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Spec me a workstation

A

Atheus

Diamond Member
I'm building a midrange workstation system, it will be used mainly by someone studying for a PHD and there will be a good number of programs running at once - at least a couple of word processor windows, a spreadsheet, reference manager, email, browser windows, and several Adobe reader windows.

I figured a low-end dual core and 1GB of RAM would be more than enough for this, and I was thinking Intel as their duallies are much cheaper, but I haven't built an Intel rig since my dual tualitans so I don't know where to start. The Pentium D 805 is very cheap (£85 for a dual core, incredible) but uses ridiculous amounts of power, and I was hoping to use a Fortron 350W PSU I have lying around, so I might be better off with a mobile processor... but which one?...
 
A Pentium D 805 and a good 350W powersupply(The Fortron will do nicely) will be fine as long as you don't plan on overclocking.(People like to way over exaggerate the power requirements of the Pentium D simply because they are fanboys of another company) You are on the right track. Pentium D 805 and 1GB of memory will be a solid foundation for any kind of machine. How much money do you want to spend in total on the machine? Do you already have your Operating system taken care of, or do you need to include that in the price?
 
I know people exaggerate, but it's still the most power hungry thing on the market and uses 130W+ on load, you really think 350 will be enough? Do the P-Ds take their current from the 12v rail like the AMDs? How hot do they get? As you can see i'm reluctant... it _is_ nice and cheap... but I'd like to investigate the mobile-on-desktop option.

What platform does the 805 run on? 775? Is there a difference between 775 and 'LGA775'? Will I need DDR2 for this? Does it support dual channel? Is that too many questions? 🙂 Maybe someone should just link me to an overview of the new Intels and I'll answer these myself.

I will be buying XP Pro.
 
Ask away. The only stupid question is the one not asked.

Let us begin with heat. The Pentium D 8xx series run hot period. To alleviate this problem, simply make sure your case has plenty of airflow. I am running the stock cooler on my Pentium D 820. My case has two 120mm fans, two 80mm fans, a 120mm fan on the powersupply, and the fan on the video card. My temps would still be considered quite high compared to an Athlon 64 machine, but they are reasonable for a Pentium D. If heat is a very serious concern for you, there are plenty of aftermarket air coolers that you can use that will make your Pentium D run cool.

The 805 runs on LGA 775. There is no difference between LGA775 and 775(People who say 775 simply did not type the LGA in, but that is what they meant).

Pentium Ds use the 12 Volt rail to run. What other parts are you planning on running your pc? It is possible that the 350W would be okay for the Pentium D 805 as long as the rest of your components are not too numerous. If you could afford it though, I would recommend a 400W+ power supply just to be on the safe side(Some good power supply brands include Fortron, Antec, OCZ, PC Power and Cooling, and Enermax). The Power supply is the only part in the entire pc with the power to destroy every other part. You do not want to skimp on the power supply.

Most mainboards that support the Pentium D run DDR2. However, there are some that run with DDR and support the Pentium D. Nonetheless, you will want a board that uses DDR2. DDR2 is more future proof and also takes less power than DDR. I have not seen a mainboard yet that supports the Pentium D and doesn't support dual channel; all mainboards you would look at should support dual channel.

I have not had much experience with current generation mobile processors. The last mobile processor setup that I actively had knowledge on was the mobile Barton Athlon XPs.

Here is an article on the Pentium D 805:

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2736
 
Originally posted by: dguy6789
Ask away. The only stupid question is the one not asked.
Click to expand...

🙂 Thanks.

Let us begin with heat. The Pentium D 8xx series run hot period. To alleviate this problem, simply make sure your case has plenty of airflow. I am running the stock cooler on my Pentium D 820. My case has two 120mm fans, two 80mm fans, a 120mm fan on the powersupply, and the fan on the video card. My temps would still be considered quite high compared to an Athlon 64 machine, but they are reasonable for a Pentium D. If heat is a very serious concern for you, there are plenty of aftermarket air coolers that you can use that will make your Pentium D run cool.
Click to expand...

That's the thing, I wasn't planning on a big expensive cooling system and case, and it shouldn't really be needed for a normal workstatioon anyway. The user is not an enthusiast and won't be overclocking.

The 805 runs on LGA 775. There is no difference between LGA775 and 775(People who say 775 simply did not type the LGA in, but that is what they meant).

