New "server class" desktop

ricerice Pennsylvania
edited February 2004 in Hardware
I need to build a new test system for work. I plan to use VMWare on it so I can run up to 4 Windows Server OS instances on it at a time. The 4 virtual machines will emulate our network servers.

I don't know whether to go with Intel and Hyper Threading or AMD XP's. It doesn't seem that the AMD 64's or Opterons are cost effective. Any ideas?

I need a processor, motherboard, memory (2GB so 4 DIMM slot are preferable) and Hard Drives (thinking of RAIDing 2 SATA's).

Budget is about $1500.00. Video and Sound really don't matter.

What do you think?

Comments

  • rapturerapture
    edited January 2004
    The Athlon 64 3000+ is cheaper than the P4 3.06 ghz here, not sure about the US. Thats what I would go for.
  • NebulousNebulous New York, The Empire State
    edited January 2004
    Well I would go for the P4 because of the HT. Also the boards are alot cheaper.

    http://newegg.com/

    :D
  • ricerice Pennsylvania
    edited January 2004
    The Athlon 64 seems to get some mixed results. It does great on some tests and not so well on others. I thought the Hyperthreading might be a better route even though Intel is normally more expensive. Do you think the dual channel memory will matter? The Athlon 64 is only single?

    I have been looking at newegg.com. I need to find a board that has 4 dimms and SATA RAID. I normally don't overclock, but it might be worth it to overclock at least a little bit to get some added performance. I have generally been looking at Asus, Intel and Abit.

    Thanks for the replies.
  • ricerice Pennsylvania
    edited January 2004
    Nebulous

    One of the boards I was looking at was the Asus P4C800. It fits all my needs and them some. Have you had any problem with it? Any comments? What the difference between the ICH5 and the ICH5R models? Do you have to mod the processor at all to overclock in those boards?

    Sorry for the rapid fire questions, just thinking out loud.
  • NebulousNebulous New York, The Empire State
    edited January 2004
    I can't find anything different between the ICH5 and the ICH5R other than the "R" is raid.

    I luv my board. No mods or anything. Onboard sound is great, on par with the TBSC. Onboard NIC is awsome. Only thing i'm not too happy about is the lack of vdimm. Max is 2.85v. I'm an extreme overclocker so for me voltage to the ram is important. Other than that the board is flawless. Plenty of features in the bios and the flash utility is a plus. Also comes bundled with WinDVD suite and SATA connectors. A very good investment if you ask me :D
  • ricerice Pennsylvania
    edited January 2004
    Thanks for the reply.

    I'm now leaning towards the following:

    Motherboard: Asus P4C800
    Processor: Intel P4 2.8GHz
    Memory: 4x512MB (Corsair?)
    HardDrives 2x36GB Raptors (RAID 0)
    2x80GB WD regular SATA's (RAID 0)
    HeatSink: No idea
    Case: No idea
  • NebulousNebulous New York, The Empire State
    edited January 2004
    Nice choice in parts! The retail cpu comes with an aluminum heatsink/fan combo. I clocked my 2.6C with a stock cooler up to 3.3Ghz. Unless you want something better, go with the Zalman CNPS7000A-Cu .

    For the case: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-150-017&catalog=7&manufactory=BROWSE&depa=1

    Plenty of space and airflow. I've had 2 of these and they're really nice.

    Now the Psu: I would go with the Enermax no doubt., Fortron is good too. Don't go no less than 450-500 watts.

    Now you'll need a video card. Depending on if you're going to game like a madman, or just game moderately. There are some great deals on the egg.
  • ricerice Pennsylvania
    edited January 2004
    Nice Case, especially for the price.

    I was thinking about using the stock heat sink but I heard there might be problems with the system booting with it on. You have to loosen the heatsink for it to post. Overclocking to 3.3GHz is more than enough for me. If the stock heatsink will do that then Great.

    As far as the video card, this particular machine won't see any gaming. I just plan to buy the best $50.00 video card I can find.

    Is their any particular type of Corsair memory I should use? I was thinking at least PC3200. I was hoping to keep the price down to about $80 a stick (512MB).

    I'll do a little follow up and post the items and the prices.

    Thanks again.
  • NebulousNebulous New York, The Empire State
    edited January 2004
    Hey, no problem, The stock heatsink will do nicely. I had it with no problems.

