攒一台“Linus Torvalds 牌”电脑
Linus
![](/data/attachment/album/202005/28/225146cx0g0xuxx50dg6nz.jpg)


前两天，Linus Torvalds 说他更新了其主力电脑，[据称编译内核时快了三倍](/article-12249-1.html)。虽然 Torvalds [用来编程时喜欢用戴尔 XPS 开发者版笔记本电脑](/article-7795-1.html)，但他还有一台开发工作站，最近他将它升级为基于 AMD 锐龙 Threadripper 3970x 高速处理器。这是 Linus 15 年来第一次换用 AMD 的 CPU。


作为世界上最著名的程序员之一、Linux 操作系统之父以及 Git 的缔造者，他的一举一动都会引来开源社区的兴趣，因此大家对这台新电脑的配置也相当感兴趣。


### “Linus Torvalds 牌”电脑配置清单


Torvalds 是一个喜欢自己攒电脑的人。“我通常都是自己攒电脑。我会重新使用上一台机器的机箱或 SSD 之类的东西，但这一次是全新打造的。”


在这次攒机之前，他的机器是 i9-9900k。通常情况下，Torvalds 会直接去当地的 Fry's 商店直接购买一些比较基础的配件，但由于病毒的影响，这次都是从亚马逊买的。几周后就到货了（这年头电脑配件几天就发货了），最后两件是上周五到的。


以下列出这台电脑的具体配置，大家感兴趣的可以按图索骥。


#### CPU：AMD 锐龙 Threadripper 3970X


![](/data/attachment/album/202005/28/224628r9wvqgw399q424iw.jpg)


锐龙 Threadripper 3970X 并不便宜，而且它是目前最快的 CPU。AMD Threadripper 3970x 搭载了 32 个核心。它采用 AMD 的 7 纳米 Zen 2 核心架构，拥有 88 个 PCIe 4.0。AMD 声称它比竞争对手快了 90%。Phoronix 的独立测试发现，“[Threadripper 3970X 在性能上绝对占优势](https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=amd-linux-3960x-3970x&num=1)，超过了 Core i9 10980XE。”


“最初，我其实是计划用 AM4 主板和 Ryzen 3950X，这是比较主流的升级过程。” Torvalds 说，“Ryzen 3950X 是英特尔 i9-9900K 的升级版，但只是不多的升级。”


“通常情况下，我都会选择普通的消费级 CPU，因为它们往往是性价比最高的，而对于英特尔 CPU 来说，我其实喜欢它们只是因为集成了显卡。我不太在意 GPU，所以集成式的就好了，这样可以避免了挑选相匹配的 GPU，以及风扇不好的 GPU 可能产生的噪音。”


Torvalds 为此“来回折腾了好一阵子”，正如他所说的：“Threadripper 的功率让我担心噪音问题。但我决定做一次大升级，因为与传统的英特尔 Xeon 高核数平台不同，AMD 的 Threadripper 系列仍然属于‘物美价廉’的范畴。所以我咬咬牙就上了，到目前为止，我很满意。”


#### 主板：技嘉 Aorus TRX40 Master


![](/data/attachment/album/202005/28/224630enzpjflokmkormb2.jpg)


对于顶级 CPU，你当然需要最好的主板：技嘉 Aorus RX40 Master。它使用的是 16+3 相英飞凌供电，考虑到新 CPU 恐怖的规格，技嘉还给主板的供电覆盖上了加强散热模块，模块以密集的散热鳍片热管为主。


在这里，Torvalds 主要关心的是：


“要有一块看起来不错的电源传输和风扇控制的主板。在我所攒的机器中，我希望的是最基本的东西都要可靠，没有什么比电源传输更基本的东西了。很久以前，我有几个系统因为电源断电而变得不可靠，现在我对这个问题已经变得很虔诚了。所以我就找一些适合超频的东西，然后**不超频**。”


简而言之，他要的是一台能承受高负载的 PC，但他不会把机器推到极限。话虽如此，Torvalds 很讨厌“这款主板的默认风扇设置（非常烦人的小高转速风扇，用于电压调节器模块 VRM 散热），但你可以通过 BIOS 设置调整得更好。另外请大家注意：这是一款 E-ATX 主板，所以在出现错误的情况下可能会很不方便。”


