Indeed, it should say 10, which is ironic as it's correctly described in the spec list that follows.
My biggest complaint with systems like these is the lack of any backup drive of some kind for the C-drive; IMO this should be standard on all pro systems by now. I've helped with so many pro users over the years who've had normal rust spinners fail, at least with those there's usually a chance to rescue data before a drive completely dies, but with SSDs, normally no chance.
IBM could at least include a simple MX100 or something for C-drive backup.
It just goes to show how people still associate IBM with Lenovo's crap :\
Let's face facts with facts...quality has declined since IBM turned over their PC division. Most Thinkpads are built to 'Ideapad' quality and engineering now, and in the case of the Thinkpad E, it IS an Ideapad. There isn't anything specifically "wrong" with Ideapads, but they don't live up to the Thinkpad reputation. None of the new Thinkpads do. Lenovo is also notorious for not standing behind their products, EOL'ing products quickly after a successor is released.
The last great Thinkpad's were the T4x/X40 series. Lenovo quickly ruined the T60 series with inadequate cooling for the discrete GPU's, leaving it up to the once-devoted Thinkpad community to create the utility TPfancontrol to fix the fan ramp-up issues. Issues persisted from there, with poor quality lithium cells and poor quality plastic ports ever since. Just Google T400/T500 USB ports cracking.
Long story short, on paper, the new Thinkstation P900 looks great on paper and initial review, but I'm sure issues will creep up that will not be adequately fixed. At least HP and Dell stand behind their products, especially their corporate-class products.
FULL ACK to Samus regarding the poor quality of Lenovo Thinkpads and general lack of service by Lenovo. Still typing on a wonderful IBM Thinkpads T43p ...
I like the design concept of the P900, but would only consider buying one at a - 50% rebate.
Years ago, when Thinkpad turned over to Lenovo. I said it's gonna suck to my manager and he said it's a "Thinkpad" and he went ahead and purchased about 200 T60 thinkpads. Almost 1/2 of them went back and needed systemboard swaps. The drivers they issued were crap and resulted in lots of blue screens. Today, I don't work on laptops anymore and some poor support person was walking around swapping Thinkpad X1 Carbons. He said they are pretty flakey, a lot of them just crap out and they are brand spanking new. Hardware is great but reliability just not very good.
Pro users should have their own backup solution already in place and in most cases those solutions will be network driven anyway. Adding a secondary physical backup drive is literally pointless for professional use. Some self employed hobbyist that runs his business without any it-consulting nor it expertise does not really qualify for "pro user" imho, though I hear since 30 years funny stories about those, and even today they are usually better off with just using apple. ;-)
Besides, naturally IBM has nothing to do with a Lenovo system ;-)
I'm not hip to this workstation myself. They are betting on IT departments wanting some sort of fancy interior which, at least in my experience, is just not the case. While it may be fun to poke around and see what everything does, it's only neat once and after that it gets old. From looking at these pictures, there are definitely quite a few parts that would need removing (and the need to figure out how to remove) to replace other things. To be honest it's looks like an annoying design for and IT department.
In contrast I got to poke around a couple of Dell's latest Precision workstation designs last year (they've had this design for nearly two years now actually) and it looks much easier to service than this Lenovo. This Lenovo simply has too many movable parts to service. We don't care about baffles or fans sliding in and out. We care about opening it up and being able to remove the power supply and only the power supply. Being able to reach all the DIMM slots without having to remove anything else. We really want to be able to take out just the part we want and that's it. Putting things in the way of that just frustrates and complicates. Having everything be obvious and right in front of you for removal is usually what you want.
