Author: Jasmine Baer
Date: 22:41:26 12/27/03
I decided to nut up and purchase the hardware components to build a new PC. This is my first time building one from the ground up, so I'm really excited. It was nerve-wracking to choose the components - there are so many choices for hardware that I found myself trying to get the most perfect part that fit my criteria for "bang-for-the-buck." Anyway, this computer isn't only for chess - I actually have to do work on it, but it will be frequenting www.playchess.com on a regular basis. I just wanted to let everyone know that work (lots of Excel stuff and PowerPoint, with some photo work thrown in for good measure) and games will be done on this PC. I do have to admit that I hope that my chess engines can fare a lot better with it on playchess.com than they currently do. ;-) I ended up purchasing the following: CPU = P4 2.8Ghz, 800Mhz FSB, 512K Cache w/Hyper-Threading MoBo = Gigabyte GA-81K1100, Intel 875P, Socket 478 RAM = Corsair XMS Series DDR-PC3200 (2x256MB = 512MB total) HD = Seagate 120 GB EIDE Interface 7200RPM w/8MB buffer CDRW/DVD Combo = Sony CRX300A Video Card = MSI GeForce FX5600XT-VTDR 128 MB Floppy = TEAC (EXTREMELY IMPORTANT - hehe!) Case = Antec P160 Aluminum PSU = Antec True 430 I will be running Windows XP - Home version. Currently, I have a Sony Vaio P4 2.0Ghz, with 512 MB DIMM RAM (8KB L1Cache, 512KB L2)with a 100 Mhz FSB (I think). This thing is OK, but it seems really sluggish. A few questions relative to Chess: 1. Will hyperthreading be helpful when: (a) playing online against other cpu's - will the computer perform better against others using HT, or without HT? I am assuming it will do better than my current PC. (b) analyzing my own disasters (uh... games) - will I get deeper analysis faster than with what I currently run? I understand Hyperthreading to be really helpful when you are doing several things, like archiving (zipping) a large file, working on a presentation, listenting to music all at the same time, etc. However, I don't quite know if it will be something that will be helpful if I am running Junior 8 on playchess.com against some other computer. What does having a virtual dual processor do to chess engine performance? I'm sure there are those out there that will critique the actual components, but we could argue all day long on AMD vs. Intel, ATI vs nVidia, Corsair vs. Kingston, Seagate vs. Western Digital, TEAC vs. Samsung (snicker!), etc. I'm just curious to find out how getting a more muscular machine will affect my online chess engine matches and my own analysis of games at home. Thanks for putting up with a non-technical person again!
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