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Fastest/Cheapest/Easiest way to get a Core 2 Duo workstation....in CHINA.

O

OmnipotentSpleen

Senior member
Hello all!

So, here's the situation: On Wednesday I'm relocating to Shanghai for my job as a computer animator. Part of my responsibility will be to build workstations for myself and new employees. I have been out of the hardware loop for a little while now due to extensive global travel. However, from the CPU benchmarks I've seen recently, I'm quite excited about the performance from the new Core 2 Duo CPUs. I've been a long time AMD user (since the days of the first Athlons), but from what I can tell, the Core 2 Duos are the best money can buy. I'll be using the workstations to render, as I don't think we'll be able to get render farm nodes as well, at least not right away.

Ideally, I'd love to get the Core 2 Quadro, or whatever the Kentsfield will be called, but I don't think it will be available in time. So a Kentsfield compatible motherboard will be a good investment, as 2 or 3 4 core systems will be able to show some seriously impressive render times.

So, is there any advice that intel users care to share with me as far as what hardware to get? I really don't know much about Intel boards or chipsets. Does Nvidia even make core 2 duo motherboards?

Does anybody of experience with buying hardware in Shanghai, as I'm planning on buying it over there and building it.

4 more questions:

1) When are the 4 core Core 2 chips supposed to be released.

2) Does anyone know when DirectX 10 cards are speculated to be available?

3) What speed memory should I use for the Core 2 Duo? DDR1 or DDR2? Is core 2 a dual channel config, so 2 identical dimms will be necessary?

4) Finally, would it be easier/faster/cheaper to buy the hardware here, and ship it over to china? I've heard it's not as easy to get new hardware in shanghai as it is here in the states. (the chinese newegg doesn't seem nearly as comprehensive as the US's.) Does anybody have experience with this that they could share? Thank!!!


Thanks a whole lot!
Regards,
Abram

PS...sorry if this post kind of got off topic from the subject. i coudln't think of a better title. should this be posted in another forum or have a title change?
 
1) I believe the quad core chips are to be released this November.

2) I believe Jan of 2007.

That's all I know. 😀
 
1. Supposed to be in november, but probably won't be readily available to around mid december.

2. No idea

3. Most of the core 2 motherboards use DDR2 although there are a couple that use DDR. DDR2 is not backwards compatible with DDR. If you aren't going to OC 533mhz DDR-2 is plenty. If you are going to OC, 667mhz for mild-moderate OC, 800mhz for high OC's. Dual channel gives a boost in performance, but you aren't required to run dual channel mode. IF you just use one stick of ram, you can still run single channel, not like RDRAM where you had to run pairs.

4. No idea.
 
4. When I was in Asia, electronics seemed to be a lot more expensive than it is here. You might want to look into comparing the prices somehow.
Someone gave you the answer to the other 3 questions.
 
The Mac Pro uses 2 dual core Xeon CPU's. The least expensive Intel Mac Pro model is ~$2,500.
Anandtech had some recent articles about the Mac Pro, including being able to also run the (yet unreleased) 4 core CPU's.
Besides Mac OSX, WindowsXP will also run on the Mac Pro, but requires burning your own startup disc with the necessary HD controller drivers.
Check the Anandtech article for further info.
Price wise, the Mac Pro is very competetive with similar Dell branded systems.
 
Originally posted by: vailr
The Mac Pro uses 2 dual core Xeon CPU's. The least expensive Intel Mac Pro model is ~$2,500.
Anandtech had some recent articles about the Mac Pro, including being able to also run the (yet unreleased) 4 core CPU's.
Besides Mac OSX, WindowsXP will also run on the Mac Pro, but requires burning your own startup disc with the necessary HD controller drivers.
Check the Anandtech article for further info.
Price wise, the Mac Pro is very competetive with similar Dell branded systems.
Click to expand...

Good idea. I read that review a while back.
 
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