new analysis computer

[Frederick Gray <fegray@berkeley.edu>]

Dear Peter,

Last Wednesday, you requested that I provide further input into the
requirements for an online analysis computer.  I would strongly suggest 
an AMD Opteron family machine (like cheetah), since all benchmarks suggest 
that they provide more CPU operations per dollar for computational tasks
than the Intel Xeon.  We know that cheetah runs our analysis software 
rather well.

The vendor with the cheapest Opterons still seems to be the one from
whom we purchased cheetah.  The precise machine that we purchase will then
be primarily determined by your budget.  Let me refer you to this page:
  http://www.swt.com/dualo4.html
I would recommend upgrading the memory to 2GB, putting in two 250 GB disks
for any intermediate data storage, and then picking the fastest processor
that you can afford.  The Opteron 270 might be a reasonable point for you.

Thanks,

-- Fred

-- Fred Gray / Visiting Postdoctoral Researcher                 --
-- Department of Physics / University of California, Berkeley   --
-- fegray@berkeley.edu / phone 510-642-2438 / fax 510-642-9811  --