I have been a loyal Microsoft champion since MS DOS. It bothers me a lot
since I have had way too many crashes with you software that I have to pay
for support when the system is down. It is Microsoft software that caused
the system to crash and now I will probably be up all night doing a project
for work that is due tomorrow as I have to reinstall Vista Ultimate as
suddenly there is a MBR corruption. You should have some care and concern
for your customers and make some exceptions when such a severe issue occurs,
but I am probably talking to the wind, just like I am when I call tech
support in foreign countries. I am not a rich man and it is a luxury to
have the computer I have, and the time I waste (one hard drive was less than
two years old {I kept it, in case I can reinstall when I have more knowledge}
and the one now is less than 2 months old. SO why am I having these issues.
BY the way I LOVE Vista no matter what the press. When it works IT WORKS!!!
Thanks
I am trying my best with Vista but am getting fed up with it. Next box
will be Ubuntu
build your own, cost USA$500 or less.
Building your own Linux Ubuntu computer using the ECS Geforce 6100SM-M
motherboard.
http://www.newegg.com/
As I mentioned in an earlier post, On Building, Buying, or Recycling
a
Computer to Run Ubuntu Linux, you have several options in acquiring
the hardware to install and run Ubuntu Linux.
In brief, this is a "make or buy" decision. Should you buy a computer
that someone else built or make your own computer, either by
refurbishing an older one or building a new one from scratch?
It's not that hard to build a computer these days. It is fun and you
can usually build one for less cost than buying one from a
manufacturer or dealer. It can also be a educational experience.
Part of the savings comes from not having to pay the "Windows tax,"
the part of the manufacturer's cost that consists of Windows
licensing
fees that must be sent to Microsoft's coffers. You can also find
better deals on used machines if you look for machines that don't
come
with Windows, as fewer people will be interested in them.
Here's a report on my recent experience building a computer from
scratch based on the ECS GeForce 6100SM-M motherboard. Here are some
pictures to start things off:
You want you use components that are known to work well with Ubuntu.
As I noted in my earlier post to build a computer you need:
A case;
A power supply for the case;
At least one fan to cool the power supply and other components inside
the case;
A motherboard;
A processor chip to connect to the motherboard;
One of more memory chips, also known as "memory sticks";
A cooling system for the processor, usually in the form of a fan;
A hard drive;
An optical drive, either a cd-rom drive or, more usually these days,
a
combined dvd/cd-rom drive;
A video chipset on the motherboard or a separate video/graphics card
to power the monitor.
Once you have these components, you also need a monitor, a keyboard
and a mouse to make a complete system. I won't say any more about
these as these tend to always work with Ubuntu; for example, you
don't
need a special Ubuntu keyboard. I also won't say more about the
optical drive, as recent models tend to always work on Ubuntu.
Sometimes components come be purchased as a single component that
combines several of the above components. For example, you can buy a
case that come with a power supply and cooling fan, or you can buy
the
"retail" form of a processor, which incudes the processor chip; a
cooling system, usually in the form of a fan; and a special past that
you need to attach the fan to the processor. Or you can buy a
motherboard with built-in video support.
I always favor buying these larger components as this is more cost
effective.
I also buy my parts from one of my favorite companies, Newegg.com. I
wrote the post On Buying and Building Hardware: Break a Leg with
Newegg to share some of the lessons I have learned in over three
years
as a satisfied Newegg customer.
I decided a few weeks back to build a new computer from scratch. It
was a spur of the moment thing in that I didn't really need another
computer, but I also wanted to perform the experiment of seeing how
much it would cost to build a decent desktop with currently available
component technology.
I made several decisions before exploring Newegg to decide just which
components to buy.
I didn't want to be as cheap as possible, but as cheap as made sense.
My experience over the years has been that is is most effect by
something at the level just above the cheapest. For example, when I
bought a house I had to buy things like plumbing tools, shovels,
rakes, lawn mowers and so forth. I have most of them over twenty
years
later. The ones that I don't are the ones that I paid too little for,
so when they broke and I had to replace them I bought high quality.
For example, I have bought damn good rakes, shovels, and driveway
brooms.
I wanted a case that included a fan and a power supply. I wasn't
seeking very high performance and wasn't building this computer to
run
games; hence I knew that I didn't need a large power supply or more
than one fan.