#### CPU 散热器和风扇：猫头鹰（Noctua） NF-A14 PWM、NH-U14S 和 NF-A15


![](/data/attachment/album/202005/28/224732bbxnu1b56a0ydlu1.jpg)


高性能 CPU 的发热自然很高，因此 CPU 风扇也需要一台强劲的，但是，更重要的是，需要安静，Torvalds 以前就在用猫头鹰，感觉很好，这次依然用的是它。


Torvalds 使用了两款 CPU 散热器的风扇。其中 NH-U14S 是主打的，而多出的 NF-A15 风扇则是针对该散热器的推拉式配置。


既然他这么担心噪音问题，你问为什么不选择水冷呢？“我不喜欢水冷的。可靠性让我担心，而且我不觉得 AIO 系统会比好的风冷系统好。另外，定制那些系统太费劲了，我担心水泵和潺潺的噪音。” Torvalds 说。


Torvalds 说，“额外的风扇是因为我喜欢那种推拉式的设置，140mm 大的猫头鹰风扇低速运行，我不用担心噪音问题。即使是在负载下加速运行时，我也不觉得那些风扇的噪音很烦人。它更多的是一种舒缓的‘嗖嗖’的白噪音，没有劣质风扇所带来的恼人的呜呜声或嘎嘎声。” 


#### 机箱：德商必酷（Be Quiet）Dark Base 700


![](/data/attachment/album/202005/28/224632ghjohphjahj3ijcu.jpg)


显然程序员在工作时都想要安静，Torvalds 也不例外，那么德商必酷（Be Quiet）Dark Base 700 PC 机箱自然是首选。


其实 Torvalds 更喜欢猫头鹰，德商必酷只是第二选择，但是猫头鹰没有做机箱产品。


#### 附加风扇：德商必酷（Be Quiet）Silent Wings 3


![](/data/attachment/album/202005/28/224632duim94rhh4t17hlh.jpg)


高性能 PC 需要大量的电能，这又意味着它们会产生大量的热量。 自然，重视安静的 Torvalds 又选择了一块德商必酷（Be Quiet） Silent Wings 3 风扇。


为什么要多一个风扇？Torvalds 解释说：“多出一个风扇（机箱已经有两个）是因为我最初订购了这个机箱，然后在看的时候，我觉得前面的进气口看起来比后面的输出口更受限制（因为前面板的缘故），反正我在等其他配件到货，所以我决定多加一个进气口风扇会更有利于空气流通，希望能造成机箱的正压，减少灰尘的担心。”


最终，为了做一台安静强大的PC，所有的努力都是值得的。


“有了 BIOS 中正确的风扇控制设置（假设你选对了风扇头。主板的纸质手册上的图片太可怕了，而且我在第一次攒机的时候把 CPU 和系统风扇头弄错了），你的机器在空载的时候基本上是静音的，而且在满载的情况下没有任何恼人的呜呜声（但不是静音）。”


#### 电源：海韵（Seasonic）Focus GX-850


![](/data/attachment/album/202005/28/224633m1qqmekntneqpo9o.jpg)


快速的 CPU 也需要大量的电能，海韵（Seasonal）Focus GX-850 可以提供澎湃的电能。


GX-850 并不是 Torvald 的首选，但在新冠期间只能选到它，不过“它应该是可靠的”，Torvalds 说。他对基础的电源传输非常在意：“我基本上会考虑机器的最高功率使用量是多少？然后挑选一个额定功率为 2 倍的电源，然后寻找评论和有信誉的品牌。”


#### 存储：1TB 三星 EVO 970 SSD


![](/data/attachment/album/202005/28/224744gyiir2v88634xaee.jpg)


说到存储，Torvalds 说现在已经是固态硬盘（SSD）的天下：“到现在为止，我已经十几年没接触过旋转介质了，在过去的几代产品中，我尽量避免布线这些麻烦，只用 m.2 外形的固态硬盘。我用过几款三星的固态硬盘，它们一直都很好。几代以前有很多坏的固态硬盘，现在已经不是什么问题了，但我还是坚持用适合自己的东西。”