It's a really cool looking design, and for a personal workstation it does look genuinely interesting but when I can configure a Dell for my AutoCAD guys who need new computers, with the same specs and warranty, for $5,000 less (ordering online too of course) then I'm going to instantly chose the Dell and forget about marketing terms like "baffles" because their department doesn't need $5,000 in marketing and I don't actually NEED fancy internals to do any work that the computer needs in the future. And given that many companies/government agencies bill computers to the account of the department it is going to, not the IT department, then it is sort of the last nail in the coffin for deciding on this purchase and I would imagine that where they will see most of their volume will be small business, not the large entities that bring in large orders.
I hear you about internals being a pain sometimes. I recently refurbed an old Dell 1-CPU S775 system, it was a nightmare to take apart, whereas a T7500 is much easier to deal with. Good to hear newer Dells are built nicely too, and you're spot on about the cost difference being a deciding factor for most potential buyers; $5K is kinda huge at this level.
Btw, their excuse for the online pricing setup reminds me of what SGI used to say about such things, whereas in reality (certainly for SGI back then) it would have been so much better if one could have ordered direct, without going through a reseller who often just ripped people off with huge markups.
Oh man I hear you too, those older Dells are such a pain. But the newer ones are definitely better even than the T7500's; the cable routing in the T7500 is a nightmare. If the unit wasn't under warranty anymore I'd just cut the cables when replacing the PSU because I couldn't be bothered cutting my hands up getting them out and then again going in all the crannies.
Direct ordering is definitely way better than through partners. Not just the price but the support alone is worth it, especially with Dell. I might not like their consumer stuff too much but managing 500+ computers and their service status/history is actually not too bad with them. It's not easy providing so much support which is why some companies prefer to sell most of their volume through resellers because then it's the reseller's job to provide support, not the manufacturer. And I don't exactly have fond feelings for reseller support.
Their comment about web prices is kind of BS. At least for laptops, they constantly undercut us and we're a partner. I find it somewhat difficult to sell Lenovo because they do sell cheaper on their website than they do in distribution. The cost will be maybe $5 less in disty than what's listed on their website. We do mostly Supermicro/Dell for workstations though, so I can't comment on those prices.
It doesn't really pay to spend this much time on criticizing based on a picture. Having used Lenovo Thinkstations in the past I can be confident that this is largely a tool free design, everything snaps in and is designed to be fairly easy to service.
That's great for Lenovo technicians because real IT departments don't actually service the equipment, it's all done under warranty and once its out of warranty, the equipment is EoL'd and cycled out. No IT department buys equipment based on how easy it is to service. They buy based on support, reliability, and price.
Actually in my experience we do the vast majority of the servicing ourselves, especially for desktops. Literally all I have to do is live chat with Dell's support for IT Departments, tell them that a computer we recently received had the power connector going into the DVD drive break off inside the DVD drive some how, and they next day ship me a replacement PSU and my user has a working DVD drive within 24hrs. And THAT'S what good manufacturer support is, a trusting relationship between manufacturer and IT Department goes a long ways. Sending out equipment for repairs is slow and a pain. And having someone come on-site is a waste of money for the manufacturer and time for us because we need to make sure we are available when they get there instead of repairing it on our own schedule. If you're a "real IT department" for a few hundred computers, you really can't afford the time to have someone else do the repair work.
And you'd also be surprised how many things that SHOULD have been EoL'd don't get EoL'd! Just because it isn't under warranty doesn't mean we want to just throw it out especially when you have 100 of the same thing (aka spare parts which means immediate repairs). And some departments are happy with what they have and don't want to go by the set EoL schedule for their computers and use their funds elsewhere. They pay for it with extra downtime when something does break, but they know that it's their own fault.
My HP servers, workstations and printers order parts that fail\deplete automatically. When I show up to work the next morning at 8AM, the support technician that arrived at 6AM is walking out the door and everything is fixed.
That's real support. And it's included with every HP Elitedesk/Elitebook, Laserjet Pro\Officejet Pro, and Proliant server I've ever managed for 3 years unless you purchase a "smartbuy" with a 1y/1y. The craziest thing about HP warranties is the ADP (accidental damage protection) is only 6%/year the cost of the machine. So a $1000 Elitebook is <$200 to cover for 3 years against user destruction. The equivalent Applecare on a $1000 Macbook is $269, and Lenovo charges $229 with no option for next-day.
