New Workstation Computer
posted in Technology, Hardware |I’ve got the Media Center PC all going now, except for the TV tuner and that I’m planning on using it as a workstation for the next two months or so. But its time to start considering more seriously the new workstation PC that will replace it.
News has just popped up about the launch date and prices for the Penryn processors so there is a little bit of data to go on- looks like the big rollout day is November 11th so it will be close to the end of November probably to pull it all together. Most of the parts that I’m considering have not really hit the market yet or are so new that the pricing is still astronomical. Also it looks like they aren’t hitting 3.33ghz on the high end, only 3.13ghz for a whopping $1200. At those prices its going to be really tempting to take a step back to the 3ghz model or further. [Correction- this data is for the Xeon server processors, not the desktop ones I would be using]/
Meanwhile, I’m also hoping to get a motherboard with the high end P38 chipset (not available yet anywhere that I have seen although it was announced months ago) and ideally DD3 RAM which is currently priced so high as to be unrealistic. Stay tuned to see if I hold out for the P38 and fast RAM or just bail and get another Asus P5K with lots of cheap DD2 RAM. Given that I like to play with multiple server boxes running in VMs, it seems like an easy bet to go for more RAM (4GB or more) over faster RAM which in benchmarks I’ve seen is only good for a 2-5% boost, although with the quad-core CPU with a 1333mhz front-side bus, its quite possible that DDR2 800mhz RAM would really hold it back.
Rough equipment list-
CPU: Intel Penryn 4x 3ghz 1333mhz bus. $850
Motherboard: Asus P5K Deluxe P38 equivalent. $275
Case: Zalman HD-135 Media Case. ~$275 ??? Undecided. Another HD-135 actually seems like a reasonable idea. I can keep the computer in my rack totally away from my desk.
Power Supply: Zalman Ultra-Quiet 500W $119 Works well in the other machine, although I’m considering a 600W given the faster CPU and higher end video card.
Memory: 4GB (2GBx2) DDR3 1333mhz PC6400 CAS4 (currently $750 for 4×1gb, no way I’m going to pay that much)
Video: ??? GF 8800GTS 640MB or ATI HD2900XT 512MB $400
DVD Burner: Sony Optiarc 18X DVD+R 8X SATA- $33
Hard Drive: Seagate 750GB $199 x 2.
Total right now is $3100 although I’m hoping to get it well down under $3000 before I start buying the pieces. I can trace back to 1987, the high end computers I’ve bought have always been $3000-$4000, and while there have been amazing breakthroughs in the cost of lower-end systems, the industry still does a good job extracting at least $3000 from people who want more power. I could probably drop 20% performance and get it down to about $2200 which is worth considering
Step down from the top system-
CPU: Intel Penryn 4x 2.66ghz 1333mhz bus. ~$500
Motherboard: Asus P5K Deluxe. $220
Cheaper case: $200
Power Supply: Zalman Ultra-Quiet 500W $119 Works well in the other machine, although I’m considering a 600W given the faster CPU and higher end video card.
Memory: 4GB (2GBx2) DDR2 800mhz $400
Video: ??? GF 8800GTS 640MB or ATI HD2900XT 512MB $400
DVD Burner: Sony Optiarc 18X DVD+R 8X SATA- $33
Hard Drive: Seagate 750GB $150×2 (by that time)
= $2172
Correction: The prices and release dates are for the Xeon processors. There is still hope that there will be a desktop Penryn processor that hits 3.33ghz and for an earlier release.