Is this Dell worth the money?

[Handruin]

Deal: PowerEdge 500SC Celeron 1.2GHz $259 at Dell Business

They swapped the P3-1.13 with a Celeron 1.2 at this price now. Still a great deal. Choose Servers >PowerEdge >PowerEdge 500SC, and select the Celeron 1.2GHz Processor. Your total is then $399 - 10% coupon 42AB04C56FE3 - $100 rebate = $259 shipped!


Celeron 1.2GHz, 128MB SDRAM, No Operating System, Floppy, 48x CDROM

20GB 7200RPM IDE Drive, 1-yr Warranty, Onboard NIC

seen at http://www.bensbargains.net

For $259, do you think I could build a better AMD system? I do have a new antec case (w/300 watt PS) sitting on my floor doing nothing along with an ATI Radeon 64DDR not doing anything, along with a new linksys 10/100 NIC doing nothing...

Damn...maybe I answered my own question.

 

[Mercutio]

Considering that board + CPU for that Celeron is close to $200 and PowerEdge = "server chassis", I'd have a tough time passing that up.

 

[Adcadet]

on the other hand, for probably about $200 you could but parts for your case, NIC, graphics card, etc.

And aren't the 1.2GHz Celerons the new P4 celerons which perform really really really poorly? I'd have taken the 1.13GHz P3 anyday. In fact, I bet a 1GHz P3 Celeron would be faster than the 1.2GHz P4 Celeron.

 

[P5-133XL]

I'd pick the 1.13 PIII @ $499 with a $200 rebate, 10% coupon, with free shipping for a grand total of $249.10 delivered. I think that is an even better deal.

 

[Adcadet]

seems going with the 1.13GHz P3 Tualatin costs an exta $100 over the 1.2 GHz Celeron....if you're going for a budget box perhaps the savings are worth it.

My parents need a new desktop...tempting.

 

[Adcadet]

wait a second...Celerons are up to 1.7+ GHz...perhaps the 1.2 GHz Celeron is the older P3-based Celeron that performs half way decently....tempting for my parents...and they wouldn't mind a server case.

 

[P5-133XL]

seems going with the 1.13GHz P3 Tualatin costs an exta $100 over the 1.2 GHz Celeron....if you're going for a budget box perhaps the savings are worth it.

My parents need a new desktop...tempting.

Sorry but the P3 is actually less then the Celeron because the additional $100 cost for the P3 is offset with an additional $100 rebate. The less comes from the fact you apply the 10% coupon to a larger (pre-rebate) total.

 

[Handruin]

seems going with the 1.13GHz P3 Tualatin costs an exta $100 over the 1.2 GHz Celeron....if you're going for a budget box perhaps the savings are worth it.

My parents need a new desktop...tempting.

Sorry but the P3 is actually less then the Celeron because the additional $100 cost for the P3 is offset with an additional $100 rebate. The less comes from the fact you apply the 10% coupon to a larger (pre-rebate) total.

I can't find where this server is $200 off?? I priced it out and it is always more expensive to get the PIII over the celeron. The rebate only comes as $100 no matter which CPU is purchased. What am I missing?

 

[Handruin]

Looks like the price is even better on this Dell. With a different coupon, this server is $239 shipped, being $20 cheaper then the other day!

I'm really thinking about it. I can add it to my folding farm, and also have a machine to backup my data to. This server even has 64 bit PCI slots. I just can't decide if it is really worth it...

I can also add more 256MB ram from crucial for $50ish and then throw in a second hard drive and run W2K advanced server to get software raid 1, or maybe make a Linux machine out of it since Dell will sell it with Linux RedHat 7.2. Hmmm...

Here's a review on it:

http://www.dslwebserver.com/main/fr_index.html?/main/dell-poweredge-500sc.html

 

[CougTek]

From the review you pointed out :

The first thing I noticed when I turned on the server is that this guy is loud! I was fairly surprised since all the Dell office machines I've used were dead silent. But not this server, it was freaking loud.

Apparently, the exhaust fan is what's making most of this noise.

