anybody ever used to go to dell or gateway's website and load up a computer to see what it costs? then do it for the quantity of like 1000?

but anyway, i'm on IBM's site right now looking to build a very powerful system for one of my bosses...they offer 16 GB RAM on some of these things? wowie wowie wow

so if I'm looking for a top of the line workstation, is IBM the way to go?

9/22/2006 1:19:11 PM

these aren't insane - you could have just put this in the other thread

http://thewolfweb.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=376822

9/22/2006 1:20:33 PM

is this a top of the line workstation

http://www-03.ibm.com/servers/intellistation/pro/apro/index.html

9/22/2006 1:23:29 PM

If you're looking for a top-of-the-line workstation, build it yourself and save $texas.

9/22/2006 1:33:24 PM

well since its for one of my bosses, price isnt really an issue...he just wants a very reliable, high end workstation for his home

9/22/2006 1:47:08 PM

IBM's premium service packages are pretty responsive... but you could always build an apple, dell or alienware dual dual core xeon system too.

And if he wants top of the line, the newest dual core xeons are up there. If he can wait for the quad core chips to come out, he can have an even bigger e-penis

[Edited on September 22, 2006 at 2:09 PM. Reason : ]

9/22/2006 2:08:24 PM

mmm, dual quad core

9/22/2006 3:04:12 PM

Quote :

"you could always build an apple, dell or alienware dual dual core xeon system too."

1. This guy probably already knows if his boss wants a PC or Mac...Sounds like he wants a PC.
2. I doubt this guy's boss really cares to have an Alienware. You could graph their popularity by age group and you'd see it decrease exponentially for every year after age 21.
3. Dell schmell.

9/22/2006 3:51:59 PM

1.) If money's not an issue, then a dual xeon macpro with two 30 inch screens and windows xp gives him a pc and a mac as well as some nice fucking screens.
2.)The alienware workstations don't have the gay-ass predator look.
3.) responding in numbered list format makes you gay.

9/22/2006 3:57:16 PM

9/22/2006 3:58:15 PM

"1.21 jigga-watts!"

9/22/2006 4:01:58 PM

definitely PC...no need for Mac for him

9/22/2006 5:39:33 PM

Well like I said, I recomend the new dual core Xeons over the opterons. Avoid the older generation Xeon processors like the plague though.

That being said, if he can wait till november or so (maye as early as october, or as late as december? you may want to google that for yourself) for the quad core xeons. I mean 2 quad cores is much more brag-worthy than 2 dual cores.

Anyways, the Xeon series processor you'd want is the 7100 series. Avoid the 7000 or 5000 series.

It doesn't matter too much who you get it from unless you're interested in more than once machine and want network and server deployment too. If you're looking for a whole package I'd reccomend IBM well over HP and Dell. Dell will generally give you the easiest customization, but you should have similar luck talking to an IBM sales rep. IBM's website is shit though.

[Edited on September 22, 2006 at 7:15 PM. Reason : ]

9/22/2006 7:03:55 PM

Quote :

"he just wants a very reliable, high end workstation for his home"

WTF? 16GB of ram shouldn't even come into the equation. Just be upfront and ask him if it is supposed to be a gaming rig for his kid and go that route.

9/22/2006 7:15:49 PM

Depends on what he wants to do with it. Autocad can get kind of demanding... kind of. Does that even work in XP 64bit though? If it does, you could probably use it in some ways that would utilize that much ram... if you were running photoshop on a second monitor while ripping a dvd and converting video files.

[Edited on September 22, 2006 at 7:20 PM. Reason : ]

9/22/2006 7:19:02 PM

The IntelliStation Z Pro is pretty dank, I've got a slightly older one at work with 6GB RAM, dual 2.8 Xeons, and 15K SCSI RAID; haven't had any problems with it and it's probably more computer than I actually need. The new ones support up to 32GB and 3.0 dual cores with 1333FSB, the controller is non-RAID though so you'll probably just want to configure it with a 300GB 10K SAS drive.

