So... I finished putting together a Skulltrail machine as I plan to follow-up with a "budget-type" article in the coming week. Right now, the machine isn't exactly budget, but I'm merely configuring it a special way for benchmarking. I am hoping to scale down the machine (with parts I find) to something more reasonable... in the ~$2,500 mark. Hopefully less.
Here's the current machine, with the images below:
Intel Xeon E5410 Quad-Core 2.33GHz x 2
Intel D5400XS Motherboard
4GB Micron FB-DIMM DDR2-800 (2 x 2GB)
ASUS EN8800GTS 512 x 2
Seagate 1TB 7200.11 x 2
Samsung DVD+RW 20x
Zalman 9700 x 2
Scythe 120mm 1600RPM x 3
SilverStone DA1200 PSU
SilverStone TJ10
First and foremost, thanks to SilverStone for sending me the chassis and PSU, it's most appreciated. I can honestly say that their quality lives up to the hype. This is one of the best cases, if not the best, I've ever laid my hands on. So much room, and so easy to maximize airflow, it's superb. It comes highly recommended from me.
That said, this machine, as the title would suggest, is the loudest PC ever. Perhaps not ever, but let's just say, an Airbus A320 would be a little jealous.
As configured, this exact PC would run around $3,436 retail, if you built it yourself. Compare this to what you'd get for the money from any online retailer... I don't think it will come close. We are talking SLI of two fantastic GPUs and an 8-Core machine here. I haven't delved into overclocking, but I am really hoping it will hit 3.0GHz stable. I know my Xeon X3210 (in my personal machine) doesn't go high at all, but these are 45nm after all, so they should have ample overclocking room.
As for the article, I am going to try REALLY hard to build a virtual Skulltrail machine as cheap as possible, using "reasonable" specs, such as a single GPU and modest power supply (not for overclocking). If overclocking is in the picture, then a large PSU is needed, like the SilverStone DA1200, that requires dual 8-Pin +12V. The only other manufacturer right now to offer similar PSUs is PCP&C... the selection is actually quite limited.
Regardless, you can all expect an article next week regarding the performance of this beast. Keep in mind that the QX9775 processors used in our Skulltrail article a few weeks ago will retail for around ~$1,300 a piece (projected), while the E5410's retail for $600 for both. That's some value, right there. These CPUs are also chips that we purchased from an online retailer - not engineering samples - so performance reflected in the article should be exactly what you could expect if you purchased the machine yourself.
Stay tuned...
Here's the current machine, with the images below:
Intel Xeon E5410 Quad-Core 2.33GHz x 2
Intel D5400XS Motherboard
4GB Micron FB-DIMM DDR2-800 (2 x 2GB)
ASUS EN8800GTS 512 x 2
Seagate 1TB 7200.11 x 2
Samsung DVD+RW 20x
Zalman 9700 x 2
Scythe 120mm 1600RPM x 3
SilverStone DA1200 PSU
SilverStone TJ10
First and foremost, thanks to SilverStone for sending me the chassis and PSU, it's most appreciated. I can honestly say that their quality lives up to the hype. This is one of the best cases, if not the best, I've ever laid my hands on. So much room, and so easy to maximize airflow, it's superb. It comes highly recommended from me.
That said, this machine, as the title would suggest, is the loudest PC ever. Perhaps not ever, but let's just say, an Airbus A320 would be a little jealous.
As configured, this exact PC would run around $3,436 retail, if you built it yourself. Compare this to what you'd get for the money from any online retailer... I don't think it will come close. We are talking SLI of two fantastic GPUs and an 8-Core machine here. I haven't delved into overclocking, but I am really hoping it will hit 3.0GHz stable. I know my Xeon X3210 (in my personal machine) doesn't go high at all, but these are 45nm after all, so they should have ample overclocking room.
As for the article, I am going to try REALLY hard to build a virtual Skulltrail machine as cheap as possible, using "reasonable" specs, such as a single GPU and modest power supply (not for overclocking). If overclocking is in the picture, then a large PSU is needed, like the SilverStone DA1200, that requires dual 8-Pin +12V. The only other manufacturer right now to offer similar PSUs is PCP&C... the selection is actually quite limited.
Regardless, you can all expect an article next week regarding the performance of this beast. Keep in mind that the QX9775 processors used in our Skulltrail article a few weeks ago will retail for around ~$1,300 a piece (projected), while the E5410's retail for $600 for both. That's some value, right there. These CPUs are also chips that we purchased from an online retailer - not engineering samples - so performance reflected in the article should be exactly what you could expect if you purchased the machine yourself.
Stay tuned...
