OC Hardware Vs Dell Precision T7400

EssCee

EssCee

EssCee

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Im interested in either purchasing a Dell Precision T7400 from Dell or building my own PC from scratch.

Ive built a PC before but it seems now some manufacturers can offer a better price than building your own spec????

Heres the spec from Dell (visit their site for this model: link removed )

Dell Precision T7400
Vista 64 bit Ultimate Edition
Dual Intel Xeon X5472 with riser (3.00GHz,1600FSB,2x6MB,Quad Core)
4GB DDR2 667 Quad Channel FBD Memory (4x1GB)
768MB PCIe x16 nVidia Quadro FX 4600, Dual Monitor DVI or VGA Graphics Card (HUGA15)
320GB (7,200 rpm) SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive with NCQ and 16MB DataBurst Cache™
48X CDRW/DVD - Would prefer blu-ray/HD
Dell Quietkey USB Black Keyboard -UK/Ire (QWERTY)
Internal Floppy Drive
Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme music card (Vista)
All SATA drives, Non-RAID, 2 drive total configuration

Ive picked some hardware but not sure if this is the best or not or if i would be better off with another option (see the Dell link above). The total comes to £5,215.00 + VAT but im sure speaking to Dell i should be able to drop it down a lot more.......

my question is what is OC equivalent to the above spec and can OC beat this price (or the price i may be offered from Dell)?

Thanks
 
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for high end its still cheaper to build your own, its only low-mid systems that big companies offer more competitive pricing

I always go for my own build as i know its done properly and with decent parts :)
 
Emlyn_Dewar said:
What would you be doing with it? I assume given the cost and spec of the Dell you'd be wanting to do some high-end 3D work or similar?
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Yes most likely but at the same time i want it to be future proof too. As in spend the money now, rather than constantly upgrading later. Ill also want to use it with a TV so prefer sharp graphics.

No competitor links or names allowed.

Sorrehh
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is this for the equivalent spec from Dell? if so how would i know what to purchase as usually everyone's terminology could differ to a degree. Or if possible someone can PM me with specs, as i want to shop around before purchasing and have some time on my hands before making a decision.

Hope this makes sense.

Thanks
 
TBH if you're spending north of 5k on a system you want to be a little more specific with what you require it for or your wasting your time. What are you going to be doing ? Is it likely to be IO heavy as the spec you've listed is potentially weak in that area, as well as optical storage, do you require a next day on site SLA or are you happy to RMA parts in the normal time frame etc. Without telling us what you want to do we can't tell you what will do it. Also you also make no mention of a monitor. As far as future proof it's probably more limited as your upgrade path is xeon based and that's a) expensive and b) restrictive. It'll also be outclassed in the same way everything will be within 12 months by something better coming to the market place.
 
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As above, if your wanting a high end gaming/media machine, that spec is unsuitable, and more to the point, about £4000 more expensive than it needs to be.
 
EssCee said:
Yes most likely but at the same time i want it to be future proof too.
Click to expand...

There is no future proof.

There is only "buy the best so it lasts 6 months longer:

Spending 5k on a PC is a very VERY stupid idea.

£1.5k on your own custom build or £2k if you must.

CPU: QX9650 Penryn Quad
Memory: 4x1Gb PC8500 Ballistix
Mobo: P35/X38/X48 - whichever is the best bang for buck (see mobo forum)
GPU: 8800GTX or two 8800GTS 512Mbs/two HD 3870s
Case: Whatever takes your fancy
PSU: 600W for single or 800W for SLi
Screen: Dell 2407 or whatever the best 24Inch screen is atm.
HDS: 150Gb Raptor for system/apps/games + 500Gb x2 for RAID 1 storage.
Drive: whatever you need/want.

*goes and finds total*

Yep about £2k

Even then you can save £400 by getting a 2.4ghz G0 Quad instead of the Penryn, put that towards watercooling instead which is £200ish...

YOu really don't need to spend £5k when I could build something for £1k and beat it.
 
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Is the original spec dual Xeon, i.e. 8 core? Those + motherboard + the FB dimm RAM they need are hugely expensive. You could look at a Mac Pro, though the graphics card options suck at the moment:)
 
the spec from Dell is very hardcore indeed with the dual zeons and the quadro graphics card. It would be totally over the top for almost any domestic use I can think of, if you want a top of the range gaming rig which would also be pretty good as a 3d workstation go with one of the specs other have given in this thread. If you must have the ultimate worstation setup then go with the dell but watch out for the depreciation.
 
There are pre-built configurable workstation options from v*dim. Dual Xeons are amazing, eight cores will destroy any software but make sure you get the 5400 1600FSB chipset, not the 5000 1333FSB older one. Plus, the new 5400 45nm Xeons should be considered as well as the current 5300's.

azteched said:
You could look at a Mac Pro, though the graphics card options suck at the moment:)
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That's a very valid option aswell, of course.
 
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Concorde Rules said:
There is no future proof.

There is only "buy the best so it lasts 6 months longer:

Spending 5k on a PC is a very VERY stupid idea.

£1.5k on your own custom build or £2k if you must.

CPU: QX9650 Penryn Quad
Memory: 4x1Gb PC8500 Ballistix
Mobo: P35/X38/X48 - whichever is the best bang for buck (see mobo forum)
GPU: 8800GTX or two 8800GTS 512Mbs/two HD 3870s
Case: Whatever takes your fancy
PSU: 600W for single or 800W for SLi
Screen: Dell 2407 or whatever the best 24Inch screen is atm.
HDS: 150Gb Raptor for system/apps/games + 500Gb x2 for RAID 1 storage.
Drive: whatever you need/want.

*goes and finds total*

Yep about £2k

Even then you can save £400 by getting a 2.4ghz G0 Quad instead of the Penryn, put that towards watercooling instead which is £200ish...

YOu really don't need to spend £5k when I could build something for £1k and beat it.
Click to expand...


I agree with that spec saving the OP a considerable amount of money. Depends what he wants to use it for of course. But, workstation motherboards are mission critical parts and should be more stable than enthusiast kit. X38/X48 boards are loaded with too many consumer-centric features that make them less than ideal for workstations.
 
Cr0fty said:
Could you please say what the pc is for?

That looks like a 3d workstation type jiggamabobba to me...
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The PC is mainly going to be used for web/ application development along with creating graphics etc (using Photoshop etc) it will also be used for entertainment so watching TV, recording possibly. I prefer to use a SATA drive as i used this couple of years back and i was amazed with how quick the OS was installed. I prefer to run Vista Ultimate.

I agree 5k is way too much on a PC which is why i wanted to know what i could do in terms of saving more money but getting the best output.

Thanks everyone for your input and advice.
 
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