Updated pricing now that AMD released their price cuts on July 24th. As a result, I'm pushing straight towards basing our low end systems around the AMD Athlon64 X2 3800+ chip.
The base costs for the system are (these are common, no matter which CPU we use):
$0099 BA30107 Antec Sonata II w/ SmartPower 2.0 450W PSU
$0131 AA15070 WindowsXP Pro OEM
$0299 AA24200 Microsoft Office Pro 2003 OEM
$0045 80GB Hard Drive
$0018 DVD-ROM
$0009 Floppy drive
=====
$0601
Costs for the entire system are:
$0833 AMD Sempron 2800+ AM2 w/ 1GB RAM
$0852 AMD Athlon64 3000+ 939 or AM2 w/ 1GB RAM
$0933 AMD Athlon64 X2 3800+ 939 or AM2 w/ 1GB RAM
$0984 AMD Athlon64 X2 3800+ AM2 w/ 2GB RAM
As you can see, it makes a lot of sense to spend the extra hundred per system to go from a Sempron 2800+ to a X2 3800+. Especially since it will extend the lifespan of the machine for a few extra years.
It's a pity we couldn't move away from MSOffice in this upgrade cycle because it would've saved us $299/system. Plus the WinXP cost of $131/system. Putting this together as a Ubuntu system with OpenOffice v2 and you could have a system for $433 to $551.
-------------------------------------------------------
939-based bundles
$0070 MB-BA21443 AMD ATHLON 64 3000+ 939
$0076 Asus A8N-VM CSM 24+4 PSU
$0096 Kingston 2x512MB DDR400
$0009 Test Bundle
=====
$0251 1GB RAM
$0327 2GB RAM (+$76)
$0151 MB-BA21810 AMD ATHLON 64 X2 3800+ 939
$0076 Asus A8N-VM CSM 24+4 PSU
$0096 Kingston 2x512MB DDR400
$0009 Test Bundle
=====
$0332 1GB RAM
$0408 2GB RAM (+$76)
-------------------------------------------------------
AM2-based bundles
$0052 MB-BA22672 AMD SEMPRON 2800+ AM2
$0085 Asus M2NPV-VM
$0086 Kingston 2x512MB DDR2 533
$0009 Test Bundle
=====
$0232 1GB RAM
$0283 2GB RAM (+$51)
$0070 MB-BA22668 AMD ATHLON 64 3000+ AM2
$0085 Asus M2NPV-VM
$0086 Kingston 2x512MB DDR2 533
$0009 Test Bundle
=====
$0250 1GB RAM
$0301 2GB RAM (+$51)
$0152 MB-BA22656 AMD ATHLON 64 X2 3800+ AM2
$0085 Asus M2NPV-VM
$0086 Kingston 2x512MB DDR2 533
$0009 Test Bundle
=====
$0332 1GB RAM
$0383 2GB RAM (+$51)
-------------------------------------------------------
Misc parts (from MWave)...
$40 BA30087 ThermalTake TR2 430W W0070
$99 BA30107 Antec Sonata II w/ SmartPower 2.0 450W PSU
$131 AA15070 WindowsXP Pro OEM
$299 AA24200 Microsoft Office Pro 2003 OEM
$45 small hard drives
$18 DVD-ROM
$9 Floppy drive
Saturday, July 29, 2006
Friday, July 28, 2006
Result code 0x57 when scheduling a backup
This was a slightly odd one that did not show up on Google at all. We had a bunch of backup jobs on our main Windows 2003 file server and had recently promoted the Win2003 server to a domain controller using DCPROMO.EXE. In the process of doing that, some tasks refused to run and we also had to delete and re-add a lot of tasks.
In the Scheduled Tasks window, we saw a result code of "0x57" in the Last Result column. In the schedule log (Scheduled Tasks, Advanced, View Log):
We checked a few things and finally took a very close look at the "Run" field in the task. Turns out that we were missing a double-quote in the middle of the NTBACKUP command line.
In the Scheduled Tasks window, we saw a result code of "0x57" in the Last Result column. In the schedule log (Scheduled Tasks, Advanced, View Log):
"Backup-FileServer-DailyAppend-Week2.job" (ntbackup.exe)
Finished 7/28/2006 8:30:48 PM
Result: The task completed with an exit code of (57).We checked a few things and finally took a very close look at the "Run" field in the task. Turns out that we were missing a double-quote in the middle of the NTBACKUP command line.
Thursday, July 27, 2006
iacime.dll - identified as a virus
According to HijackThis (v1.98.2) it's a BHO without a name {2afba397-d964-4056-a9df-060a93ffa503} that was installed in C:\Windows\System32\iacime.dll.
