Want To Build A ''LFS'' Computer

[Drift_Zac]

well i`m looking at buying myself a new rig and I want base it around LFS so i`ll be able to run it smoothly even with a full grid of cars. I know LFS uses more processor power then video so i`m guessing 64 bit is the way to go. Can anybody give me some advice on what I should be looking for?

[filur]

Keep in mind LFS will still run as a 32bit application, and if you get a dual core CPU, LFS will basically only use one core.

[P5YcHoM4N]

He never said he wanted dual core. Just 64bit.

And dual core has many advantages. You put all your normal appies on core 0, and run games on core 1 (or the other way round, doesn't really matter), which means what you run in the background doesn't effect the game. Unless you run apps with large ammounts of ram use, so you'll want around 1gb (Windows XP runs best with 512mb).

As it's a LFS rig, graphics wise you could go for bottom end of the PCI-E market and still have all the power you need to run LFS with lots of eye candy.

[filur]

He never said he wanted dual core.

Note the if. :)

[P5YcHoM4N]

Note the if. :)
Noted, I scan read it. I should stop doing that :p

[Drift_Zac]

thanks for the advice guys! So is there any specific parts that LFS really likes?

[filur]

Lots of math processing power. :)

http://lfsbench.iron.eu.org/?c=completemax

[richardatkinson]

this is my reccomendation:
A64 3200+
Any NF4 motherboard. I like the DFI LanParty.
1 GB PC 3200
6600gt pic-e
whetever hdd you like.
DVD/CD writer
Fortron blue storm 500w psu. Might seem like overkill, but if you decide to go with sli, this will benefit you a lot. and it's always good to have xtra power ;) .

[P5YcHoM4N]

Any NF4 motherboard. I like the DFI LanParty.
Waste of money unless you use the features. I really wouldn't say to get one unless you have money to burn.

[Shotglass]

hmmm i still dont know if i should buy a th2g system or some really large crt

[-DrftMstr-]

haha, y'all have fancy equipements, P4 1.6GHz, GeForceMX4000 128Mb, 2gb or RAM (for some reason), 19" Samsung LCD and a KB!

[P5YcHoM4N]

Man I so need to get a P4. Just for the sake of having one XD

[JTbo]

hmmm i still dont know if i should buy a th2g system or some really large crt

Don't buy CRT unless you really need to, TFT is so much more better for your health, eye problems and CVS (Computer Vision Syndrome) specially is greater risk with CRT.

And yes, I still have CRT, I'm poor :shy:

[Shotglass]

Don't buy CRT unless you really need to, TFT is so much more better for your health, eye problems and CVS (Computer Vision Syndrome) specially is greater risk with CRT.

And yes, I still have CRT, I'm poor :shy:

matter of fact i prefer crt by a lot ... no ghosting ... not bound to a single resolution ... no dead pixels ... same brightnes over the whole screen ... the list goes on

[GaryArm]

I have a 3100+ AMD processor, 512Mb of RAM (hopefully soon to be 1Gb) and a PCI-E Geforce 6200 card.

On most games like Counter-Strike and Battlefield 2, I get around 30-40 FPS. However, LFS runs great on this system, and I get about 50 on a full grid of cars, and its topped out at around 95 before, runs smooth as I need it!

[Stellios]

Get a good processor, ive got a A64 3200 Venice and its excellent, the 3500 would be even better.

If you fancy waiting then Intel are releasing a Conroe chip, and it supposed to wipe the floor on AMDs current Venice and FX range on CPUs, a lower price, but no conformed date of release. AMD are also due to release AM2 slot CPUs on the 20th May if you fancy waiting for those, dont know any details on pricing for those.

At the minute my system usually sits on about 40-50 FPS with 8xAA and 8xAF enabled, which aint too bad.

