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workstation help and advice

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Sheggy View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Sheggy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: workstation help and advice
    Posted: 25 June 2009 at 2:25pm
Lenovo D10 workstations - would they be a good platform to put together a good graphics machine? I have no experience of the brand and I'm quite lost really. I'm looking at the one with Quad-Core Xeon E5440 2.83GHz / 8GB RAM / 146GB SAS HDD / with XP Pro DG

It's to do 3D rendering and 3D movies (4D) as well as serious image analysis for medical and scientific apps. I'll fit it with lots of RAM and a good graphics card.

S


Edited by Sheggy - 25 June 2009 at 2:30pm
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nickyburnell View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote nickyburnell Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 June 2009 at 4:19pm
Lenovo was IBM, solid kit, slow customer service.
What graphics card?
Don't forget you'll need 64bit Windows to see all that ram.
It's everything, not everythink!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Sheggy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 June 2009 at 7:23pm
Thanks - that explains why the case looks similar to an old IBM workstation that I saw today.

I'm looking at the mid range PNY cards something like the PNY Quadro FX1800 (768MB) - I need a fast card which supports Open GL and that's all I know.

Bit of a f*cker re the 64 bit Windows - I suspected as much. I don't have the money to upgrade the software (which costs nearly 10 times the cost of the PC) to run on Vista, but 64 bit processing is exactly what I need + the RAM.

S
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nickyburnell View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote nickyburnell Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 June 2009 at 11:45pm
PNY are reliable IMO. Watch out that drivers are available 64bit though.
I presume it's a full size tower? SFF cards are a pain, also quadro may not be available in SFF due to small backplate?
 


Edited by nickyburnell - 25 June 2009 at 11:46pm
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Spuggy View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Spuggy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 June 2009 at 12:02am
Don't need 64 bit windows to see 8Gb ram.  Need 64 bit to get the best out of the processor!

I would suggest 64 bit MS Server 2007 for that hardware, along with a nice big SAN, and an Oracle solution to the NHS national database fiasco!

But as a practical reality I would suggest trying it as it is.  (The Xeon processor will support that ram anyway).  Bear in mind that Open-GL is old technology -  even for production purposes 64bit shouldn't be needed, and anyway that 2.8gig Xeon is going to appear to be faster than its equiv DuoCore - even run as a 32bit!  (Actually, would it run as in 32 plus 32 bit mode?  Like the old Pentium Overdrives used to run as 16 plus 16 bit mode in the later 486's?).


"It's all been done before - it's just that you weren't around then".
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Spuggy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 June 2009 at 12:11am
Correction:

"32 plus 32 bit mode"? 

What am I talking about?  Confused

Must be the heat in here!

Sleepy
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Sheggy View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Sheggy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 June 2009 at 9:52am
NHS? don't talk to me about the NHS - the reason I'm asking about this here is that I can't get anything useful from the IT Dept here.

Thanks for the pointers Nicky and Spuggy - very useful advice and I appreciate it. It's not for music or video graphics - it's to run some high-end biomedical image analysis software. The Open GL requirement is because of the age of the software package.

S
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote illusion Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 June 2009 at 11:16am
Chuck something like a nvidia tesla c1060 gpu in there too if your going to be rendering movies, will save you a serious amount of waiting :)
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote nickyburnell Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 June 2009 at 9:39pm
Funny you mention national health.
 Speaking to a contractor the other day who said it was amazing at the local trust, fibre optic everywhere, 3k£ switches, top dollar workstations/dumb terrminals, then he said you get to the end bit: Novel and a couple of blokes with long beardsLOL
 His words, not mine, paints a picture though..
 
@ Spuggy
600quid plus for those Tesla cards!
They'll be on Ebay in two years for 50quid, like all the Matrox stuff nowSmile


Edited by nickyburnell - 27 June 2009 at 9:42pm
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Sheggy View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Sheggy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 October 2009 at 9:43pm
Update:  I've spent £3,500+ on a Lenovo workstation with 8G RAM, graphics card, 2 monitors and other shyte.  Machine came from Lenovo with an XP Pro 64-bit downgrade but the machine won't take it; crashes and asks for an "SAS controller/driver".  None of the solutions offered by Lenovo have worked.  My IT Dept. has washed their hands of it, so has Lenovo, and it's no use to me with Vista.

If anyone knows of a company who can supply well-spec'd PC workstations that actually do what they're supposed to, then please let me know because I have lots of work for them.

S


Edited by Sheggy - 14 October 2009 at 9:43pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote levyte357 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 October 2009 at 10:03pm
Originally posted by Sheggy Sheggy wrote:


If anyone knows of a company who can supply well-spec'd PC workstations that actually do what they're supposed to, then please let me know because I have lots of work for them.


DELL no good ?

Wont be long before Industrial 64 Bit problems like yours will be ported to Commercial Linux.

Huge Insurance Giant I was working for in 2k7, was migrating "EVERYTHING" from HPUX/Oracle 9i, to 4x4 Core x86 boxes  + Supported TurboLinux + Oracle 10g. Embarrassed
"Who am I? I'm the guy who does his job.. You must be the other guy".
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Sheggy View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Sheggy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 October 2009 at 7:24pm
Originally posted by levyte357 levyte357 wrote:

Originally posted by Sheggy Sheggy wrote:


If anyone knows of a company who can supply well-spec'd PC workstations that actually do what they're supposed to, then please let me know because I have lots of work for them.


DELL no good ?

Wont be long before Industrial 64 Bit problems like yours will be ported to Commercial Linux.

Huge Insurance Giant I was working for in 2k7, was migrating "EVERYTHING" from HPUX/Oracle 9i, to 4x4 Core x86 boxes  + Supported TurboLinux + Oracle 10g. Embarrassed

Couldn't find a Dell that would run the graphics Mr Lev.  Sending back the Lenovo to the company.  From now on I'll order custom made machines from a small supplier - if they don't work they won't see the paper!

S
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