-250GB unbearably small unless it was
> in addition to a beefier secondary HDD. My current system (a laptop) is
> 320GB and I find that very tight. It wouldn't even be good enough
> for me if I wasn't using my prior computer (a desktop) as a 2.5 TB (or
> so) file server.

I completely agree. I have 500GB on my system disk (I have a couple of disk for storage in addtion) and it's quite small. Especially when I have a couple of virtual machines installed.

-- 
/Jacob Carlborg

On 2013-09-04 12:45, monarch_dodra wrote:

> I ended up installing a ZFS based NAS at home. I got 4TB of data,
> snapshotted hourly, and replicated on secondary backup.
>
> I use it as my centralized storage solution. Regardless which computer
> I'm on (Home PC/Home laptop/ work laptop, wife's laptop, TV server,
> tablet), my files are there with me, with no need for data transfer.
>
> All of these have about <120 Gigs of local storage, except for the home
> laptop, which is 250 (useful for taking stuff when not at home). In any
> case, I don't believe in having local storage anymore.
>
> You don't need to go hardcore with a server or anything, but I think
> external storage is a superior solution. They make 2TB 2.5" external
> drives nowadays. All they need is a USB port and they are good to go.

I wouldn't mind having that. I just don't know where to put one.

-- 
/Jacob Carlborg

On Wednesday, 4 September 2013 at 08:48:52 UTC, Chris wrote:
> On Wednesday, 4 September 2013 at 06:47:15 UTC, Jacob Carlborg wrote:
>> On 2013-09-03 23:10, Chris wrote:
>>
>>> The machine I was looking at is this one:
>>>
>>> https://www.system76.com/laptops/model/gazp9#
>>
>> A laptop! Buy parts a build your own desktop :)
>
> You are actually right. I should look into that possibility too, given the pricing policy most companies have. Thanks for the comment. Do you have any tips or useful links?
>
Yeah, if you don't need portability AND lots of power, I still think a desktop is the way to go.  For a laptop, I prioritise battery life and weight above all else, these days; if I need heavy lifting, I'll just SSH into my desktop.  Best part is, that portable unit only sets you back about the difference between a high-end laptop and its desktop equivalent.

If this isn't an urgent purchase, definitely watch for sales and discounts; play your cards right, and you should be able to get a nice Haswell box for about $600 with a display.

You've more-or-less missed the US Labour Day sales, so the next big "events" will probably be Halloween, and then Black Friday (which is completely bonkers).  Outside of that, weekly specials are...well, weekly (though usually weak).

Outside of the big names, pricewatch [0] and slickdeals [1] are probably still useful for finding low prices, though you'll end up chasing across a bunch of different retailers on that path.  Another useful tool is the "Camelizer" [2], to see price history for a potential buy.

If you let up know roughly where in the world you are, someone else may have some idea of what retailers will let you dodge overseas shipping costs if it's a pressing concern.

On to matters of part selection, since it sounds like your first build, some general tips:
- As a rule of thumb, if it's a "generic" brand part, avoid it like the plague.  If there's one lesson I've learned, you tend to get what you pay for with computer parts (...up to a point.  Those 6-core Xeons aren't really priced to move).  If you're unsure, look up reviews on Newegg and Amazon.
- Don't get _too_ caught up in the numbers. A couple hundred MHz one way or another on a part won't be world-changing.  On the other hand you're probably not going to buy a new machine for a few years and my experience is you won't bother upgrading anything but RAM and maybe GPU.
- Do make sure to get a decent power supply.  A crappy PSU will cause headaches and instability.  Pay special attention to the PFC rating: efficient power delivery is good unless you live in a state where electricity is dirt cheap.  Also keep an eye out for "Modular" PSUs, which is a nice perk for keeping internal cable clutter low.
- Get a decent power supply even if one comes with whatever case you buy (some people don't like their machines to be a pile of parts on the desk.  I call them "uninspired" ;) ). The pack-in PSU tends to be awful (as a rule of thumb, if it's not heavier than it looks, it's rubbish).
- I'd avoid motherboards from Foxconn, Biostar, and ECS.  Budget manufacturers, and I've had poor reliability from them in the past.
- For Linux, particularly pay attention to the network hardware on the motherboard.  Buying something with Broadcom is playing with fire.  Atheros and Intel are your friends.
- If you don't need high-end graphics, the on-die Intel or AMD solution should serve well. (It's too bad the Iris Pro trim isn't available on the Haswell desktop parts; that even stacks up favourably against low-mid tier GPUs).
- The stock cooler that comes with a modern CPU is actually fairly decent.  No need to get an aftermarket version.
- A basic cheapo case is plenty for probably 95% of builds.  If you can get one with a removable motherboard tray, that's a nice feature, but not essential.
- If you need a discrete GPU and you're using Linux, I'd personally look for some kind of fanless Radeon. I find the general driver situation is just better for AMD cards.
- There's a lot of fluctuation in display prices right now, but getting one for under a hundred bucks is probably doable.
- You probably don't even need an optical device these days.  Just boot from a USB stick.

Hope that helps!

