Octocore Build - Dual Quad Core Xeon 2.8's - First time building a server.

[rabidsheeep]

Kinda unsure about a few things here.

1. The case size. It says it can take a 13x12 MOBO, which is the size of the motherboard. Just confused.

2. The PCI-X 16x slot says it's a 8x link. Uhh. Whats that mean? Will that degrade it to an 8x slot?

3. XP 64 will work... right?

4. I'm used to memory being sold in paired 2x sticks. Is there a better memory choice I can make?

And yes, the person buying it needs it. Why? Because he's got 3 grand to blow and wants to run some painter program or something.

Parts list time!

Processor:
Intel Xeon E5440 Harpertown 2.83GHz LGA 771 80W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80574E5440A - Retail
(two of those!)

Motherboard:
ASUS DSBF-DE Dual LGA 771 Intel 5000P MCH SSI EEB 3.61 Server Motherboard - Retail

RAM:
CORSAIR 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 FB-DIMM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) ECC Fully Buffered Server Memory Model CM72FB2048-667 - Retail
(4 those, 8 gigs total.)

Video Card:
BFG Tech BFGE98512GTXE GeForce 9800 GTX(G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail


PSU:
Antec TPQ-850 ATX12V / EPS12V 850W Power Supply - Retail


HDD:
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

Sound Card:

Turtle Beach TBS-3300-01 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Montego DDL Sound Card - Retail


CD Drives:
LITE-ON Black 16X DVD-ROM 52X CD-R 32X CD-RW 52X CD-ROM SATA Combo - OEM
(two)

Case:
ARK SR6950BK Black Server Case - Retail

[pam123]

Hang on second, is this just a server or is the guy after a graphics work station ?
Also, what programs ?
It's possible someone else already knows exactly what he needs (and why) to run them.

[rabidsheeep]

He's looking for a graphics work station. My buddy is an illustrator/concept design artist who does some work on unholy-ly sized files.

I already talked to him about the programs and he already checked that every program he'll be using will benefit from the mass of cores.

Any comments on the actual components? Like I said I don't know much about building a server as a desktop. My choices were based off the fact that I've worked with Asus and Corsair parts in the past.

[pam123]

OK you're building a graphics work station so you need a card designed for that (Calling it a server can be misleading and may confuse others reading your post, unless you friend actually intends to rival WETA.).

Not that I wouldn't turn back flips if someone offered me a 9800 GTX but that's not a graphics work station card, your guy needs a pro card of the Open GL type and they can cost mega-bucks.

Since he's got the budget start reading here : http://www.hothardware.com/Articles/...Card_Shootout/


edit : Your guy checked his programs for a 64 bit OS, right ?
Since you're not telling us what they are we don't know.

[rabidsheeep]

I talked to him about the cards and it just doens't seem worth the extra 1500-3000+ price difference. If needed in the future he can upgrade.

... How terrible of a bottleneck would the 9800 be? I originally planned for the 8800 for him but that extra thousand in the name has him enthralled.

And yeah, all his programs are 64 compatible up to 16 cores.

[pam123]

You need to re-think.
Your guy can get a good Open GL cards for the same price as the 9800 GTX and they, and their drivers, are suited for what he needs them to do.
Scale it down but don't expect that general purpose gaming card to do what he needs despite its power.
Don't get me wrong the 9800 GTX is a good card, it's just that it's not his good card.
You need a card for a graphics work station not a general purpose gamer, both of you are confusing categories.

[rabidsheeep]

Thanks for all your replies pam, I'm trying reading the wikipedia pages of open GL cards trying to understand it but my friend has a question:

Steven: but i'v always had one serious problem with them
Steven: they way people talk about them they sound like they're only for 3d.
Steven: rendering and holding polygons and stuff
Steven: are they stull gonna be better than the gtxs for just handeling complicated 2d work?

What I guess we could do is get the 2.66ghz harpertowns. That brings the price of the computer without VGA card to $2034.88. With that extra money he could pick up a "high-mid range" (as according to nVidias site) Quadro FX 3500.

I was also looking at Nvidias motherboard options, but I have a good trust with Asus products.

... Better yet we could get a PNY Quadro FX3700.

[pam123]

Bingo!
No, maybe, sometimes and we can recommend hardware for it all if you tell us.
What does he need to do and what programs does he use?
Come on, give us a fighting chance!

Hey, go for broke, name the programs!

[rabidsheeep]

CS3, Painter X, Zbrush, Maya.

I'm thinking about switching the mobo to this:

ASUS DSGC-DW Dual LGA 771 Intel 5000X MCH SSI EEB 3.61 Server Motherboard - Retail

Friendlier for pc use. Firewire, more USB ports, onboard sound etc. The PCI 16x slot says it has a 4x link though. Again that scares me.

[gadgeteer99]

Im fairly certain the link is if you do SLI.....my browser is being a pain right now so I cant check

[pam123]

You're right about the SLI gadgeteer.
What does catch my attention are the customer reviews that are posted for the Asus board.
On the other hand the listed Intel boards just aren't that promising and they're open box as are the MSI boards.

[rabidsheeep]

Just to follow up, the build came together somewhat easily. The mobo mounting plate was missing holes, cant say I'd totally recommend the case.

Asus created, as usual, a wonderful product to work with.

The Antec PSU was fantastic with its modular system.

Plenty of mods to the case to come.