I wanted to use an AMD processor. I have found AMD processors to be
more cost effective, and I had good luck with a machine I built back
in May 2004 that I have since refurbished to run Ubuntu Linux (I'll
report on that experience in a forthcoming post).
I then knew I wanted to buy that AMD processor in "Retail" form,
which
means you get the processor, the fan, and the thermal compound (a
paste-like substance) that you need to attach the fan to the
processor.
This, by the way, is an important lesson. When I built my first
machine I bought an "OEM" processor since it was cheaper. Once it
arrived and I started to assemble the machine I realized I needed a
fan, so I had to spend the money for that and wait a few days for it
to arrive. Then I realized I needed some thermal compound. To add
insult to injury, that thermal compound cost about ten dollars, five
for the compound and another five dollars to ship the little tube it
came in, a tube that weighed much less than an ounce, and I need only
a few drops of that compound. Keep it simple - always buy "Retail"
processors.
I decided to use the most commonly-used technology. That is, whenever
I had a choice of technologies, I would choose the technology with
the
most options. For example, if you look at Newegg's list of AMD
processors, you will find that the largest number of available
processors have "AM2 as their "CPU Socket Type."
I also knew that the key component would be the motherboard. This is
the traffic cop, the "computer within the computer, " that ties all
the other components together. It links the memory chips to the
processor chip, the hard drive to the hardware bus, the keyboard to
the processor, and so forth.
Once you have settled on the processor type and the socket type, you
then have to pick a motherboard. This decision choice determines what
kind of memory you will need, the number of additional hard drives
and
plugin cards that can be attached, and so on.
I also wanted a motherboard with a built-in video chipset that was
known to work well with Ubuntu and that supported 1280×1024 monitors,
as these are the most cost-effective monitors available today.
And of course I wanted a motherboard that was known to support
Ubuntu,
one that was so easy to use that a number of Newegg customers had
posted comments about their success. I also wanted a motherboard that
more than a few customer comments, in part because Ubuntu is still
such a small share of the total market that I couldn't expect to get
any useful information about Ubuntu for a product with just a few
tens
of user comments.
I also decided to limit my costs, and have some fun in the process, I
decided use only components available from Newegg with "free
shipping." Newegg charges at least $5 to ship most components, and
$15
or more for components you can't hold in your hand, such as cases and
monitors. But Newegg offers various specials, including some
components with free shipping, and also "combo deals" in which you
get
a discount by buying two related components at the same time, such as
a motherboard and processor.
I thus knew I needed an motherboard that supported AMD Socket AM2.
Since I also wanted a built-in video chipset, I did a little web
investigation and found favorable mention of the Nvidia GeForce 6100,
so I then looked for a motherboard with that video chipset.
Here are some of the customer comments on Ubuntu and the ECS
GeForce6100SM-M (1.0) AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 6100S Micro ATX AMD
Motherboard - Retail, $50:
"Have been running Ubuntu 7.04 on this board for several months now
without any problems. Integrated graphics works surprisingly well."
"I paired this with an Athlon 64 X2 3600+ and 2 GB Transcend DDR2
800.
Running with Linux kernel 2.6.20 and Kubuntu 7 for amd64. Everything
works perfectly. A fine choice for a low-cost Linux workstation."
"Running Ubuntu on this thing, with an X2 3600+ and a 1 gig stick of
OCS Gold DDR2 800. Seems quick and solid."
"Good price and it didn't take a lot of tweaking to get it to work
properly with the DVD/SATA/IDE drives. Seems most on-board hardware
is
supported by Ubuntu 7.04 by default."
"I wanted a quality and inexpensive mobo to build my first computer.
I'm glad I got this bundled with the Sempron 3000+. I have it running
Ubuntu 7.04 with Beryl! I just needed to install the Nvidia drivers
to
get Beryl to run but so far everything has been stable, I'm extremely
satisfied with what I got."
That was good enough for me, so this motherboard was the first thing
I
put in my shopping cart. After reading the motherboard specifications
I did a little research and then added these components to my
shopping
cart:
AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Orleans 1.8GHz 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2
Processor
- Retail, $42.
Kingston 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Desktop Memory -
Retail, $40.
Next came the hard drive. You can get a good one for about $50, but
for not that much more you can go to 250GB:
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA
3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM, $65.
The case?
Rosewill R604TSB-N 120mm Fan ATX Mid Tower Computer Case+450W Power
Supply - Retail, $60.