-Wyatt

[0] http://www.pricewatch.com/
[1] http://slickdeals.net/
[2] http://us.camelcamelcamel.com/camelizer

On 04.09.2013 10:48, Chris wrote:
> On Wednesday, 4 September 2013 at 06:47:15 UTC, Jacob Carlborg wrote:
>> On 2013-09-03 23:10, Chris wrote:
>>
>>> The machine I was looking at is this one:
>>>
>>> https://www.system76.com/laptops/model/gazp9#
>>
>> A laptop! Buy parts a build your own desktop :)
>
> You are actually right. I should look into that possibility too, given
> the pricing policy most companies have. Thanks for the comment. Do you
> have any tips or useful links?
>
> PS First I started to write my own programs, now I'll build my own
> machines! :-)

I used  http://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/ , it's got great info and people willing to help you choose the best/cheapest parts.

On Wednesday, 4 September 2013 at 13:11:36 UTC, Wyatt wrote:
> On Wednesday, 4 September 2013 at 08:48:52 UTC, Chris wrote:
>> On Wednesday, 4 September 2013 at 06:47:15 UTC, Jacob Carlborg wrote:
>>> On 2013-09-03 23:10, Chris wrote:
>>>
>>>> The machine I was looking at is this one:
>>>>
>>>> https://www.system76.com/laptops/model/gazp9#
>>>
>>> A laptop! Buy parts a build your own desktop :)
>>
>> You are actually right. I should look into that possibility too, given the pricing policy most companies have. Thanks for the comment. Do you have any tips or useful links?
>>
> Yeah, if you don't need portability AND lots of power, I still think a desktop is the way to go.  For a laptop, I prioritise battery life and weight above all else, these days; if I need heavy lifting, I'll just SSH into my desktop.  Best part is, that portable unit only sets you back about the difference between a high-end laptop and its desktop equivalent.
>
> If this isn't an urgent purchase, definitely watch for sales and discounts; play your cards right, and you should be able to get a nice Haswell box for about $600 with a display.
>
> You've more-or-less missed the US Labour Day sales, so the next big "events" will probably be Halloween, and then Black Friday (which is completely bonkers).  Outside of that, weekly specials are...well, weekly (though usually weak).
>
> Outside of the big names, pricewatch [0] and slickdeals [1] are probably still useful for finding low prices, though you'll end up chasing across a bunch of different retailers on that path.  Another useful tool is the "Camelizer" [2], to see price history for a potential buy.
>
> If you let up know roughly where in the world you are, someone else may have some idea of what retailers will let you dodge overseas shipping costs if it's a pressing concern.
>
> On to matters of part selection, since it sounds like your first build, some general tips:
> - As a rule of thumb, if it's a "generic" brand part, avoid it like the plague.  If there's one lesson I've learned, you tend to get what you pay for with computer parts (...up to a point.  Those 6-core Xeons aren't really priced to move).  If you're unsure, look up reviews on Newegg and Amazon.
> - Don't get _too_ caught up in the numbers. A couple hundred MHz one way or another on a part won't be world-changing.  On the other hand you're probably not going to buy a new machine for a few years and my experience is you won't bother upgrading anything but RAM and maybe GPU.
> - Do make sure to get a decent power supply.  A crappy PSU will cause headaches and instability.  Pay special attention to the PFC rating: efficient power delivery is good unless you live in a state where electricity is dirt cheap.  Also keep an eye out for "Modular" PSUs, which is a nice perk for keeping internal cable clutter low.
> - Get a decent power supply even if one comes with whatever case you buy (some people don't like their machines to be a pile of parts on the desk.  I call them "uninspired" ;) ). The pack-in PSU tends to be awful (as a rule of thumb, if it's not heavier than it looks, it's rubbish).
> - I'd avoid motherboards from Foxconn, Biostar, and ECS.  Budget manufacturers, and I've had poor reliability from them in the past.
> - For Linux, particularly pay attention to the network hardware on the motherboard.  Buying something with Broadcom is playing with fire.  Atheros and Intel are your friends.
> - If you don't need high-end graphics, the on-die Intel or AMD solution should serve well. (It's too bad the Iris Pro trim isn't available on the Haswell desktop parts; that even stacks up favourably against low-mid tier GPUs).
> - The stock cooler that comes with a modern CPU is actually fairly decent.  No need to get an aftermarket version.
> - A basic cheapo case is plenty for probably 95% of builds.  If you can get one with a removable motherboard tray, that's a nice feature, but not essential.
> - If you need a discrete GPU and you're using Linux, I'd personally look for some kind of fanless Radeon. I find the general driver situation is just better for AMD cards.
> - There's a lot of fluctuation in display prices right now, but getting one for under a hundred bucks is probably doable.
> - You probably don't even need an optical device these days.  Just boot from a USB stick.
>
> Hope that helps!
>
> -Wyatt
>
> [0] http://www.pricewatch.com/
> [1] http://slickdeals.net/
> [2] http://us.camelcamelcamel.com/camelizer

Thanks a million.

PS The location would be Republic of Ireland (UK should be fine too, shipping wise).