Re: [ccp4bb] Crystallographic computing platform recommendations?

- Protein crystallography

Main steps:

- Protein purification
- Crystallisation

Special:

- Programs for crystallography
- X-ray detectors

Basic tutorials:

   - Chemistry
   - Protein
   - Peptide
   - Amino Acids

Xtal community:

- CCP4BB

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CCP4bb <-- 1999 <-- November 1999 <-- 30 November 1999

Previous message:
Subject: Re: iMosflm 1.0.0
From: Luke Kontogiannis lukek {- at -} MRC-LMB {- dot -} CAM {- dot -} AC {- dot -} UK
Date: 2008-11-18

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Subject: Re: Crystallographic computing platform recommendations?
From: "Winter, G (Graeme)" graeme {- dot -} winter {- at -} STFC {- dot -} AC {- dot -} UK
Date: 2008-11-18

Subject: Re: Crystallographic computing platform recommendations?
From: "Mark J {- dot -} van Raaij" mark {- dot -} vanraaij {- at -} USC {- dot -} ES
Date: 2008-11-18

the high-end iMac is certainly a suitable computer, but a MacPro has
more processors, which I find useful in running different applications
in parallel or the same one with different parameters (i.e. refmac
with different weights, phaser with different starting models or copy
numbers). I admit there is some "let's think less and just try all" in
this approach though.
Mac is somewhat more expensive than Linux, but you save time
configuring the computer and installing software/drivers etc. is still
a bit more straightforward. Of course, if, unlike me, you like
building computers, Mac takes away this part of the fun...

Mark J. van Raaij
Dpto de Bioquímica, Facultad de Farmacia
Universidad de Santiago
15782 Santiago de Compostela
Spain
http://web.usc.es/~vanraaij/

On 17 Nov 2008, at 22:47, William G. Scott wrote:

> Hi Anna:
>
> I'd recommend Mac OS X or Linux over Windows as operating systems
> compatible with crystallographic software. Linux flavors are a
> matter of taste, but Ubuntu is popular (and free), and Gentoo is
> another one worth looking at. Mac OS X uses a variant of FreeBSD
> unix, and you can pretty much do anything with it that you can with
> Linux, so it comes down to a matter of taste. If you go the Mac
> route, you can also use Parallels or VMware to run windows and/or
> linux in a virtualized environment nested within OS X should you
> need to, so you don't have to give anything up. If you don't need
> stereo, I would go for the largest iMac. That is now the fastest
> computer in my lab.
>
> Bill
>
> On Nov 17, 2008, at 1:00 PM, Anna S Gardberg wrote:
>
>> Dear list,
>> I haven't seen the "crystallographic computing platform" thread
>> come up for
>> a while, and I've got a chance to upgrade my desktop to a
>> workstation, so I
>> thought I'd ask the CCP4BB for advice on:
>>
>> 1. Mac vs. Linux (which flavor?) vs. Windows
>> 2. Graphics cards
>> 3. Displays
>> 4. Processors - multiple processors, multiple cores? Speed?
>>
>> About half of what I do involves ~1.0 A X-ray structures - data
>> processing,
>> rebuilding in Coot, refinement, and so forth - so my current desktop
>> (Optiplex GX745, Radeon X1300) machine drags on graphics sometimes.
>> I don't
>> seem to need stereo these days, for what it's worth.
>>
>> Anybody have suggestions or specs they'd like to share? Thanks in
>> anticipation of your advice.
>>
>> Regards,
>> Anna Gardberg

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CCP4bb <-- 1999 <-- November 1999 <-- 30 November 1999

Previous message:
Subject: Re: iMosflm 1.0.0
From: Luke Kontogiannis lukek {- at -} MRC-LMB {- dot -} CAM {- dot -} AC {- dot -} UK
Date: 2008-11-18

Next message:
Subject: Re: Crystallographic computing platform recommendations?
From: "Winter, G (Graeme)" graeme {- dot -} winter {- at -} STFC {- dot -} AC {- dot -} UK
Date: 2008-11-18