Symantec Anti-Virus identifies it as:
Scan type: Realtime Protection Scan
Event: Virus Found!
Virus name: Downloader
File: C:\WINDOWS\system32\iacime.dll
Location: C:\WINDOWS\system32
Computer: JOE-LAPTOP
User: Joe
Action taken: Clean failed : Quarantine failed : Access denied
Date found: Thu Jul 27 08:54:43 2006
Symantec Anti-Virus identifies it as:
Scan type: Realtime Protection Scan
Event: Virus Found!
Virus name: Downloader
File: C:\WINDOWS\system32\iacime.dll
Location: C:\WINDOWS\system32
Computer: JOE-LAPTOP
User: Joe
Action taken: Clean failed : Quarantine failed : Access denied
Date found: Thu Jul 27 08:54:43 2006
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
System Burn-in Testing
One of the key things I try to do when setting up a new system is to really hammer it for a few days prior to delivering it to the main office and installing it. That means exercising the disks, keeping an eye on temps, making the CPU run at 100% utilization and running data to/from the memory. To do this, there are (4) programs that I use under Windows:
1) SpeedFan - Which does an excellent job at allowing you to see what your CPU and hard drive temperatures are. You can also display graphs of historical temperatures so that you can see the rise/fall as the component is put under a load. Configuration is fairly easy, the hard part is identifying which temperature sensor is which.
2) COSBI OpenSourceMark - I mostly use this tool for it's ability to run continuous copies from drive to drive (or on the same drive) using the "File Copy" test. You could also rig up something with a batch file if you wanted.
3) Prime95 - This is pretty much the only tool out there that will find flaky RAM/CPUs because it really puts the RAM, CPU core and CPU cache under a heavy load. If your system is even the slightest bit unstable, Prime95 will probably detect that instability. OTOH, if you can pass 24-48 hours of Prime95's torture test, then your system is likely to be rock solid.
Running Prime95 on dual-CPU or dual-core machines is a bit tricky. You'll need to install as normal, then create a copy of the Prime95 shortcut in the Programs menu. Simply append " -A1" or " -A2" or " -A3" to the end of the shortcut so that the additional copies know to start up with a different config file rather then using the same one as the first Prime95 copy. Once you do that, it's easy to configure the two or four Prime95 windows to use a set amount of RAM during the torture / self-test.
4) Task Manager - A built-in component of windows which allows you to see whether your CPU is being fully utilized or not.
...
When running both Prime95 and the disk test at the same time, you should see significant activity of the disk lights along with full CPU utilization in Task Manager. Some things to watch for:
1) Disk drive lights should be pretty steadily lit, perhaps with a lot of flickering. You may even hear the heads moving back and forth as the disk does its seeking to read/write data.
2) Hard drive temperatures should be (ideally) no more then 5C to 10C above ambient temperature. So if it's 28C in the room, drive temps should be around 33C to 38C. Lower is better. If the difference between idle and active temperature is large (i.e. 25C at idle but 45C when active) you should take that as an indicator of poor cooling. A properly cooled drive will only heat up a few degrees when active.
For example: The WD Raptor 10k SATA that I installed today shows a minimum temp of 32C when idle with a max temp of 34-35C. That indicates that airflow over the drive is just about perfect and will result in a very long lifespan. Or at least it won't be heat that kills the drive. The other SATA drive (400GB Seagate) is 30C at idle and 32-33C when active.
3) Task Manager should be showing 100% utilization along with the majority of RAM in-use (look at the "Total" field under "Commit Charge"). If not, then you're not fully exercising the system's potential.
4) Watch your fan speeds. Make sure that all of the fans are spinning as they should be.
5) Check the other temperature sensors inside the case. Different CPUs run at different temperatures, so it is hard to make ballpark recommendations. The Athlon64 X2 4200+ in a system that I'm burning in right now runs at 60-61C under full load.
6) Watch the Prime95 windows and look for error indicators. An error in Prime95 indicates that there is a problem with either your RAM or your CPU. It could be as simple as incorrect timings or maybe the "fast" RAM that you bought isn't as fast as it says it is (and backing off on memory timings will make the system stable). In general, Prime95 is extremely sensitive to marginal hardware, where MemTest86 might give it a "pass" Prime95 will throw a warning.
1) SpeedFan - Which does an excellent job at allowing you to see what your CPU and hard drive temperatures are. You can also display graphs of historical temperatures so that you can see the rise/fall as the component is put under a load. Configuration is fairly easy, the hard part is identifying which temperature sensor is which.