As for CRT Vs TFT, for me its TFT every time. I far prefer the resolution and the lack of refresh rate, meaning no flicker on the screen and therefore less eyestrain. You also have more deskspace and they look a lot smarter too. If it were me, id definately go TFT and not get another CRT unless your wanting bit sized screens.

[indo420]

(Windows XP runs best with 512mb).


thats a first...

when building your own computer the basic key is to lose as many bottle necks as possible. why buy a bad-arse cpu when you pair it with a crappy gpu? the cpu limits the gpus power. I'm not going to tell you what to get. beacuase it can vary depending on what you want/your budget or what game(s) you intend to play with it.

check your budget

check online and check the stores. compare prices and find out what you can get.

and for gods sake dont skimp on the power supply

[P5YcHoM4N]

matter of fact i prefer crt by a lot ... no ghosting ... not bound to a single resolution ... no dead pixels ... same brightnes over the whole screen ... the list goes on
There is no ghosting with TFT's if you use vsync. Dead pixels are rare, and TFT's don't have a single resloution issue either (though they have a native resloution, so did all the CRT's I've ever used). And I have the same brigtness all over my TFT, infact I have in all the TFT's in my house.

[Shotglass]

There is no ghosting with TFT's if you use vsync.

nonsense ... ghosting ans vsynch have nothing to do with each other

and TFT's don't have a single resloution issue either (though they have a native resloution, so did all the CRT's I've ever used).

nonsense again ... a crt can display any resolution while a tft can only display a single one and interpolate others

And I have the same brigtness all over my TFT, infact I have in all the TFT's in my house.

look at the edges ... ist significantly darker than in the middle

[Stellios]

look at the edges ... ist significantly darker than in the middle

That depends, you usually get backlight bleed around the edge maing it darker in the middle and lighter around the edges, but this is becoming less and less common.

[tristancliffe]

nonsense ... ghosting ans vsynch have nothing to do with each other



nonsense again ... a crt can display any resolution while a tft can only display a single one and interpolate others



look at the edges ... ist significantly darker than in the middle

Ghosting and vsync are VERY different, correct.
CRT's have a native resolution, but the effect of running other resolutions is very slight. TFT's are affected a lot more.
My TFT is, as far as my eye's can tell, the same brightness across the whole screen, even on dark images, and mines a cheap old 19". Getting a new one on Wednesday (also 19", but 4ms rather than 25). Didn't want to 2ms one because of two reasons 1. it's more expensive 2. it's got a silver bezel and it doesn't look half as good whilst watching a movie with a relatively bright surround. And I doubt I'll notice the difference between 2 and 4ms. The downside is the new monitor doesn't have 4 USB2 ports on the side, so I'm going to have to find a USB2 box I like, which are few and far between at the moment.

[Anarchi-H]

Pretty much all the advice I'd have given has been said already, except I'd avoid Fortron PSUs. They have a pretty high fail rate, or at least they did when I used to help test them about a year back.

Anyway, to add to the CRT vs TFT debate, I prefer CRT.
Get a decent one that you aren't pushing to max res and thus have to run at lowest refresh and there is no flicker. Anything that can manage 1600x1200 @ 75Hz should suffice unless you have uber sensitive eyes, in which case you'll need one that can manage 100hz .
The only upsides I see to TFT are less space used, a cleaner image (in native res) and little calibration required, where as CRTs are generally brighter, capable of a wider range of resolutions (at acceptable quality) and have a more accurate colour reproduction.

To me accurate colours and a huge amount of brightness when necessary are a must because of all the design / photo processing I do, but if that weren't an issue I may well prefer a TFT.

[P5YcHoM4N]

nonsense ... ghosting ans vsynch have nothing to do with each other



nonsense again ... a crt can display any resolution while a tft can only display a single one and interpolate others



look at the edges ... ist significantly darker than in the middle
I get zero ghosting on my TFT, I get perfectly sharp images, though only if I use 75Hz, anything else and it's blurry. I've known a few people who got bad image issues, until they started to use vsync, and they all stopped. I've always used vsync, even with my CRT's because I hated tear off. Though it was harder to get on CRT then TFT it still used to piss me off. But if you use vsync on TFT it also removes the need for stupidly high response time, which means you can get cleaner colours.

