PixInsight - Best PC to use

[Gina]

I have signed onto PixInsight for their free trial but now looking at what to run it on.  My present computers have just 4GB of memory but they recommend much more for decent processing.  They are also pretty old and slow.  I know I could build my own desktop as I have in the past but I think I have higher priorities for my time and I want to get on with astronomy rather than fiddle with computer stuff.  I would think the requirements for astro processing would be similar to gaming  and a gaming machine would be the best option.

I'm looking at 3 to 4GHz processor with 16GB RAM and 1TB HD as something that could run PI pretty effortlessly.  I am just totally fed up with slow PCs and would like to migrate to Linux totally.  So a machine without expensive Windows 10 OS, into which I can install the latest Linux Mint 18, should be a good option.  I'm thinking of THIS ONE  Any comments would be welcome

[D4N]

It seems to run fine on my Mac with 8GB of ram.  It would be nice if it was faster but even drizzle integration doesn't take too long.

 

I would have thought that image processing would lend itself more to server hardware than gaming hardware, it is carrying out lots of calculations but not really rendering a great deal graphics wise.  I might be wrong though, it is years since I have built a desktop as I need the portability nowadays.

I think ideally you would have a small SSD for the software and operating system then a large HDD for your data.

[Bob Howard]

If you are running Windows 7 or newer, you can use a blank USB drive to get a bit more RAM til you upgrade by using Readyboost.

It's not perfect or as fast as using proper RAM, but it can help...

 

The PC you linked really isn't bad for the price.  My only complaint with it is that it uses integrated graphics, although there is space on the mother-bard for a shinny GPU should you feel the need.  

I'd also remove the overclock and put it back to 3.3 GHz per core, as it has the stock cooler on it still.  Too much hard work and it'll melt through your desk!

But, as I said, for that price, it really isn't bad :-)

 

 

[Gina]

Thanks for the replies

This one has 4 SATA 600 internal ports so should be able to add a SSD drive. 

Yes, I thought going back to the standard speed was a good idea.

[ejp1684]

I agree with using an SSD drive. My iMac is now seven years old, with just 6GB memory but I upgraded the hard drive to SSD and it made a massive difference. I downloaded PI as a trial and it worked fine.

Eric.

[Gina]

Another thought on overclocking and processor cooling is that I have a water cooling system I'm not using and could replace the CPU cooler with the CPU cooler part of that and plumb it in. 

[Gina]

As for the graphics - I think the supplied graphics should be adequate as the main work for this PC to do is processing data.  I could add a PCI-E card if I want to run Hi-Def TV or other graphics with a 4K TV or monitor.

[Bob Howard]

As long as your water-cooler can fit to Socket FM2+ then it should all be fine.  You'll NEVER have any heat issues from that.

Had a quick look at a review for the APU and it's quite a beast for the price :-D

PixInsight doesn't currently us CUDA, but when they implement it, a decent(ish) graphics card will make a HUGE difference in image processing speeds.

[kirkster501]

I run it on a i5 Mac with 16G mem and an i7 Windows PC with same mem.  Definitely runs faster on the PC with faster CPU though still perfectly OK on the MAC.

EDIT: Graphics card does not matter a monkey's.  As long as it can display the colours at your resolution you are fine.

[Gina]

I decided to go for it and ordered it   Due to arrive tomorrow - I was just in time in ordering.  I shall check up on what size cooler the CPU needs and see if I have a matching water block.  Once I've got it working, I'll look at adding an SSD drive.

[Gina]

Talking of the latter, above, any recommendations for an SSD drive, please?  This one has good reviews :- Samsung 850 EVO 250 GB 2.5 inch Solid State Drive - Black

[gnomus]

My son just built a gaming PC and put one of these hybrid SSDs in - https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00EIQTKAS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1  Everything seems to be working so far and his machine is blisteringly fast - Grand Theft Auto runs at 60 FPS with all graphical options turned on.  (I know that this is why you are really buying the machine).

The chap who helped him build his computer said that if he wanted just an SSD he should go for this - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kingston-Technology-Solid-State-Drive/dp/B00A1ZTZNM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1472664373&sr=8-1&keywords=kingston+240+gb+SSD

[Gina]

33 minutes ago, gnomus said:

The chap who helped him build his computer said that if he wanted just an SSD he should go for this - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kingston-Technology-Solid-State-Drive/dp/B00A1ZTZNM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1472664373&sr=8-1&keywords=kingston+240+gb+SSD

A lot of the reviews of that one say that Kingston have changed chips and reduced the speed to around half what it was earlier   It's cheaper than the Samsung one but what about the speed - seems to me the Samsung one is probably faster - the reviews would suggest that.