2) COSBI OpenSourceMark - I mostly use this tool for it's ability to run continuous copies from drive to drive (or on the same drive) using the "File Copy" test. You could also rig up something with a batch file if you wanted.
3) Prime95 - This is pretty much the only tool out there that will find flaky RAM/CPUs because it really puts the RAM, CPU core and CPU cache under a heavy load. If your system is even the slightest bit unstable, Prime95 will probably detect that instability. OTOH, if you can pass 24-48 hours of Prime95's torture test, then your system is likely to be rock solid.
Running Prime95 on dual-CPU or dual-core machines is a bit tricky. You'll need to install as normal, then create a copy of the Prime95 shortcut in the Programs menu. Simply append " -A1" or " -A2" or " -A3" to the end of the shortcut so that the additional copies know to start up with a different config file rather then using the same one as the first Prime95 copy. Once you do that, it's easy to configure the two or four Prime95 windows to use a set amount of RAM during the torture / self-test.
4) Task Manager - A built-in component of windows which allows you to see whether your CPU is being fully utilized or not.
...
When running both Prime95 and the disk test at the same time, you should see significant activity of the disk lights along with full CPU utilization in Task Manager. Some things to watch for:
1) Disk drive lights should be pretty steadily lit, perhaps with a lot of flickering. You may even hear the heads moving back and forth as the disk does its seeking to read/write data.
2) Hard drive temperatures should be (ideally) no more then 5C to 10C above ambient temperature. So if it's 28C in the room, drive temps should be around 33C to 38C. Lower is better. If the difference between idle and active temperature is large (i.e. 25C at idle but 45C when active) you should take that as an indicator of poor cooling. A properly cooled drive will only heat up a few degrees when active.
For example: The WD Raptor 10k SATA that I installed today shows a minimum temp of 32C when idle with a max temp of 34-35C. That indicates that airflow over the drive is just about perfect and will result in a very long lifespan. Or at least it won't be heat that kills the drive. The other SATA drive (400GB Seagate) is 30C at idle and 32-33C when active.
3) Task Manager should be showing 100% utilization along with the majority of RAM in-use (look at the "Total" field under "Commit Charge"). If not, then you're not fully exercising the system's potential.
4) Watch your fan speeds. Make sure that all of the fans are spinning as they should be.
5) Check the other temperature sensors inside the case. Different CPUs run at different temperatures, so it is hard to make ballpark recommendations. The Athlon64 X2 4200+ in a system that I'm burning in right now runs at 60-61C under full load.
6) Watch the Prime95 windows and look for error indicators. An error in Prime95 indicates that there is a problem with either your RAM or your CPU. It could be as simple as incorrect timings or maybe the "fast" RAM that you bought isn't as fast as it says it is (and backing off on memory timings will make the system stable). In general, Prime95 is extremely sensitive to marginal hardware, where MemTest86 might give it a "pass" Prime95 will throw a warning.
Monday, July 17, 2006
Gentoo 2006.0 LiveCD and NTFSClone
In the past, I've been using the Knoppix LiveCD and NTFSClone to make snapshot images of Windows workstations. However, since Knoppix 4.0.2 doesn't auto-detect the ethernet port on the Asus A8N-VM CSM motherboard, I tried out the Gentoo AMD64 2006.0 LiveCD instead.
The big trick with the newer LiveCDs is keeping them from booting into X. At the boot: prompt you need to enter "gentoo nox" in order to prevent that from happening. That gives you the normal command line that has root level access to the LiveCD and you can switch between sessions using [Alt-F1] and [Alt-F2].
After that, it's pretty easy to mount a drive and write the image file out to wherever you need it to go. I typically create a hidden Linux partition at the end of the primary drive using ext3 and write a pair of images to it when I finish the initial build. I'll also burn one of the images to DVD-R for use in cases where the user manages to wipe out the hidden partition (or the drive dies entirely).
The big trick with the newer LiveCDs is keeping them from booting into X. At the boot: prompt you need to enter "gentoo nox" in order to prevent that from happening. That gives you the normal command line that has root level access to the LiveCD and you can switch between sessions using [Alt-F1] and [Alt-F2].
After that, it's pretty easy to mount a drive and write the image file out to wherever you need it to go. I typically create a hidden Linux partition at the end of the primary drive using ext3 and write a pair of images to it when I finish the initial build. I'll also burn one of the images to DVD-R for use in cases where the user manages to wipe out the hidden partition (or the drive dies entirely).
Sunday, July 16, 2006
3DMark06 Scores
FutureMark's 3DMark06
Note that 3DMark06 is heavily weighted towards 3D card power rather then CPU power.
