Re: [tlug] Need purchasing advice for a linux compatible desktop

["Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon" <ronfaxon@example.com>]

Joseph Essertier wrote:

> Hello. I need to start working at home, so I'm in the market for a
> GNU/Linux compatible desktop and I'm wondering if there is an easy way
> to find one. It does not need to have Windows on it, but that would be
> a plus.

I was considering making this a new thread, but it's definitely within
this category, so I'm putting it here. We've been talking about a lot of
aspects of buying custom computer parts, but I don't think we've (not in
this thread anyway) covered mechanical design, which I touch on in the
following text. For my part, my only questions in this post are about
the CPU I bought, with the question at the end of this post. - Lyle


"You Get What You Pay For"

I was given a custom-built computer that is... about three or four years
old I think. It has an AMD 700MHz CPU and came with a five-inch floppy
drive and a mediocre video board. I put in an ATI Radeon 9600 video
board (with 256MB DDR) that had been sleeping in a closet for a couple
of years, and replaced the five-inch floppy drive with a CD-RW drive (it
already had one, but it wasn't reading some of my disks). All seemed
well and it was working fine with SuSE 10.0, but then I took a more
detailed look at the motherboard and discovered that the large
capacitors are ballooning....

Muttering "Tada-hodo takai mono wa nai" ("Nothing is so expensive as
that which is free"), I marched off to Yodobashi Camera in Shinjuku (I
should have gone to Akihabara, but didn't have time) and placed myself
upon the mercy of one of the guys working in the basement of Minami-kan
(I think - the one that is internally connected to the main store). I
had removed the board with the disintegrating capacitors and brought it
with me, so I showed it to him and - after confirming that the CPU and
memory in the old board would not be usable in a new board - asked what
they had in the way of replacement motherboards that used AMD and are
cheap. The shopkeeper looked at my old board, thought for about three
seconds, and then went into a back room, soon returning with a
spiffy-looking green box with AMD written all over it.

Thinking "How much are the three separate components (motherboard, CPU,
& memory) I'm about to buy going to cost?", I was surprised to hear that
the spiffy-looking box contained a set of all three of those for Y9,800.
"Well... that's cool!" I stupidly thought, envisioning only the off-new
specifications (not a problem) and forgetting there was the not-so-minor
issue of mechanical design to deal with, not to mention my own personal
theory (and experience) that a spiffy box wrapped around a cheap product
generally is indicative of garbage inside. Looking at the box now, I
note that "AMD" is proudly written large in 24 places all over the box,
and the board name "DFI" just twice in small letters on the back (once
as "DFI K8M800-MLVF"). One could be forgiven for suspecting (in
hindsight alas!) that they are trying to hide a bad name with a good one.

But back to Yodobashi Camera and before the storm - I stepped out into
the rain and proudly carried the box home and set about installing it in
the custom box. (Incidentally, what do you call a custom box with no
name that you are given? Do you give it a name like a pet, or just call
it a "box" forevermore? Suddenly I understand why custom computer owners
call their machines boxes - I sometimes call my OptiPlex GX-1 a box, but
generally think of it as "OptiPlex-2".) First step was to plug in the
CPU, its heat sink & fan, and the PC3200 memory boards (the kit 256MB &
a separately bought 512MB, both in "CFD Sales Inc." boxes - "Memory
Module for EXPERTS" it says - He-he!) And then....

"What's this? The board isn't sliding under the overhanging wiring the
way it should be - what's getting in the way..?" I mutter, and then
discover that - rotten design - the power connector for the board is at
the top corner by the CD-ROM drives and the cable connector and other
parts prevent it from being installed without taking the side screws out
of the CD-ROM drives and sliding them halfway out of the machine. "Well,
that sucks! But I guess I can still use it even with the CD-ROM drives
hanging halfway out and in harm's way..." think I as I push on. Next
thing is the rectangular panel that should snap into place and then
match up with the external connectors of the motherboard. It's so flaky
and uncooperative that I decide to skip using it - it doesn't provide
any mechanical support for the connectors anyway and I know what they
are without the labeling - "What's a little extra space around the plugs
in the back... maybe it will provide better ventilation..." I think as I
begin sinking into an unhappy and stormy cloud.

I was pretty disgusted with the project by the time I got the new
motherboard bolted down, so the discovery of the flaky and nearly
impossible to decipher pins and their bad labeling didn't come as a
shock, but just another wave washing into an already sinking boat (the
old board, by way of contrast, was infinitely more intelligently
designed). I made my best guess with the wiring, plugged in the power,
and the machine seemed to come to life, but the only effect on the
monitor was strange flashing of the setting lights, so with visions of
the bloody thing not only not working but damaging innocent external
equipment as well, I cut the power, removed the now hated board and put
the old one back in. It works fine again, but those ballooning
capacitors will not last long.

I thought of taking it back and exchanging it for a more expensive and
better board ("You get what you pay for"), but as I looked at the pile
of packaging around me and the new board with the CPU in place, I
realized it wouldn't be ready to just put back on the shelf, so I put
the board back in the static-free bag, tore up and threw away most of
the internal packing and put the board aside with a feeling of disgust
as I noted the time - 4:00 a.m. "Another night's sleep stolen by
computers - the greatest sleep deprivation device known to mankind!"
muttered ten-year veteran of the Equipment War Used-Machines-Lyle.
Methinks I'm about to become "New-Machines-Lyle" as I dream of an
all-new custom box with parts beginning life under my command. What I'm
wondering now is what to do with the CPU - is it one I should put to
work for me or should I shelf it and go for something newer? It's a...
I'm not sure what - there's the name "Sempron"; the box says "2600+
Socket 754"; and on the chip it has "AMD 2001"(!), so does that mean
it's five years old? It can't be that old... can it?

Lyle