Re: st: buying new computer, suggestions?

[David Kantor <dkantor@jhu.edu>]

At 05:03 PM 4/28/2004 -0500, Richard Boylan wrote:
> I need to buy a new computer.  The only times when speed ends up mattering 
> is when I use STATA and merge very large datasets, use GLAMM, or use 
> mfx.  I was looking at the Dell Precision Workstation, and I saw a very 
> large set of options in terms of processors, hard drives, and so on, and I 
> have no idea what options matter given the tasks that I listed above and 
> which do not.  Does anyone have any advice?
>
> Thanks.  Richard
I'm no expert on this, but my suspicion is that for the tasks you describe, 
it is more important to have plenty of memory, rather than to have a 
super-fast processor.  The reverse is true for the hard drive; it may help 
to have a hard drive with faster access rather than greater capacity; in my 
case, I chose a slightly smaller but faster hard drive.  (Both memory and 
disk space can be expanded later, anyway.)

I hope this helps.
-- David

David Kantor
Institute for Policy Studies
Johns Hopkins University
dkantor@jhu.edu
410-516-5404

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