No, they cannot display any resloution. In most cases you cannot notice it due to how CRT's work. But both of the CRT's I used prior to getting my TFT had blurry image quality unless I used 1024x768 and the max refresh rate (75 on one, 70 on the other), if I went over that resloution I'd get compression, if I went under I got strech marks. Same with my TFT's.

Very far from it. The screen is perfect brightness all over. Though I do know if I use ~50% brightness I do get fading, but that's just silly. My laptop did have such an issue, but then it was from 1999.

[JTbo]

There is bad TFTs and good ones, if possible one should test before buying. I have used TFT monitor that has great image quality and I could notice weakness in it, but then I have used those that have blurry image no matter what resolution and also image was drawn behind.

Maybe I'm getting old, but I would not get CRT anymore if I would have money for TFT. I give too much value for my health :nod:

[Shotglass]

CRT's have a native resolution, but the effect of running other resolutions is very slight. TFT's are affected a lot more.

well ok they have sort of a native resolution dependant on the matrix behind the screen and the placement of szintilators on the screen but the effect of running a lower than native res is very very slight and you wont ever notice it untul you go really low ... and most improtantly the effect of running a crt at a lower reas are enlarged inter-pixel distances (which you hardly ever notice from a distance) and not blurry interpolated pictures that are more than just nasty on the eyes

My TFT is, as far as my eye's can tell, the same brightness across the whole screen, even on dark images, and mines a cheap old 19".

well based on the principle behind tfts all of them ave non uniform brightness across the screen (mostly noticeable with dark edges especially on cheap laptop monitors) the eyes wont necessarily pick the effect up on higher quality monitors though (still bad for photoshoping)
not that crts are perfect in the edges though as all of them have more or less pronounced convergence problems

To me accurate colours and a huge amount of brightness when necessary are a must because of all the design / photo processing I do, but if that weren't an issue I may well prefer a TFT.

well you could buy a colour calibrated tft ... those still cant reproduce the whole rgb range but at least the colours they do reproduce are correct

I get zero ghosting on my TFT, I get perfectly sharp images, though only if I use 75Hz, anything else and it's blurry. I've known a few people who got bad image issues, until they started to use vsync, and they all stopped. I've always used vsync, even with my CRT's because I hated tear off. Though it was harder to get on CRT then TFT it still used to piss me off. But if you use vsync on TFT it also removes the need for stupidly high response time, which means you can get cleaner colours.

iirc all tfts have a native refresh rate of 60hz so yours is running out of synch

Very far from it. The screen is perfect brightness all over. Though I do know if I use ~50% brightness I do get fading, but that's just silly. My laptop did have such an issue, but then it was from 1999.

the effect is real and theres no way around it ... maybe the newer led based lcds really have eliminated that issue completely but all neon based tfts have it

[P5YcHoM4N]

iirc all tfts have a native refresh rate of 60hz so yours is running out of synch

Well as I get blurring at 60, I use 75. My lappy used 60 fine. But the rest of my TFT's need to use 75.

[Anarchi-H]

well you could buy a colour calibrated tft ... those still cant reproduce the whole rgb range but at least the colours they do reproduce are correct

Hmm, 250quid for a top spec 19" CRT vs how much for an equal sized TFT (Roughly 17" - 18" I believe due to the way they are measured) that is colour calibrated?

Serious question because I want dual screns but two 19" CRTs is pretty unviable in the sardine tin that is supposedly my bedroom.

[Shotglass]

i dunno ... but pretty damn expensive i presume

according to a german price comparison page some 1000 quid for an eizo which afaik has the calbration equipment included

but most crts arent properly calibrated either they just have a larger colourspace