Machines for Longhorn

Posted Tuesday, November 11, 2003 12:07 AM by G Andrew Duthie

Julie asks about cheap machines for Longhorn:

Dell is doing the Free Shipping, double memory thingie again

http://www1.us.dell.com/content/topics/segtopic.aspx/banner_jump_media?c=us&l=en&cs=04&s=bsd

If someone figures out a properly configured box for Longhorn -- cheap, let me know - quick!

Here's what I've got coming, for Longhorn and other experimental uses (and as a backup in case my mail or web server croaks unexpectedly):

Order Detail
PowerEdge 400SC,2.4GHZ/512K Cache, P4, 800FSB
128MB DDR, 400MHz, 1X128MB PowerEdge 400SC
No Keyboard Option
No Monitor Option
80GB, 1 inch IDE Hard Drive for PowerEdge 400SC
3.5 in, 1.44MB, Integrated Floppy Drive, PowerEdge 400SC
No Operating System,For Dell PowerEdge Servers,No Windows 2000
Mouse Option None
On-Board NIC
48X,Compact Disk Drive,680M I Half Height, Black, PowerEdge 400SC

The advantages of going with a server machine vs. a desktop or laptop are many:

  • I can get a server machine without an OS. Given that I don't need an OS pre-installed(for obvious reasons), this saves some money.
  • I can get a server machine without a monitor, keyboard, or mouse. Since I use either a KVM or Terminal Services to access my machines, I don't need any of these.
  • A server, even a low-end one like this, usually offers better expandability than a desktop machine.
  • A server like this one has faster hard drives, and better bus speed, than what is currently available (or affordable) for a similarly configured laptop.
I did consider buying a cheaper no-brand PC such as those that can be found at Pricewatch.com, but in the end I decided that the potential hassle of getting something fixed/returned/replaced from a no-name dealer made it worth an extra $100 or so to go with Dell. Bottom line is that it isn't hard to put together an affordable system to run the Longhorn preview. This unit may be a little light on the graphics side (it sports an ATI Rage graphics card), and I'll definitely have to pick up some additional RAM, but it's a good start for my Longhorn playground, and I won't have to worry about it dragging down the other work I'm doing by trying to run it in a VM.

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Comments

# re: Machines for Longhorn

Tuesday, November 11, 2003 1:04 AM by Dave Rothgery

Given that Avalon's supposed to lean very heavily on the GPU, I'd think you'd want to stay far, far away from a box with a pitiful graphics card (ATI Rage cards are ancient, and make Intel's Extreme Graphics look good) and without an AGP slot.

Another $200 would get you a minimally-configured Dimension 4600 (you want to stay away from the 2400 series and the 4600C for the same reasons you want to stay away from servers -- no AGP slot and bad integrated graphics). Adminttedly, you'd pick up a useless keyboard, mouse, and copy of XP Home. But you'd also get a P4 2.6C instead of a 2.4C, 512MB of RAM, a DVD-ROM drive, a CD-RW, and a GF4MX that might be minimally capable of doing something with Avalon (and is at least upgradable).

# re: Machines for Longhorn

Tuesday, November 11, 2003 1:07 AM by G. Andrew Duthie

Dave, that's a fair point, and time will tell whether I'll regret the lower graphics power. But since this box is not intended for Longhorn alone, and LH is still pretty early on, I'm not too worried if it's not zippy. And anything will be an improvement over running it in a VM on my laptop. :-)

Perhaps when Beta 1 of Longhorn comes out, I can use that as an excuse to pick up a machine with a better GPU.

# re: Machines for Longhorn

Tuesday, November 11, 2003 1:13 AM by Brian Desmond

You're kinda lacking in memory there. 128MB is grounds to make XP cranky...

# re: Machines for Longhorn

Tuesday, November 11, 2003 1:15 AM by G. Andrew Duthie

Brian,

That's why I said "and I'll definitely have to pick up some additional RAM (in addition to my comment about the relatively weak graphics). ;-)

Memory's much cheaper aftermarket, so I rarely get more than the minimum when ordering from Dell, unless there's a good sale price or I'm buying from the Dell Factory Outlet (refurbs).

# re: Machines for Longhorn

Tuesday, November 11, 2003 9:04 AM by SBC

I just got a 400SC (2.4ghz)- it's a good base machine with an AGP slot. Loaded it with 512mb ECC memory and another 512mb later on. Memory is crucial (pun intended). The default graphic card is measly, so an AGP is on order. Question: Is there a "recommended" minima for Longhorn+Avalon+etc... ?

# re: Machines for Longhorn

Tuesday, November 11, 2003 1:37 PM by SBC

There appears to be a following of folks who use the 400SC as a desktop (workstation) - some good info here: http://forums.us.dell.com/supportforums/board/message?board.id=pes_other&message.id=7231
There's an unofficial FAQ for the 400SC as well (see in above thread).

# re: Machines for Longhorn

Tuesday, November 11, 2003 5:41 PM by G. Andrew Duthie

Thanks for the info, SB. It certainly looks as though the 400SC is a good machine for the money. I'll probably plan on picking up a decent AGP card once I've got the machine, since it seems that the MoBo has AGP, even though it's not officially supported.

Also, from your link I found the following:

http://www.aaltonen.us/forums/viewtopic.php?t=8

which has a host of good info on the 400 SC, including the tidbit that apparently all of the 800mhz procs support hyperthreading (which is what I thought, but was suspicious when the order page didn't specifically mention it). I'll report back on whether the processor on mine shows up as HT.

# re: Machines for Longhorn

Thursday, November 13, 2003 8:53 AM by SBC

I just noticed something ugly (but bearable) about the 400SC - the hard drive and other storage peripherals are on plastic guide rails (green color). The hard drives may fit snugly but not fixed (not screwed on to the chassis) - so large amount of I/Os makes the disk reverberate causing noise! There has to be a workaround for this one..

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