> > I am thinking, no BIOS reprogram necessary. Power Supply is always a > > good guess. I think it is time for a new system, but don't completely > > give up on the old one. Build a new machine, and when it is up and > > running, go back and see if the old one can be salvaged and put to good use. > > Bad RAM is always a potential problem too if the pwoer supply isn't it.
I'm still not sure that my power supply is good; but even if it isn't, since I tried another one with all RAM unplugged, I figure that the MB should have beeped. No? If so, RAM can be bad, but the MB is surely bad :-/ Talking about RAM, is it possible to re-use it in a new MB? That is if the frequency is _lower_ than the one recommended by the MB? Also, I think that they are ECC. If not, what make is recommended nowadays? > > Build the new machine using an Intel CPU this time 'round, whether it > > was AMD or Intel before. Core 2 is your best bet, A Xeon for servers or > > multisocket workstations. It is too soon to buy Nehalem, if you need to > > buy it today. If you can wait three months, consider a Core i7. > > I agree entirely. I didn't think of that. That's a good idea since although with my usage a Core 2 is more than enough, I assume (?) that the prices might drop when the new series is available. [I can use the laptop in the meantime but I'll have to transfer data that was on a RAID1 disk. Is there anything I should be aware of if I plug this drive as an external (USB) disk? Do you know the "mdadm" command to use to make the RAID partition available (possibly read-only)?] > > Almost any wired network NIC will do. The onboard ones are probably > > supported by Linux. > > Yeah usually. I discovered recently that some (like BNX2 that IBM uses > a lot) require a firmware file. How annoying when doing a netinstall. What do you think of this MB: http://www.cotubex.be/informatics/info.asp?cat=Motherboard&artnr=34821&navniv=2 > > Get a 80+ PS, meaning a PS that is at least 80% efficient. If you use > > it in an office building, or business, get one with power factor > > correction. What is the advantage? Do you have a specific make in mind? > > For a personal desktop machine, if 3d is necessary, nVidia or AMD/ATI > > both will do. AMD recently had its fiasco with the midrange chips. You > > may with to go with the red team (ATI) this time, until nVidia gets its > > act together. > > I am sticking with nvidia until ati gets their driver act together > (hasn't ever happend yet, but there is always hope it will happen some > day). My experience is that ATI makes great video chips and reliable > boards, and have amazingly bad drivers and support. I used to use > nothing else until I got badly burned by that, and won't deal with them > again until they prove they care about customers. Also an ASUS card then? Do I lose something (since I'm currently not a gamer) by taking the cheapest from those: N7200GS N8400GS N8600GT N9600GT N9600GTX [I just might want to try compiz some day...] Is there a recommended card (from the point-of-view of the debian-packaged driver support)? Thanks for the advice, Gilles --- More than 2000 Scarlet customers don't pay a subscription anymore! Join and surf free of charge! >> http://www.scarlet.be/nl/mgm -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
