Posted by
Justin Walker-3 on
Mar 17, 2009; 9:07pm
URL: http://imagej.273.s1.nabble.com/Hardware-recommendations-tp3693269p3693272.html
At $4000+, you're being taken for a massive ride. You could easily build a
core i7 system with dual WD Velociraptor drives in RAID 0 + a couple slow 1
TB drives, 6GB of triple channel DDR3 1600 RAM, and mid-range (say maybe a
8800GT 512MB) video card for ~$2500. That would be ample for your needs.
I suggest looking into some of the smaller vendors. I have ordered machines
from TeamHPC before, they have a federal government contract so your school
should be able to place a no-bid order with them.
Linux compatibility has come miles in the last few years. At this point,
the only things you may have issue with are wifi devices or any
significantly unusual hardware (OEM framegrabber cards, for instance).
WinXP x64 is a very stable platform, though.
- Justin Walker
University of Maryland
-----Original Message-----
From: ImageJ Interest Group [mailto:
[hidden email]] On Behalf Of jiho
Sent: March 17, 2009 3:58 PM
To:
[hidden email]
Subject: Re: [IMAGEJ] Hardware recommendations
Thanks very much for your answer.
On 2009-March-17 , at 14:05 , Gabriel Lapointe wrote:
> Personnaly I would build my own Desktop. [...]
I looked into that but since it is a university purchase we are kind
of forced into some of the big brands... The computer shop that was
doing custom things and was contracted by the university now send
ready-made Lenovo configurations :( Hence my choice for Lenovo BTW.
Otherwise we basically have the choice between Dell and Apple.
In addition, an issue I have with building it from scratch would be
compatibility of parts and support by Linux. I did that a few years
back and Linux support took 6 month to come, with the next kernel. We
don't have that kind of time. But a few years might be centuries in
Linux time and maybe the days of kernel recompiling are long gone now!
>> - fast harddrive (SAS?) [...]
> Go for multiple fast (usually small) Sata II and put them in RAID0.
> [...] not be used
> for long term storage, go for Raptors (Western Digital) they are the
> fastest around but they have a small capacity.
I was thinking about 2 SAS 15000 rpm in RAID 0 and a big external
storage. These seem faster than the Raptor (10000 rpm) or is there an
inherent difference between SAS and SATA that I am overlooking?
>> [...]
> Go for a processor with big caches (that's the on processor memory).
> Big GHz and gazillion core is often overrated. Remember, ImageJ will
> more often work in a serial pattern so multiple core will not help you
> there. [...]
OK, I felt this way about the multi processor/multi core thing and
ImageJ. I currently chose a Core 2 Duo with 6MB L2 Cache. I might
spend more and get a Quad with 8MB (12 is out of my reach).
>> - decent amount of RAM (4GB) [...]
> Get as much RAM as you can get and as fast as possible. [...]
OK, good to know thanks. I am on PC3-8500 1067MHZ and will go all the
way up to 8GB
>> - firewire port for fast connection to external storage where the
>> images reside
> Get eSata (external Sata) too.
Thanks, I overlooked that indeed.
>> - Mac OS X or Linux
> Custom build mean Linux, it's also free, takes less resources and is
> more secure than Mac-OSX. Peace of mind and better performance come
> sometimes at the price of more configuration. But free also means more
> money for better hardware.
I am OK with Linux ;)
I was kind of surprised however by how relatively "cheap" the Macs are
for what you get inside. I built some configurations identical to a
Mac Pro with Dell and Lenovo and both are more expensive than the Mac
Pro (>$4500 vs $4000 for the Mac!), while still making compromises on
some components (slower RAM, less ports, not as good monitors, etc.).
>> The part I really don't know what to think about is the graphics
>> card:
>> how important is it for ImageJ? Once I get something with dedicated
>> RAM would it matter to go for the lastest screamer from nVidia or
>> not?
>> I got an idea in the corner of my head that graphics cards really
>> only
>> make a difference in 3D stuff but I feel this is now wrong.
> With the new plugins that use Java3D a better graphic card *might* be
> worth the investment. I haven't played with those yet, so I can't
> comment. However, remember that displaying your images and zooming it
> requires RAM, you either put it directly on a dedicated card or you
> reduce the amount available for the system. Therefore if RAM becomes
> limited a dedicated graphic card *could* be a good investment.
OK I think I will pass on it this time then, and get a decent one with
256 or first price 512 Video RAM and max out the actual RAM.
>> I am currently looking at Mac Pros (but a bit over my budget), top of
>> the line iMacs, and Lenovo Workstations (S10 or D10).
> Personally I don't like the "I know what you want to do with your
> computer" philosophy of Macs. Therefore if I was forced to chose
> between
> those I have a very clear bias toward the Lenovo.
Thank you again for your precise answers. I will wait a bit for more
comments and probably go with a customization of a Lenovo then.
Jean-Olivier Irisson
---
Division of Applied Marine Physics
Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences
4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, Florida 33149-1098
+1 786 342 3410
http://jo.irisson.free.fr/work/