1443 (SM2: 546 HDR/SM3: 549 CPU: 834)
AMD Opteron 148
PC3200 2GB (2x1GB) ECC DDR RAM
Asus SK8N motherboard
NVIDIA GeForce 6800 (128MB AGP)
NVIDIA 81.95
My GeForce 6800 shows some signs of aging. Definitely no longer the fastest thing on the block (not that it was when I bought it). Some of the dual-core configurations with newer video cards are in the 3500-4500 score range (with CPU scores of 1500-2000). Some of the single-core folks are scoring 3000+ 3DMark06 with CPU scores of only 900, so a newer video card could make a significant difference in this score.
Rather then buying a new PC this year, I may purchase one more AGP video card (NVIDIA GeForce 7800GS) for $300 and stretch this PC's lifespan for another 2 years. I'll have to do some research and see what kinds of 3DMark and AquaMark scores people can get with a similar CPU and a 7800GS.
172 (SM2: 79 HDR/SM3: n/a CPU: 711)
AMD Athlon64 3000+
PC3200 (2x512MB) DDR RAM
Asus A8N-VM CSM motherboard
NVIDIA GeForce 6150 integrated graphics (64MB)
This score reinforces that integrated graphics solutions are really not designed at all for gaming. Again, putting a $50-$75 video card in this would bring the scores up a lot and make it quite a bit faster. (Such as the $70 GeForce 6600 PCIe cards.)
(All systems are stock settings (no overclocking), usually with 7200rpm hard drives. If I get a chance this week, I'll run some tests on some older Dell systems at the main office.)
Update #1: Looking at other 7800GS scores, I could expect a pretty decent boost up to around 1500 for the two GPU score portions. Whether that translates into 3x faster performance is unlikely, but I'd probably see a 2x performance gain. I'll probably pickup an eVGA version of it within the next few weeks.
More scores:
172 (SM2: 80 HDR/SM3: n/a CPU: 1632)
AMD Athlon64 X2 4200+
PC3200 (2x1GB) DDR RAM
Asus A8N5X motherboard
NVIDIA GeForce 6200 PCIe (64MB)
194 (SM2: 89 HDR/SM3: n/a CPU: 1493)
AMD Athlon64 X2 3800+
DDR2 533 (2x1GB) RAM
Asus M2NPV-VM motherboard
NVIDIA GeForce 6150 integrated graphics (32MB)
3003 (SM2: 1324 HDR/SM3: 1279 CPU: 834)
AMD Opteron 148
PC3200 2GB (2x1GB) ECC DDR RAM
Asus SK8N motherboard
NVIDIA GeForce 7800GS (256MB AGP)
NVIDIA 91.47
(The 7800GS is a nice upgrade over my older 6800.)
Note that 3DMark06 is heavily weighted towards 3D card power rather then CPU power.
1443 (SM2: 546 HDR/SM3: 549 CPU: 834)
AMD Opteron 148
PC3200 2GB (2x1GB) ECC DDR RAM
Asus SK8N motherboard
NVIDIA GeForce 6800 (128MB AGP)
NVIDIA 81.95
My GeForce 6800 shows some signs of aging. Definitely no longer the fastest thing on the block (not that it was when I bought it). Some of the dual-core configurations with newer video cards are in the 3500-4500 score range (with CPU scores of 1500-2000). Some of the single-core folks are scoring 3000+ 3DMark06 with CPU scores of only 900, so a newer video card could make a significant difference in this score.
Rather then buying a new PC this year, I may purchase one more AGP video card (NVIDIA GeForce 7800GS) for $300 and stretch this PC's lifespan for another 2 years. I'll have to do some research and see what kinds of 3DMark and AquaMark scores people can get with a similar CPU and a 7800GS.
172 (SM2: 79 HDR/SM3: n/a CPU: 711)
AMD Athlon64 3000+
PC3200 (2x512MB) DDR RAM
Asus A8N-VM CSM motherboard
NVIDIA GeForce 6150 integrated graphics (64MB)
This score reinforces that integrated graphics solutions are really not designed at all for gaming. Again, putting a $50-$75 video card in this would bring the scores up a lot and make it quite a bit faster. (Such as the $70 GeForce 6600 PCIe cards.)
(All systems are stock settings (no overclocking), usually with 7200rpm hard drives. If I get a chance this week, I'll run some tests on some older Dell systems at the main office.)
Update #1: Looking at other 7800GS scores, I could expect a pretty decent boost up to around 1500 for the two GPU score portions. Whether that translates into 3x faster performance is unlikely, but I'd probably see a 2x performance gain. I'll probably pickup an eVGA version of it within the next few weeks.