Here's my opinion about it :

PIII aren't very good F@H crunchers. If you buy this box for F@H, it's not such a good value. However, if you have other things in mind for it and if you don't intend to put it in a room where noise isn't a problem (like your bedroom), then it might be a terrific value. On my price list, ServerWorks ServerSet LE 3.0-based motherboards cost about the same thing as the amount of money you'd spend for the entire box. PIII, especially in Tualatin version with 512K Cache, are very good server chips. Plus, you'll never be able to find a system with 2 64bit PCI slot for so few $$.

And about the enclosure, well, it seems to have respectable cooling potential, judging by the shot of it's rear :

While the 250W PSU might not be able to feed your next CPU if you ever decide to upgrade, the enclosure should be able to host a new PSU unit with more wattage capacity and still maintain things within decent temperature range.

Bottom line : If you plan to use this box as a server, it's a great deal. However, if your main puspose is to add it to your F@H farm, then you would be better with something else.

• Athlon XP 2000+ retail (110$)
  KT333 motherboard of your choice (70$) - only 5$ more than an SiS745-based moth, so why not?
  256MB DDR PC3200 (70$ for KingMax PC3200 at MultiWave.com)
  40GB 7200rpm HDD of your choice (75$)
  52x CD-ROM (25$)
  Floppy (12$)

Total : 362U$ plus shipping. Yes, it's about 150$ more than the Dell box, but it would allow you to use your spare parts and get a cruncher at least 2-3x faster than the Dell could be, for only some 150U$ more with the shipping. These aren't my prices BTW, I simply checked on MWave.com for an idea of what it would cost you if you were to buy it online from a US based retailer. You could probably get even lower prices (except maybe for the RAM, which is overshot anyway) at a local store.

It all depends on what you intend to do with the box. Server = Dell, cruncher = DIY.

 

[Handruin]

From the review you pointed out :

The first thing I noticed when I turned on the server is that this guy is loud! I was fairly surprised since all the Dell office machines I've used were dead silent. But not this server, it was freaking loud.

Apparently, the exhaust fan is what's making most of this noise.

Here's my opinion about it :

PIII aren't very good F@H crunchers. If you buy this box for F@H, it's not such a good value. However, if you have other things in mind for it and if you don't intend to put it in a room where noise isn't a problem (like your bedroom), then it might be a terrific value. On my price list, ServerWorks ServerSet LE 3.0-based motherboards cost about the same thing as the amount of money you'd spend for the entire box. PIII, especially in Tualatin version with 512K Cache, are very good server chips. Plus, you'll never be able to find a system with 2 64bit PCI slot for so few $$.

And about the enclosure, well, it seems to have respectable cooling potential, judging by the shot of it's rear :

While the 250W PSU might not be able to feed your next CPU if you ever decide to upgrade, the enclosure should be able to host a new PSU unit with more wattage capacity and still maintain things within decent temperature range.

Bottom line : If you plan to use this box as a server, it's a great deal. However, if your main puspose is to add it to your F@H farm, then you would be better with something else.

• Athlon XP 2000+ retail (110$)
  KT333 motherboard of your choice (70$) - only 5$ more than an SiS745-based moth, so why not?
  256MB DDR PC3200 (70$ for KingMax PC3200 at MultiWave.com)
  40GB 7200rpm HDD of your choice (75$)
  52x CD-ROM (25$)
  Floppy (12$)

Total : 362U$ plus shipping. Yes, it's about 150$ more than the Dell box, but it would allow you to use your spare parts and get a cruncher at least 2-3x faster than the Dell could be, for only some 150U$ more with the shipping. These aren't my prices BTW, I simply checked on MWave.com for an idea of what it would cost you if you were to buy it online from a US based retailer. You could probably get even lower prices (except maybe for the RAM, which is overshot anyway) at a local store.

It all depends on what you intend to do with the box. Server = Dell, cruncher = DIY.

Thanks for giving me some examples. I’ve been playing the idea back and forth and I’m not sure where to go with this. Part of me says, hey this seems like a good value for the money, and the other part of me wants to upgrade the thing before I even turn it on. In that article I referenced, that person gave examples on how to replace that loud fan so I was considering that. He also replaced the celeron with a boxed PIII (512Kb cache) and it worked fine. He also added some more memory and a RAID card. All of these items I want to do which leads me to ask, is this server still worth it?

Now I know it wouldn’t be the best F@H performer, but I figure any little bit helps. My goal was to get a cheap server to setup some type or RAID solution so I can backup my personal files (including StorageForum Database files) off my current main workstation. I also read in that article that the Dell power supply is wired different then most ATX PS’s and so is that motherboard. This ultimately means I cannot interchange either part in the future, which makes this server basically non-upgradeable without spending a ton of money.

