Base platform for project - Is this any good?

[Dos_Box]

Essentially, I want to get together a computer (+ some future mods) for rendering and editing HD video. Now, this does not have to be all singing and all dancing, but something better than a Core 2 is obviously in order, and as such I have just found this twin Xeon machine on eBay for £149: HP Dual Xeon 6.0Ghz 64-Bit Gaming PC NEW 1GB GFX 4GB RAM Desktop Tower Computer | eBay

What I am not sure about is the actual version of the Xeons on offer, but the HP xw6200 was launched around 2005 afaik, so if anyone has an idea of what could be in there it would be much appreciated.

As a base his machine could be a good option an with a couple of 1TB drives whacked in there for good measure should make a reasonable beast for the task in hand.

Basically what I want to know is:

 

a. Is this a decent machine?

b. Is this a good price for it

 

Any answers gratefully accepted.

[plexer]

Can you ask the seller for the serial number and product code then you can look up the original spec.

 

Ben

[Steve21]

In terms of the Xeon it should be part number DY666A

 

According to: http://h18000.www1.hp.com/products/quickspecs/archives_Division/11975_div_v30/11975_div.PDF

 

Page 20

 

Steve

[Arthur]

Based on the eBay description and HP's quickspecs PDF for the XW6200, this workstation will most likely have 2 x dual core Intel Xeon 3.0D socket 604 processors. These are based on Intel's NetBurst architecture from the Pentium 4 era.

 

a. Is this a decent machine?

No.

[Dos_Box]

Well, it was worth a shot, as I said, it is only to be used for video editing and rendering. I am pretty shocked at how cheap these old duel Xeon setups are going for though. It wasn't intended to be for me, however it looks like I'll have to go to my backup plan and knock together an i5 system over the next couple of months.

Thanks for your responses everyone as I'm not to familiar with Xeon workstations.

[sonofsanta]

HP Dual Xeon 6.0Ghz

 

I do not think that seller understands how dual-sockets work.

 

Anything modern will be by far the best bet anyway thanks to QuickSync.

[SYNACK]

What kind of project/software is it going to be running, you may be better making a cheap Beowolf cluster with modern CPUs and alright memory

Microwulf: A Personal, Portable Beowulf Cluster

Beowulf Software

[Arthur]

You can pickup a PC that has a six-core AMD Phenom II X6 1090T for not a lot of money on eBay.

 

However, as @sonofsanta mentioned, you would be better off with something a bit more modern (like a Core i5).

[Dos_Box]

You can pickup a PC that has a six-core AMD Phenom II X6 1090T for not a lot of money on eBay.

 

However, as @sonofsanta mentioned, you would be better off with something a bit more modern (like a Core i5).

 

That is actually a good option, thanks Lets face it, an i5 costs more than the systems are going for on eBay anyway! It's not a case of needing a super-duper fast system, just something that will get the job done in a reasonable time.