More scores:
172 (SM2: 80 HDR/SM3: n/a CPU: 1632)
AMD Athlon64 X2 4200+
PC3200 (2x1GB) DDR RAM
Asus A8N5X motherboard
NVIDIA GeForce 6200 PCIe (64MB)
194 (SM2: 89 HDR/SM3: n/a CPU: 1493)
AMD Athlon64 X2 3800+
DDR2 533 (2x1GB) RAM
Asus M2NPV-VM motherboard
NVIDIA GeForce 6150 integrated graphics (32MB)
3003 (SM2: 1324 HDR/SM3: 1279 CPU: 834)
AMD Opteron 148
PC3200 2GB (2x1GB) ECC DDR RAM
Asus SK8N motherboard
NVIDIA GeForce 7800GS (256MB AGP)
NVIDIA 91.47
(The 7800GS is a nice upgrade over my older 6800.)
PCMark05 Basic scores
FutureMark's PCMark05
More of a general office benchmark (even though it won't run on my Tecra 9100). The integrated video on the Asus A8N-VM CSM motherboard really doesn't slow the system down much.
3652 PCMarks
AMD Athlon64 X2 4200+
PC3200 (2x1GB) DDR RAM
Asus A8N5X motherboard
NVIDIA GeForce 6200 PCIe (64MB)
3329 PCMarks
AMD Opteron 148
PC3200 2GB (2x1GB) ECC DDR RAM
Asus SK8N motherboard
NVIDIA GeForce 6800 (128MB AGP)
NVIDIA 81.95
2340 PCMarks
AMD Athlon64 3000+
PC3200 (2x512MB) DDR RAM
Asus A8N-VM CSM motherboard
NVIDIA GeForce 6150 integrated graphics (64MB)
3341 PCMarks
AMD Athlon64 X2 3800+
DDR 533 (2x1GB) RAM
Asus M2NPV-VM CSM motherboard
NVIDIA GeForce 6150 integrated graphics (32MB)
(All systems are stock settings (no overclocking), usually with 7200rpm hard drives. If I get a chance this week, I'll run some tests on some older Dell systems at the main office.)
More of a general office benchmark (even though it won't run on my Tecra 9100). The integrated video on the Asus A8N-VM CSM motherboard really doesn't slow the system down much.
3652 PCMarks
AMD Athlon64 X2 4200+
PC3200 (2x1GB) DDR RAM
Asus A8N5X motherboard
NVIDIA GeForce 6200 PCIe (64MB)
3329 PCMarks
AMD Opteron 148
PC3200 2GB (2x1GB) ECC DDR RAM
Asus SK8N motherboard
NVIDIA GeForce 6800 (128MB AGP)
NVIDIA 81.95
2340 PCMarks
AMD Athlon64 3000+
PC3200 (2x512MB) DDR RAM
Asus A8N-VM CSM motherboard
NVIDIA GeForce 6150 integrated graphics (64MB)
3341 PCMarks
AMD Athlon64 X2 3800+
DDR 533 (2x1GB) RAM
Asus M2NPV-VM CSM motherboard
NVIDIA GeForce 6150 integrated graphics (32MB)
(All systems are stock settings (no overclocking), usually with 7200rpm hard drives. If I get a chance this week, I'll run some tests on some older Dell systems at the main office.)
AquaMark3 scores
One benchmark that I used to use is AquaMark3 (a DirectX 9 based benchmark). Unfortunately, the company behind AquaMark3 is no longer in business. Which is a shame, because they allowed you to submit your scores to a central database which had some decent search parameters. (For instance, you could search for equivalent systems that were not overclocked to get an idea of what performance a particular upgrade would give you.)
Still, since I have it around, I threw it at the new Athlon64 3000+ system that I just built. I expect that the video scores will be pretty poor since it's using an integrated NVIDIA GeForce 6150 video card that uses 64MB of system RAM.
10100 (CPU: 7470, GFX: 1080)
AMD Athlon64 3000+
PC3200 (2x512MB) DDR RAM
Asus A8N-VM CSM motherboard
NVIDIA GeForce 6150 integrated graphics (64MB)
Indeed, the graphics scores are pretty much bottom of the barrel. Worse then my old Ti4600 video card from a few years ago. OTOH, the CPU score is very good for a low-end system and a $50 or $75 PCIe video card would spice things up quite a bit.