Another point you made is that 64 bit PCI slots and the server works chipset for the price they charge is a good deal. Thinking a little more about it, to fully utilize these parts I would need to purchase a 64 bit card such as a SCSI , ATA or Gigabit Ethernet. I can’t justify spending top dollar on any of these components to stick into this dell, it just seems wrong to me, I would want them in my workstation. I also don’t have a fast enough internet connection to make use of Gig-E adapter. I only have a 10/100 switch in my apartment, never mind the fact my cable modem uses 10 base-T.

So in all I think you helped me Cougtek! I think I’ll stick to the DIY mode and make use of my ability to piece together my own machine. In the end it would probably benefit the FAH team more, and I would also end up with a faster machine.

Thanks,

DC

 

[NRG = mc²]

BTW, 1.2 Celeron is Tualatin-based.

 

[time]

I think you had a touch of bargainhunteritis there, Doug. :wink:

I'm glad to see that you've recovered. Value for money should not be an important purchasing criteria, but I've noticed a few people here focusing on it to the exclusion of all else.

If you were buying and selling stuff like that, the value comes into it in after you have determined that you actually could onsell it, and for how much.

If it's for yourself, it either meets your needs or it doesn't. If there's another option that does meet your needs, then that's clearly a better solution.

Its a bit like falling for the 'features' in software packages. They don't add to the value if you will never use them, yet countless reviews are based on tallying such features, while ignoring genuine usability issues.

 

[Handruin]

This is what happens when I want to upgrade from a $239 Dell server:

This is what I priced out, but it seems high because of the RAID 1 setup I was contemplating...

NewEgg.com order:

Antec 1080 AMG 430 True Power
http://www.antec-inc.com/en_plus1060.html
newegg $140 + $15 shipping -$15 for purchasing AMD Product through newegg

Epox EP-8K3AE Retail
$85 + $0 Shipping

Athlon XP 2200 + (1.8 GHz Thoroughbred)
$155 + $0 shipping

PIONEER INTERNAL ATAPI 16X DVD-ROM MODEL DVD-117 - OEM, DRIVE ONLY
$43 + $0 Shipping

Teac 1.44MB 3.5 Inch Floppy Drive # FD235HFC291 - OEM Version
$9 + $4 Shipping

WD1200JB 120 GB
$159 + $0 shipping
$159 + $0 shipping


Mushkin.com Order

Mushkin 512MB PC2700 DDR333
http://www.mushkin.com/cgi-bin/Mush...76130f3f8a273fc0a80103067d+EN/products/990866
$169 + $0 shipping


Hypermicro.com order

3WARE Escalade 7000-2, two channel Ultra ATA
$135 + $0 shipping


Misc Items
Arctic Silver CPU Compound
$5.95 + ?? shipping

Heatsink
Unknown

Video Card
ATI 64 DDR
$0 (previously owned)

NIC
Linksys 10/100
$0 (previously owned)

Cables
rounded unknown
regular cables possibly included with 3ware

Mouse + keyboard
$30



Total Price
$1094
-$80 sold originally purchased antec SX830 case

$1014

 

[Handruin]

I think you had a touch of bargainhunteritis there, Doug. :wink:

I'm glad to see that you've recovered. Value for money should not be an important purchasing criteria, but I've noticed a few people here focusing on it to the exclusion of all else.

If you were buying and selling stuff like that, the value comes into it in after you have determined that you actually could onsell it, and for how much.

If it's for yourself, it either meets your needs or it doesn't. If there's another option that does meet your needs, then that's clearly a better solution.

Its a bit like falling for the 'features' in software packages. They don't add to the value if you will never use them, yet countless reviews are based on tallying such features, while ignoring genuine usability issues.

Unfortunately it happens too often with me, but I never buy any of the bargains, I only sit around and wonder if it is really a good deal. I agree with your features comparison, they only add up to bragging rights. For example, what good are the 64 bit PCI and Server works chipsets if all I can do is talk about them. But on the flipside, many computers are this way… even the one I listed above.

