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In the 4th lecture of the 5th season of Back2School, the main content brought to everyone is the setup of the engineer’s working environment and some key tools selection methods, especially how to choose the configuration of our most crucial development tool – the PC –
When setting up our own laboratory, many tools will be involved, for example, for the PC and peripheral hardware, we need to analyze the demand for the PC, storage, network, display devices, keyboard and mouse, etc. The common processing tools and equipment have even more types: protective equipment like masks, welding equipment and related consumables, mechanical tools, and so on. Detailed tool categories and selection techniques can be downloaded by scanning the QR code below:
The following content introduces how to evaluate our own development needs, how to select models, setup methods, and some precautions.
Choosing the PC Form Factor
For the PC, the first is the choice of form factor, there are three main forms of PC: desktop, laptop, and server;
These are relatively easy to choose, for example, if there are many business trips or on-site debugging needs, then a laptop can be considered;
If it involves collaborative development or All-in-one, and you want many services to be completed on one PC, generally a server is more suitable;
If it’s regular development and value for money is important, then a desktop is relatively suitable;
Assembling PC Configuration and Selection
Next, let’s take an assembled desktop as an example to explain the selection of computer components.
The PC mainly includes the following components: CPU, motherboard, memory, graphics card, hard disk, power supply, case, cooler, fan, etc.
As hardware professionals related to computers, we are all familiar with the functions of basic components, so before selection, I would like to explain how to analyze your usual development work needs.
For example, taking my commonly used development tools as an example, the CPU resource usage varies at different compilation stages:
In the first stage of compilation, the single-core processing capability of the CPU is needed, which means I expect the CPU frequency to be as high as possible;
The second stage requires 8-core parallel processing capability, which means at this stage I expect my CPU to have at least 8 cores;
The third stage again requires single-core, the same requirement as the first stage;
The fourth stage requires multi-threading capabilities across all cores, naturally the faster the frequency and the more cores, the better.
Note that the development tools I use do not require a graphics card, and I expect my memory and hard disk speeds to be as fast as possible. Here I can clearly describe my requirements for system resources. So how should you evaluate your development tools’ requirements for your system resources?
First is the CPU and GPU usage issue, this is very simple, taking the Windows system as an example, just open the resource manager, or open some professional hardware testing software like AIDA64, during the development tool process, such as compiling or simulating, you can check the usage situation.
If you find that the tools you are using can only occupy one core, then you should pay more attention to single-core frequency; conversely, you need to pay attention to multi-core capabilities.
For memory and hard disk, you can control variables for simple testing, for example, if we want to evaluate the dependence of the tools we use on memory, we can change the memory frequency in the BIOS, control variables to run the same development process, and the test results will yield conclusions.
Once we confirm the CPU, GPU, memory, and graphics card, other hardware can also be selected relatively well.
For CPU coolers, for currently available CPUs on the market, such as Intel’s 13th generation I7, I9, AMD 7950, 7900, 7800X3D, it is recommended to go with water cooling directly. Water cooling must be chosen from a well-known manufacturer with a warranty of over 5 years, because generally air cooling cannot handle it, and cheap water cooling is prone to leaks. It is not recommended to use split water cooling, if you must use split water cooling, it is recommended to separate computing machines and storage machines, or we should do good backup work, after all, machines have prices but data is priceless. For I5, I3 of the same level, air cooling is sufficient.
Regarding power supplies, if the machine runs for a long time, it is recommended to choose at least a gold-rated power supply. Here’s a little supplement, what are titanium, gold, silver, and bronze ratings?
This refers to the power supply’s conversion efficiency, for example, a titanium-rated power supply can achieve a conversion rate of 92% at 20% load; 94% at 50% load; and 90% at 100% load. Other references can be found in the table below. Choosing a high-efficiency power supply for long-term use can significantly save electricity.
In terms of power, it is recommended to choose sufficient power with some margin, because during development, there may be peak loads that are very high, adding margin helps improve system stability.
