Selecting a Computer for KiCAD

watch this:
https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=245608
There are quite a few such threads on the forums.

1st Generation Ryzen (in fact the 1st batch of 1700) actually had a problem and you were more likely to hit it on linux than on windows simply because windows compiles to the lowest common denominator (the basis x86_64) while linux distro’s tend to make use of additional features.

in fact the 1st reports came from gentoo users as the questionable instructions were more than likely hit during compiling…

This was resolved in the 2nd batch of 1st gen Ryzen.

Now if you have aggressively overclocked your Ryzen or you are pushing the RAM to the level it is sold and well… you will have issues since the 1st round of mobo’s to support ZEN and ZEN+ had issues with the memory controller and again because of the agressive nature of linux in how a distro is optimised you may be hitting this… Just because the RAM is 3200 does not mean your mobo can support 3200.

I am sitting here on a Ryzen an one I found the happy medium for the RAM I have (clocking now at 3000) there is zero issues.

If you run a more aggressive distro (gentoo-based or arch-based) where some of the obscure GCC CFLAGS are used and more specialist CPU registers, you are more likely to hit a low-level issue with the CPU

Don’t be fooled by windows gimping your system silently as a sign it is better

I think that Mint Cinnamon is not very aggressive distro (kernel 5.8), I do not use any overclocking. Apparently I’m not lucky …
I don’t know what Windows is doing to my laptop but it simply works stably.

All I can say is I bought a 1st gen Ryzen (not the 1st wave) and the only issue I ran into was stability due to push RAM when my mobo wouldn’t really support the rated speed and also the OP cache (disabled in BIOS) as this is another known weakness of Ryzen which you can hit if you use some aggressive CFLAGS

I am a gentoo user and I push this box and besides the 1st couple of months… this box is solid. In fact I am rebuild my entire system to use CLANG over GCC, so this isn’t a simple statement of “linux and ryzen = bad” because there are very few tasks beyond what I am doing right now which would push it harder

I totally agree: Linux and Ryzen are great, but apparently I can’t do something to make it work well for me.
I just wanted to say that such problems do happen.

Does the SSD as replacement for hard drive still use the SATA bus, or has a new bus for it been invented too ?

You can still get SATA SSDs and those are probably the most widely-compatible option. However, the enthusiast/high-end segment has moved towards SSDs attached to the PCI-express bus (NVMe)

https://www.newegg.com/insider/m-2-and-nvme-ssds-what-are-they-and-how-do-they-benefit-your-pc/

So a “high end build” today usually uses a NVMe drive (attached to the M.2 slot of the motherboard) for primary storage, and additional drives (solid-state or magnetic) connected via SATA.

Thank you, craftyjon, for introducing me to the PCI-express bus. I will read the webpages to which you linked. So let’s see: NVMe hard drives interconnect with the CPU and with RAM using the PCI-express bus - is that it?

Another question I forgot to ask is have the existing filesystems (btrfs, ext2, ext3, ext4, VFAT, FAT32, etc.) been upgraded to work with this new technology ? Does anybody know ?

So let’s see: NVMe hard drives interconnect with the CPU and with RAM using the PCI-express bus - is that it?

Basically, yes (the drive won’t directly talk to RAM, but that’s details)

All modern desktop filesystems that I know of are aware of SSDs and have some SSD-specific features, including btrfs, ext4, xfs, and so on. Older filesystems like ext2/3, fat32, etc should probably not be used on a primary drive today. EXT4 is generally recommended as the default choice if you don’t have niche needs or want to tinker with a specific filesystem.

NOTE: just to add some clarification. M.2 is the formfactor and some come with a SATA interface and some come with an NVMe interface.
Likewise some motherboards expose the M.2 bus to a shared PCIe and some have a dedicated bus.

to really benefit from the full capability of an NVMe enabled M.2, check what you got

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I should also add that I was unable to get Win7 to install onto my NVME M.2 drive. Some web sites claim to have been able to make it happen, but I was unable to duplicate the claims by following their instructions.

Using a live boot from USB Ubuntu Mate, on my NVME drive I created a GPT partition table and installed the OS with the lvm2 pv file system. Works great!

Well, the most recent service pack to Windows 7 was released in 2011, and NVMe standard was just coming out then :slight_smile:

While technically correct, KB3125574 was released 16May2016; and this is considered by some to be equivalent to SP2.
Note: In order to install this update, KB3020369 must be installed first.

I am using an AMD A10-6700 with a 2T SATA drive (spinning magnetic disks) and 12G of memory with integrated graphics. The graphics are not good enough to run backgrounds in zoom but it handles KiCad, Wings, or Altium just fine. I should replace it but that would require work.

I have not tried KiCad on my HP stream running Linux Mint.

Just saw a video from JayzTwoCents, where he’s test driving a Minisforum DeskMini. This one is about the same form factor as the Asus box I posted earlier, but a bit quicker. It can give you some Idea of what these boxes can do.

Thank you, paulvdh. It was good for me to see what the “4080 video” is capable of when it comes to 3D simulation. It was also good to see what the miniature motherboard components look like.

There are similar reviews of the Asus PN50 and lots of other boxes in a similar form factor.

I’ve been thinking of buying one, but one of the things that holds me back is the inability to add a 3.5" disk for data, and I think SoDIMM has less performance than it’s bigger brother, but I’m not sure about that.

Another issue with a computer like that is if a computer is smaller than your hand, it is very easy for a guy with cable cutters to pick it up, detach the cables, and walk away with it very quickly. Physical security is a big issue for someone who lives in an area with a high-population density. (I don’t.)

On the plus side, I am glad to NOT hear noise from the fan in the video.

Any decent desktop benefits from using two memory modules, which doubles the memory bandwidth. This feature is usually missing from laptops

1 - single core clock is usefull for gaming, while more thread, core useful for cad rendering, fpga RTL synthesis etc, prefer more thread, core
2- 16gb RAM is enough, buy as a pair
3- buy ssd nvme m.2, we have been using ssd for 6 years on 5+ computer, so far no problem
4- 500gb SSD for OS and software …now days many software are 50gb+ (C DRIVE) ,. later you buy 1tb HDD
5- im using dual monitor with basic entry level nvidia 710 card , kicad olimex A64-OLinuXino board runs smoothly … no lags
6 buy 10th gen intel or ryzen 3rd gen…im using ryzen 3100

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