Computer Advice?
I'll have some proper posts over the next couple of days, but for now, a request. I'm contemplating the purchase of a new desktop computer, and while I'm not going top dollar for a machine that would make a super-GM envious, I would like to buy something that will still be a pretty decent machine even two or three years down the road. Some questions:
Is there a pre-made machine you would recommend, or should I get the components separately and have someone build it?
If the latter, what are the chips and specs you'd suggest?
A more fundamental question: is it pointless to even bother, because renting engine time on the web will provide more power than I can reasonably afford, and at a price that's cheaper than a new computer?
Thanks in advance for your help and suggestions!
Reader Comments (2)
Here ya go
https://old.reddit.com/r/ComputerChess/comments/mofwbz/fm_seeks_advice_for_computer_purchase/
[DM: Thanks!]
Well, the AMD CPUs perform better than the Intel ones for chess engine benchmarks, and they are cheaper than the corresponding Intel CPUs, so I would definitely go with an AMD chipset. I've had ASUS motherboards for the last 10 years or so, and have been happy with them. I won't give specific recommendations, since a lot depends on your price point, but for chess, spend money on CPU, cooling, and memory, and save money on the graphics card (don't need a high-end one with the new NNUE engines.) I used to build my own computers, but I am too busy to spend the time on it now. For the last 15 years or so, I have purchased systems from JNCS.com and have been very happy with them. They are fully customizable, have good prices, and thoroughly test the system for several days before they send it to you. Never had a problem with one of their systems.
[DM: Thanks! I hadn't heard about JNCS before, so I'll have a look.]