Hi All:
I've been thinking about the exccellent advice you all have given me and come to the decision that I really like the idea of a dual Xeon workstation that I can upgrade to quad "Clovertown" processors in the future.
As I am not particularly technically proficient, I would like to have the box built for me. I found a company called AVA Direct on the web and priced out the following:
INTEL SERVER, SC5299/S5000VSA Dual-Core Xeon DDR2 SATA/SAS Entry Series Tower Server $2627.02 UPDATE $2627.02
# INTEL, SC5299DP Black Pedestal / 6U Rack Server Chassis, 6x SATA HDD, 550W PFC PSU
# INTEL, S5000VSASATA, 2x LGA771, Intel 5000V, 1333MHz FSB, DDR2-667 ECC FB 16GB/8, SATA RAID 10, VGA, 2x Gb LAN, Retail
Note: I did not realize that the 5050 was not a Woodcrest chip. So instead, I will plan on using the 5140 which is 2.33 GHz. A bit slower but, I am told, a faster chip. Price is about $480.
# INTEL, Xeon™ 5050 Dual-Core Processor 3GHz HT EM64T DBS XD VT, 667MHz FSB, 2x2MB L2 cache, 95W, 65nm, LGA771, Retail
# INTEL, Xeon™ 5050 Dual-Core Processor 3GHz HT EM64T DBS XD VT, 667MHz FSB, 2x2MB L2 cache, 95W, 65nm, LGA771, Retail
# KINGSTON, 4GB (2 x 2GB) Dual Rank PC2-4200 DDR2 533MHz CL4 (4-4-4-10) SDRAM FB-DIMM, ECC Fully Buffered
# WESTERN DIGITAL, 80GB WD Caviar® SE, SATA II 300MB/s, 7200 RPM, 8MB cache
# HITACHI, 500GB Deskstar® 7K500, SATA II 300MB/s, 7200-RPM, 16MB cache
# HITACHI, 500GB Deskstar® 7K500, SATA II 300MB/s, 7200-RPM, 16MB cache
# RAID, RAID 1 (mirroring), min 2 hard drives and RAID controller required
# LITE-ON, SHD-16P1S Black 16x48x DVD-ROM Drive, IDE, Retail
# LITE-ON, SHM-165H6S LS Black/White 16x DVD±R/RW Dual-Layer Burner w/ LightScribe, IDE, Retail
# MICROSOFT, Wireless Optical Desktop 1000, Keyboard & Mouse, Black, USB
# INTEL, Intel® System Management Software 1.0
# MICROSOFT, Windows XP Professional Edition
# SERVICE, Assembled & Tested, Standard Service (3 Years Limited Parts, Lifetime Labor Warranty)
TOTAL COST is $2627
All comments and concerns will be greatly appreciated. Anything there you don't like?
I am assuming that though it is a server, it should work just fine as a workstation and the mobo will support the upgrade to 4-core processors.
As Windows XP can only support up to 4 gigs of ram, that's what I specified. I plan to use the /3gig switch in the .ini file so 1gig goes to the OS and 3 to the applications.
Not the mobo that jamesgoddard recommended but AVA Direct does not seem to carry any others.
If ayone knows of another company that builds high quality computers at a good price, I'd be interested in looking at their website. I have no experience with AVA Direct but don't see too much negatives posted on the web.
Thanks,
Charlie (CBK780)