    The Corsair XMS is nice ram, but if you want to keep the price down check here:

    http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?submit=manufactory&catalog=147&manufactory=1183&DEPA=1&sortby=14&order=1

    http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?submit=manufactory&catalog=147&manufactory=1646&DEPA=1&sortby=14&order=1

    Now the video card:
    http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-131-210&catalog=48&depa=1

    Not a bad deal for a 64megger ;)
  • yaggayagga Havn't you heard? ... New
    edited January 2004
    hey i've got this board with 512 mb ddr 400 corsair, I love it! I think the max memory speed is 400/3200 though, but if different tell me.
  • NebulousNebulous New York, The Empire State
    edited January 2004
    Hmmm, I got my PC3200 Twinmos BH5's usually cranked to 275 (500Mhz) . Looks like you need to play around with the timings and settings and crank it. Depends on what brand/speed of ram you have tho.
  • ricerice Pennsylvania
    edited February 2004
    I got it! I ordered and just received the following:

    Asus P4C800-e Deluxe Motherboard
    2.8GHz P4
    4 sticks of 512MB PC3500 Hyperx-Kingston Memory
    2 Western Digital 120GB SATA hard drives (for RAID 0)
    2 Western Digital 120GB ATA hard drives (for RAID 0)
    MXTP Midtower Case
    Gigabyte Radeon 7000 Video card
    LiteOn DVD RW
    Enermax 470W power supply

    I put it all together and it Posted. I haven't had a chance to load the operating system yet.
  • NebulousNebulous New York, The Empire State
    edited February 2004
    Awsome!! can't wait for pics! :D
  • ricerice Pennsylvania
    edited February 2004
    Nebulous:

    Do you have any top 5 bios tweaks for this version of the motherboard? I'm just looking for the biggest bang for the buck kind of thing.

    As far as pics, they'll be pretty boring. The case I bought is very plain, but maybe I'll get some before the end of the weekend.

    Thanks in advance.

    Rice

    P.S. One thing I didn't know when I bought the board that all 4 SATA ports are capable of RAID. NewEgg lead me to believe that only 2 were. That's why I got to ATA and 2 SATA. Just FYI.
  • NebulousNebulous New York, The Empire State
    edited February 2004
    Sure, here ya go:

    In Bios go to the Advance tab and JumperFree Configuration
    In Ai Overclock: Set to Manual. Here this will open up the settings for the Cpu Frequency(Mhz), Ram Frequency(Mhz) and voltages.

    To set the Cpu external Frequency ( Mhz): press the (+) or (-) keys on your keyboard to go up or down.

    DRAM Frequency Ratios: Auto, 1:1=400Mhz,3:2=266Mhz,5:4=320Mhz
    AGP/PCI: Keep this locked @ 66.66/33.33
    CPU VOLTAGE: Unless you're sub-zero cooled I suggest NOT exceeding 1.65v. YOU WILL FRY YOUR CPU! USE WITH CAUTION!! Just raise it a tad if your pc locks up. Always keep your eyes on the cpu temps in the Hardware Monitor in bios or use another method.

    DDR REF Votage: Here you set the voltage to the ram (Vdimm)
    AGP VDDQ Voltage:Here you set the video card's voltage. It will set automaically, but if you like set it to a safe 1.60v
    Performance Mode:=Auto,Standard, Turbo. I have mine set to Turbo

    Exit by hitting the ESC key on your keyboard. DO NOT EXIT BIOS YET! You're still in the ADVANCE section so scroll down a bit till you see:Chipset

    Configure DRAM Timming By SPD:- Hit the ENTER key on your keyboard and you will see the options to disable this. Once this is disabled the other settings ( timmings) will appear.

    You will have to adjust the timmings according to your ram's specs. As far as other settings:
    Performance Acceleration: = Enable
    DRAM Idle:=Infinate
    DRAM Refresh Rate:=7.8Sec.
    Apeture Size:= Adjust according to the mb of ram of your video card.
    Spread Spectrum:= Disable
    ICH Delay:=Disable
    MPS Revision:= I have mine at 1.1. You'll have to play around with either one to see what works best for you.
    Again hit the ESC key to get out of Chipset and back up to the Advance. Maneuver over to the USB Configuration. Scroll down till you see USB Legacy Support and disable it.

    Now you hit ESC to get out of USB tab and with the right arrow key on your keyboard maneuver over to EXIT. Hit ENTER and it will prompt you to save your settings. Check OK and ENTER again and you're done. It will reboot your PC with your new settings and away you go!

    Remember: It takes a little time to master the settings and timmings of your hardware so it will run perfect. Take your time and don't rush anything. If you are unsure of what you're doing, ASK QUESTIONS! The only dumb question is the one that's not asked. Take small steps when overclocking. No one gets it on the first shot. Don't expect a uber high overclock on the first try. If your pc fails to boot, don't panic. Just shut the pc down and unplug the powercord from the psu. Give it a few minutes and plug it back in and fire up. All the settings will reset themselves to default and you just start over.

    Hope this helps :D
  • TurambarTurambar
    edited February 2004
    Wow Nebulous i wanna be just like you when i grow up :D
  • NebulousNebulous New York, The Empire State
    edited February 2004
    Turambar wrote:
    Wow Nebulous i wanna be just like you when i grow up :D


    lol :D
  • ricerice Pennsylvania
    edited February 2004
    Thanks Nebulous. You've been a great help.
  • NebulousNebulous New York, The Empire State
    edited February 2004
    Awsome! :D
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