Moreover, as the primary development tool, the stability of the PC is very important. For some large tasks, such as complex project compilations, FPGA validation for large chips, and large-scale code compilations, it is likely to work continuously under high load for over 10 hours, so stability is crucial. We must try to ensure system stability, and if overclocking is necessary, it should be kept within reasonable limits and undergo long-term prediction tests.
With the above foundation, we can more easily select motherboards. For development PCs, my personal suggestion is to prioritize stability and then interfaces for selection. For example, I9, I7 can choose Z790 or Z690 with BIOS flashing, etc. A good motherboard can make the hardware connected to it work more stably, allowing the performance to be better utilized.
After selecting a good motherboard, you can consider selecting the hard disk. If the hard disk capacity is sufficient, it is recommended to have at least one NVME disk that supports the highest protocol speed jointly supported by the CPU and motherboard as the system disk.
Once the above components are selected, you can choose the case. When selecting a case, be sure to consider airflow; otherwise, no matter how good the cooling is, it will be difficult to cool high-power CPUs and GPUs.
The above is an introduction to some evaluation and selection methods using an assembled PC as an example. You can analogously choose a laptop as well. Besides the PC itself, depending on different development needs, we may need different peripheral hardware, such as: storage devices, network devices, docking stations, or USB hubs, etc. And some conventional peripherals, such as: monitors, keyboards and mice, microphones, speakers, headphones, etc., and some small tools, such as calculators, desk lamps. For storage devices, options include local storage, cloud storage, private NAS, servers, etc., each with its own cost and security advantages and disadvantages, and everyone can choose to build according to their needs. The network devices depend on the size and frequency of file transfers and any special requirements, generally achieving around gigabit to 10G, and the setup can be done according to individual needs.
All of the above is the complete content of this course, hoping to provide some references for everyone when building their own development environment.
2023 Season 5 Back2School
The laboratory has always accompanied the learning and work of electronic people, Get捷Back2School Season 5: Laboratory DIY Season!
The entire series is arranged from four perspectives, with 13 lectures’ worth of video content to help you build your own laboratory.
Starting September 12, it will be fixed every Tuesday and Thursday at 8:00 PM on Bilibili and Digikey.
Back2School Benefits:
Benefit 1: Funding for laboratory equipment purchases
Anyone who follows Digikey’s WeChat and orders any components/instruments from the Digikey official website can get a maximum subsidy of 200 yuan by providing an order screenshot. Limited spots, first come first served. (You can add Sister Ni’s WeChat: 459888529 for details)
Benefit 2: Open-source materials
The recommended list and selection techniques have been organized into a file, and three DIY experimental devices will also be open-sourced, allowing everyone to download the materials and DIY~
Scan the QR code below to get the material download link.
Benefit 3: Follow Digikey WeChat to participate in the lottery
Scan the QR code below, follow Digikey WeChat, and upload the follow screenshot to participate in the lottery.
Upload the screenshot to draw here~
Season 5 Back2School:
Step-by-step guide to building your own 【Electronic Laboratory】｜12 complete DIY strategies
Lecture 1: Is 5000 yuan enough to build a laboratory? Organized instrument and equipment list recommendations
Lecture 2: The ideal home electronic laboratory looks like this
Lecture 3: Explore the mysterious laboratory of ZhiHuiJun, is this not Iron Man’s home?
Back2School previous content:
Season 1: Graduation design “pass” secrets, with board card white piao
Season 2: 14 most memorable university projects to help you B2S
Season 4: Graduation supply station｜14 classes to assist in graduate school/job hunting/entrepreneurship, 3 major choices for you to choose from
Project Sharing | Electrical Competition Series | Artificial Intelligence | Graduate School
Must-know Knowledge Points | Graduation Design | Switch Power Supply | Job Hunting
We are NiMo, the founder of Darwin, a lady who only talks technology and not flirting. Darwin is an online education platform aimed at serving professionals in the electronics industry, providing skill training videos covering popular topics in various subfields, such as embedded systems, FPGA, artificial intelligence, etc., and tailoring layered learning content for different groups, such as common knowledge points, disassembly assessments, electrical competitions/smart cars/graduate school, etc. Welcome to follow.