Small business solutions without internal it department often likes easy to service, replace and upgradeable hardware. Not only because those solutions might offer good value for their money in small business solutions, but as well because external IT consulting likes to make a buck with their own support.
Besides that you are absolutely right. If there is a real IT department than usually they prefer to buy support, reliability and just cycle out stuff that stop working - with a few exceptions when old hardware is needed for special use-cases or getting some time for bigger rollouts.
I don't think that the system is particularly hard to service. To remove the power supply (and only the power supply), you remove the side panel, open a door, and slide the power supply out. I assume that the Dell has something that keeps the power supply from accidentally falling out of the case when the side panel is removed, so I would think that remove the power supply from the Dell takes the same number of steps, or more.
To access the DIMM's you remove the side panel and the central baffle. Removing the baffle is an extra step, but before we can say definitively that the Dell wins on this measure we would have to compare the time to remove the side panel on both systems.
As for fans that slide in and out, I'll grant you that fans don't fail very often, but if one ever does fail the Lenova allows you to slide out the failed fan and slide in a replacement after removing nothing other than the side panel.
I agree with you about price. I couldn't find a comparable computer on the Dell web site, but AVA Direct will sell a comparable computer for a tad over $10,000. The P900 is only worth considering if you need a large numbers of workstations and can get Lenovo to agree to a large quantity discount.
That's the problem though, being built for too many "what if's". And I hate break-out boards in units too, they are notorious for dying and don't really serve a purpose that a different internal design can't solve. The design of the P900 is just so superfluous. Just having the insides look pretty is a waste because no one is looking at the insides, and of course there is no side window. It just screams unnecessary.
The Dell Precision 7910 is the one I was referencing in my original comment. I specced it out online and it came out to ~$5,000 less than this and I doubt that you are going to get a $5,000 discount per-unit on these Lenovos. And if you're ordering that large of a volume, might as well ask your Dell rep for a volume discount as well.
Yep, I did the same and it came out to around 10,500-$11,000. Based off of this review I too prefer the internal layout of the latest Precisions, they're simple and well thought out. Definitely an improvement over the prior design at least.
I have had great experience with Lenovo professional products, thinkserver tower and rack servers similar well thought design and high end power supply. Please try to review an 8 bay thinkserver as well so we can compare to commercial 8 bay nas
PS. Ian, pleeeease stop using the Blinkenlights site for the C-ray link! :D I don't control that site, it's just a mirror. The main C-ray link should be here:
The advertising on the sides of the page is extremely off-putting. The ad is so close to the article text that it is making the article difficult to read. I have been coming to this site religiously since before the days of the celeron (the abit BP6 brings back many fond memories) and almost all my computer related purchases are based in part on reviews here. But this latest style is a bridge too far. Please fix it, or I'll be forced to look elsewhere.....
Not sure what ads you're referring to; are you using Adblock Plus? I use A.P. and the viewing is just fine. Who doesn't use Adblock or something similar these days? :)
I agree on the annoying Seasonic ad on the left. I use Adblock Plus but I whitelisted Anandtech just to show my support. Anandtech gets ad revenue from my visit even if I don't click on it (sites get revenue based on views not clicks), adblock will deny them of the revenue.
You'll find that more and more people are ignoring ads now. The company I work for keeps tabs on it and the number of non-adblock users is shrinking fast.
What is the point in buying a 2P system when there is obviously a huge bottleneck between the two processors resulting in reduced performance, especially when compared to a 1P system with the same TDP?
Don't like the fan connectors, it is all too proprietary, this would be an I.T. Dept. worst nightmare in the long run, expensive to purchase, and short lived.
