Re: [Flexradio] PC Recommendations for SDR-1000

[Tim Ellison]

Title: PC Specifications for SDR-1000

Thanks a lot to all that provided there comments and to Julius W2IHY who called with some interesting observations.   I have decided to go with the fastest machine I can afford to build.  I selected the AMD Athlon 4400+ 2X (dual core) with the VIA chipset (Asus motherboard).  This combination had the best floating-point performance per $ ratio.  The dual core should come in handy when the SDR software evolves additional signal processing features that will require benefit from on-chip multi-tasking.  The “real” fun was finding a good all steel case and a FCC Class B certified p/s to ensure this would not be a spurious RF generator.   In the mean time I have been evaluating Windows XP 64 and my conclusion is that it is not ready for primetime.  The 32-bit emulator (WoW) seems to work OK.  The biggest issue is that there is no support for 16-bit applications (WoWoW) and a lot of applications use 16-bit install programs (ouch).  Also there are no print drivers and limited device drivers available.   In addition, there are not any real 64-bit applications (I don’t consider IE a “real” application  I’m a FireFox guy) available, so I am holding off on Microsoft’s new bloatware version for a while.   Thanks again for all the advice.   73 es tx de W4TME -Tim --- Tim Ellison ( [EMAIL PROTECTED] ) Integrated Technical Services ( http://www.itsco.com ) From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Tim Ellison Sent: Wednesday, August 31, 2005 7:07 PM To: FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: [Flexradio] PC Recommendations for SDR-1000   Hi all,   I think my inquiry may have been lost in the noise and fury of the e-mail barrage of the past two days, so I am re-posting my request in the hopes that I can get some additional feedback on my questions other than use LINUX.  At this time LINUX isn’t an option.  Maybe it will be in the future.   I really want to get my PC taken care of so I can order my SDR1K and really join the fun!   -Tim --- Tim Ellison ( [EMAIL PROTECTED] ) Integrated Technical Services ( http://www.itsco.com ) From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Tim Ellison Sent: Tuesday, August 30, 2005 12:32 AM To: FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: [Flexradio] PC Specifications for SDR-1000   To all, I am starting to put together a PC system for use with a SDR-1000 and PowerSDR I am planning to get in the near future and had a couple of questions. What performance metric is most desirable in a CPU / motherboard combination?  I want to make sure I get a system that will meet current and future performance needs.  I have not done a lot of research on the DLLs or libraries used, so I was hoping to get some insight from those that know a lot more about the internal operation of PowerSDR than I. Specifically, what is most to least important of the following items (a ranking of sort): Floating point performance Integer operation Memory performance Multi-tasking performance CPU cache Graphics performance In addition to processor / motherboard metrics, has anyone used Windows XP Professional x64 with PowerSDR?  If so how did the WOW64 emulation handle PowerSDR and is there any advantage to using a 64-bit OS.  Will PowerSDR be compiled to be a 64-bit app in the future? Also, are there any known compatibility issues with AMD processors? In advance, thanks for the information. 73 de W4TME -Tim --- Tim Ellison Integrated Technical Services Apex, NC USA 919.674.0044 Ext. 25 / 919.674.0045 (FAX) 919.215.6375 - cell >>> PGP public key available at all public KeyServers <<<