[CM] Machine specs

[Bill Schottstaedt]

> Can you save a little about the machine? I'm thinking about building
> something like this for a DSP workhorse, but I don't know what
> motherboard/CPU combination to start with. Also how much memory, what
> about audio card(s), and which Linux distribution? And anything else you
> might think important.

We're going through a similar exercise here at CCRMA.
I got a "Powerstation" from PSSC Labs down south (www.pssclabs.com).
Here's the quote:

Mid Tower ATX Case
Dual Xeon Mother Board with Intel 5000P Chipset (2) Intel Harpertown E5450,
  Quad Core 3.0Ghz, 1333MHz FSB CPU with Heat Sink and Fan
8 GB DDR2 667Mhz FBDIMM System Memory
250GB SATAII 7200 RPM Hard Disk Drive
DVD +/- RW
(2) 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet Adapter
ATI ES1000 with 32MB Video
104 Keys Keyboard
3 Button Optical Mouse
Fedora Core 9 64-bit Linux OS installed
Free shipping
Price $4,040.00

California sales tax was $330 or so -- $4370 for the box.

The motherboard is an ASUS Server DSBF-D12.  Fernando sent me this
url for it:
  http://www.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=9&l2=39&l3=299&model=1460&modelmenu=1


I've had it running almost continuously since I got it (I had to turn it
off because my garage got too hot yesterday), and no problems.  The fans
are a bit noisy, but not intolerable (that's why I have it in the garage).
I didn't get a video card because I run everything from one machine with
a 30" screen -- I got addicted to that in about 3 minutes!

Fernando knows much more than I do about building machines from scratch.
I think I could have save some money by getting my own RAM.