#### 内存：4 条 16GB DDR4-2666


![](/data/attachment/album/202005/28/224635dlvbkilvjixklbzz.jpg)


在理想的情况下，当然是 64GB 的纠错码（ECC）内存更好，不过这次他只是选择了高质量的通用 DDR RAM。


事实证明，内存是 Torvalds 的一个痛点：“这其实是我攒的机器里面最不喜欢的部分 —— 它是个好内存，但我真的很想要 ECC（错误校正代码）内存。我很难在亚马逊上找到任何（价格合理）的东西，所以这个我觉得是暂时的‘够用了’，实际用起来起来还不错。”


此外，他继续说道：“其实我甚至不需要 64GB 内存，因为我做的东西往往都不太需要内存，但我想把四个内存通道都填满，而且内存很便宜。”


虽然游戏和人工智能和机器学习的开发者们都很关心图形，但视频和图像处理并不在 Torvalds 的兴趣范围之内。他用的是“随便选的蓝宝石 RX580 显卡。对于我所做的工作（台式机使用，不玩游戏）来说，这已经足够了。”


#### 操作系统：Linux Fedora 32


![](/data/attachment/album/202005/28/224636pgg04wy0p4qphp3l.jpg)


这没什么说的，Torvalds 肯定是用的 Linux ，他一直很喜欢用 Red Hat 的 Fedora 进行开发。当然，用的是最新版本的 Fedora 32。


“把它拼凑在一起，确保所有的风扇设置正确，然后在上面安装 Fedora 32，你就有了一个相当不错的工作站”，Torvalds 说。


除了这台工作站之外，Torvalds 日常使用笔记本电脑进行编程，他使用的是戴尔 XPS 13。


Torvalds 说，“通常情况下，我不会说出品牌，但对 XPS 13 我破例了，我实在太喜欢它了，以至于在我女儿上大学的时候，我还为她买了一台。”


### 羡慕吗？


要不要也攒一台呢，也就 3 万来块钱 :D


OK
# Look what's inside Linus Torvalds' latest Linux development PC

![steven-vaughan-nichols](https://www.zdnet.com/a/img/resize/e27b3953df87b835a77deeeec01f311aa283a5ec/2022/08/05/e2171bd1-84f6-4ca8-9801-2abdeb61a365/steven-vaughan-nichols.jpg?auto=webp&fit=crop&frame=1&height=192&width=192)

In a [Linux Kernel Mailing List (LKML](https://lkml.org/)), Linus Torvalds, Linux's top developer, talked about the latest progress in the next version of Linux: [Linux 5.7-rc7](http://lkml.iu.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/2005.3/00406.html). Along the way, he mentioned, "for the first time in about 15 years, my desktop isn't Intel-based." In his newest development box, he's "rocking an [AMD Threadripper 3970x](https://www.zdnet.com/article/amd-unveils-worlds-most-powerful-desktop-cpus/)." But a computer is more than just a processor no matter how speedy it is, so I talked with Torvalds to see exactly what's in his new box.

First, he's already impressed by its performance:

"My 'allmodconfig' test builds are now three times faster than they used to be, which doesn't matter so much right now during the calming down period, but I will most definitely notice the upgrade during the next merge window," said Torvalds.


The AMD Threadripper 3970x comes with 32 cores. It's built using AMD's 7-nanometer "Zen 2" core architecture, and it boasts 88 PCIe 4.0. AMD claims it's up to 90% faster than its competition. [Phoronix](https://www.phoronix.com/)'s independent tests found the "[Threadripper 3970X absolutely dominates in performance](https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=amd-linux-3960x-3970x&num=1) and "outpaces the Core i9 10980XE."

Torvalds is a build-your-own box type of guy.

"I typically build all my own machines. Usually they are frankenboxes -- I'll re-use the case or the SSD from the previous machine or something like that. This time it was an all-new build," he said.


Why do it yourself?

"I don't like having others build my machine, partly because I have my own specs I care most about, but partly I get self-conscious about getting donations that I no longer really need," Torvalds said.