[gnomus]

Just now, Gina said:

A lot of the reviews of that one say that Kingston have changed chips and reduced the speed to around half what it was earlier   It's cheaper than the Samsung one but what about the speed - seems to me the Samsung one is probably faster - the reviews would suggest that.

Gina - please don't take any 'advice' from me about these things because I know next to nothing.    I was just passing on some info from a very recent build that seemed to go well.  I am interested in this thread though because I am getting a little frustrated with the speed of my PC. I have 12GB ram but when PS and PI are running together then things run as slowly as an Accident and Emergency department.  Is Kirkster correct when he says that one doesn't need a fancy graphics card?

[Alien 13]

I think PS can use a graphics card when rendering not sure about other software. I have a Samsung SSD in my laptop and it performs well, power on to full boot up (win 10) around 3-4 seconds.

Alan

[Gina]

Thanks Gnomus  

That's good enough for me Alan   WOW!!  That is FAST!   I can go and make a cuppa while this Windows 7 Pro machine boots up

[gnomus]

I don't know if this is off-topic but, if I were to add one of these things to my existing machine, would I have to reinstall Windows and all my programs, or is there a better way of doing this?  It is the sheer horror of having to reinstall everything that puts me off upgrading.

[Alien 13]

2 minutes ago, Gina said:

Thanks Gnomus  

That's good enough for me Alan   WOW!!  That is FAST!

Yes it surprised me the first time how fast it was maybe the 16GB ram helps too. I noticed that your new PC has 16GB of ram and you planned to use it with Linux can that OS access the whole 16GB.

Alan

[Alien 13]

6 minutes ago, gnomus said:

I don't know if this is off-topic but, if I were to add one of these things to my existing machine, would I have to reinstall Windows and all my programs, or is there a better way of doing this?  It is the sheer horror of having to reinstall everything that puts me off upgrading.

I am not sure but you would need the OS on the SSD but you could keep the existing HD as it is, I only install the power hungry programs on my SSD everything else including PS is run off my normal drive.

Alan

[Gina]

4 minutes ago, gnomus said:

I don't know if this is off-topic but, if I were to add one of these things to my existing machine, would I have to reinstall Windows and all my programs, or is there a better way of doing this?  It is the sheer horror of having to reinstall everything that puts me off upgrading.

Some come with software for migrating Windows from HD to SSD - I don't know about all of them, I've only looked at a few.  The software that comes with the Samsung SSD that I linked to above can migrate the OS partition and one other but not hidden partitions such as the factory restore image.

[kirkster501]

A SSD is one of the best additions to the machine you can make, especially if it is a bit light on memory since it will save swapping to disk so much.   A SSD is still worth having even if you do have lots of memory since startup/shutdown and application load times are so much quicker and makes the machine feel much snappier.  I've got SSD's in all my machines now.  They have come down in price dramatically in recent years. I remember paying over £300 for a 32 Gig one a few years ago!

[kirkster501]

1 hour ago, Gina said:

Talking of the latter, above, any recommendations for an SSD drive, please?  This one has good reviews :- Samsung 850 EVO 250 GB 2.5 inch Solid State Drive - Black

Well worth it Gina, do it! Incredible that the SSD only costs that nowadays!!!!!!!!!!

[gnomus]

9 minutes ago, Alien 13 said:

I am not sure but you would need the OS on the SSD but you could keep the existing HD as it is, I only install the power hungry programs on my SSD everything else including PS is run off my normal drive.

Alan

OK - so I could install Windows on the SSD - but how then does Windows know that I have PS, PI and all the rest on the other hard disk?  Does the Registry need to be told?  There was a time I could just about keep up with this stuff, but it all seems to have become very complicated!

[Alien 13]

The OS should auto detect any other drives, from memory a lot of the programs on the old drive will run however some might not so they will need to be re installed, it does mean though that most of the setting up can be done in slow time.

Alan

P.S it would be worth marking all your files on the old drive as all users.

[SkyBound]

2 hours ago, gnomus said:

OK - so I could install Windows on the SSD - but how then does Windows know that I have PS, PI and all the rest on the other hard disk?  Does the Registry need to be told?  There was a time I could just about keep up with this stuff, but it all seems to have become very complicated!

Yes you would have the SSD as your main drive, or master drive as it is known, then the old drive would be the slave drive, all the programs installed on the slave drive, can still run, but you would need to add desktoo shortcuts to them on your new desktop, this is not easy for someone who does not know how, as you have to find the .exe file for each programme and create shortcut from that to the new desktop screen.

it is much easier to install the new drive as a slave drive, and then clone the old drive onto it, which means you get an exact copy of the old drive onto the new one, then set the new drive as the master and then you can boot from that, and it will be exactly the same as before but much faster, then you can format the old drive and keep it in there as a second back up drive.

hope that all makes sense