311 watts at the wall with a 1.3 kW PSU? Good thing that PSU is 90% efficient at 20% load! The whole system only has a TDP of 470 Watts. While I understand they want more power available for HDDs and add in GPUs, the PSU seems over spec'd. How was this system loaded?
At the risk of sounding like a cliche, Apple did a better job of the whole baffled, segmented cooling, modular industrial engineering with the Power Mac G5 all of twelve years ago.
Plus their casing still looks and feels sexy today, unlike this monstrosity full of ill-fitting moulded plastic...
Even SGI boxes of 20 year vintage had more aesthetic mystique to them.
I'm a bit curious about part of the PSU design. From the label on the PSU itself, and the ODD/HDD power connectors on the mobo diagram, it's appears that during normal use the 3.3/5v power is being made using DC-DC converters on the mobo. (I suppose they could be dual purposing the +5Vsb unit in the PSU for part of that, but would've expected it to be marked differently if so.) I'm wondering why they left the -12v module in the PSU instead of moving it to the mobo (next to the RS232 port) as well. Are circuits that can invert DC power significantly more expensive/less efficient than something that could be done while closer to the AC?
Does it come pre-loaded with spyware like their lappies? Also, whatever their excuse for the price: vom. I can build this system myself for a tenth of the price.
Design 101? They should have taken a page from Apple's Mac Pro. As an engineer, I love that design despite an Apple hater. It doesn't have to be cylindrical externally or as compact but to be efficient in design.
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Mikemk - Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - link
"these are the high TDP 160W models with 12 cores"Really? 12 cores?
mapesdhs - Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - link
Indeed, it should say 10, which is ironic as it's correctly described in the spec list that follows.My biggest complaint with systems like these is the lack of any backup drive of some kind for the C-drive; IMO this should be standard on all pro systems by now. I've helped with so many pro users over the years who've had normal rust spinners fail, at least with those there's usually a chance to rescue data before a drive completely dies, but with SSDs, normally no chance.
IBM could at least include a simple MX100 or something for C-drive backup.
Ian.
mapesdhs - Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - link
Also, which C-ray test are you using, with what parameters and how many threads? This matters a lot for comparing systems.mapesdhs - Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - link
Oops, stuck the above in the wrong place, sorry... still no post editing/deletion/etc. yet??dave_the_nerd - Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - link
IBM?MrSpadge - Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - link
IBM can't do anything about this system, it's Lenovo since many years by now.Samus - Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - link
It just goes to show how people still associate IBM with Lenovo's crap :\Let's face facts with facts...quality has declined since IBM turned over their PC division. Most Thinkpads are built to 'Ideapad' quality and engineering now, and in the case of the Thinkpad E, it IS an Ideapad. There isn't anything specifically "wrong" with Ideapads, but they don't live up to the Thinkpad reputation. None of the new Thinkpads do. Lenovo is also notorious for not standing behind their products, EOL'ing products quickly after a successor is released.
The last great Thinkpad's were the T4x/X40 series. Lenovo quickly ruined the T60 series with inadequate cooling for the discrete GPU's, leaving it up to the once-devoted Thinkpad community to create the utility TPfancontrol to fix the fan ramp-up issues. Issues persisted from there, with poor quality lithium cells and poor quality plastic ports ever since. Just Google T400/T500 USB ports cracking.
