Top of the line PC workstation

[bozilla]

Hi everyone!

this is my first post on anandtech forums, however I'm not new to anandtech.com

Here's my problem. I need to buy new PCs for work and I'm having a big problem deciding. Maybe some of you knowledgable people can help me out to pick out the best possible machine.

Let me explain the situation first.
I have a budget of maybe ~$4000 to $4500 for a top of the line computer that will replace my current workstation. This machine needs to be able to play games like crazy but also needs to run really fast and smooth for web development, web design, some 3d visualization and here-and-there video editing and After Effects.

Now I was looking at best possible solution and got stuck. I was considering top of the line single CPUs from AMD and Intel but even with that I don't think I can get as smooth of an operation as I wish. Especially since the differences between the top of the line and the next level down in CPU power is just few percent. So I started also looking at dual CPU solution.

I just don't know what to pick.

At first I thought about Intel P4 560 / 2gb DDR2 ram / 2 WD Raptors / 160 SATA-II Seagate / Pioneer 108 burner with Asus DVD-ROM / ASUS X800XT with dual DVI (btw, I have 2 20" LCDs, so dual DVI makes sense). But then, I started looking at FX53 with pretty much same configuration. The problem with AMD is that I'm not that confident that it will do as good of a job as Intel for the type of work I need and it uses "older" technology.

Then Intel Nocoma came out and I started looking at Dual Nocoma 3.4 EMT with Supermicro "X6DAE-G2" E7525 Chipset board, but then again they are new processors and really have no idea how they perform.

Again on the other hand I have Opterons 250 in the similar configuration, but again the problem with AMD is that it uses older technology 940 socket and AGP instead of PCI-E.

Can you good people help out and help me pick the best solution for me.

Thanks a lot.

 

[fuzzynavel]

Yes PCI-E is nice to have but the AGP bus isn't saturated yet!!

Wait a few months and then AMD are sure to have some PCI-E stuff out..

also in reviews that I have seen opterons still kick ass....may be worth the wait for AMD to join the PCI-E bandwagon....if PCI-E is really that valuable to you..

have a look at this link...opteron vs zeon

I know its toms hardware but seems like a reasonable review...

Just try and think what you want.....Performance or flash new unproven technology!

Hope this helps...

 

[arsbanned]

AMD proponents will pounce in 4,3,2,1.... My advice would be, if you want PCIe, you must go with the Intel 935. IF you want to wait a while, and I would wait for version 2, AMD will soon be coming out with PCIe boards. The machine you described above would certainly perform well for what you're planning you do with it.

Edit: 1.Welcome to the forums!
2. I'm a big AMD fan, so I'm not bagging on AMD, I'm just not a strict evangelist when it comes to system architecture. 🙂

 

[Schadenfroh]

money no problem?

get this

 

[FishTankX]

Okay, well, I have a couple of serious suggestions.

#1 Go for SCSI not IDE. You're building a workstation. By not purchasing 2 raptors you could pocket enough money to just buy a 15k RPM SCSI drive. The controllers are extremley cheap (U160 controller costs $33 at newegg right now) and the 15,000 RPM spindle speed makes a tremondous difference. Buy a 200 gig for extra storage, and you're good.

#2 Dual Pentium4's won't perform badly. But you'll need upwards of 500 watts to do so comfortably. Remember, at this clock speed P4's consume close to 100W each. Not to mention you're other needs, like the 2GB of DDR2.

#3 The heat output by the Pentium4's will be substantial. But the new Nocoma's can scale down to balance CPU load and clock speed. If you do go for Pentium4's, make *sure* it's one of the new Nocoma's. They go much lower than AMD's CPU's, they can scale all the way down to 200MHz I think.

#4 If you do go with AMD, or Intel, make sure not to get top of the line processors. You'll end up shelling out a grand a piece for each.

#5 Read benchmarks on the specific applications you have in mind. Even within the same program, different CPU's can have vastly different performance envelopes.

 

[bozilla]

Thanks guys but I'm still not getting clear suggestions here. What's the better platform here.

Once again guys thanks. What I'm looking at here again is to buy a machine that won't have obsolete technology in the next 2 or so years. Let's just call this The best of the best X86 platform has to offer, only without stupidities like custom paint jobs that cost a grand or LCD displays on front of the case.

Anyone else. I really need to buy my new system really soon, I'm running out of time and I have new projects coming that I'm not willing to start on my current workstation. Thx.

 

[LeadMagnet]

a real workstation has all quilified parts and is not home made.

Dell Precision Workstation 670

Dell Precision Workstation 670 Intel® Xeon? Processor 3.20GHz, 1MB L2 Cache 6T32 [221-4418] 1
Operating System Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional, SP2 with Media XPP2E [420-4860] 11
2nd Processor Intel® Xeon? Processor 3.20GHz, 1MB L2 cache PR32 [311-3861] 2
Memory 2GB, DDR2 SDRAM Memory, 400MHz, ECC (4 DIMMS) 2GE4 [310-4987] 3
Keyboard Entry Level, PS/2, No Hot Keys E [310-1609] 4
Graphic Cards 128MB PCIe x16 ATI FireGL V3100, Dual VGA or DVI + VGA Capable ATI128 [320-3958] 6
First Hard Drive 146GB Ultra 320 SCSI, 1 inch (10,000 rpm) 146SC10 [341-1152] 8
Hard Drive Configuration C6- All SCSI drives, Non-RAID, for 1 or 2 drive SC12 [341-1118] 9
Floppy Drive Options 3.5 inch 1.44MB Floppy Drive FD [341-0497] 10
Mouse No Mouse Option N [310-1247] 12
File System NTFS File System NTFS [420-3699] 13
CD-ROM, DVD, and Read-Write Devices 16XDVD AND 16X DVD+RW/+R w/ Sonic RecordNow! Deluxe, CyberLink PowerDVD RW16DV [313-2828] 16
Speakers No Speaker option N [313-2663] 18
Resource CD Resources CD contains Diagnostics and Driver for Precision Systems RCD [310-5419] 21
Productivity Software Dell Precision Workstation NOMSBE [461-2963] 22
2nd Hard Drive 146GB Ultra 320 SCSI, 1 inch (10,000 rpm) 146S10A [341-1162] 23
Hard Drive Internal Controller Options U320 SCSI Integrated Controller - For Connecting Internal Hard Drives U320I [342-0086] 24
Hardware Support Services 3 Year Basic Plan W3YOS [980-7000][980-7002] 29

TOTAL: $4,875.00