Need a new machine folks.

[bertieck476]

Hi folks, my ancient desktop fried that I used in my home office, I wasn't to worried as I have a laptop that I use for field service diagnostics and this was fine for my needs.
I recently decided to get back into SH3 and wish to install some of the supermods etc and my laptop with integrated graphics will be underpowered.

I have read some of the threads concerning xeons and mobo compatibility and I assume these concerns are for self builds, but a complete system should be ok?
Near me is a company who refurb ex corporate machines and they have complete xeon systems (incl monitor,keyboard,mouse,OS) that seem good value for what seem to me to be very powerful machines.

I have included the spec from their info and would like advice from someone more knowldgeable than me,this machine will ofcourse do all my home office duties with ease but will it be upto some gaming including a modded out sh3 and maybe some of the newer power hungry titles.

I would change the graphics card but would the OS have to be 64bit to utilise the 4gb ram?
Any observations or guidance would be much appreciated

Thanks Bert

Dell Precision 490 Workstation-Twin Xeon Dual 3.0 Ghz + 19 Inch
These very powerful systems are in good condition. With two high end Dual-Core 3.0 GHz Xeon processors, 4 GB RAM and a fast 136GB Hard Drive this system will handle all day to day tasks with ease. They also have PCI Express twin DVI graphics cards and they come with a 19 Inch TFT Monitor. Upgrades can be added by clicking on the boxes below. WE NOW OFFER AN UPGRADE TO WINDOWS 7 HOME OR PROFESSIONAL ON THIS SYSTEM!
Processor 2 x 3.0GHz Dual-Core Xeon 5160
RAM 4096 MB DDR II RAM
Monitor 19 Inch TFT Monitor
Graphics Card NVidia Quadro FX PCI-E Card TwinDVI
Hard Disk 136 GB SAS 15k RPM Hard Disk
Sound Card Onbaord Sound Chip + Speaker
Drives DVD-ReWriter Drive
DVD-ROM Drive
Ports 7 x USB II Ports (2 Front, 5 Rear)
Ethernet Port
PS-2 Ports
Dual DVI-Out
Serial/Parallel Port
Audio In/Out Front and Rear
Operating System Windows Vista Business Edition SP2

[the_tyrant]

How much are they going for?

The machines seem a bit old, but they were top notch when they came out.

If they are more than 400$, I would suggest building a new one. Since the main issue with those machines are, the Xeon 51** line guzzles power! They are also not really "run silent" either, which might cause issues.

[bertieck476]

Hi tyrant,
thanks for the reply, the whole system is £250.00 UK pounds (383 Can $). I did wonder about the power usage as they have a 750w psu and the noise may be an issue, although I could probably see one working in store.

Bert

[Herr-Berbunch]

It'll only run at 750W (and thus noisy fans) when it needs to, and I don't think that'll ever need to.

[geetrue]

If this is a disguise for an ad it's okay with me, but this does seem like a good deal at the same time.

not enough ram of course ... I just went from 8gb to 16gb with the difference so noticeable I will never go back to less ram

in fact the Win 7 64 bit home premium only sees up to 16gb
you have to ge the win 7 64 bit pro to go up to 32gb of ram

the twin ati cards sound really nice as does the sound card ...

I just read over at tom's hardware an article about work station server video cards being the same as high end gamer graphics cards with the only exception being in the drivers, odd but true.

good luck with your build

is free shipping included (not that I could afford it lol)

[bertieck476]

@Herr-Berbunch,I take on board what you mean about the load and noise, I wont be stressing this machine at all and Im not a real avid gamer,I just wanted something that could cope if or when I fancied playing some of the newer titles, Im pretty sure it will handle anything sh3 modded up will need, it also seems cheap to me which ofcourse is the main reason I like the sound of it.:yeah:

@geetrue, I can assure you this is not an advert, its just something I found on this companies website and they happen to be 5 miles from where I live so I can go and have a look, I thought the twin part of the gfx info was referring to the output for two monitors? and because these are ex servers I thought the gfx card might not be upto much, maybe I'd try it before replacing it and spend the money on more ram.
This machine comes with vista business if its 64bit I think it supports 128gb ram, not that Id ever be putting that amount in it but ram is relatively cheap so I could envisage upping it from the 4gb it comes with.
Edit, I had a look at carriage, its £20 for whole systems in uk.

Bert

[bertieck476]

I popped in and had a look at this machine mainly to see how noisey it may be, but tbh its not to bad, you can hear the fans but not really any louder than my old desktop and it will be in my office space so I dont think it will be a problem.

They clicked through a few things while I was there and I noticed that at the moment its loaded with 32 bit vista but it will come with 64bit business edition but its WEI is 5.8 which I thought was pretty good, maybe I wouldnt need to change the gfx card afterall??

One thing that Im not sure about is the monitor that comes with it is a 19" tft with normal aspect ratio 4:3, now I can have this machine as just the base unit or have it with the monitor but Im not sure wether Id be better off getting a 16:9 monitor instead, what are the pros and cons of either as far as gaming is concerned. How would the different aspect ratio effect something like sh3??

Thanks in advance Bert.

[the_tyrant]

You might as well stick with the 4:3 for now, I actually think its a better aspect ratio for office work than 16:9. Especially since tasks like web browsing needs more vertical space and horizontal space.


When you feel like getting a better monitor, get an IPS monitor, sure its more expensive than a TN one, but the difference is MINDBLOWING! I am personally waiting for an IPS monitor with an active digitizer to be my next monitor.

PS: try using your TV as a monitor, and game with an xbox 360 gamepad. I tried that for a long time, and I enjoyed the experience.

[bertieck476]

I have ordered it and I can pick it up next week, looking forward to it

Thanks Bert.

[bertieck476]

Well I got this machine and tbh Im very pleased with it, loads sh3 with gwx plus mods in a flash and handles the graphics really well so far. The monitor turns out to be a very nice 19 inch dell 5:4 (1280x1024) lcd which is perfect for work and browsing and is actually very good for sh3 as well:up:
I know its dated technology but its so powerful compared to anything else I have run and didnt hurt the pocket too much either.

Burt.

[GT182]

You would love a 23" widescreen LCD monitor. It's one of the best upgrades I've ever done for my computer. :yep: