New desktop which O/S to go with?

rustigsmed (Russell) · #1 30-09-2014, 03:33 PM

Hi folks,

Just about to finish off building my own desktop.
This will not be used to capture any data but will be used for data processing etc.
are there compatibility issues with the regular astro programs (CS6, DSS, Registax 6, AstroImage, Pixinsight) etc and windows 8?

Cheers,

Russ

Marios (Marios) · #2 30-09-2014, 03:46 PM

Win7 64bit is a solid and widely supported OS.

mithrandir (Andrew) · #3 30-09-2014, 03:55 PM

Win8.1 stability isn't quite up to Win7 but you will save yourself some upgrade pain later.
There's no point in installing a 32bit O/S so go with 64bit and as much RAM as the motherboard will hold.

Of course you could install a real O/S - Linux or FreeBSD.

rustigsmed (Russell) · #4 30-09-2014, 03:55 PM

thanks marios, that was my view, although I am a bit hesitant to get W7 when windows 9 is soon to be released, thereby being a couple of versions behind. hmmm.

rustigsmed (Russell) · #5 30-09-2014, 04:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mithrandir

Win8.1 stability isn't quite up to Win7 but you will save yourself some upgrade pain later.
There's no point in installing a 32bit O/S so go with 64bit and as much RAM as the motherboard will hold.

Of course you could install a real O/S - Linux or FreeBSD.

thanks Andrew,
i'll be starting off with 16gb ram (2x8) and can go up to 32gb.
(i5 4690k/maximus vii hero/gtx 970, ssd 250, 3tb hd etc).
I knew a bit about computers around 15 years ago, had to do a fair bit of reading up to attempt a build but didn't even consider which o/s till now.
I think Linux may have to wait till my next computer I haven't done any research on it ...

cheers - I am leaning toward win 8.1 64bit

pluto (Hugh) · #6 30-09-2014, 04:17 PM

Just get Windows 8.1, it's very stable and efficient, I've not had Windows crash once on any of the 3 boxes I've had it running on for the last 9 months and that's way better than I can say about any version of Windows that's come before... by a long way.

I would say that if you don't need Photoshop then a nice Linux box would be great and I can confirm that PixInsight runs beautifully on Linux. No PS is a showstopper for me although I have become less reliant on it since getting into PI. And yes I've used GIMP, I've used it frequently over the past 15 years, and every time I launch it a little part of me dies... Each to his own though...

rustigsmed (Russell) · #7 30-09-2014, 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pluto

Just get Windows 8.1, it's very stable and efficient, I've not had Windows crash once on any of the 3 boxes I've had it running on for the last 9 months and that's way better than I can say about any version of Windows that's come before... by a long way.

I would say that if you don't need Photoshop then a nice Linux box would be great and I can confirm that PixInsight runs beautifully on Linux. No PS is a showstopper for me although I have become less reliant on it since getting into PI. And yes I've used GIMP, I've used it frequently over the past 15 years, and every time I launch it a little part of me dies... Each to his own though...

thanks hugh - that pretty much settles it

mithrandir (Andrew) · #8 30-09-2014, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pluto

And yes I've used GIMP, I've used it frequently over the past 15 years, and every time I launch it a little part of me dies... Each to his own though...

I finally bought CS6 because GIMP 2.8 wasn't cutting the mustard. If they could just get off their backsides and get GIMP 2.10 out the door http://www.gimpusers.com/tutorials/w...w-in-gimp-2-10 we might be able to do without PS. A few items:

16/32 bits per channel
multicore GPU and CPU support
OpenCL acceleration
...

The beta (2.9) isn't bad, as long as you save often so crashes don't lose too much work on you.

tlgerdes (Trevor) · #9 01-10-2014, 11:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rustigsmed

tha I am a bit hesitant to get W7 when windows 9 is soon to be released, thereby being a couple of versions behind. hmmm.

Too late, Windows 9 now called Windows 10.

ZeroID (Brent) · #10 01-10-2014, 11:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tlgerdes

Too late, Windows 9 now called Windows 10.

And it's only 'Insider Testing' at present. Check the packet, it reads " Includes Bugs"

.
Not sure when it will be turned loose on the general populace.

I am not a fan of buying into first editions, there are always bugs and lack of drivers etc etc. Let the nerds sort out the problems first before I install to a working PC. I may get it onto a spare laptop and see what it looks like. I've managed to avoid Win 8 so far.

mithrandir (Andrew) · #11 01-10-2014, 12:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZeroID

And it's only 'Insider Testing' at present. Check the packet, it reads " Includes Bugs"

.
Not sure when it will be turned loose on the general populace.

Isn't that what M$ do when they start selling the "final" version?

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZeroID

I am not a fan of buying into first editions, there are always bugs and lack of drivers etc etc. Let the nerds sort out the problems first before I install to a working PC. I may get it onto a spare laptop and see what it looks like. I've managed to avoid Win 8 so far.

Apply the "never install a *.even-number version" principle. Always wait for the odd numbered fixpack. Win8 came installed on my Toshiba Satellite and wasn't too bad - unusual. 8.1 seems better.

tlgerdes (Trevor) · #12 01-10-2014, 01:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mithrandir

Isn't that what M$ do when they start selling the "final" version?

Apply the "never install a *.even-number version" principle. Always wait for the odd numbered fixpack. Win8 came installed on my Toshiba Satellite and wasn't too bad - unusual. 8.1 seems better.

8.1 is sort of an odd number, so fits with your theory.

tlgerdes (Trevor) · #13 01-10-2014, 01:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZeroID

And it's only 'Insider Testing' at present. Check the packet, it reads " Includes Bugs"

.

.

Whats the point of not having bugs, removes half the fun. No S/W company is immune to that, even when they control the whole ecosystem from H/W upwards.

PeterEde (Peter) · #14 01-10-2014, 01:30 PM

Been running Win8 since release and it's not fallen over once. Only issue I have had is the graphics has fallen over at times.
If you stick with brand components I don't think you'll have an issue with Win8. It can be made to look just like Win7

ZeroID (Brent) · #15 02-10-2014, 07:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PeterEde

Been running Win8 since release and it's not fallen over once. Only issue I have had is the graphics has fallen over at times.
If you stick with brand components I don't think you'll have an issue with Win8. It can be made to look just like Win7

'Look like' and 'act like' are two different scenarios.
We run Win7 at work and find it basically stable and compatible with our various applications and systems.

A few managers have Win8. We quite often get them coming back saying 'load Win7 please'. I've just built a replacement Win 7 unit for one person and his Win8 will go to his PA.

As a business environment they are a disaster, totally unfamiliar environment which confuses the heck out of users and a lot of incompatibility with many applications and systems. From an admin viewpoint they can be a right prat to manage as the system tries to tell you how it wants to be configured rather than conform to the necessities of a business secured network.

I'll look at Win X as soon as I get a chance just to see what it's got but I don't see my place making any shifts towards it for at least the next 2-3 years.

And I'll probably be retired ...

Irish stargazer (John) · #16 04-10-2014, 04:15 PM

I just picked up a new PC, mainly for astro work such as Photoshop CC and running Nebulosity, Deep Sky Stacker and Registax. I had considered building my own computer but for the price of the individual components it was hard to beat a new Dell XPS 8700 with a warranty. It runs Windows 8.1.

The first thing I did was install Start 8 to get the Windows key back

. I got a Core i7 with 16GB of ram, a 32GB cache and a 2GB graphics card. The 2TB disk drive is lightening fast and opens Photoshop CC in a few seconds-rivalling an SSD. I can upgrade the ram to 32GB if required but I would recommend at least 12-16GB for Photoshop.

I have been using Windows 8 for over a year now and find it very stable and without any compatibility issues.

Amaranthus (Barry) · #17 04-10-2014, 05:34 PM

Win 8.1 x64 is amazingly stable. Not a single BSOD. They fixed the interface from 8 --> 8.1 and so it's like Windows 7 but newer. It's the go.

rustigsmed (Russell) · #18 06-10-2014, 03:28 PM

thanks for the recommendations.

I went with windows 8.1.
it was a bit of a mission building my first computer but i'm loving it now. for those interested I got the following

intel i5 4690k,
asus maximus vii hero z97,
evga 970 super clocked 4gb gpu,
16gb ram 1866ghz
Samsung 850 ssd 250gb
Seagate 3TB hd
nocutua nh-d14 cooler
cx 600watt cpu cooler
optical drive
wireless keyboard and mouse.
windows 8.1

connected up to my plasma.

I plan to add another 3TB hard drive and also pump up the ram to 32gb and perhaps go sli in the future.

the instructions for the cpu cooler were terrible and I wasted a lot of time trying to figure out what/where to put which parts.

half regretting not getting faster RAM and maybe should have gone with the i7 4790k. but really its probably not going to make that much of a difference. my poor old laptop can now live a more relaxed lifestyle only being used for image acquisition.

so far windows has been going alright, quite different haven't ran any astro or image programs yet will have to wait for the weather to pass.

cheers