Long story short, on paper, the new Thinkstation P900 looks great on paper and initial review, but I'm sure issues will creep up that will not be adequately fixed. At least HP and Dell stand behind their products, especially their corporate-class products.
lophiomys - Wednesday, May 13, 2015 - link
FULL ACK to Samus regarding the poor quality of Lenovo Thinkpads and general lack of service by Lenovo. Still typing on a wonderful IBM Thinkpads T43p ...I like the design concept of the P900, but would only consider buying one at a - 50% rebate.
vision33r - Sunday, May 17, 2015 - link
Years ago, when Thinkpad turned over to Lenovo. I said it's gonna suck to my manager and he said it's a "Thinkpad" and he went ahead and purchased about 200 T60 thinkpads. Almost 1/2 of them went back and needed systemboard swaps. The drivers they issued were crap and resulted in lots of blue screens. Today, I don't work on laptops anymore and some poor support person was walking around swapping Thinkpad X1 Carbons. He said they are pretty flakey, a lot of them just crap out and they are brand spanking new. Hardware is great but reliability just not very good.PitneFor - Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - link
wut , backups should be done with backup software to some sort of redundant hard drive array . or plug a usb drive in if your that amateurzavrtak - Friday, May 29, 2015 - link
Pro users should have their own backup solution already in place and in most cases those solutions will be network driven anyway. Adding a secondary physical backup drive is literally pointless for professional use. Some self employed hobbyist that runs his business without any it-consulting nor it expertise does not really qualify for "pro user" imho, though I hear since 30 years funny stories about those, and even today they are usually better off with just using apple. ;-)Besides, naturally IBM has nothing to do with a Lenovo system ;-)
LeahLambert - Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - link
thats greatFreakie - Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - link
I'm not hip to this workstation myself. They are betting on IT departments wanting some sort of fancy interior which, at least in my experience, is just not the case. While it may be fun to poke around and see what everything does, it's only neat once and after that it gets old. From looking at these pictures, there are definitely quite a few parts that would need removing (and the need to figure out how to remove) to replace other things. To be honest it's looks like an annoying design for and IT department.In contrast I got to poke around a couple of Dell's latest Precision workstation designs last year (they've had this design for nearly two years now actually) and it looks much easier to service than this Lenovo. This Lenovo simply has too many movable parts to service. We don't care about baffles or fans sliding in and out. We care about opening it up and being able to remove the power supply and only the power supply. Being able to reach all the DIMM slots without having to remove anything else. We really want to be able to take out just the part we want and that's it. Putting things in the way of that just frustrates and complicates. Having everything be obvious and right in front of you for removal is usually what you want.
It's a really cool looking design, and for a personal workstation it does look genuinely interesting but when I can configure a Dell for my AutoCAD guys who need new computers, with the same specs and warranty, for $5,000 less (ordering online too of course) then I'm going to instantly chose the Dell and forget about marketing terms like "baffles" because their department doesn't need $5,000 in marketing and I don't actually NEED fancy internals to do any work that the computer needs in the future. And given that many companies/government agencies bill computers to the account of the department it is going to, not the IT department, then it is sort of the last nail in the coffin for deciding on this purchase and I would imagine that where they will see most of their volume will be small business, not the large entities that bring in large orders.
mapesdhs - Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - link
I hear you about internals being a pain sometimes. I recently refurbed an old Dell 1-CPU S775 system, it was a nightmare to take apart, whereas a T7500 is much easier to deal with. Good to hear newer Dells are built nicely too, and you're spot on about the cost difference being a deciding factor for most potential buyers; $5K is kinda huge at this level.Ian.
mapesdhs - Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - link
Btw, their excuse for the online pricing setup reminds me of what SGI used to say about such things, whereas in reality (certainly for SGI back then) it would have been so much better if one could have ordered direct, without going through a reseller who often just ripped people off with huge markups.Ian.
Freakie - Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - link
Oh man I hear you too, those older Dells are such a pain. But the newer ones are definitely better even than the T7500's; the cable routing in the T7500 is a nightmare. If the unit wasn't under warranty anymore I'd just cut the cables when replacing the PSU because I couldn't be bothered cutting my hands up getting them out and then again going in all the crannies.Direct ordering is definitely way better than through partners. Not just the price but the support alone is worth it, especially with Dell. I might not like their consumer stuff too much but managing 500+ computers and their service status/history is actually not too bad with them. It's not easy providing so much support which is why some companies prefer to sell most of their volume through resellers because then it's the reseller's job to provide support, not the manufacturer. And I don't exactly have fond feelings for reseller support.
mfred - Friday, May 8, 2015 - link
Their comment about web prices is kind of BS. At least for laptops, they constantly undercut us and we're a partner. I find it somewhat difficult to sell Lenovo because they do sell cheaper on their website than they do in distribution. The cost will be maybe $5 less in disty than what's listed on their website.We do mostly Supermicro/Dell for workstations though, so I can't comment on those prices.