If you haven't built your own machine before and are hesitant, I
suggest you take a look at the motherboard manual. For this machine
it
can be found at GeForce6100SM-M (V1.0) Manufacturer's site. If you
find interesting to read it then steam on. If you don't then go find
your hardware to run Ubuntu another way.
Once the components arrived, it took only a few hours to assemble.
Experienced builders can do it in much less than an hour, but I
wanted
to prolong the fun and so took my time.
Here are a few thoughts on on assembling the system. You can find
lots
of resources on the web about how to build your own computer. I'm
mainly writing this to shows it's not that hard and to report on a
particular list of components that worked for me.
Open up the case.
Do NOT connect any AC power cord to the case until instructed to do
so.
Attach the motherboard to the case using the supplied screws. Don't
force anything.
The motherboard comes with a small panel that you need to insert in
the back of the case. This is where you will connect the display, the
mouse, and so on. If the case comes with such a panel then discard
it.
Be sure to use the panel that comes with the motherboard.
Insert the processor in its socket. There's usually a lever to lock
it
into place.
Spread the thermal compound on the top of the processor. You don't
need much. If you are using the compound that comes with a "retail"
processor you can use all of it. Otherwise you want just enough to
cover the top of the processor with a thin film.
Mount the processor fan on top of the processor, and lock it in
place.
Insert the memory chip(s). There's only one way to do it, so don't
force anything.
Connect the processor fan's cable to the motherboard.
Connect all the other cables in the case to the motherboard. Follow
the diagrams in the motherboard manual. Be sure to connect the cable
for the case fan and power supply.
Install the hard drive and the optical drive, connecting their cables
to the motherboard.
Leaving the case open, connect the cables for the monitor, mouse,
keyboard, and internet (ethernet) to the appropriate slots in the
rear
of the case, in the small panel you installed in step (4).
Take a break. Once you're rested it's time to power up your new baby.
Leave the case open. Inside it you should now have a case fan, a
processor fan, and perhaps another fan on the motherboard. You may
have additional fans on the case.
You want the case open and you want to be looking at fans, most
importantly the fan on top of the processor chip, when you first
power
up the machine. Connect the power cable from a wall socket to the
case. The machine may start. If it doesn't then press the power
switch.
If you don't see the processor fan spinning then immediately shut
down
the power. A processor can operate for only a few minutes without
cooling else it will be destroyed.
Don't continue until you know all the fans are operational.
A good way to test a new machine is to use a "live" cd. I tried the
standard Ubuntu install disk in this way.
Wouldn't you know it? The box worked right off the bat, so I just
steamed on and did a full Ubuntu install. Installing Ubuntu is not
hard; you are given lots of guidance.
That machine has been solid as a rock since I first powered it up.
It's name on my home network is "fs," not "fs" for "file server," but
"fs" for "free shipping."
It is also quiet. By the way, if noise is a real issue to you, then
pay the bucks and go with an Antec "Sonata" case. When I built my
first machine I used a cheapo case that came with a fan that made me
feel like I was in a wind tunnel. I threw it out and, after some
research, bought a Sonata. However, this machine is almost as quiet
as
my older one with the Sonata case.
This is not a toy system. It is more than adequate for every day
desktop use, even if you are a developer. It has 1GB of memory and a
250GB SATA hard drive with a built-in NVIDIA GeForce 6100 video
chipset that supports 1280×1024 resolution very well.
The case is good but not great. I found it hard to work with the
little plastic knobs that you are supposed to able to tighten
components in place without having to use a screwdrive, so I used a
screwdriver to unscrew and then discard the knobs, and then to screw
the components into place.
In summary you can build a complete computer from scratch that can
run
Ubuntu for about $250. This doesn't count the cost of the monitor and
the optical drive. You can get both for about $200, bringing the
total
cost up to $450. You'll have a computer that is not a toy, not a
slouch, but a serious desktop machine.
It's worth noting that while you may find manufactured systems for
less cost, this system has a 250GB drive and high-quality components.
The components you can get from Newegg tend to be of higher quality
than the commodity components used by manufacturers, so you can
expect
a more reliable and trouble-free system if you "roll your own."
Not only can you save money, but you will have the satisfaction of
using something you put together with your own hands. Doing so gave
me
confidence, as it will you.
