Re: [gentoo-user] New box

[Mick]

On Friday 30 Dec 2016 08:18:48 J. Roeleveld wrote:
> On Friday, December 30, 2016 12:24:36 AM CET Dale wrote:
> > J. Roeleveld wrote:
> > > As for the specs:
> > >
> > > - 8 core CPU: nice
> >
> > Makes me drool a bit here.  I want a 8 core CPU.  The only downside,
> > gkrellm won't have enough screen to show each core separately.  That's a
> > problem there.  lol  It already takes up the whole right side on one
> > desktop.  I guess I could make the thing shorter to fit them all in.
>
> I know what you mean. What I miss is an option to have gkrellm on 1 side of
> the screen and when I maximize a window, that doesn't hide gkrellm.
> I limited some of the sensors to be able to fit all 12 virtual cores.
> (Or if there is, where do I set it)

This can be managed via the DE settings (but it depends on the DE options of 
course).  You can also set it in GKrellM configuration, General, 'Set on top of 
other windows of the same type'.


> > > - mSATA SSD: Make sure it fits your mainboard. NVMe is faster, but also
> > > more expensive.
> > > The Samsung EVO series are good for normal work-loads. The performance
> > > does
> > > tend to drop when the write-cache starts to fill up. With multiple VMs
> > > using disk and swap, that can happen quicker then you think. Check your
> > > requirements.
> > >
> > > - memory: Personally, I would increase this to 32GB with the fastest
> > > spec
> > > that matches the CPU and mainboard. It helps a lot, especially with
> > > Virtualbox. What isn't used by applications/VMs will be available for
> > > disk-cache.

+1 for more and faster memory.  If the choice comes down to either more, or 
faster memory, go for faster.  With normal desktop use I have not yet noticed 
16G being exhausted.  I dedicate 8G for tmpfs which is used for emerge 
activities.  I suggest you go for the fastest spec memory your MoBo will run.  
You'll likely have to overclock it to make your memory clock higher speeds.  
As a rule I prefer Asus MoBos, if only because online reviews when I built the 
last PC showed fewer complains that Gigabyte.


> > Same here.  Putting portage's work directory on tmpfs does make it
> > measurably faster.  Bad thing is, if Firefox and LibreO needs to update
> > at the same time, I have to go back to spinning rust or do them by
> > themselves.  It runs out of memory pretty fast.

I have not noticed this here with 8G our of my 16G RipjawsX RAM dedicated to 
portage, but unlike Dale I do not run a full Plasma DE and try to update 
Chromium, FF, & LO all in parallel at the same time!  ;-)

With regards to PSUs most reputable manufacturers bring out entry level models 
which use cheap(er) capacitors with inferior rating, middle of the road which 
use upgraded caps and top of the range which are as good as it gets.

On the last box I built I chose a Corsair CX430M PSU and have been very 
pleased with it (so far).  Running a UPS also helps your PSU last longer, 
especially if you live in an area where brown outs happen regularly.

HTH.
-- 
Regards,
Mick