Good Morning from my Robotics Lab! This is Shadow_8472 and today I am seriously thinking about a long-awaited computer upgrade. Let’s get started!
I’ve had a lot of fun learning Linux and not only doubling (or more) the useful life of my workstations. With out the full bulk of Windows, they’ve been able to keep up with my modest needs decently well, if I don’t say so myself. Through the occasional upgrade, I figure I’ve made the systems under my care last at least another generation worth of computers per what’s typical in my house – maybe two.
But over the past year, I’ve come across the stray project or game… As it stands, working with AI art on an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 is like trying to race go karts with pedal power. Some interesting applications may as well be a NASCAR event. A few applications I’ve been wise enough not approach yet. I approached my father to ask him if a graphics card was right for me while I plan on saving up for a nicer desktop or if I should just go for a full workstation now.
Shopping for a GPU
I came up with three tasks I want a new graphics card to do: AI art, VR, and gaming. My current card got me into AI art, but renders take minutes – too long to hold my interest long-term. I’ve used Virtual Reality headset one time; while it was fun, I’ll be after an open source driver (privacy concerns) probably on a tethered model, which my card likely isn’t up to rendering satisfactorily. Finally, I have a recent game I wish to blog onto Linux for an upcoming post without exploring the depths of its “potato mode.”
AI art relies on something called CUDA, which I know very little about except it’s tailored to NVIDIA cards, so I’m shopping NVIDIA. A big question is if I want to patch myself over until my next big machine for $300, or do I want to blow around $1600 for a card I will take to the next system. My father pulled up a benchmark by Tom’s Hardware showing that only the top of the market cards are gaming 4K at 60 fps. And while the bottom of the market may be an upgrade from where I am now, it didn’t look as massive a leap forward as I took it to be at first glance the night before.
But of course I’ll get the best experience with a balanced system. PCI slots may be the same shape, but my motherboard has generation 3 PCI and we’re on generation 6. I’d need a whole new machine to take proper advantage. So, why not look for one?
Shopping for a Full System
I’ve been interested in getting a System76 machine with Linux preinstalled for a while now. It wasn’t long before we were looking at the laptops, as that’s another gap to fill in my present tech loadout. For Autism reasons, I need a heavy laptop. I find the weight comforting. These ultra-portables weighing less than a Frisbee won’t do it for me. This leaves the top of the line “Desktop Replacements.” And would you know it, System76’s top tier laptop is listed as having the kind of graphics card I was looking at.
Takeaway
Growing up I had the following rule ground into me in regards to computers: don’t buy junk. If you buy the computer hardware you will need X years down the road, you’ll end up saving money once you count up the cost of a parade of budget computers bought along the way – as well as enjoying the turbo boosted performance along the way.
Final Question
What factors do you consider when shopping for computer hardware?
I look forward to hearing from you in the comments below or on my Socials!