Samus - Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - link
IT departments want support. Lenovo does not equal support.GTVic - Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - link
It doesn't really pay to spend this much time on criticizing based on a picture. Having used Lenovo Thinkstations in the past I can be confident that this is largely a tool free design, everything snaps in and is designed to be fairly easy to service.Samus - Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - link
That's great for Lenovo technicians because real IT departments don't actually service the equipment, it's all done under warranty and once its out of warranty, the equipment is EoL'd and cycled out. No IT department buys equipment based on how easy it is to service. They buy based on support, reliability, and price.Freakie - Thursday, May 7, 2015 - link
Actually in my experience we do the vast majority of the servicing ourselves, especially for desktops. Literally all I have to do is live chat with Dell's support for IT Departments, tell them that a computer we recently received had the power connector going into the DVD drive break off inside the DVD drive some how, and they next day ship me a replacement PSU and my user has a working DVD drive within 24hrs. And THAT'S what good manufacturer support is, a trusting relationship between manufacturer and IT Department goes a long ways. Sending out equipment for repairs is slow and a pain. And having someone come on-site is a waste of money for the manufacturer and time for us because we need to make sure we are available when they get there instead of repairing it on our own schedule. If you're a "real IT department" for a few hundred computers, you really can't afford the time to have someone else do the repair work.And you'd also be surprised how many things that SHOULD have been EoL'd don't get EoL'd! Just because it isn't under warranty doesn't mean we want to just throw it out especially when you have 100 of the same thing (aka spare parts which means immediate repairs). And some departments are happy with what they have and don't want to go by the set EoL schedule for their computers and use their funds elsewhere. They pay for it with extra downtime when something does break, but they know that it's their own fault.
Samus - Friday, May 8, 2015 - link
My HP servers, workstations and printers order parts that fail\deplete automatically. When I show up to work the next morning at 8AM, the support technician that arrived at 6AM is walking out the door and everything is fixed.That's real support. And it's included with every HP Elitedesk/Elitebook, Laserjet Pro\Officejet Pro, and Proliant server I've ever managed for 3 years unless you purchase a "smartbuy" with a 1y/1y. The craziest thing about HP warranties is the ADP (accidental damage protection) is only 6%/year the cost of the machine. So a $1000 Elitebook is <$200 to cover for 3 years against user destruction. The equivalent Applecare on a $1000 Macbook is $269, and Lenovo charges $229 with no option for next-day.
zavrtak - Friday, May 29, 2015 - link
Small business solutions without internal it department often likes easy to service, replace and upgradeable hardware. Not only because those solutions might offer good value for their money in small business solutions, but as well because external IT consulting likes to make a buck with their own support.Besides that you are absolutely right. If there is a real IT department than usually they prefer to buy support, reliability and just cycle out stuff that stop working - with a few exceptions when old hardware is needed for special use-cases or getting some time for bigger rollouts.
KAlmquist - Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - link
I don't think that the system is particularly hard to service. To remove the power supply (and only the power supply), you remove the side panel, open a door, and slide the power supply out. I assume that the Dell has something that keeps the power supply from accidentally falling out of the case when the side panel is removed, so I would think that remove the power supply from the Dell takes the same number of steps, or more.To access the DIMM's you remove the side panel and the central baffle. Removing the baffle is an extra step, but before we can say definitively that the Dell wins on this measure we would have to compare the time to remove the side panel on both systems.
