Care to test an incredible workstation? Try one of the overclocked systems from Boxx Technologies.like their 4920 Xtreme or one of their 4+GHZ dual Xeon systems. We are using the 4920 Xtreme systems for Autodesk Revit / 3Ds Max at a medium-sized architectural firm and it absolutely screams, and it better for $8K. Coming from hexcore Xeon Z800 systems....staggering difference.
Boxx is boutique, but their clients include Disney, Boeing, BMW, Mercedes, NASA, Pixar, Dreamworks, US Dept. of Defense, and dozens of others. Top notch stuff.
Really now? I just went to their website, and for a computer with the exact same configuration as the product being reviewed here would cost $10,000. And that wouldn't even be for a super quiet computer, so I fail to see how that would be a better computer.
Plus, the claim about the "4+ GHZ dual Xeon system", I fail to see how that is true. The processor they list has a max turbo frequency of only 3.8GHz, so unless they are overclocking a workstation, there's no way that can be true. And if they ARE overclocking a workstation, that's a dangerous road to go down.
Yes they are overclocking the Xeons to a mild degree. Whether it's a good idea or not, they've been doing it for a long time. I doubt they would have the client list they do if these machines were not reliable.
The 4920 Xtremes we are running have hexcore i7 CPUs at 4.5ghz and you can barely hear them. Not silent, but they are quieter than our previous HP workstations.
Its beside the main point though, that if you want the same machine that was reviewed here, Boxx would charge $3,000 more. Further, how do they overclock them anyways? Part of the other problem is that overclocking SB-E xeons isn't an easy task, and tends to be more unreliable because of the multiplier lock. I somehow feel they tweaked the frequencies by about 5% just so they could advertise that they are "4GHZ+"
SNB-E allows you to run the BCLK multiplier at various settings, so while SNB-E is CPU multiplier locked it's still possible to set the BCLK to 1.25x or 1.66x instead of the default 1.00x. So basically it's easy to get a 25% overclock, and if your hardware can handle it a 66% overclock is also possible. You can also lower the multiplier however, so running with 1.66x and a 27X CPU multiplier (as opposed to the default 29X on the E5-2690) would get you the above mentioned 4.5GHz.
For a workstation, I'd get something like Dell Inspiron i3847-5078BK (loved by consumers, see http://www.consumertop.com/best-desktop-guide/ for example). Definitely not the Genesis II Quiet.
I suppose this board won't support full AMT 7.1, due to the wrong LAN chipsets being used? But - does any S2011 board support KVMoIP via AMT? In the 1155/1156 Xeons this supposedly requires the integrated graphics - without those being present on the -E platform, a quick googling couldn't uncover this information.
im sure you could build for cheaper, 6000+ (when you add the extras) for something special.
nice concept, but i would rather just take and build the crysis 3 machine from may 2013 - best free software issue for 1,615. Laptop exterior accessories http://goo.gl/OItwV
"if your workload can't take advantage of the extra cores you've effectively left performance on the table by going for more cores instead of fewer, faster ones." Wasn't Turbo Boost and the like supposed to take care of that issue? If the other 2/4 cores in the hexa/octa core aren't used, power gate them and allocate the left over TDP to the active cores by increasing their clocks. Unless that only works until 4 cores and not above, it seems to be more an arbitrary limitation Intel puts in place to cement their profits, like they do with various other feature differences between processors. I don't see a reason they can't release octa core for the enthusiast market as an extreme edition for the LGA2011. They just don't want to cut into their Xeon market share and profits is my guess. Same reason why there aren't hexa core LGA1155 CPUs (I don't buy that the platform can't feed them fast enough).
I think the reason is that there's more power limitations. It takes a lot more power and thermals to run 8 cores, with 2 of those cores at a really high clock frequency, than it does to run a simple duel core computer at the same high clock frequency.
til I saw the receipt 4 $9132, I accept that my brothers friend was like they say really bringing in money part time on-line.. there sisters roommate had bean doing this for only about 6 months and resently repaid the mortgage on their place and purchased Acura. this is where I went, Bow6.comCHECK IT OUT
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bromega - Wednesday, May 22, 2013 - link
honestly, the cable management looks pretty scrappy for a boutique buildgipper51 - Wednesday, May 22, 2013 - link
Care to test an incredible workstation? Try one of the overclocked systems from Boxx Technologies.like their 4920 Xtreme or one of their 4+GHZ dual Xeon systems. We are using the 4920 Xtreme systems for Autodesk Revit / 3Ds Max at a medium-sized architectural firm and it absolutely screams, and it better for $8K. Coming from hexcore Xeon Z800 systems....staggering difference.Boxx is boutique, but their clients include Disney, Boeing, BMW, Mercedes, NASA, Pixar, Dreamworks, US Dept. of Defense, and dozens of others. Top notch stuff.
