Building workstations for client, recommendations?

drasnor

I have a client that's essentially replacing a small office worth of computer hardware. My job is to build or supply three workstations and a server for the lab. He may add additional workstations later as the need arises. These workstations will be used for engineering and science applications as well as database access for the technical database on the server. These PC's also need to be adaptable because they may be pressed into service as ground stations for 802.11-enabled aircraft, etc. My budget is ~$1000 per workstation.

The current lab has about 6 Pentium II and 2 Pentium III desktop PC's and according to my boss "one of them" is the server. I'm responsible for finding out which one it is, because it has "a big hard drive" and the database on it. All machines are running Windows 2000. He also says there's some sort of network virus on all the machines because the last sysadmin was incompetent and didn't keep the definitions up-to-date. They're all going to university surplus so it's not a huge deal.

Anyway, here's what I'm looking at for workstations:
Foxconn NF4PIK8AA-8EKRS Socket 940 NVIDIA nForce Pro 2200 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813186055
$224.99

OCZ Enhanced Latency 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM ECC Registered DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel Kit System Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820146940
$244.03

Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 ST3200826AS 200GB 7200 RPM 8M Cache Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822148066
$117.00

SAPPHIRE 1024-BC45-0B-SA Radeon X300 128MB 128-bit DDR PCI-Express x16 Video Card - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102396
$66.00

NEC Black 16X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 4X DVD+R DL 16X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 24X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2M Cache IDE DVD Burner - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827152035
$46.00

AMD Opteron 146 2.0GHz 1MB 64/32-Bit (single CPU setup) (Retail Box-w-Fan)
http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=M&Product_Code=120763&Category_Code=amdop
$241.00

NEC Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal Floppy Drive Model FD1231H-302 - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16821152005
$7.99

COOLER MASTER Centurion 530 RC-530-SSN1 Black Aluminum Bezel, SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811119076
$78.99

Antec TRUEPOWERII TPII-380 ATX12V 380W Power Supply 115/230 V UL, TUV, CB, FCC CLASS B, CUL - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103927
$65.00

Total: $1091 + s/h

I'm aware that that motherboard is overkill, but it's the only one I could find that is single s940. The reasoning there is that since they don't replace the machines very often (this is the first upgrade since computers were put in there) I wanted to get something with the longevity of Socket A in the workstation department in case we wanted dual core Opterons later. PCI Express is nice but not strictly necessary, nor is the size of the hard drive so if you know of some better deals I'm all ears. I liked the case because it has the power buttons on top so you can put it underneath the desk if you wanted and still have easy access to all the front panel I/O though suggestions here are also appreciated. These need DVD burners so people can burn off large amounts of data that they're working on. 1 GB of RAM is standard fare though if you can find a decent price on quality PC3200 Registered I'd be grateful.

Linux compatibility is of prime concern; my boss wants to build a Linux lab. There's nothing they do that can't be done on Linux. I'll be getting back to him with possible implementations of that that require a lot less hard drive in these machines (roaming profiles have /home hosted by the server.)

-drasnor

shwaip

I've had no problems with any of the mushkin memory I've bought, and it has a lifetime warranty if you register it at mushkin.com.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820146211

I don't know how graphics intensive the work you're planning on doing is, but Tyan has a single opteron board with integrated video (no agp/pci-express tho).
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813151129

drasnor

I saw that Tyan board, we're not doing anything really video intensive but being able to drive a large monitor (or pair) would be a nice feature to have though I'm considering putting that Tyan board in the server. Good call on the RAM, that's exactly what I was looking for.

My boss decided to go with Windows after all, so I think my budget may have gone out the window. Windows Server 2003 licenses aren't cheap and he wants Office and XP on the workstations. Whatever, I'll have plenty of time to better assess their needs when I pull the old equipment apart. As it turns out, the database is a FTP server so it's nothing special.

-drasnor

Flintstone

There's a big brother to the Tyan listed above. It's the S2875SANRF and has an AGP4/8X slot instead of the video. I haven't looked up a price or where to get it, but I offer it as another option.

Flint

TheBaron

from personal experience - when (if) the boss finds out how cool useful dual monitor setups can be, he will suddenly find the money to spend. at my work, we now have several monitor desktops

Tex

Foxconn motherboards? man I wouldnt bet my shorts on one of those. I have had two Asus single opteron motherboards. Find another MB vendor if this is important.

Look at the ASUS sk8n series.

Tex