Let me throw one other item into the mix, what if I scrapped the $1000 system and purchased 4 of those dell servers? Now I could potentially make a Linux cluster…

Realistically I can’t fit 4 servers in my room without overheating the place, or overusing the electricity.

 

[CougTek]

Total Price
$1094

-$80 sold originally purchased antec SX830 case

$1014

Hem, Doug,

I though we were talking about a 250$ to 350$ box or upgrade here. Did I misse something or ...?

Talking about value for the money....

Why buy a Thoroughbred 2200+ instead of a more reasonnably priced 2000+?
Why buy very expensive Mushkin PC2700 when there're close to none overclocking potential?
Why buy SE Caviar for RAID 1?
Why buy Artic Silver Compund for an un-overclocked CPU?

...except for bragging rights. Which sometimes is important, but...for a secondary box?

Something else I'm not sure to understand very well : A KT333-based motherboard without any 64bit PCI slots...paired with an Escalade 7xxx RAID controller? I don't know the specifications of the EPoX you plan to buy, but unless it has the new VT8235 south bridge, I would forget it as a platform for your RAID 1 array. The older VT8233 s/b was a dog.

It's your money Doug. I'm just making suggestions and pointing out things I would change if I would be the one spending the money. Take it for what it is, suggestions.

BTW, what size do you need for your RAID array? You would save a lot by limiting yourself to 80GB hard drives you know. This is currently the sweet spot regarding capacity.

 

[CougTek]

Upon verification, the EP-8K3AE has the VT8233A south bridge - ie, not the one you'd want for high transfer speed on the PCI bus. The EP-8K5A2 has the supposedly "fixed" south bridge (VT8235). I wrote "supposedly" because I only read what VIA's PR guys claim about it. I saw no test to confirm that it was indeed better.

On a side note, the Lite-On LTD-163 (16x/48x) DVD-ROM drive is 6$ less than the Pioneer at NewEgg. I own the Pioneer DVD-116 and sold the Lite-On several times and I can assure you that I wouldn't spend 6$ more, not even 1$ more, for the Pioneer over the Lite-On. I have never touched the DVD-117 though.

 

[time]

If you're going to the trouble of getting a Pioneer drive, why not get the 106 slot load?

 

[CougTek]

Another suggestion : I saw the Gagabite GA-VAX based on the KT400 with the VT8235 south bridge selling for only 93$ at NewEgg. IMO, if you want to buy a VIA-based motherboard, you can't hardly find a better value than this one IMO.

However, I see KTxxx whatever motherboards more like tweakers/enthousiast-oriented products. You were talking about buying a PwerEdge for a RAID 1 array. To me, it sounds more like a workstation box you are looking to buy. Somehow, I don't associate VIA and workstation together easily. It just doesn't make serious. Sure, I once ran low-traffic server on an old KT133-based motherboard. But do you know how silly two 64bit PCI cards look in such a 32bit PCI slot only motherboard. Ridiculous, I tell ya.

I'll use my calculator a bit and do some additional search to see what you could get with your new out-of-nowhere 1000$ budget. Sorry for my omnipresence in this thread, finding the best possible setup for a given application is one of my hobby...

 

[NRG = mc²]

I got the pioneer DVD 117 a couple of days ago - haven't really tested it much but I dont really like its tray mechanism - it sounds cheap and flimsy, and on the inward motion it accelerates suddenly towards the end of its path and slams shut. But otherwise seems fine. I was intending on a Lite-On but at last minute thought I might as well get a Pioneer as I wasn't expecting too much from a drive as cheap as the lite-on.

 

[Handruin]

Total Price
$1094

-$80 sold originally purchased antec SX830 case

$1014

Hem, Doug,

I though we were talking about a 250$ to 350$ box or upgrade here. Did I misse something or ...?

Talking about value for the money....

Why buy a Thoroughbred 2200+ instead of a more reasonnably priced 2000+?
Why buy very expensive Mushkin PC2700 when there're close to none overclocking potential?
Why buy SE Caviar for RAID 1?
Why buy Artic Silver Compund for an un-overclocked CPU?

...except for bragging rights. Which sometimes is important, but...for a secondary box?

Something else I'm not sure to understand very well : A KT333-based motherboard without any 64bit PCI slots...paired with an Escalade 7xxx RAID controller? I don't know the specifications of the EPoX you plan to buy, but unless it has the new VT8235 south bridge, I would forget it as a platform for your RAID 1 array. The older VT8233 s/b was a dog.