SodaAnt - Wednesday, May 22, 2013 - link
Really now? I just went to their website, and for a computer with the exact same configuration as the product being reviewed here would cost $10,000. And that wouldn't even be for a super quiet computer, so I fail to see how that would be a better computer.Plus, the claim about the "4+ GHZ dual Xeon system", I fail to see how that is true. The processor they list has a max turbo frequency of only 3.8GHz, so unless they are overclocking a workstation, there's no way that can be true. And if they ARE overclocking a workstation, that's a dangerous road to go down.
gipper51 - Wednesday, May 22, 2013 - link
Yes they are overclocking the Xeons to a mild degree. Whether it's a good idea or not, they've been doing it for a long time. I doubt they would have the client list they do if these machines were not reliable.The 4920 Xtremes we are running have hexcore i7 CPUs at 4.5ghz and you can barely hear them. Not silent, but they are quieter than our previous HP workstations.
SodaAnt - Wednesday, May 22, 2013 - link
Its beside the main point though, that if you want the same machine that was reviewed here, Boxx would charge $3,000 more. Further, how do they overclock them anyways? Part of the other problem is that overclocking SB-E xeons isn't an easy task, and tends to be more unreliable because of the multiplier lock. I somehow feel they tweaked the frequencies by about 5% just so they could advertise that they are "4GHZ+"JarredWalton - Wednesday, May 22, 2013 - link
SNB-E allows you to run the BCLK multiplier at various settings, so while SNB-E is CPU multiplier locked it's still possible to set the BCLK to 1.25x or 1.66x instead of the default 1.00x. So basically it's easy to get a 25% overclock, and if your hardware can handle it a 66% overclock is also possible. You can also lower the multiplier however, so running with 1.66x and a 27X CPU multiplier (as opposed to the default 29X on the E5-2690) would get you the above mentioned 4.5GHz.MattKatz - Thursday, October 9, 2014 - link
For a workstation, I'd get something like Dell Inspiron i3847-5078BK (loved by consumers, see http://www.consumertop.com/best-desktop-guide/ for example). Definitely not the Genesis II Quiet.Rick83 - Wednesday, May 22, 2013 - link
I suppose this board won't support full AMT 7.1, due to the wrong LAN chipsets being used?But - does any S2011 board support KVMoIP via AMT? In the 1155/1156 Xeons this supposedly requires the integrated graphics - without those being present on the -E platform, a quick googling couldn't uncover this information.
tunaman - Wednesday, May 22, 2013 - link
im sure you could build for cheaper, 6000+ (when you add the extras) for something special.nice concept, but i would rather just take and build the crysis 3 machine from may 2013 - best free software issue for 1,615. Laptop exterior accessories http://goo.gl/OItwV
gipper51 - Wednesday, May 22, 2013 - link
Sure if you are a one man operation. Our company bought 50. Some buy hundreds and need tech support.Death666Angel - Wednesday, May 22, 2013 - link
"if your workload can't take advantage of the extra cores you've effectively left performance on the table by going for more cores instead of fewer, faster ones."Wasn't Turbo Boost and the like supposed to take care of that issue? If the other 2/4 cores in the hexa/octa core aren't used, power gate them and allocate the left over TDP to the active cores by increasing their clocks. Unless that only works until 4 cores and not above, it seems to be more an arbitrary limitation Intel puts in place to cement their profits, like they do with various other feature differences between processors. I don't see a reason they can't release octa core for the enthusiast market as an extreme edition for the LGA2011. They just don't want to cut into their Xeon market share and profits is my guess. Same reason why there aren't hexa core LGA1155 CPUs (I don't buy that the platform can't feed them fast enough).
SodaAnt - Wednesday, May 22, 2013 - link
I think the reason is that there's more power limitations. It takes a lot more power and thermals to run 8 cores, with 2 of those cores at a really high clock frequency, than it does to run a simple duel core computer at the same high clock frequency.cknobman - Wednesday, May 22, 2013 - link
The review talks about how cool the configuration runs but we never get to see any temps.Why no temps?
Death666Angel - Wednesday, May 22, 2013 - link
Penultimate site under "Noise and Heat".alpha754293 - Wednesday, May 22, 2013 - link
I wonder how the GTX Titan would have performed on the SPEC Viewperf 11 benchmark...bminor13 - Wednesday, May 29, 2013 - link
Seconded; would the GTX Titan compete with the workstation cards in terms of compute performance (price and cost-effectiveness aside)?RoslynWan12 - Wednesday, May 22, 2013 - link
til I saw the receipt 4 $9132, I accept that my brothers friend was like they say really bringing in money part time on-line.. there sisters roommate had bean doing this for only about 6 months and resently repaid the mortgage on their place and purchased Acura. this is where I went, Bow6.comCHECK IT OUTRedStar - Monday, May 27, 2013 - link
case sure looks a whole lot like my p180 antec case