source for Dual processor machines

[Anonymous]

I am considering the purchase of a dual Xeon computer. I would like to know if anyone has recommendations on where to purchase a dual Xeon machine?
I've looked at the Dell dual Xeons on the Dell website. I would like to know what other sources for dual Xeon machines are available?
I am also very concerned about noise. My only previous experience with a dual processor machine was a system with dual AMDs and a couple of screaming fans. Working on that machine was hellish--like turning on a set of vacuum cleaners while I tried to work.
I have great hope that I'll be able to get a quieter machine. Some people have told me that the Intel dual set-ups are quieter and more stable that the AMDs.
Any comments or advice would be appreceated.
Thanks,
John

[aahatimo]

john,
have you checked out xi computers?
http://www.xicomputer.com/products/mtowerxeon.asp#features
or the dual 64 bit amd opterium unit: http://www.xicomputer.com/products/mtoweropmp.asp
they usually place pretty high in cadalyst magazines testing. lots of build options.

[Anonymous]

John......
Sounds like you have a pretty sweet rig in your modified Dell.
As far as the dualie noise goes, you have to get some good- high quality fans to keep noise down. I found out that using large 120mm fans in lieu of the smaller 80 mm fans makes a worl of difference. There are a zillion cpu/heat sink fans on the market. They are out there.
My MPX2 with dual MP2800s is very quiet and I can actually hear when people call me on the phone...lol

I too am looking at putting together a dual Xeon just to see how it compares to the AMD set-ups. Asus and IWill appear to be the top dogs in the Dual Xeon motherboard game now.

Also:
How do you like the 73GB Raptor?

[Anonymous]

Antonin wrote:
How do you like the 73GB Raptor?

Antonin,
The hard drive seems to be fine. The option to include it was only a $170 extra over a 80GB, 7200 rpm ATA drive. I thought that it might be good incase I do video editing. I don't think that my system can really make use of the faster hard drive but it was a 'just in case' option.
My biggest concern was that it would be noisier than a regular 7200 hard drive. It doesn't seem to be.
This whole system is very quiet. The fans rev up for a second when I turn on the system an then settle back down to wisper quiet. I haven't heated it up yet but I would imagine that the fans would kick up in the event of overheating.
Dell doesn't spec the drive as a Raptor. Is that the only one on the market or do you know that is what Dell is using?
Overall, I am still wishing for a faster render than this machine offers. After I purchased it I read on the CGarchitect.com forum that the xeon processors seem to be faster than the P4 processors.
Besides that I ALWAYS have several different programs running at once. I thought that hyperthreading would make a big difference but I don't think that I'm seeing the big jump in rendering speed that I expected.
The 3D Max benchmarks on the CGarchitects site indicate that for that program a dual xeon system is about twice as fast at rendering 3D Max as a faster P4 system. So now I'm looking into a dual machine.

aahatimo,
Thanks for the link to the XI website. Wow, I could spend a lot of money there. The cadalist rating seems to be a good endorsement. Do you have a personal opinion about the company?

Thanks,
John

[Anonymous]

Antonin wrote:
John......
Sounds like you have a pretty sweet rig in your modified Dell.
As far as the dualie noise goes, you have to get some good- high quality fans to keep noise down. I found out that using large 120mm fans in lieu of the smaller 80 mm fans makes a worl of difference. There are a zillion cpu/heat sink fans on the market. They are out there.
My MPX2 with dual MP2800s is very quiet and I can actually hear when people call me on the phone...lol

I too am looking at putting together a dual Xeon just to see how it compares to the AMD set-ups. Asus and IWill appear to be the top dogs in the Dual Xeon motherboard game now.

Also:
How do you like the 73GB Raptor?

[Anonymous]

John....

You should check out these forums:
www.ocforums.com (SMP section)
and www.2cpu.com
I've got loads of good advice and info.
These guys have the skinny any rig you want .

[Anonymous]

Dell doesn't spec the drive as a Raptor. Is that the only one on the market or do you know that is what Dell is using?

Yeah...Dell 's kinda weird in that they dont quite tell you who's parts are in their machines. A propietary thing I suppose. I actually took a hard drive out of a Dimension rig we have just to see who the hell made the drive and it didnt have any mfr's name on it.! Just a bunch of secret code numbers....lol

Anyway I found it was a Maxtor 80gb- 7200rpm....non-8mb cache ( the bastards went cheap on me)

Yours could be a Western Digital as its 74gb @10k rpm.

As far as the HT P4 cpus go....I'm not impresed at all. I tested the P4 2.8 w/HT and saw it way underpowered when it comes to mulitasking. I had to add another 1GB of PC3200 sticks just to get it respectable.
I've heard the newer P4s with 1mb cache are good but look at the price for those puppies....ouch! Of course youll pay just as much for Xeon cpus.

[aahatimo]

johncassel wrote:
aahatimo,
Thanks for the link to the XI website. Wow, I could spend a lot of money there. The cadalist rating seems to be a good endorsement. Do you have a personal opinion about the company?
Thanks,
John

aloha john,
i had an xi unit about 5 or 6 years ago. i only had a few minor troubles and i found xi to be helpful and responsive. i have been using dell notebooks since then so have no more recent info. i imagine there is a user's group out there somewhere.
xi usually is on the leading technology edge and offer a huge selection of build options. far more than dell in my opinion. and like antonin's experiance w/ dell, you have a better idea what parts are going into it. they are always in the cadalyst reviews /shootout. not sure they are there because of advertising or just like to get attention.
they do have some very pricy units, as well as some great values, depends on what edge you want to be on.
have fun shopping!