It's your money Doug. I'm just making suggestions and pointing out things I would change if I would be the one spending the money. Take it for what it is, suggestions.

BTW, what size do you need for your RAID array? You would save a lot by limiting yourself to 80GB hard drives you know. This is currently the sweet spot regarding capacity.

I think my point was that I was looking at a bargain box because it was so cheap, and then the side effect would be that I would want to upgrade it. So you mentioned it would be slightly more expensive to go with the DIY route. I did pull a 360 degree turn on you Cougtek, sorry for the confusion.

So, essentially out of nowhere I decided that I would create more then just a simple backup server for my cause and put together a backup server/usable workstation.

Did I get carried away…yup, and you clearly pointed that out. I’m thankful for all your suggestions, that’s what I was truthfully hoping for. I build systems so few and far in-between that my knowledge is not as up-to-snuff as many the folks here.

I basically took a stab at what I thought would be an adequate system, perhaps unbalanced in some areas as you’ve mentioned.

Why buy a Thoroughbred 2200+ instead of a more reasonnably priced 2000+?
Because I was thinking down the wrong path and chose the latest technology. From the budget-minded standpoint the T-Bred doesn’t make sense, so I’ll scratch that.

Why buy very expensive Mushkin PC2700 when there're close to none overclocking potential?
Expensive compared to what? I looked at Crucial and they cost more then mushkin… If there is one thing I hate to skimp on, it’s RAM quality. I would hate for sour ram to be the reason why a new system would be unstable.

Why buy SE Caviar for RAID 1?
Dunno…was looking more at the size of the drive then the $9 difference between the BB and JB. Perhaps the 80 GB BB is a much better value?

Why buy Artic Silver Compund for an un-overclocked CPU?
Because I have no other CPU compound and I didn’t find $6 to be ridiculous amount for piece of mind… For what it’s worth, I do not plan to overclock the system.

Something else I'm not sure to understand very well : A KT333-based motherboard without any 64bit PCI slots...paired with an Escalade 7xxx RAID controller? I don't know the specifications of the EPoX you plan to buy, but unless it has the new VT8235 south bridge, I would forget it as a platform for your RAID 1 array. The older VT8233 s/b was a dog.
In another thread I asked about 3ware cards, and many regarded them as being a solid and reliable performer. I took an assumption that two drives mated with that escalade would not warrant a 64-bit PCI because I believed the transfer rate would not surpass 100MB/second.
I admit, I was not aware of the south bridge issue. This is something for me to look further into when choosing a stable and well performing motherboard.

It's your money Doug. I'm just making suggestions and pointing out things I would change if I would be the one spending the money. Take it for what it is, suggestions.
I thank you for your suggestions; I have not fully decided to get the system I listed above. I was thinking out loud hoping others would have great input such as yours.

BTW, what size do you need for your RAID array? You would save a lot by limiting yourself to 80GB hard drives you know. This is currently the sweet spot regarding capacity
I have no set size for my array, the 80 GB do sound like a more reasonable purchase then springing for the 120 GB JB’s. I can always add a couple more later on if I need more space.

 

[Handruin]

If you're going to the trouble of getting a Pioneer drive, why not get the 106 slot load?

Is this a better drive then the 117? NRG just mentioned the drive tray mechanism sounds cheap... perhaps the slot load is a better option. I had thought the pioneers were a little better then the lite-on's...I'm sure that could be a wrong assumption.

 

[Handruin]

Another suggestion : I saw the Gagabite GA-VAX based on the KT400 with the VT8235 south bridge selling for only 93$ at NewEgg. IMO, if you want to buy a VIA-based motherboard, you can't hardly find a better value than this one IMO.

However, I see KTxxx whatever motherboards more like tweakers/enthousiast-oriented products. You were talking about buying a PwerEdge for a RAID 1 array. To me, it sounds more like a workstation box you are looking to buy. Somehow, I don't associate VIA and workstation together easily. It just doesn't make serious. Sure, I once ran low-traffic server on an old KT133-based motherboard. But do you know how silly two 64bit PCI cards look in such a 32bit PCI slot only motherboard. Ridiculous, I tell ya.