As for fans that slide in and out, I'll grant you that fans don't fail very often, but if one ever does fail the Lenova allows you to slide out the failed fan and slide in a replacement after removing nothing other than the side panel.
I agree with you about price. I couldn't find a comparable computer on the Dell web site, but AVA Direct will sell a comparable computer for a tad over $10,000. The P900 is only worth considering if you need a large numbers of workstations and can get Lenovo to agree to a large quantity discount.
Freakie - Thursday, May 7, 2015 - link
That's the problem though, being built for too many "what if's". And I hate break-out boards in units too, they are notorious for dying and don't really serve a purpose that a different internal design can't solve. The design of the P900 is just so superfluous. Just having the insides look pretty is a waste because no one is looking at the insides, and of course there is no side window. It just screams unnecessary.The Dell Precision 7910 is the one I was referencing in my original comment. I specced it out online and it came out to ~$5,000 less than this and I doubt that you are going to get a $5,000 discount per-unit on these Lenovos. And if you're ordering that large of a volume, might as well ask your Dell rep for a volume discount as well.
dragonsqrrl - Saturday, May 9, 2015 - link
Yep, I did the same and it came out to around 10,500-$11,000. Based off of this review I too prefer the internal layout of the latest Precisions, they're simple and well thought out. Definitely an improvement over the prior design at least.edlee - Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - link
I have had great experience with Lenovo professional products, thinkserver tower and rack servers similar well thought design and high end power supply. Please try to review an 8 bay thinkserver as well so we can compare to commercial 8 bay naszachrohlfs - Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - link
Would really appreciate some benchmark scores from programs like Solidworks, Revit, Adobe Suites and graphic design programs.While the review is nice it makes it hard to sell anything to a company with out some comparable data on the programs you use.
mapesdhs - Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - link
PS. Ian, pleeeease stop using the Blinkenlights site for the C-ray link! :D I don't control that site, it's just a mirror. The main C-ray link should be here:http://www.sgidepot.co.uk/c-ray.html
Sometimes I can't even connect to Blinkenlights.
Ian.
gey27 - Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - link
The advertising on the sides of the page is extremely off-putting. The ad is so close to the article text that it is making the article difficult to read. I have been coming to this site religiously since before the days of the celeron (the abit BP6 brings back many fond memories) and almost all my computer related purchases are based in part on reviews here. But this latest style is a bridge too far. Please fix it, or I'll be forced to look elsewhere.....mapesdhs - Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - link
Not sure what ads you're referring to; are you using Adblock Plus? I use A.P. and the viewing is just fine. Who doesn't use Adblock or something similar these days? :)vFunct - Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - link
Most people don't use AdBlock because they're unnecessary add ons to a web browser.The less add-ons you have, the faster your web experience.
pablo906 - Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - link
If you think that browsing the web without adblock and noscript is faster I've got a bridge in Brooklyn for sale.MobiusPizza - Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - link
I agree on the annoying Seasonic ad on the left. I use Adblock Plus but I whitelisted Anandtech just to show my support. Anandtech gets ad revenue from my visit even if I don't click on it (sites get revenue based on views not clicks), adblock will deny them of the revenue.centhar - Thursday, May 7, 2015 - link
I could care less as I block every site I can. If I want to research and/or buy something, I know where to look. I hate ads and logos on everything.Flunk - Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - link
You'll find that more and more people are ignoring ads now. The company I work for keeps tabs on it and the number of non-adblock users is shrinking fast.GTVic - Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - link
Or Firefox plus NoScript. Keeps you safe from Javascript attacks and cuts out most of the advertising.bigboxes - Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - link
FF + AdBlock Plus = winShadowmaster625 - Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - link
What is the point in buying a 2P system when there is obviously a huge bottleneck between the two processors resulting in reduced performance, especially when compared to a 1P system with the same TDP?BillyONeal - Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - link
What 1P system are you aware of that had a 300+ W TDP for the processor?extide - Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - link
There are plenty of apps that benefit from 2P, are you just being ignorant?Refuge - Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - link
Don't like the fan connectors, it is all too proprietary, this would be an I.T. Dept. worst nightmare in the long run, expensive to purchase, and short lived.Lenovo should know better...
