[ILUG] Thoughts on a compile box

[Griffin, Gearoid]

Kenn,
If you are looking for a ready built box I know Dell have a dual processor
(P3) Optiplex. (GX300 is the model) (check the link at
http://commerce.euro.dell.com/dellstore/default.asp?c=647&l=en&m=iep&n=189&s
=iebsd )Decent enough machine, thinking of getting one for an Oracle Box.
Gearoid
Gearoid Griffin
Accounting,Finance & Information Systems
UCC
Tel:(021)4903733
Mail:GGriffin at afis.ucc.ie
-----Original Message-----
From: Kenn Humborg [mailto:kenn at bluetree.ie]
Sent: 27 April 2000 14:57
To: ilug at linux.ie
Subject: [ILUG] Thoughts on a compile box



It's getting near time to replace my trusty P133
at home, as kernel compiles are just taking too 
damn long...

Overall, I'm happy enough with the performance of
Linux on this machine, except for starting Netscape
and compiling stuff.  I don't really play games any
more...

And with 64MB of RAM, the compilation bottleneck 
is currently the CPU.

So, I'm thinking that, say, a dual 500MHz Celeron box
should give me more bang-per-buck than, say, a 
single P-III.

But where do you buy dual-CPU boxen?  I'd hope that,
at this stage, I should be able to get something
reasonable for about 1000 to 1200 (before VAT).  I just
need CPU, RAM, disk and 1280x1024x16M.  I don't want
a flashy, expensive, whizz-bang graphics card.  I don't
need another monitor.  Maybe I'll go SCSI for disk if
it's not too expensive...

Dell, for example, only do dual CPUs on their Precision 
"workstation" series (and Poweredge servers) which are 
going a bit over my budget...

Kate mentioned that he put together a dual Celeron/BP6 
machine fairly cheaply, but then said a while later that
it crashes every few days.  Now, I've given up trying to
keep up with the alphabet soup of RAM types, montherboards,
front-side buses and back-side buses, cache sizes, speeds,
on-chip/off-chip, yadda, yadda, yadda, and don't really feel
confident enough to put together my own box.  And, besides,
I'll happily pay a bit more to a box-builder to whom I can
say "This machine crashes every few days.  Take it back and
give me my money back."  It's much more difficult to do this
when you've bought all your bits from 5 different sources.

So, any recommendations of clone builders that do this kind
of thing?  Galway area would be nice, but not essential.

Thanks,
Kenn