Before this latest build, his box was an [i9-9900k](https://www.zdnet.com/article/intel-9600k-9700k-and-9900k-cpu-specs/). Normally, Torvalds would just pop into the local Fry's to pick up some of the more basic stuff directly, but with the virus, this time it was all from Amazon. The pieces came in over a few weeks (no more two-day shipping of computer parts these days); the last two pieces came last Friday.

So, here's Torvald's annotated hardware list:

### CPU

**See it now:**[Ryzen Threadripper 3970X](https://www.amazon.com/AMD-Ryzen-Threadripper-3970X-64-Thread/dp/B0815JJQQ8/?tag=zdnet-deals-20)

"Initially, my plan was actually to do an AM4 board and just a Ryzen 3950X, which is the more mainstream upgrade," Torvalds said, but the "Ryzen 3950X would have been an upgrade over the Intel i9-9900K, but it would only have been an incremental one."

"Normally, I go for the regular consumer CPU's, since they tend to be the best bang for the buck, and in the case of Intel CPU's I actually like that they just have integrated graphics. I don't care about the GPU very much, so an integrated one is fine, and it avoids the worry about picking the right GPU and possible noise-levels from one with bad fans."


Torvalds went "back-and-forth about that for a while," because, as he said:

"The Threadripper power use made me worry about noise. But I decided to do a big upgrade because unlike the traditional Intel Xeon high-core-count platform, AMD's Threadripper series still falls in the 'good bang for the buck.' So I bit the bullet, and am so far quite pleased."


### Motherboard

**See it now: Gigabyte Aorus TRX40 Master**

Here, Torvald's main concern was:

"A board that had what looked like good power delivery and fan control. In the builds I do, I really want the basics to be solid, and there's little more basic than power delivery. Long long ago I had a couple of systems that were unreliable due to power brown-out, and I've gotten religious about this now. So I look for something that is good for overclocking, and then I do _not_ overclock things."


In short, he wants a PC that can handle a heavy load, but he's not going to push the machine to its limits. That said, Torvalds absolutely detests:

"The default fan settings of this motherboard (very whiny small high-RPM fan for VRM [Voltage Regulator Module] cooling), but you can tweak the BIOS settings to something much better. Also note to anybody else: This is an E-ATX board, so it can be inconvenient in the wrong case."


### Fan

**See it now:**[Noctua NF-A14 PWM, Premium Quiet Fan](https://www.amazon.com/Noctua-NF-A14-PWM-Premium-Cooling/dp/B00CP6QLY6/?tag=zdnet-deals-20)

As you can tell, noise is a big issue for Torvalds. He cares deeply about it:

"So I want good fans and coolers, and I've had good experiences with Noctua before," Torvalds said. "The extra fan is because I like that push-pull setup, and with a big 140mm Noctua fan running at low speed, I'm not worried about noise levels. Even when it ramps up under load, I don't find the noise of those fans annoying. It's more of a soothing 'whoosh" white noise sound, none of the annoying whining or rattling that you get with bad fans."


### CPU Cooler

**See it now:**[Noctua NH-U14S](https://www.amazon.com/Noctua-NH-U14S-Premium-Cooler-NF-A15/dp/B00C9FLSLY/?tag=zdnet-deals-20)and Noctua[NF-A15](https://www.amazon.com/Noctua-NF-A15-PWM-Premium-Cooling/dp/B00AED7XFI/?tag=zdnet-deals-20)

Torvalds uses two CPU cooler fans. The NH-U14S is the main one, while the extra NF-A15 fan is for the push-pull configuration of that cooler.

With all his concern about noise, why not water-cooling, you ask?

"I'm not a fan of water-cooling. Reliability worries me, and I'm not convinced the AIO systems are any better than a good air cooling system. And the custom ones are way too much effort, and I worry about the pump and gurgling noises," Torvalds said.


### Case

**See it now:**[Be Quiet Dark Base 700](https://www.amazon.com/Power-Modular-Platinum-fuente-alimentación/dp/B0773NWQNQ/?tag=zdnet-deals-20)

For the case, it's once again all about noise reduction.