Older scores from past systems:
11879 (CPU: 8453, GFX: 1278)
AMD Athlon64 X2 4200+
PC3200 (2x1GB) DDR RAM
Asus A8N5X motherboard
NVIDIA GeForce 6200 PCIe (64MB)
11095 (CPU: 7069, GFX: 1299)
AMD Athlon64 X2 3800+
DDR2 533 (2x1GB) RAM
Asus M2NPV-VM motherboard
NVIDIA GeForce 6150 integrated graphics (32MB)
19500 (CPU: 6300, GFX: 2300)
AMD AthlonXP 2600+
PC2700 (2x512MB) DDR RAM
A7N8X-Deluxe motherboard
NVIDIA GeForce4 Ti4600 128MB (AGP)
NVIDIA 61.77
36500 (CPU: 7250, GFX: 4875)
AMD Opteron 144
PC2100 1GB (2x512MB) ECC DDR RAM
Asus SK8V motherboard
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5900 XT
NVIDIA 61.77
47000 (CPU: 7000, GFX: 7125)
AMD Opteron 144
PC2100 1GB (2x512MB) ECC DDR RAM
Asus SK8V motherboard
NVIDIA GeForce 6800
NVIDIA 61.77
50475 (CPU: 7250, GFX: 8300)
AMD Opteron 148
PC3200 2GB (2x1GB) ECC DDR RAM
Asus SK8N motherboard
NVIDIA GeForce 6800 AGP 128MB
NVIDIA 81.95
62935 (CPU: 8972, GFX: 9693)
AMD Opteron 148
PC3200 2GB (2x1GB) ECC DDR RAM
Asus SK8N motherboard
NVIDIA GeForce 7800GS AGP 256MB
NVIDIA 91.47
Still, since I have it around, I threw it at the new Athlon64 3000+ system that I just built. I expect that the video scores will be pretty poor since it's using an integrated NVIDIA GeForce 6150 video card that uses 64MB of system RAM.
10100 (CPU: 7470, GFX: 1080)
AMD Athlon64 3000+
PC3200 (2x512MB) DDR RAM
Asus A8N-VM CSM motherboard
NVIDIA GeForce 6150 integrated graphics (64MB)
Indeed, the graphics scores are pretty much bottom of the barrel. Worse then my old Ti4600 video card from a few years ago. OTOH, the CPU score is very good for a low-end system and a $50 or $75 PCIe video card would spice things up quite a bit.
Older scores from past systems:
11879 (CPU: 8453, GFX: 1278)
AMD Athlon64 X2 4200+
PC3200 (2x1GB) DDR RAM
Asus A8N5X motherboard
NVIDIA GeForce 6200 PCIe (64MB)
11095 (CPU: 7069, GFX: 1299)
AMD Athlon64 X2 3800+
DDR2 533 (2x1GB) RAM
Asus M2NPV-VM motherboard
NVIDIA GeForce 6150 integrated graphics (32MB)
19500 (CPU: 6300, GFX: 2300)
AMD AthlonXP 2600+
PC2700 (2x512MB) DDR RAM
A7N8X-Deluxe motherboard
NVIDIA GeForce4 Ti4600 128MB (AGP)
NVIDIA 61.77
36500 (CPU: 7250, GFX: 4875)
AMD Opteron 144
PC2100 1GB (2x512MB) ECC DDR RAM
Asus SK8V motherboard
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5900 XT
NVIDIA 61.77
47000 (CPU: 7000, GFX: 7125)
AMD Opteron 144
PC2100 1GB (2x512MB) ECC DDR RAM
Asus SK8V motherboard
NVIDIA GeForce 6800
NVIDIA 61.77
50475 (CPU: 7250, GFX: 8300)
AMD Opteron 148
PC3200 2GB (2x1GB) ECC DDR RAM
Asus SK8N motherboard
NVIDIA GeForce 6800 AGP 128MB
NVIDIA 81.95
62935 (CPU: 8972, GFX: 9693)
AMD Opteron 148
PC3200 2GB (2x1GB) ECC DDR RAM
Asus SK8N motherboard
NVIDIA GeForce 7800GS AGP 256MB
NVIDIA 91.47
LCD panel prices
The other half of the upgrade equation is the displays. Most users at the main office are already using 17" CRTs (mostly running at 1024x768). I'd like to start converting them to using 17" or 19" LCDs running at least 1280x1024 if not 1600x1200 (20" LCDs).
Some key terms to know when searching at BizRate:
4:3 aspect ratio
XGA - 1024x768 (15"-19" $125-$200)
SXGA - 1280x1024 (17-20" $150-$200)
UXGA - 1600x1200 (20-23" $350-$500)
The SXGA screens are quickly pushing the XGA screens out of the market. NewEgg and MWave have ViewSonic SXGAs for $170-$180. Prices on the XGA screens are only $20 less.
