[daip] Hardware Requirement

[Patrick P Murphy]

Cúpla lá Ó shin, scríobh Aralt Mac Giolla Chainnigh:

(I believe we've talked before?  The number of Radio Astronomers in
Canada capable of writing their names in Irish is not large!)

>> I will be submitting an application for a research grant, for the
>> first time, next month.  I need to estimate the cost of obtaining a
>> computer that will run AIPS.  What is my minimum requirement in terms
>> of hardware to run the newest version of AIPS, 31DEC05 (or where can
>> I find that information)?

And Eric wrote:

> I do not know the costs of computers in your area.  Any Linux desktop
> will probably run aips.  The software is not memory hungry but 1 Gbyte
> of RAM would still be good.  The amount of disk you need depends on
> the amount of data you expect to have - 200 Gbytes is now a pretty
> standard off the shelf disk.  I just bought a Gateway machine for
> under $1000 (US) although it is a microsoft box and so not exactly
> comparable.  I do not know what a RedHat or other Linux system costs
> these days and you will want a good PostScript color printer.

Any fairly new printer (e.g. HP series; I have a 990Cxi at home) will
function under Linux as a PostScript printer; the CUPS software takes
care of the translation from PostScript to the native code.  However,
the cost of printing in the long term is dominated by the cost of media
and not the initial cost of the printing hardware (especially so for an
inkjet printer; less so for a laser).

See http://linuxprinting.org/ if you're in doubt about what printers are
supported under Linux (and bear in mind that some Linux distributions
like RedHat may lag somewhat behind the "bleeding edge").

> In other words you can get a good system for well under $2000.

Absolutely (albeit CDN$2,342.20 according to xe.com just now).

The only things I can think of adding would be a DVD+RW compatible DVD
burner for backup, and possibley get a computer with USB-2 and/or IEEE
1384 ("Firewire") capability in case you want to add external disks for
backup or data transport at a later time.  Most systems already come
with USB-2.

Also, watch for monitor resolution.  Most graphics cards will support
near-ridiculous frame buffer sizes anymore, so shop carefully for a
monitor with enough pixel real estate.  If you get an nvidia card,
installing the proprietary nvidia X11 driver after the fact will
significantly boost grapics performance.

Good luck with your purchase!

			- Pat (now a mere lurker on the DAIP list)
-- 
 Patrick P. Murphy, Ph.D.               Division Head, NRAO/CV Computing
 NRAO Computing Security Manager       Head, NRAO WebAdmin Working Group
 Home: http://goof.com/~pmurphy/     Work: http://www.nrao.edu/~pmurphy/
 "Inventions then cannot, in nature, be a subject of property."
                                    -- Thomas Jefferson, August 13, 1813