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Diamond's role is my wife's desktop machine, with secondary capability as a compute server. The old instance, an Intel NUC7i5BNH, was bought in late 2017 (4 years ago), and is getting flaky in power management. We decided to replace it now, rather than when it actually dies, because there is a global disruption in the supply chain and computers (among a lot of other items) are in short supply in the USA, and we worry that we could not get a replacement for Diamond on short notice.
My goals for this selection are:
The hoped-for upgrade involves copying the old Diamond's disc lock, stock and barrel to the new machine. I'm not enthusiastic about a radical change in the operating system (OpenSuSE Tumbleweed) or the physical architecture (x86_64 vs. ARM, for example). AMD x86_64 is not rejected, though.
The starting point (and likely ending point) is the Intel NUC mini-PC product line: we actually have four NUCs at present, of various ages, including the old Diamond.
Steroidal compute power is not justified, and neither is a big premium in either electrical power or price. This points to an Intel Core i5 processor: i7 is not worth the extra cost (if available at all), and i3, Celeron and Pentium won't meet the compute server goal and aren't that much cheaper, considering the cost of the complete system. I've found empirically that, comparing similar i5's and i7's, the energy expended per job is pretty similar, although the i7 can do more of the job per minute.
It is hard to compare CPU power between competing models, and between ancient and current models, because everyone uses their own benchmarks. I have my own simple tests, but they can only be done after the machine is procured.
Hyper graphics performance, as for a gaming engine, would not be used effectively and likely would use power without corresponding benefit to our eyeballs.
We prefer products sold by and shipped from Amazon.com. But at the moment Amazon has zero stock of any kind of NUC in their own account. An acceptable second choice is an Amazon associate (outside vendor), fulfilled by Amazon. Those do have (skimpy) stock, sometimes. There are a lot of machines with 8th generation processors (about 2018), but I hope for a newer generation, because power efficiency tends to improve with time due to competitive pressures. This year's products are identified as 11th generation. And there are some in stock!
Normally I buy a NUC with no memory, disc or OS, and install these myself. However, I would just be multiplying my supply chain issues by three. This time I'm not going to try self-integration.
It's inevitable that prices are going to be high, both because of vendors taking advantage of the shortage, and because of currency inflation since our last computer purchases, caused by political issues (of both parties: a pox on both their houses).
I looked at the Mini PC AMD Ryzen 7 3750H UM700
, 2.3GHz (turbo
4.0GHz) 4 cores (and hyperthread), $535.49 (limited time deal), sold by
JackShop
, fulfilled by Amazon. It has 2x8Gb RAM (motherboard has 2
slots), and a SSD of 256Gb in a 22x80mm M.2 PCIe slot. There is a vacant drive
bay for a 2.5in disc (SATA-3 6GHz). Graphics: Radeon RX Vega 10 @1400MHz,
Etc. Inception for the Ryzen 3750H is early 2019. Reviews are generally good,
describing it as having average capabilities. But my wife and I decided that
we preferred a more recent processor from the Genuine Intel
product
line.
Our son spotted this on Amazon: Intel NUC 11 Pro NUC11PAHi5 Home and
Business Desktop Mini PC
, Features:
Additional data from the CPU specs page.
Prices for the old Diamond in 2017-12-xx:
I ordered the NUC11PAHi5 on 2021-11-18 for $759.99 + tax.
Off-topic diversion about the supply chain:
In the USA, UK, and many other countries, during the COVID pandemic many long distance truck drivers transferred to other jobs, either because of reduced shipments causing reduced work opportunities, or because of the disease hazards of continuous long distance travel.
At shipping ports, principally ocean shipping but also air freight and domestic production, there is a big problem with goods arriving and not departing to their final destinations, because of the lack of truck drivers. Exports are similarly affected but the major volume of siloed shipments are imports to the US. Like the replacement for Diamond.
Port buffer areas are filled with containers, and ships wait at anchor for two weeks or more before their turn to unload, before there is space for their cargo to sit.
The greatest volume of these shipments are in standard containers. When ships and containers are not getting unloaded, neither can return to their origins for another load. Asia, particularly China, is the biggest origin area.
At production facilities, COVID outbreaks happen frequently despite public health measures, interrupting production.
Overall, the flow of goods from origin to destination is radically disrupted, and supplies can't be relied on as they could have been before the pandemic.
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