I'm a software developer by profession but the software I write at work doesn't directly relate to what I'm interested in, mainly GPGPU, graphics, and high performance computing. Currently I don't have a computer so I need one so I can start learning. I love building computer systems but my time is limited so I have been looking at boutique stores for systems that I can build, get it running and not have to waste time overclocking, debugging the build, configuring the bios for performance, setting up the operating system for performance, etc. I can do all of that, but the adage goes time is money...

The new Mac Pro, with it's 8 core goodness is about as close to what I want as possible. I would buy it, swap out the graphics card for the HD 3870 or buy the 8800GT from apple. I would also add 2x2GB sticks of DDR2 and use bootcamp to install vista 64, or maybe vista 32 because I hear there are some drive support problems with 64 vista on macs.

Total cost:
$2800 Mac Pro
$189 Vista
$250 HD 3870
$??? 4GB ECC DDR2 800 MHz ram

$3500 ish.

First, I don't think the skulltrail motherboard is available for purchase? Second, the 45nm quad cores are going to be $1000 each, so the $2800 mac is actually a pretty good bargin.

I might have to add a few harddrives, but those are pretty cheap. Oh and I do need a monitor too, probably go with a good 30" display. Anyway, the monitor would be the same regardless of the route I take so we can take that out of the equation.

Is there a boutique store that builds 8 core workstations for about that price that can give similar performance? Would I be able to save money if I try to build it myself?

Thanks in advance.

If you build it yourself you'll save a heck of a lot of money. Macs are the biggest ripoffs ever.

quantumsheep: please show me how to configure an 8 core system for similar price and performance by homebuild.

If you go Mac you might want to check video driver availability for those cards.

The only other 8-core configurations out there cost a heck of a lot more money (around $1000 more) to build yourself. Like tlmck said, just make sure that the hardware is compatible with the mobo. Other than that, looks like a great deal and have fun using way more cores than will ever be needed ;D

http://www.xicomputer.com/

My question is what would you use an 8 core homebuilt system for exactly? What could you possibly be doing that would require that many cores? Are you going to play Crysis, work in Indesign, 3D Studio Max, Xara and Maya all at the same time? Just wondering because the video card and amount of main memory you are picking out sure does not fit the bill for an 8 core high performance computer.
I think with 8 cores, you should have at least 64gig of main memory, and a Qaudro FX 5600 very minimum, probably 2 of them.
Add in 4 or 5-147gig 15,000rpm SCSI drives, put them into a RAID setup, and you would have quite a powerhouse indeed.
Of course with these added features, which you really should get to make use of all those cores, will add another $30,000-$40,000 to your total bill.

What on earth are you going to do with 8 cores? Especially if you just going to run your own programmes on it. Global illumination models or what?

good questions from jit and outofdate. I realize 8 cores may be overkill, and jit you are right in that more memory and fast disk access are needed to make this system more balanced, but currently I don't think there is a cheaper way to get 8 cores, is there? I'll check out the xicomputer.com link. More cores = faster compiles. Visual Studio 8 can automatically use all available cores during compile. It will save a ton of time.

Good point about checking for driver compatibility, but I'll be running vista too so I'm sure that'll work.

Hey, poached. I've got your wildest dreams come true (no not the ones with the nympho and the studded collar) and their right on this forum.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/ [...] orkstation

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/ [...] ore-killer

Everythng youd ever want to know about cloning a MacPro Octopus at half the price!

it looks good until you see that he is using dual 2.3 harpertown vs 2.8 or 3.0 harpertown in the apple system. The 3.0 are around $1000 and that translates into a 600 dollar difference per chip. This is then another $1200 that he should have added to his homebrew, which makes the final price around 4k. Cheaper than mac but that's because apple is charging stupid amount of money for memory and if I buy it from 3rd source I could probably find something cheaper.