GTVic - Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - link
That is one connector of 3 and I'd assume the connector shown is an adapter and the fan has a regular connector that plugs into the grey adapter.Ammaross - Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - link
Anyone else notice that the images on page 1 say "Embargoed until August 12th"?Ammaross - Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - link
2013 copyright. Nevermind. :PDiHydro - Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - link
311 watts at the wall with a 1.3 kW PSU? Good thing that PSU is 90% efficient at 20% load! The whole system only has a TDP of 470 Watts. While I understand they want more power available for HDDs and add in GPUs, the PSU seems over spec'd. How was this system loaded?der - Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - link
What a station this is! Haha!ectoplasmosis - Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - link
At the risk of sounding like a cliche, Apple did a better job of the whole baffled, segmented cooling, modular industrial engineering with the Power Mac G5 all of twelve years ago.Plus their casing still looks and feels sexy today, unlike this monstrosity full of ill-fitting moulded plastic...
Even SGI boxes of 20 year vintage had more aesthetic mystique to them.
GTVic - Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - link
It is designed to move the air, who cares what it looks like. This isn't a gaming machine with plexiglass panels and mood lighting.Zak - Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - link
Can we please get better quality photos in these reviews? Please?ectoplasmosis - Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - link
Yes, the photos in most articles have been atrocious for a while now.It's not expensive or difficult to get a lightbox and learn how to use a DSLR...
xype - Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - link
I see a seasonic ad that goes right up to the to the article’s text edge. It makes it really, really hard to read. Great design, there.Samus - Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - link
Review system at $16,797.60That gave me a chuckle ;)
Flunk - Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - link
Workstation or loaded Hyundai Accent, which is better value?ImSteevin - Thursday, May 14, 2015 - link
Like with any tool, it depends what you need to do!DanNeely - Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - link
I'm a bit curious about part of the PSU design. From the label on the PSU itself, and the ODD/HDD power connectors on the mobo diagram, it's appears that during normal use the 3.3/5v power is being made using DC-DC converters on the mobo. (I suppose they could be dual purposing the +5Vsb unit in the PSU for part of that, but would've expected it to be marked differently if so.) I'm wondering why they left the -12v module in the PSU instead of moving it to the mobo (next to the RS232 port) as well. Are circuits that can invert DC power significantly more expensive/less efficient than something that could be done while closer to the AC?aggiechase37 - Thursday, May 7, 2015 - link
Does it come pre-loaded with spyware like their lappies? Also, whatever their excuse for the price: vom. I can build this system myself for a tenth of the price.zodiacfml - Friday, May 8, 2015 - link
Design 101? They should have taken a page from Apple's Mac Pro. As an engineer, I love that design despite an Apple hater. It doesn't have to be cylindrical externally or as compact but to be efficient in design.dragonsqrrl - Saturday, May 9, 2015 - link
This workstation seems woefully overpriced for the specs. A similarly spec'd Dell Precision costs ~$10,500.akula2 - Sunday, May 10, 2015 - link
The recent X99 based workstations I've built are far more superior in terms of low TDP. performance and savings. E.g.,E5-2680 v3: 12 Cores -- 120W -- 30Mb cache. -- costs much less.
Considering the investment for each workstation, the most important point missed:
How safe is the data in this machine when running Windows 7 or 8? Highly unlikely.
Hence, I chose Linux because of various reasons. E.g., PRNG issue, thanks to Intel's 'RdRand' CPU instruction.
twtech - Wednesday, May 13, 2015 - link
Most of the time the OS is determined by the software you need to run (unless it's all multi-platform, of course).