I'll use my calculator a bit and do some additional search to see what you could get with your new out-of-nowhere 1000$ budget. Sorry for my omnipresence in this thread, finding the best possible setup for a given application is one of my hobby...

For $24 more dollars, newegg has another version of the GA-VAX, GA-7VAXP. This one has a built in Promise PDC20276 RAID controller. In the past I’ve read bad things about integrated promise RAID on motherboards, would it be safe to assume I should touch this board with a 10 foot pole?

The VAX board looks nice, but I will have to search around for reviews on it. Do you know any history on the board; is it a stable board to use for an AMD system? I have no problem spending a few extra dollars on a motherboard so long as it is good quality.

I don’t need to buy a VIA motherboard, I’m just not aware of a better option. In my case, I would define better as “more stable”. I’m not saying VIA is the most stable option, I just think it is a gamble on any chipset used with AMD, or even Intel.

I was talking about buying the Dell poweredge for a raid 1 array. I should probably go on to say my original plan was to cough up the small change for the Dell box, and later build my 2nd work station from scratch. I would then have 3 PC’s, two of which are all-purpose workstations, and one dedicated server that I would not be doing things like playing games on it… So, for the last few days I’ve been eyeing this Dell deal, I’ve been tossing around the idea of having 3, or 2 computers.

So what I did in this post was rant off my 2nd workstation, and then included the RAID array into it to ultimately give me 2 PC’s. The file server plan is then combined into the 2nd PC…does that make any sense now that I’ve rambled on?

Is my 3 PC setup sound more reasonable then trying to combine the two? I’m sure that is a vague question without more details. I don’t perform and intense work over here so I think it can handle the dual duty. I’m really not looking for “bragging-rights” by building this setup. I will admit I’d like to contribute more to the FAH stats and maybe pass you once again.

 

[Mercutio]

The Gigabyte 7VAXP also has builtin firewire and USB2. It uses a Promise chip for raid (blah) and IIRC has a genuine Creative chip for onboard sound (that's only 2-channel, blah).

I've found its little brother, the GA-7VRXP to be a fantastic board and a good value for the money.

I really like the extras, like the poster and detailed installation procedure that come with the board, and the sticker detailing the DIP settings you can put inside your case.

Oh, and I like the fact that it can operate jumperless or with DIP switches. That's very cool.

 

[NRG = mc²]

NRG just mentioned the drive tray mechanism sounds cheap

I dont know why, but although this is of little significance, the only drives I've had that really had a nice sounding tray mechanism were teh TEAC CD532E and the Asus CD500S. My Plextor PX40 also sounded cheap.

What do I mean by nice sounding? I don't know. Just a low pitched noise and a gentle closing of the tray basically. Unlike the Plextor and Pioneer that go "krrrrrrrrrrr kdp", the others were near silent.

Not really scientific, I know, but I was a little dissapointed that it sounded like the motor was on steroids and then a slamming noise as it shut.

 

[CougTek]

For a single worstation + F@H cruncher setup and with your new ±1000U$ budget, I came up with the idea listed below. All prices are from NewEgg.com again, although I'm sure you could get several parts for les at some local stores.

2x Athlon MP 2000+ retail - 157$ each
TYAN Tiger MPX S2466N-4M - 195$ (but currently B/O at NewEgg, not hard to find elsewhere)
512MB DDR PC2100 ECC Reg. - approx. 180$ (there none at NewEgg, what a shame)
Your Radeon 64MB DDR
The 3Ware Escallade 7000-2 from HyperMicro - 135$
2x WD800JB in special this week-end at 106$
Lite-On LTD-163 DVD-ROM (why a DVD on a workstation...nevermind)
Floppy 9$
Either your Antec enclosure or the new SX835II with a 350W PSU - 86$

1168$ if you buy the SX835II

Ok, I busted the 1000$. Still, this is way better both in term of reliability (read my thread about the server with the TYAN motherboard?) and performance. The PSU inside the SX835II has dual fans and meets AMD's requirement for a dual-Athlon MP setup. It's not metallic grey, but you asked for a usable workstation, so I figure that you can use a box even if it's not all shiny. As for the Special Edition Caviar, they are only 11$ more each than the Samsung P80 (with a 2MB buffer). And the SE Caviar will keep their 3 years warranty after October 1st, so the risk is small. I found 512MB ECC Reg. stick for only 156$ at NCIX if you want to save some $$. Although it's marked as generic, it should be quite stable nonetheless.