9/22/2006 8:11:16 PM

Quote :

"WTF? 16GB of ram shouldn't even come into the equation"

yeah thats more of the "insane computer quotes" part of the thread...i figure a gig or two would be fine

9/22/2006 8:26:55 PM

i was expecting this thread to be the nerdiest thread ever, but then i realized you meant price quotes instead of " " quotes.

so it's actually only moderately nerdy.

9/22/2006 9:04:21 PM

Quote :

"definitely PC...no need for Mac for him "

Apple makes one of the best quad Xeon workstations for the money, and it'll run Windows AND Mac OS if he wants.

9/23/2006 12:08:33 AM

Yeah, and unless anything changed they're cheaper and better supported than comparable dells...

9/23/2006 12:22:06 AM

Quote :

"Apple makes one of the best quad Xeon workstations for the money"

ahahaha I don't even know if that's accurate or not, but it sounds funny in so many ways

also, quad core != quad Xeon, there are two Xeon SKUs in that system, Apple marketing be damned.

[Edited on September 23, 2006 at 12:49 AM. Reason : *]

9/23/2006 12:32:41 AM

well it depends

what kind of shit will he be doing with it

9/23/2006 1:10:08 AM

unfortunately I had to investigate that claim, and I must say I am shocked at how inaccurate it is

the Mac Pro is a workstation for someone who has no idea what a workstation is or what it is for, it is in no way cost effective if you consider the fact that you will have to trash the whole piece of shit and buy a real workstation if you want a real workstation. you can buy a bottom of the barrel dual socket board with no PCI-X, no SAS, no SCSI, a no hetero case, a GeForce and 1GB of memory for a fuckton less than 2500$ if that's what you think a workstation is about, but that's what I like to call a desktop.

your boss won't know the difference, but that statement personally offended me.

9/23/2006 1:13:42 AM

Quote :

" ahahaha I don't even know if that's accurate or not, but it sounds funny in so many ways "

Ha, yeah it does. I almost puked typing it out (being a long time Maclot...).

Quote :

"also, quad core != quad Xeon, there are two Xeon SKUs in that system, Apple marketing be damned. "

Meh... it's a minor distinction.

9/23/2006 7:48:44 PM

Quote :

"the Mac Pro is a workstation for someone who has no idea what a workstation is or what it is for, it is in no way cost effective if you consider the fact that you will have to trash the whole piece of shit and buy a real workstation if you want a real workstation. you can buy a bottom of the barrel dual socket board with no PCI-X, no SAS, no SCSI, a no hetero case, a GeForce and 1GB of memory for a fuckton less than 2500$ if that's what you think a workstation is about, but that's what I like to call a desktop. your boss won't know the difference, but that statement personally offended me. "

You could probably build a "workstation" like that less than any OEM retailer would sell you for. That seems to be what treetwista is going for.

And, most PC review sites disagree with you.

[Edited on September 23, 2006 at 7:51 PM. Reason : ]

9/23/2006 7:50:21 PM

Specifications

Two 3.0GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon
16GB (8 x 2GB)
500GB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3Gb/s
500GB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3Gb/s
500GB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3Gb/s
500GB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3Gb/s
NVIDIA Quadro FX 4500 512MB, Stereo 3D (2 x dual-link DVI)
Apple Cinema HD Display (30" flat panel)
Apple Cinema HD Display (30" flat panel)
Two 16x SuperDrives
Both Bluetooth 2.0+EDR and AirPort Extreme
Fibre Channel Card
Apple USB Modem
Apple Wireless Keyboard and Apple wireless Mighty Mouse - U.S. English
Mac OS X - U.S. English
Final Cut Express HD preinstalled
AppleCare Protection Plan for Mac Pro/Power Mac (w/or w/o Display) - Auto-enroll

Subtotal $17,482.00
Estimated Ship:
7-10 business days
Free Shipping

9/23/2006 11:06:55 PM

Add an OEM copy of windows XP pro to that for around 149 or so.

9/24/2006 11:30:36 AM

^^so who's gonna by that for me as a Christmas present.