Given the prices for the UXGA displays ($375+) there's a good argument for giving employees a pair of SXGA displays instead for the same cost.
16:9 aspect ratio
WSXGA - 1680x1050 (20" $400-$500)
WUXGA - 1920x1200 (24" $750-$1000)
I'm surprised at the pricing on the WSXGA displays, although there are only 2 on the market.
Some key terms to know when searching at BizRate:
4:3 aspect ratio
XGA - 1024x768 (15"-19" $125-$200)
SXGA - 1280x1024 (17-20" $150-$200)
UXGA - 1600x1200 (20-23" $350-$500)
The SXGA screens are quickly pushing the XGA screens out of the market. NewEgg and MWave have ViewSonic SXGAs for $170-$180. Prices on the XGA screens are only $20 less.
Given the prices for the UXGA displays ($375+) there's a good argument for giving employees a pair of SXGA displays instead for the same cost.
16:9 aspect ratio
WSXGA - 1680x1050 (20" $400-$500)
WUXGA - 1920x1200 (24" $750-$1000)
I'm surprised at the pricing on the WSXGA displays, although there are only 2 on the market.
Saturday, July 15, 2006
Motherboard bundles
We've been digging through the junkyard at work (and in my home office) and we're trying to use up some old ATX towers and other misc parts to build new systems this fall. In some cases, this just means buying a MB/CPU/RAM combo along with a copy of WinXP Pro and Office 2003. In other cases, the older ATX power-supply can't do the job and we have to purchase a new PSU.
The unit that I'm currently working on is an Athlon64 3000+ system. The MB/CPU/RAM bundle cost me approximately $265 from MWave for an Athlon64 (BA21443), Kingston 2x512MB (BA19405) and an Asus A8N-VM CSM motherboard (BA22045). Because the PSU that I'm using is a slightly older ATX+12V PSU (20 pin + 4 pin connectors), I had to also purchase the 20-24 pin PSU adapter (BA20019) for $9.
Note #1: If you're using the PSU cable adapter, make sure that your existing PSU can handle the required amperage (in this case, the Asus manual says 15A on the 12V line).
Note #2: The advantage of motherboard bundles is that I can pay MWave $9 to put it together for me and verify that it works. That means I don't have to worry that CPU X goes with motherboard Y which is compatible with memory type Z. Well worth the $9.
The Asus motherboard comes with integrated video (that uses system RAM). It's not going to be fast, but since this system is for light-duty office work, it's good enough to do the job. At least as well as the low-end Dell Optiplex systems that we had been buying (which also use integrated video).
I was able to purchase OEM copies of WinXP Pro and Office 2003 to go with the motherboard bundle. It saves a small amount of money to do it this way and since I'm building a new system, it's legal.
All of the other miscellaneous parts I already had on hand (floppy, CD-ROM, ATX tower case, cables, wire ties, screws, 80GB IDE drive and a 20+4 pin ATX 330W PSU).
Total out-of-pocket costs:
$0265 Athlon64 3000+ bundle (Asus A8N-VM CSM + 2x512MB Kingston RAM)
$0010 24-20 pin PSU adapter cable (BA20019)
$0135 WinXP OEM (AA15070)
$0300 MSOffice 2003 OEM (AA24200)
$0030 shipping
-----
$0740
Costs are lower then what it would cost to get an equivalent system from Dell ($1300-$1450 with software). The big advantage is that it uses up old parts and the system is very expandable because everything is plain vanilla (no proprietary parts). I can easily bump the RAM to 2GB or 3GB in a few years or add in a more powerful video card.
Some other parts that I may have to purchase once I run out of good PSUs, good cases or other parts:
$10 Floppy drive
$40 BA30087 ThermalTake TR2 430W W0070 PSU
$99 BA30107 Antec Sonata II w/ SmartPower 2.0 450W PSU
$50 Small 80GB hard drives
$20 DVD-ROM
$80 1GB to 2GB upgrade (to a 2x1GB configuration)
There are also a few, more powerful, motherboard bundles that I'm considering for future systems:
----
The first configuration is slightly more powerful then the Athlon64 3000+ (or equal? dunno). The primary advantage is that it's a dual-core CPU. Given that these are basically a fire sale leftover from the old NetBurst architecture, they might be worth using for light-duty office tasks. The dual-core nature will make it much more responsive to the user.
And it's about the same price as a 2GB Athlon64 3000+ system.
