Taking advices (building a computer) - Page 2

andrewas · 08-25-2002, 07:11 PM

Because with the exception of the 386, all the old boxes are still in use. Would you believe it? The baseline machine in the office is a Cyrix 166 *underclocked* because the chips are so old electron migration has increased their running temp.

I heard of some uni crowd that did it though, with a couple hundred 486 boxes. Apparently they got some serious power out of it, overclocked the chips and all. Not a project for one man though.

And I have work on the morning, catch you tomorrow.

theholyavenger · 08-25-2002, 07:44 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by whacky:
Andrews my fault, SMP is a symmetrical multi processing box !! Whee it rocks! Marvelous thing, the sheer power and beauty of parallel processing, if i was a computer i'd do anything to marry her ! Well you can either configure it with NT or with linux, most motherboards support a max. of 2 processors but i think thats enough, if not then there are other things one can do, but it does generate a whole lot of heat so you have to be careful, and have you tried overclocking yet, if you havent then please do so! You'll love it!

One word of advice for the SMP, never even turn it on indoors during the summer. I have a P4 1.4 GHz machine right now, it generates so much heat that it's impossible for me to sleep at night without the fan. When i walk out of my room (which is where my comp is placed), it immediately feels like i'm in the northern end of the globe!

Also, a question on the Linux and Unix os; what is it that they have and the Microsoft windows do not possess? I've always heard my Info Tech teacher talking about Linux this, Unix that, it even makes me think that he has Linux as an operating system for his home computer(which is not true, as he is one of the many dedicated fans of Mac OX).

Lastly, i don't really mind this -----> [img]graemlins/spam2.gif[/img]
As long as you guys keep this bumped up for others to see.

whacky · 08-26-2002, 03:17 PM

bump

Nothing on my own, he wants advice and wants the thread to remain for people to see, so i hope i dont get flamed for this ! *runs for cover*
And i'll be posting a list of hardware for building an SMP in that budget, also i'll try to send you some links, will take about aa hour and a half, cause right now in working

Oh and andrewas, are you a big computer security fan, also what compiler do you use in windows ??

andrewas · 08-26-2002, 04:54 PM

Im not a massive fan of security. Its a bugger to set up and in an ideal world it would be totaly unneccesary. But we dont live in an ideal world and if anyone breaks into our system and gets into the database im in some serious trouble. But I reckon a Cisco firewall + NT security + MS Access native encryption should keep most folks well clear. Im also maybe perhaps putting in PGP, which should be fun. Getting folks to use it though will be shear hell.

That said I have played around with some encryption algorithms before now, for fun and because it makes a good uni project. I still have the source of a nice Enigma Emulator that I did for Uni. It wont compile because the uni system I wrote it on wasnt ANSI/POSIX compliant, and at the time I didnt know which features I shoudnt be using. Needs a fairly major rewrite.

For compilers - under windows, djgpp, which is a gcc port. For linux, gcc. For whatever, some port of gcc. I happen to like not having to rewrite X-thousand lines of code when I need to port something to Solaris or something. Although if I had to use something more sophisticated it would have to be Kylix. Its all in the portability.

Interested in that SMP info - I must confess ive never worked inside a multi-processor box before - but I doubt you can get it on a budget tight enough for me.

Oh and on cooling the bugger, a suggestion. Build an oil cooler and have the heat exchanger on some kind of flexible hose (Im not sure of what to use, just make sure it dosent melt below 100 celsius). Hang it out the window in summer (some kind of bracket arrangement perhaps) and bring it in when you need the heating.

whacky · 08-26-2002, 05:21 PM

http://alienware.com/main/main.asp?
Here is all you need to know about your system, customize it, see the price changes, then have an idea what price you'll have to pay, and then go and buy it. Andrewas i'll post a basic tut on SMP, the one that gave me a general idea, sorry cant post the hardware specs since i havent been on the hardware scene for a while.
Here's the link :
http://www.cpureview.com/art_smp_a.html

08-25-2002, 07:11 PM	#11
andrewas Harper Join Date: October 2, 2001 Location: Aberdeen, Scotland Age: 42 Posts: 4,774	Because with the exception of the 386, all the old boxes are still in use. Would you believe it? The baseline machine in the office is a Cyrix 166 underclocked because the chips are so old electron migration has increased their running temp. I heard of some uni crowd that did it though, with a couple hundred 486 boxes. Apparently they got some serious power out of it, overclocked the chips and all. Not a project for one man though. And I have work on the morning, catch you tomorrow. __________________ [img]\"http://www.sighost.us/members/Zvijer/andrewas.gif\" alt=\" - \" />

08-26-2002, 04:54 PM	#14
andrewas Harper Join Date: October 2, 2001 Location: Aberdeen, Scotland Age: 42 Posts: 4,774	Im not a massive fan of security. Its a bugger to set up and in an ideal world it would be totaly unneccesary. But we dont live in an ideal world and if anyone breaks into our system and gets into the database im in some serious trouble. But I reckon a Cisco firewall + NT security + MS Access native encryption should keep most folks well clear. Im also maybe perhaps putting in PGP, which should be fun. Getting folks to use it though will be shear hell. That said I have played around with some encryption algorithms before now, for fun and because it makes a good uni project. I still have the source of a nice Enigma Emulator that I did for Uni. It wont compile because the uni system I wrote it on wasnt ANSI/POSIX compliant, and at the time I didnt know which features I shoudnt be using. Needs a fairly major rewrite. For compilers - under windows, djgpp, which is a gcc port. For linux, gcc. For whatever, some port of gcc. I happen to like not having to rewrite X-thousand lines of code when I need to port something to Solaris or something. Although if I had to use something more sophisticated it would have to be Kylix. Its all in the portability. Interested in that SMP info - I must confess ive never worked inside a multi-processor box before - but I doubt you can get it on a budget tight enough for me. Oh and on cooling the bugger, a suggestion. Build an oil cooler and have the heat exchanger on some kind of flexible hose (Im not sure of what to use, just make sure it dosent melt below 100 celsius). Hang it out the window in summer (some kind of bracket arrangement perhaps) and bring it in when you need the heating. __________________ [img]\"http://www.sighost.us/members/Zvijer/andrewas.gif\" alt=\" - \" />

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08-26-2002, 03:17 PM	#13
whacky Emerald Dragon Join Date: July 16, 2002 Location: The Abyss Age: 36 Posts: 904	bump Nothing on my own, he wants advice and wants the thread to remain for people to see, so i hope i dont get flamed for this ! runs for cover And i'll be posting a list of hardware for building an SMP in that budget, also i'll try to send you some links, will take about aa hour and a half, cause right now in working Oh and andrewas, are you a big computer security fan, also what compiler do you use in windows ??

08-26-2002, 05:21 PM	#15
whacky Emerald Dragon Join Date: July 16, 2002 Location: The Abyss Age: 36 Posts: 904	http://alienware.com/main/main.asp? Here is all you need to know about your system, customize it, see the price changes, then have an idea what price you'll have to pay, and then go and buy it. Andrewas i'll post a basic tut on SMP, the one that gave me a general idea, sorry cant post the hardware specs since i havent been on the hardware scene for a while. Here's the link : http://www.cpureview.com/art_smp_a.html

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