You could also opt for Athlon XP 2000+ at 109$ and do the pencil trick. That would bring the cost down to 1072$ for the whole system.

I wrote that the Mushkin memory is expensive because here I can get perfectly respectable unbuffered Samsung 512MB PC 2700 sticks for much less. I would say around 135U$. Besides, if you search a bit more on NewEgg's web site there are nice Kingston 512MB PC2700 RAM for 149$.

Two other deals I saw over at NewEgg : Athlon XP OEM for 55$ and ECS K7S5A also at 55$ (despite all Tony has against it, it still has a rating of 4/5 stars from some 500 users - not all that bad).

Regarding the GigaByte motherboard. A store I often go at and perhaps the only one where I trust the competence of the sellers (because they are in fact technicians, with a clue in bonus) sold the KT266A an KT333 versions of the GigaByte as their default brand. The BIOS support of the both versions was very good and the stability was without reproach too. According to the few comparative reviews I read, it wasn't the most optimized though (although it wasn't as pathetic as the MSI), but in the middle of the pack. Since you (wisely) place reliability over pure speed, the GigaByte is one of your best bet IMO. I wouldn't see why their new KT400 would be worst than the two precedent versions since the KT400 is mostly a KT333++.

And nope, I don't trust Promise controllers very much, just a little more than the HighPoint. That's why I didn't offered you the version with the onboard controller since I believe it would be a huge step back from the Escallade you are planning to get instead.

 

[time]

Is this a better drive then the 117? NRG just mentioned the drive tray mechanism sounds cheap... perhaps the slot load is a better option.

Well, the 106 slot load costs more than the tray load equivalent, and I think they're very smooth. The main problem is that here at least they cost quite a lot more than a generic DVD drive.

I believe that they improve customer satisfaction, provided their budget extends that far.

 

[Pradeep]

Save $25 and get the TigerMP (no stock tho)

 

[CougTek]

So Doug, have you decided what you were going to buy (if you do buy something)?

 

[Prof.Wizard]

Beware!

 

[Mercutio]

That is so not cool.

 

[Prof.Wizard]

If I was expecting one person to like it, that was supposed to be you Merc...

 

[Mercutio]

Microsoft might be bad but comparing it to one of the top three or four evils (remember that we have Stalin, Tse Tung, and Pol Pot, too) of the 20th century is taking things just a wee bit too far.

 

[timwhit]

I think it is meant to be a joke...

 

[NRG = mc²]

The problem is that you linked direct to the site rather than using your webspace and now poor old rotten.com have to pay for your image post

 

[Pradeep]

Naughty Prof, I never thought of you as a brazen criminal before......

 

[Tea]

Hmmm ... I think that if I were to spend a half-hour on it, I could make a pretty good case. Fortunately for Storage Forum members, I don't have that half hour handy.

 

[Handruin]

So Doug, have you decided what you were going to buy (if you do buy something)?

I'm torn at the moment. I don’t know if I should go with your proposed dual setup, or if I should try the gigabyte board that comes with every option. A dual setup would be an ultimate setup, but I can't really justify it...then again I probably can't justify the single setup, but it's all relative I guess.

I'm more sold on the firewire, USB 2, and 8X agp then I am on the DDR400. If I'm not mistaken, I read that the only way to use DDR400 in that board is if only one DIMM slot is used. I could be wrong, but if that is true, it's mighty disappointing.

So I have to decide, dual setup, or single.

I also have another issue. My friend at work did not buy my Antec SX830 case with a 300 watt ps in it. Will this be adequate for either setup?

I was thinking of selling the case by offering it for sale here. It's brand new and has not been used. I have taken it out of the box, but it hasn't had any PC equipment installed in it. It's a genuine Antec SX830 with 2 fans in beige.

 

[Buck]

And the price with shipping for that SX-830 would be?

HLM Company
27221 E. Ortega Hwy. #366
San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675

 

[Handruin]

And the price with shipping for that SX-830 would be?

HLM Company
27221 E. Ortega Hwy. #366
San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675

The shipping is going to be the killer of this I think. I looked up both UPS and USPS and both are around $34 to ship this beast to the west coast. :-? I hate to propose it this way, but what would it cost you to buy this case? What would you consider a fair amount?