$320
BA20518 2GB DDR2 533 (2x1GB)
BA22418 Asus P5RD2-VM motherboard (ATI Radeon X200), 24+4 PSU
BA22375 Pentium D 805 2.66GHz 533MHz
---
An X2 system would be something I'd consider for a power user (which are few and far between at the office). Overall, it's only $80 more then the single-CPU system once the price-drops take effect in early August. Which means that I'm strongly considering simply paying the premium and putting dual-core systems in.
$540 ($400)
BA21810 AMD ATHLON 64 X2 3800+ (goes from $303 to $155 on July 24th)
BA22045 ASUS A8N-VM CSM, 24+4 PSU
BA20959 2GB Mwave PC3200 2x1GB RAM
---
I'm still waiting on Core Duo and Core 2 Duo systems to be sold as motherboard bundles. The pricing on the chips is still a bit high.
The unit that I'm currently working on is an Athlon64 3000+ system. The MB/CPU/RAM bundle cost me approximately $265 from MWave for an Athlon64 (BA21443), Kingston 2x512MB (BA19405) and an Asus A8N-VM CSM motherboard (BA22045). Because the PSU that I'm using is a slightly older ATX+12V PSU (20 pin + 4 pin connectors), I had to also purchase the 20-24 pin PSU adapter (BA20019) for $9.
Note #1: If you're using the PSU cable adapter, make sure that your existing PSU can handle the required amperage (in this case, the Asus manual says 15A on the 12V line).
Note #2: The advantage of motherboard bundles is that I can pay MWave $9 to put it together for me and verify that it works. That means I don't have to worry that CPU X goes with motherboard Y which is compatible with memory type Z. Well worth the $9.
The Asus motherboard comes with integrated video (that uses system RAM). It's not going to be fast, but since this system is for light-duty office work, it's good enough to do the job. At least as well as the low-end Dell Optiplex systems that we had been buying (which also use integrated video).
I was able to purchase OEM copies of WinXP Pro and Office 2003 to go with the motherboard bundle. It saves a small amount of money to do it this way and since I'm building a new system, it's legal.
All of the other miscellaneous parts I already had on hand (floppy, CD-ROM, ATX tower case, cables, wire ties, screws, 80GB IDE drive and a 20+4 pin ATX 330W PSU).
Total out-of-pocket costs:
$0265 Athlon64 3000+ bundle (Asus A8N-VM CSM + 2x512MB Kingston RAM)
$0010 24-20 pin PSU adapter cable (BA20019)
$0135 WinXP OEM (AA15070)
$0300 MSOffice 2003 OEM (AA24200)
$0030 shipping
-----
$0740
Costs are lower then what it would cost to get an equivalent system from Dell ($1300-$1450 with software). The big advantage is that it uses up old parts and the system is very expandable because everything is plain vanilla (no proprietary parts). I can easily bump the RAM to 2GB or 3GB in a few years or add in a more powerful video card.
Some other parts that I may have to purchase once I run out of good PSUs, good cases or other parts:
$10 Floppy drive
$40 BA30087 ThermalTake TR2 430W W0070 PSU
$99 BA30107 Antec Sonata II w/ SmartPower 2.0 450W PSU
$50 Small 80GB hard drives
$20 DVD-ROM
$80 1GB to 2GB upgrade (to a 2x1GB configuration)
There are also a few, more powerful, motherboard bundles that I'm considering for future systems:
----
The first configuration is slightly more powerful then the Athlon64 3000+ (or equal? dunno). The primary advantage is that it's a dual-core CPU. Given that these are basically a fire sale leftover from the old NetBurst architecture, they might be worth using for light-duty office tasks. The dual-core nature will make it much more responsive to the user.
And it's about the same price as a 2GB Athlon64 3000+ system.
$320
BA20518 2GB DDR2 533 (2x1GB)
BA22418 Asus P5RD2-VM motherboard (ATI Radeon X200), 24+4 PSU
BA22375 Pentium D 805 2.66GHz 533MHz
---
An X2 system would be something I'd consider for a power user (which are few and far between at the office). Overall, it's only $80 more then the single-CPU system once the price-drops take effect in early August. Which means that I'm strongly considering simply paying the premium and putting dual-core systems in.
$540 ($400)
BA21810 AMD ATHLON 64 X2 3800+ (goes from $303 to $155 on July 24th)
BA22045 ASUS A8N-VM CSM, 24+4 PSU
BA20959 2GB Mwave PC3200 2x1GB RAM
---
I'm still waiting on Core Duo and Core 2 Duo systems to be sold as motherboard bundles. The pricing on the chips is still a bit high.
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