*HP XW8400 Workstation worth buying

[bigdoe1014]

I'm looking at upgrading my system from a Pentium d dell a system to a*HP XW8400 Workstation with :

Here are the specs•Intel Xeon 3.0ghz Core Processor x2.•250GB SATA drive loaded with Windows 7 Ultimate and Office 2007 Professional•8GB RAM•16x Dual Layer DVD Burner•(8) USB Ports•On-board High Definition Video Graphics and Sound•(1) Nvidia DVI port• Gigabit Ethernet LAN.

do you think that it is worth buying for $200?

 

[T_Yamamoto]

Seems reasonable for 200.

 

[bigdoe1014]

do u think that the system is too old? we r talking about system that is five years old

 

[T_Yamamoto]

It is old, you'll need to upgrade in the next couple of years. BUT it has 8gbs of ram and win 7 (8gbs is average now)

 

[bigdoe1014]

do you think that it would be better to buy new I5 systems dell system? vs an older systems.I know that it's not as robust as the workstation the cost is about 500.

 

[rsutoratosu]

What are you using it for ?

I still use the xw6400 and its plenty for me.. with ssd and a fairly new video card, it flies

 

[bigdoe1014]

photo editing and hd video editing would the extent.

$200 old vs $500 new. I just wondering how long can I use it for before up grading again or would it be better just to go with a newer system.

 

[mnewsham]

I just bought the computer in my sig for ~$200 (minus the SSD). Runs windows very smoothly with it on an SSD, on a regular HDD, it is not too bad, but it is noticeably slow. But that would be the case for you with either computer as both will have HDD's

 

[wirednuts]

look up 8440p

 

[DaveVandorAmon]

If you can take advantage of the Xeons and it's not a problem that it uses high latency memory, it's a decent machine.

You can usually get 16GB as 8x2 for under $100, and if you go quad, the E5345 is the best bang for the buck - can usually get a matched pair on ebay for under $50 shipped. (Got a pair last week for 28)

If you're going from a Pentium-D you could try to build a SB-Celeron based 1155 - G540 / G620 and get some oomph with a drop-in upgrade later to an i3/i5/i7 to extend it. I built a G540 file-server to tide me over till I can afford a synology DS1812+, and I am quite impressed by that chip, esp for under $50. Paired with a decent board it can do a lot. Could be worthwhile if you have enough parts to recycle into a new build.

Also upgrading it with an SSD as suggested, would definitely give the xw8400 some go.

 

[rsutoratosu]

you can't get 8x2 for 100 bucks, these workstations use fbdimm ecc memory.. 8gb (4x2) at cruicual was like 200 bucks

Even cheap valueram clocks in at 550; cheapest on ebay used was 400
http://www.amazon.com/Kingston-Value.../dp/B001348JS2

 

[DaveVandorAmon]

I have had several XW, Precision, PowerEdge, and ProLiant machines that use FB-DIMM, and my main ESXi Rig is running on 64GB of the stuff. It gets pricey at the 4GB DIMM and higher. Forget 8GB sticks.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/16GB-8x2GB-...7241395?pt=US_Memory_RAM_&hash=item4d050d5433

This is only one example of 75 active eBay listings that have 16GB as 8x2GB, 533 / 667 FB-DIMM and are up to $100.

I use these as ESXi whiteboxen for labs all day. Please do not try to educate me on what I have been doing for the last 2 years. Thanks.

Your link also references 2x8GB, which are QUITE expensive. The only time you would do that is if you were trying to lower the latency by not populating all slots and trying to save on power draw.

 

[radtechtips]

Between the hdd, win 7 ult. Office and the ram its worth 200 bucks

 

[rsutoratosu]

i have more than 64 gb, i wasn't trying to educate you, i was pointing out these fbdimm are not cheap

 

[Chiropteran]

Isn't that an old Pentium 4 Xeon CPU? It'll be slow. It might be worth $200, but keep in mind that $200 worth of computer is pretty low-end. Don't be deceived by the CPU clock speed, it'll run much slower than even a low-end modern CPU. Even something cheap like this-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16883155554

Would run rings around that old Xeon.

It's really really slow compared to modern CPU:
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Xeon+5160+@+3.00GHz

 

[rsutoratosu]

http://h18000.www1.hp.com/products/quickspecs/12522_ca/12522_ca.PDF

It should be a xeon 51/3xx series according to the quick specs, these are newer compared to the old p4 xeons

supported cpus
Quad-Core Intel Xeon Processor with Intel® 64 Architecture
One or two Quad-Core Intel Xeon Processor 5300 Sequence, 8 MB total L2 cache (2 x 4 MB shared):*
Quad-Core Intel® Xeon® Processor 5310/ 1.60 GHz,1066 MHz FSB
Quad-Core Intel® Xeon® Processor 5320/ 1.86 GHz,1066 MHz FSB
Quad-Core Intel® Xeon® Processor 5335/ 2.00 GHz,1333 MHz FSB
Quad-Core Intel® Xeon® Processor 5345/ 2.33 GHz,1333 MHz FSB
Quad-Core Intel® Xeon® Processor 5355/ 2.66 GHz,1333 MHz FSB
Quad -Core Intel® Xeon® Processor 5365/ 3.00 GHz,1333 MHz FSB


Dual-Core Intel Xeon Processors with Intel® 64 Architecture
One or two Dual-Core Intel Xeon Processor 5100 Sequence*
Dual-Core Intel® Xeon® 5110/ 1.60 GHz, 4MB L2, 1066 MHz FSB
Dual-Core Intel® Xeon® 5120/ 1.86 GHz, 4MB L2, 1066 MHz FSB
Dual-Core Intel® Xeon® 5130/ 2.00 GHz, 4MB L2, 1333 MHz FSB
Dual-Core Intel® Xeon® 5140/ 2.33 GHz, 4MB L2, 1333 MHz FSB
Dual-Core Intel® Xeon® 5150/ 2.66 GHz, 4MB L2, 1333 MHz FSB
Dual-Core Intel® Xeon® 5160/ 3.00 GHz, 4MB L2, 1333 MHz FSB
Dual-Core Intel® Xeon® Processor 5365/ 3.00 GHz,1333 MHz FSB

 

[Emulex]

man i have these things rotting with spider webs. Avoid core 2 duo man, its a power PIG with FB-DIMM. 8 x 4gb FB-DIMM eats like 200 watts

 

[dclive]

http://ark.intel.com/products/30702/ --- EOL...2007...