9/24/2006 12:14:08 PM

^^^ that would be so sweet

every time im near an apple store i go and drool over the 30" display

9/24/2006 12:15:16 PM

But this system has TWO 30" displays. It's fun to live in fantasy land.

Since I opted for the Fibre Channel card, we can go ahead and tack on a 7 TB XServe RAID for a cool $13,000 extra.

[Edited on September 24, 2006 at 5:07 PM. Reason : ]

9/24/2006 5:04:50 PM

haha, if you're going to go crazy, then go ahead and build a dual xeon system from someplace that lets you do dual quadro 4500 cards so you can have up to 4 of those resolution/size screens.

Then, while you're at it, throw in a $300 creative sound card with break-out box, and some scsi 15,000 rpm drives!

And I know you guys are anti-alienware, but this is a good example of a retardly powerful workstation:

Quote :

"1] MJ-12® 8550i Processor/s: Dual Processor - Dual Intel® Xeon™ 5160 3.0 GHz 1333 MHz FSB w/ 4MB Cache & Dual Core Operating System (Office software not included): Genuine Windows® XP Professional x64 Edition Warranty: 4-Year AlienCare Toll-Free 24/7 Phone Support w/ Onsite Service / AlienAutopsy / Respawn Case: Alienware® Professional EATX Desktop Chassis - Black Power Supply: 700 Watt Alienware® Multi-GPU Approved Power Supply Motherboard: Alienware® Professional Motherboard w/ Intel® Xeon™ 5000P Chipset Memory: 16GB Dual Channel DDR2 FBDIMM at 667MHz - 8 x 2048MB Graphics Accelerators: NVIDIA® Quadro™ FX 4500 X2 2x512MB GDDR3 w/ 4x Dual Link DVI Chassis Upgrades: Alienware® Acoustic Dampening Level I - 20% Noise Reduction System Drive: Extreme Performance (RAID 0) - 294GB (2 x 147GB) Serial Attached SCSI 3GB/s 15,000 RPM w/ NCQ & 16MB Cache Storage Drive: Extreme Performance (RAID 0) - 294GB (2 x 147GB) Serial Attached SCSI 3GB/s 15,000 RPM w/ NCQ & 16MB Cache Removable Storage : Alienware® 28-in-1 Digital Media Reader / Writer Primary Optical Drive: 16x Dual Layer DVD±R/W Drive w/LightScribe Technology Network Connection: Integrated High Performance Dual Gigabit Ethernet - Standard Digital Audio Hardware: Creative Sound Blaster® X-Fi® Elite Pro High Definition 7.1 Audio with XRAM Technology Monitor: Dell 30" 2560 x 1600 UltraSharp Widescreen Flat Panel Monitor with HDCP! - Dual Displays Input Devices: 3D Connexion SpacePilot Input Devices: Wacom® Intuos® 3 Platinum 9x12 Professional Pen Tablet Keyboard: Logitech® Cordless Desktop® MX™ 5000 Mouse: Alienware® Optical 3-Button Mouse with Scroll Wheel Headphones: Alienware® Ozma 7™ Headphones with S-Logic™ Technology Biometrics: APC Personal Biometric USB Pod - Fingerprint Reader $20,300 "

The only important things in there you can't get with your apple are the sound card and the scsi drives. most of the third party stuff will either work on the mac just fine or work in windows on the mac.

You can configure a dell 690 1kw workstation with almost the same configuration for about 13000. If you add all the extras it will about 18,000. Those extras (the 3d space ball and crap) would have to be purchased 3rd party.

[Edited on September 24, 2006 at 5:29 PM. Reason : ]

9/24/2006 5:18:34 PM

k

9/24/2006 5:22:57 PM

Im selling my pc, tell your boss

IBM Netvita 4000
One Pentium 3 667mhz processor 128kb cache
1/8GB (1 x 1/8GB) Ram
20000MB 7200-rpm PATA
Intel 512KB Video Card
IBM Cinema 17" Cathode ray tube monitor
10 year warranty

$21,583

9/24/2006 7:26:42 PM