"I like Noctua fans better than the Be Quiet ones for some reason. But Be Quiet would have been my second choice, and Noctua doesn't make cases," he said.


### Extra fan

**See it now:**[Silent Wings 3](https://www.amazon.com/quiet-BL066-SILENTWINGS-1450RPM-50-5CFM/dp/B01JMEDDYY/?tag=zdnet-deals-20)

Why an extra fan? Torvalds explained:

"The extra fan (the case comes with two already) is because I initially ordered the case, and then when looking at it I decided that it looks like the front intake looks more restricted than the back output (because of the front panel), and since I was waiting for other parts to be delivered anyway, I decided that an extra intake fan would be better for airflow, and hopefully cause positive case pressure and less worry about dust."


In the end, all the effort to make a quiet powerful PC was worth it.

"With the right fan control setup in the BIOS (and assuming you picked the right fan headers: The motherboard paper manual had horrible pictures and I got the CPU and system fan header the wrong way round for the first build), you have a machine that is basically silent when idling, and without any annoying whine (but not silent) under full load."


### Power Supply Unit

**See it now:**[Seasonic Focus GX-850](https://www.amazon.com/Seasonic-GX-850-Full-Modular-Application-SSR-850FX/dp/B07WVMDZMZ/?tag=zdnet-deals-20)

The GX-850 wasn't Torvald's first choice, but availability during the time of the coronavirus made it what it is, but "it should be solid," Torvalds said. He cares deeply about power delivery basics:

"I basically go 'what's the top power use of the machine?,' and then pick a power supply with a rating 2x that, and then look for reviews and reputable brands."


### Storage

**See it now:**[1TB Samsung EVO 970](https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-970-EVO-1TB-MZ-V7E1T0BW/dp/B07BN217QG/?tag=zdnet-deals-20)

When it comes to storage, Torvalds is solid-state drives (SSD) all the way:

"I've refused to touch spinning media for over a decade by now, and for the last several generations I've tried to avoid the hassle with cabling, etc., by just going with an m.2 form factor. I've had several of the Samsung SSD's, they've been fine. A few generations ago there were lots of bad SSD's, these days it's much less of an issue, but I've stuck with what works for me."


### Memory

**See it now:**[4x16GB DDR4-2666](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=4x16GB+DDR4-2666+memory&i=electronics&ref=nb_sb_noss&tag=zdnet-deals-20)

RAM proved to be a sore spot for Torvalds:

"This is actually the least favorite part of the build for me -- it's fine memory, but I really wanted ECC [Error-correcting code} memory. I had a hard time finding anything [priced sanely] on Amazon, so this I feel is a temporary 'good enough for now' thing that works fine in practice."


Besides, he continued:

"I don't actually even need 64GB of RAM, since the stuff I do doesn't tend to be all that memory-intensive, but I wanted to populate all four memory channels, and RAM is cheap."


While games and artificial intelligence and machine learning developers care deeply about graphics, video and image processing doesn't interest Torvalds much. He used:

"Some random Sapphire RX580 graphics card. It's overkill for what I do (desktop use, no games)."


### Linux

**See it now:**[Fedora 32](https://getfedora.org/)

That's it.

"Slap it all together, make sure you get all the fan settings right, and (in my case) install Fedora 32 on it, and you've got a fairly pleasant workstation," Torvalds said.


While for his main workstation, Torvalds builds his own, he also has cutting edge OEM PCs for "access to new technology that I might not otherwise have bought myself."

For his laptop, he uses a [Dell XPS 13](https://www.anrdoezrs.net/links/9041660/type/dlg/sid/zd-4db3425b61b14bbcb0560d6eee7de6e5--/https://www.dell.com/en-us/work/shop/overview/cp/linuxsystems).

"Normally, Torvalds said, "I wouldn't name names, but I'm making an exception for the XPS 13 just because I liked it so much that I also ended up buying one for my daughter when she went off to college.


#### Here's all the hardware and where to buy it

Torvalds concluded:

"If the above makes you go 'Linus has too much hardware,' you'd be right. Usually I have one main box, and usually it's something I built myself."


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