[geeks] Sun to adopt newest Intel Xeon chips for upcoming servers (link)

[Joshua Boyd]

On Thu, Jan 25, 2007 at 12:33:12PM -0500, Charles Shannon Hendrix wrote:

> > In that computer, the problem card was an elsa geforce3 ti 200, and the
> > non-problem card is some brand that I can't remeber of FX5200, but
> > probably isn't particularly reputable as it was $50ish.  The motherboard
> > is a Tyan based on 440bx, I think.
> 
> Tyan is usually pretty good. Sometimes fussy like a Sun about memory,
> but mostly in that it won't accept "random RAM", by which I mean the
> cheap stuff with missing or simply incorrect SPD ROM data.

This machine isn't fussy about memory, except that 256 meg PC133 sticks
often only show up as 128, so I have to make sure to use PC100 memory in
it instead.
 
> I've been wary of PNY because several locals bought them and either the
> fans or the whole card died in less than a year.  Could be random bad
> luck, but it spooked me a bit.
> 
> Have you had good experiences with them?

Never bought them before.

I thought they were the only place to get the good stuff, but it seams
that Leadtek also makes some of the same cards, so I don't know which of
the two I'd go for currently.  Probably would depend on price and
warranty I guess.
 
> > I never particularly have time to do anything that might take advantage
> > of these cards.  
> 
> I make time these days, and I had to do it to keep from going nuts.
> 
> I started getting really burned out and depressed, and never had time to
> do anything.
> 
> I finally started forcing myself to do things I didn't have time for:
> photo editing, hikes in the woods, playing games, and reading.

Photo editing, hikes, and reading don't really call for stunning video
cards.  Video games might (if that's what you mean by playing games),
but I figure a Nintendo or Playstation is a better device for games than
a tricked out PC.

At the moment, the only thing I ever do that calls for a better than
early radeon card is tinker with shader programming.  A radeon 9000 was
just fine for playing and lightly compositing HD video, and my other
resources are so far behind that it isn't the video cards stopping me
from doing more with HD.

I don't actually have any commercial software that takes better
advantage of newer cards.  Blender doesn't, unless you scenes actually
call for better, which mine don't.  Photoshop doesn't use the card to
accelerate meaningfully.  After Effects would use the card for
accelleration, if I had version 6.0-7.0, but I have 5.5, which does every
little bit on the CPU.  I have got to upgrade that.

Anyway, I wish I did more photo-editing, but first I'm trying to get my
photo-sorting problems taken care of.

I do at least continue reading at a fair clip at all times, but it isn't
always as recharging an activity as drawing, editing photos, animating,
playing music, or whatever else one might do.

> Now that I'm "wasting time", I actually get a lot more real work done.

Sounds lovely.
 
> > I bought the FX5200 for the shaders and have done exceedingly little
> > with them.  
> 
> You might consider a 6600.  The 5xxx line isn't very good, and the
> 6600 isn't too expensive.
> 
> Avoid the 6200.

At this point it would have to be something that works in a AGP2x slot.
My two AGP machines are a 500mhz G4 and a 550mhz dual P3.

> Expensive never means "I don't want it" though... :)

Yeah.  What I really want though is a FX8500SDI variant though.  Or
maybe a Quadroplex SDI variant.  

<Insert TimTheToolMan grunt>
 
> > I do think it is about time that I get a FX5200 or better for my Mac
> > though.  And then maybe I should use the years vacation to actually do
> > something interesting with it.x
> 
> I wonder if you could get an nv6600 working in a Mac?
> 
> Fairly cheap and not hard to find, but still fast cards for a lot of
> things.

For Macs, I suspect that a ATI 9800 might be a reasonable option.

I probably should focus on getting newer workstations first, then on
upgrading the new ones later.

-- 
Joshua D. Boyd
jdboyd at jdboyd.net
http://www.jdboyd.net/
http://www.joshuaboyd.org/