Pentium Ds use the 12 Volt rail to run. What other parts are you planning on running your pc? It is possible that the 350W would be okay for the Pentium D 805 as long as the rest of your components are not too numerous. If you could afford it though, I would recommend a 400W+ power supply just to be on the safe side(Some good power supply brands include Fortron, Antec, OCZ, PC Power and Cooling, and Enermax). The Power supply is the only part in the entire pc with the power to destroy every other part. You do not want to skimp on the power supply.
Click to expand...

Yea I am aware of the importance of a good PSU. I was just hoping to save a bit of cash by using a unit I already have.

Most mainboards that support the Pentium D run DDR2.
Click to expand...

Good, that stuff is cheaper than DDR these days. Is it just PC2-3200 I need if I'm not overclocking? There's a good deal on some TWINX 5400 at ebuyer - here but it might be pointless.

However, there are some that run with DDR and support the Pentium D. Nonetheless, you will want a board that uses DDR2. DDR2 is more future proof and also takes less power than DDR. I have not seen a mainboard yet that supports the Pentium D and doesn't support dual channel; all mainboards you would look at should support dual channel.
Click to expand...

Two sticks it is then.
 
Originally posted by: bamacre
You have a budget in mind for this system?

Off the bat, I'd recommend starting with...

Pentium 930 (runs cooler, and faster, than the 800 series)...
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80851

Intel 945P motherboard...
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=240963-OP

2GB Corsair DDR2-667
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=85016-47
Click to expand...

Those links aren't working for me, but I'm in England anyway so it doesn't matter, I'll check the prices myself 🙂

Was that a built-by-intel board you linked to? Do Intel still make the best boards for Intel processors?
 
Originally posted by: Atheus
Originally posted by: bamacre
You have a budget in mind for this system?

Off the bat, I'd recommend starting with...

Pentium 930 (runs cooler, and faster, than the 800 series)...
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80851

Intel 945P motherboard...
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=240963-OP

2GB Corsair DDR2-667
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=85016-47
Click to expand...

Those links aren't working for me, but I'm in England anyway so it doesn't matter, I'll check the prices myself 🙂

Was that a built-by-intel board you linked to? Do Intel still make the best boards for Intel processors?
Click to expand...

Yes, and yes. It was...

Intel BOXD945PSNLK 945P P4/Pentium D/Celeron D 1066FSB LGA775 DDR2 ATX Motherboard w/Audio, Gigabit LAN, Serial ATA
533/800/1066FSB, ATA/100, 4DDR2 DIMM, 1 PCI Express x16, 2 PCI Express x1, 4PCI, USB 2.0, IEEE 1394, Audio, Gigabit LAN, SATA

Memory is, Corsair VS2GBKIT667D2 2GB Kit DDR2-667 PC2-5300 Value Select Memory Retail.
 
Intel makes the most reliable boards for Intel processors. Most, if not all of them do not have overclocking features, but if you want stability and reliability, you won't get anything better from another company.

It would really be helpful to us if you could tell us how much of a budget is available for the machine. If it is possible to afford a Pentium D 920, then I would recommend that. It runs at 800mhz fsb, as oppsed to the 533 of the 805, runs at 2.8Ghz as opposed to 2.66, has 2MB of L2 cache per core, as opposed to 1MB, and runs on 65nm technology(as opposed to 90) which allows it to run much cooler and have lower power requirements. Simply put, it should be moderately faster and will run cooler at the same time.

Chances are, you will not be running anything that runs higher than 800Mhz FSB. So simply, to get optimum performance, you need to run 400mhz memory(PC2 3200) in dual channel, which would effectively be 800mhz memory and able to satisfy the bandwidth needs of the processor. Anything higher than that, such as PC2 5300/5400/6400+ would not really be necessary at the moment, but may become useful in the future, should you choose to use your current memory on a new system.

However, some motherboards(such as mine) allow the processor to run at 800mhz fsb and allow the memory to run at 667Mhz in dual channel, effectively being able to provide 1334mhz of bandwidth. While this massive amount of extra memory bandwidth is not directly available to the processor as a result of it being limited to the 800 mhz fsb, the higher clocked memory does allow memory access at lower latencies, which can help performance.

Quite simply, if you see higher rated memory and it is within your price range, there is no reason not to get it.
 
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