What would you buy right now ?

[soapyfish]

Hi Everyone,

 

I am in a fortunate position to be able to replace the IT department's computers, I need one workstation for a user who does lots of virtualization 4 - 6 concurrent guests OS's. One for a media creation specialist who is moving to 4k for the final output after purchasing new Camera equipment etc. Historically the school has purchased fairly high end workstation for IT Staff which are then used 7+ years before being refreshed although the current desktops workstations were new in 2012.

 

Obviously ATM prices are all over the place and I am torn between new hardware and refurbished kit from ICT Direct.

 

Refurb price is around £1050 for this spec

 

Intel Xeon Gold 6138 - 20-Core 40-Threads 2.00GHz (3.70GHz Boost, 27.5MB Cache, 135W TDP)

64GB DDR4 2666MHz

Nvidia Quadro P400 - 2GB GDDR5

1TB NVMe

 

I am struggling to locate a Ryzen 7/9 or Intel i7/i9 pre-built with anything like this level of performance for even close to the price.

Have I missed something, Does anyone have any experience of the Xeon Gold CPU's being used in anything other than a server?

[Norphy]

A Xeon is essentially a standard Core CPU with some extra PCIe lanes and (sometimes) the ability to run in multi-CPU systems, have the ability to address more RAM and have more memory bandwidth. In terms of IPC, they're more or the less the same as their desktop counterparts and should be able to do everything a desktop CPU can do.

 

According to Intel's ARK, that CPU is based around the Skylake architecture, which is the equivalent to a 6th Gen Core CPU.

 

It's going to be a fast system, but if Windows 11 is on your horizon you may want to hold off on it and get something a bit more modern. You will be able to get Windows 11 on it now by using well known registry hacks but who knows what will happen with the next release?

[soapyfish]

Unfortunately the the budget is available only this year due to saving I have manged to make on other projects. You are right about Windows 11 compatibility and I should check that the system has a suitable TPM Chip does windows 11 need anything else I have not checked since it was initially released?

[jmak]

Eighth generation Intel chips

[soapyfish]

why 8th and not newer ?

[3s-gtech]

why 8th and not newer ?

 

He’ll mean 8th onwards, or Ryzen 1st gen onwards.

[Wubbalubbadub]

If you have a good working relationship with your supplier, you could give them a few must haves - and ask what they can get you for the money you have available.

 

AMC, we use Dan - 01536 526687 has been helpful with things like that in the past for us, and he has often done it at cost if it is something for one of the IT crew. Obviously make sure you get one more quote to make sure they are actually not flogging you a dead horse!

Edited March 18, 2022 by Wubbalubbadub