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artemis8
12-27-13, 10:22 AM
So my hard drive died yesterday and I am just going to get a new computer since the whole thing was about 5 years old.

I want to spend about $1000 but I do want to make sure I get a double precision gpu.
Any suggestions?

Duke of Buckingham
12-27-13, 10:27 AM
I know that feeling artemis8, Good luck on your quest to find a DP GPU.
http://computer-how2.com/images/dead-pc.jpg

shiva
12-27-13, 10:48 AM
Are you going to build it your self or going to one of the big computer stores there in KC.

artemis8
12-27-13, 11:21 AM
Well I went to Best Buy yesterday and they had a mac mini with 4gb (I would upgrade that to 8) with a HD 4000 ivy bridge ($799 plus memory upgrade cost) and an alienware i7 with a card that I wasn't sure was double precision for $999. I haven't checked out Microcenter.

I am not opposed to building my own, but obviously pre-built is easier. And all I have right now is my work laptop and I can't run boinc on it :P

artemis8
12-27-13, 11:33 AM
Looking at this one:
It's 3rd gen i7 so a little slower, but in the budget.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/ideacentre-desktop-16gb-memory-2tb-hard-drive/1795225.p?id=1219064722726&skuId=1795225&st=categoryid$pcmcat212600050008&cp=1&lp=39

Al
12-27-13, 11:52 AM
Looking at this one:
It's 3rd gen i7 so a little slower, but in the budget.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/ideacentre-desktop-16gb-memory-2tb-hard-drive/1795225.p?id=1219064722726&skuId=1795225&st=categoryid$pcmcat212600050008&cp=1&lp=39

I don't believe the HD 7750 this system comes with is double precision, according to the mway site anyway.

artemis8
12-27-13, 12:05 PM
hmm, ok, maybe I should build one then. I can salvage some things from my dead computer like the dvd drive.
I can head to Microcenter today or tomorrow.

zombie67
12-27-13, 02:23 PM
The Mac Mini is a great computer, and includes a lot of software. It will CPU crunch, but not GPU crunch. So if you want to GPU crunch too, go with a windows machine.

Do you want/need a laptop? Does that matter to you? We can help you build a machine, easily enough. But that would be desktop-only. Laptops are generally not build-it-yourself.

What will you be doing with this machine, aside from crunching?

We need a bit more information to help properly.

zombie67
12-27-13, 02:39 PM
Looking at this one:
It's 3rd gen i7 so a little slower, but in the budget.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/ideacentre-desktop-16gb-memory-2tb-hard-drive/1795225.p?id=1219064722726&skuId=1795225&st=categoryid$pcmcat212600050008&cp=1&lp=39

+ i7 ivy bridge (Great CPU. It will crunch 8 tasks at once, and will GPU crunch on the CPU too.)
+ 16gb (you really do need 2gb/thread to crunch all projects)
- GPU will not crunch milky way (not DP).
- I think the PSU is only 280w. That would limit the GPU if you wanted to upgrade it. But you could upgrade the PSU too, if necessary.

Also, it is windows 8, which can be a pain. But if you install Classic Shell (free), it makes it work like win7. But that is a personal preference kind of thing.

FYI, Micro Center has it for $50 less.

http://www.microcenter.com/product/405502/IdeaCentre_K430_Desktop_Computer

In summary, it is a fine machine, if you don't want to build it yourself. But you could do better if you did. Better, but probably not cheaper.

artemis8
12-27-13, 03:00 PM
Apparently my husband decided he is going to go to Microcenter and he is going to surprise me (I have to work today and he has the day off). I told him dp gpu and he found a list of "approved" cards for boinc. So hopefully I will be back in business this evening. He plans to piece part it. Is ssd that much better than hdd?

zombie67
12-27-13, 03:06 PM
SSDs improve the user experience. Much faster boot times, for example. If there is any help for crunching, I haven't noticed it.

Slicker
12-27-13, 05:12 PM
Not to rain on your parade, but MicroCenter's GPUs are almost always $20-$50 more expensive than the same ones at TigerDirect or NewEgg. Might be worth getting the GPU elsewhere. The often make up for it with lower priced CPUs so if you buy all the pieces parts there, it ends up being a wash.

artemis8
12-28-13, 05:38 PM
I got my computer :)
with a radeon r9 280x

Duke of Buckingham
12-28-13, 05:43 PM
I will love mine also, congratulations artemis8 and keep on crunching.
http://www.wilsoninfo.com/computer/computerimages1.jpg

zombie67
12-28-13, 05:51 PM
I got my computer :)
with a radeon r9 280x

Great card!!! What CPU?

artemis8
12-28-13, 09:19 PM
I got an i7-4770k cpu @ 3.50GHz

shiva
12-28-13, 09:28 PM
I got an i7-4770k cpu @ 3.50GHzcool you will like it, neat machine, have you gotten a video card yet?

cineon_lut
12-28-13, 10:34 PM
I got an i7-4770k cpu @ 3.50GHz

That, plus the video card is NICE. Great setup. Can't wait to see that thing cut loose!

artemis8
12-28-13, 11:46 PM
My husband was like oh we got the bitcoin video card, we can make lots of money now! :P

John P. Myers
12-28-13, 11:51 PM
My husband was like oh we got the bitcoin video card, we can make lots of money now! :P

lol do not ever ever *ever* mine bitcoins on a GPU. Even if the GPU was free, the cost of electricity to run it will be far higher than your return. Litecoin on the other hand...

conf
12-29-13, 02:33 PM
Nobody can run Bitcoin anymore. There are a few big enterprises in iceland (Island ) with hundreds of computers
cause the electricity costs about nothing and they have no problems with overheating there.
They make all the new coins.