I am going to buy new computer, will assemble it myself. I have searched extensively this forum and finally at least decided on PSU, Corsair VX450 which is available in India also. I want to do these 3 things on my new computer:

• Browse internet.
• Do Programming (C, Lisp, Emacs) on Arch/Debian Linux.
• Play 1080p/720p HD/Blu-Ray videos with 6000kbps bitrate.
• No games and no Windows

I already have Samsung SyncMaster 2243LNX monitor and a SONY DVD-ROM. Now I need to decide on other components like CPU, MOBO, Case, HDD. Searching forums make me convince on WD HDD and Gigabyte MOBO. Regarding CPU I am still confused on AMD vs Intel. I have understood that I don't need 4-Cores, 2 core will suffice my needs Any help ?

Hi Arnuld,

AMD and Intel are both good processors, no big issue so far concerning Gnu/Linux.

The usual problem goes with the Video-chip and Wireless modems. About video cards I have always encountered "compatibility and support" issues with ATI, if you can avoid anything ATI you are saving your self from trouble (though there are many gnu/linux users who have success stories with this brand: I am badly impressed with ATI, my testimonies easily come up if you google ati driver issues) Also do some googling about wireless support in Linux, some manufacturers are biased against FOSS, so it makes true sense not to buy their products and support only those manufacturers that support FOSS (Free and Open Source Software). BTW I have had some slight obstacles with Intel video and sound cards before but somehow Intel support came up soon, but I "never had" any problem with Nvidia lines. Nvidia's gnu/linux driver is very good, it compiles the kernel by itself if needed.

Hi,

Look at 'HCL' for some guidance.

As for AMD or Intel, you will find the cost difference will be the factor. AMD is usually a lot cheaper. As for the number of cores to choose, your criteria doesn't place that much on a single so select the x2. If you do decide to get into Virtual Machines then things would be to switch to multi-core processor. That will then depend on the motherboard and chipset selected. Each processor manufacture family has it's advantages that will align with the motherboard chipset selections.

You can look at tomshardware.com to get some useful insight on tested equipment/hardware along with recommendations.

I recommend that you do NOT get a WD Green drive (there are known issues). I also recommend against a gigabyte mobo, most are built cheaply and have bad controllers, either way be on the lookout for controllers made by Jmicron, Marvell, Silicon Image, you will have problems with these in many cases. PSU is good, monitor is good.

The CPU doesn't matter too much in your case, instead I would get an nivida card with vdpau, see list:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VDPAU
With quad core vs two core, in most cases one core of a quad core is not as powerful as one core of a dual core, but because there are 4 cores vs 2 cores, the quad core wins if the program you use can use threads efficiently ... many video encoders can, and GNU make can (as I see you will be doing programming). I'd recommend a quad core if you can afford it, if not, a dual core is good too. AMD vs Intel, for sure i7 takes the cake, but it's awfully expensive at the moment.

I would get am ATI Radeon video card, now you can have open-source painless 3D (with xf86-video(ati|radeonhd))!

You can buy WD Green, but be sure not to take any of the EARS-series.
I only buy Gigabyte mainboards for long time and never had any issues with them.
If you don't want to play games, go for a mainboard with onboard-graphics, NVidia preferred.
If you do want use compilers and stuff a lot I would recommend a cheap quadcore like the Athlon II X4.

Thanks for help guys

I checked out tomshardware too and I see since 2009 AMD Phenom II 555 and AMD Athlon II X4 are recommended as solid CPUs and not to mention AM3 socket is also recommended:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/267801-28-buyer-guide

I will go with one of them. So here we have this:

PSU -- Corsair CX450/550
UPS -- APC 650 VA
MOBO -- Gigabyte AM3 socket
CPU -- AMD Athlon II X4 or AMD Phenom II X2 555 Black Edition
RAM -- DDR3 Corsair/Kingston 2 GB
Cabinet -- CM Elite 310/NZXT Gamma~2.2k
HDD -- WD Blue 500 GB * 2 (one for backup)


2nd, how about using a wireless keyboard and mouse. Do they work on Linux. As usual I searched the archives and see that wireless keyboards do not work when you need to work in BIOS.

If you want to go with the AM3 socket and want good performance, go with the Phenom II X6 1055T (or higher) and an ATI Radeon HD 4350. This will ensure that your computer performs optimally.

No problems on this side, but only have tested regular wireless devices, not bluetooth. In some BIOS you have to enable USB-Input devices for legacy OS, before they work in BIOS, but never had that one with Gigabyte motherboards.

Holy Cow... Phenom II X6 1055T is priced around 11-12K INR (INdian Rupees) while Phenom II X3 555 is just 5.5 K and Phenom II X3 440 is just 4K. With this 4K CPU I am getting these MOBOs:

Gigabyte 785GMT-US2H ~ 4.5k/
Gigabyte 880GM-USB3/Gigabyte785GMT-USB3 ~ 5.7k

These ones won't perform well ? Any problems in this ?

Performing optimally highly depends on what the system is purposed for. Phenom II X6 performs really well (see sig), but is for most tasks not needed.

I would go with the 880GM-USB, USB 3.0 Support and onboard-graphics with HD-support.

I'd wait for the CE4100 products.

You'd get the 1080p and low power. In fact I think you could use a much lower psu.

The issue is you would need a lot of processor unless you had chips that did hd in hardware. Hardware is always faster than software.

The HD4250 on the 880GM-USB3 can do 1080p in hardware.

Hey guys, I keep on searching the archives an googling all the time on this. What about:

AMD Athlon II X4 635 + ASUS M4A88TD-V EVO/USB3 Mobo ?

Its little pricier than X3 440 + 880GM-USB3. Just want to know what will get better on this new combination, I can pay that extra amount.