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A 2.66 GHz Nehalem Quad Core Complete System For $894!

Alessandro17

By Alessandro17,
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Alessandro17
Alessandro17
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I didn't quite know where to post this, but I suppose every hardware geek as I am will find this mouthwatering.

I didn't expect a Nehalem system could be available as soon as September and be as cheap as $894!

 

http://hubpages.com/hub/A-266-GHz-Nehalem-...-System-For-894

 

The silicon rumor mill has been in overdrive with the information leaking out that Nehalem may be in the hands of enthusiasts as early as late September 2008 and at jaw-dropping low prices. In what may very well be the coup de grace for AMD's higher end CPU aspirations, the stunning new Nehalem architecture may be on sale in its Bloomfield (quad core high end desktop) guise at a frequency of 2.66 GHz and at a price below $300! This is for a CPU which in multithreaded applications can be over twice as fast as its current 2.66 GHz Penryn brother, the Q9450.

 

If that news/rumor has you salivating half as much as it does me, you'd likely want to start preparing for your first Nehalem system.

 

Of course nobody can have a clue about OS X compatibility yet, but once the motherboards begin to be available in large numbers, we should soon know.

 

Please notice that the most interesting bit, IMO, is that such a system has the potential to be (a lot?) faster than a Mac Pro at a fraction of the price, without even overclocking it!

(MoC)
(MoC)
Posted
Posted
I didn't quite know where to post this, but I suppose every hardware geek as I am will find this mouthwatering.

I didn't expect a Nehalem system could be available as soon as September and be as cheap as $894!

 

http://hubpages.com/hub/A-266-GHz-Nehalem-...-System-For-894

Of course nobody can have a clue about OS X compatibility yet, but once the motherboards begin to be available in large numbers, we should soon know.

 

Please notice that the most interesting bit, IMO, is that such a system has the potential to be (a lot?) faster than a Mac Pro at a fraction of the price, without even overclocking it!

 

Oh thanks for posting this Alessandro17!! I can't wait to see these in production! :(

Alessandro17
Alessandro17
Posted
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And BTW, I forgot this:

 

This computer will wipe the floor on multithreaded applications over any desktop CPU available today at any price, and yes, that even includes the mighty Intel Core2 Extreme QX9775 3.2GHz LGA 771 150W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80574QX9775 at $1,550... and that's just for the processor chip alone!
bofors
bofors
Posted
Posted
Of course nobody can have a clue about OS X compatibility yet...

 

It would be good if we could start a discussion on that issue... so I am recopying my post from a thread I started in the "Mods, Overclocking" sub-forum that no one has responded too yet... :

 

I have been looking at the up-coming release of the Intel Nehalem architecture which is rumored to start next month: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nehalem_(microarchitecture)

 

While I think we can expect Apple to adopt the dual-socket Nehalem variant, Gainestown, and its chipset with reasonable speed, the same can not be said with respect to the single socket Nehalem variant, Bloomfield and the "high performance" x58 chipset which is expected to be released first: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_X58

 

Instead, I think we should expect Apple to not use the x58 at all, and to wait until late next year when Nehalem goes mainstream and the "mainstream" PCH chipset comes out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platform_Controller_Hub

 

Since Nehalem architecture eliminates the Northbridge by moving the memory controller on to the CPU die (like AMD), I am wondering what we should expect with running OSx86 on the x58 chipset for the year or so before Apple switches to mainstream Nehalem on PCH (and thereby supporting Bloomfield on x58).

 

Specifically:

 

(1) Should we expect standard OSx86 distros. to run on the x58 chipset at all?

 

(2) If so will it have similiar problems as running OSx86 on AMD systems?

 

(3) Is it reasonable for the OSx86 development community to consider fully supporting the x58 chipset by writing the low-level code necessary?

Alessandro17
Alessandro17
Posted
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It would be good if we could start a discussion on that issue... so I am recopying my post from a thread I started in the "Mods, Overclocking" sub-forum that no one has responded too yet...

 

That would be great, bofors. Your hackintosh threads have been some of the best ever. I built 3 perfectly working ones just by following your tutorials.

 

We could also discuss if the components suggested by Hal Licino are indeed the best. Personally I think not.

bofors
bofors
Posted
Posted
should work imo.

 

Thanks for the input, I was hoping somebody who knew what they were talking about would comment on the upcoming x58 / Nehalem (Bloomfield) - OSx86 issue.

 

We could also discuss if the components suggested by Hal Licino are indeed the best. Personally I think not.

 

Here is what Hal listed:

 

* Nehalem Bloomfield 2.66 GHz Quad Core CPU with HSF: $300*

* LGA1366 motherboard: $150*

* OCZ Gold Edition 2GB (4 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ3G13332GK: $146

* Diamond Viper 3850PE3512O Radeon HD 3850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card: $80

* Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3320613AS 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive: $70

* Enermax FMA II EG565P-VE 535W ATX12V Power Supply: $80

* Thermaltake WingRS VG1000BNS Black SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case: $40

* ASUS 18X DVD±R LightScribe Burner with QuieTrack Tech Beige PATA Model DRW-1814BL BG: $22

* Anyware EZ-9910OP Beige PS/2 Standard Office Keyboard: $4

* DCT Factory S-2501B Black 3 Buttons 1 x Wheel PS/2 Ball Internet Mouse: $2

 

I only have a couple comments about this.

 

While it seems likely that Hal is correct in his pricing of the CPU, I think x58 motherboards are going to be closer to $250 than $150 when they come out because they will marketed as high-performance, overclocking kit. Although I was looking at some OCZ RAM on sale at NewEgg yesterday that was highly rated, the number of bad reviews and incompatibilities of OCZ RAM I saw a while back, make me a little nervous about investing in this brand. The other thing about RAM that is on my mind is that with the 64-bit improvement to OS X in Leopard and Snow Leopard, is whether or not it is now desirable to run with more that 2 GB of RAM for general use. It might make more sense to consider buying DDR3 RAM a long term investment, go with 2GB DIMMs instead of 1GB modules and get something of higher performance.

 

Hal mentioned for $10 more you could get PC Power & Cooling S61EPS 610W Continuous @ 40°C EPS12V PSU. PC Power & Cooling makes some of the best (and most expensive) PSU's available, so this could be a great investment but this or other PSU's now branded "PC Power & Cooling" could just be a marketing plot given how cheap they are. I would check it out at http://JonnyGuru.com . I would avoid the Asus PATA burner and probably go with an SATA model that is known to work well with OSx86. I would also spend more than $6 on the keyboard and mouse, as somebody who comes to the OSx86 as a real Macintosh user, I want a real Macintosh keyboard for my Hackintosh.

Alessandro17
Alessandro17
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Bofors,

 

I agree with most of what you say.

Personally I'd spend more also on the case (I love my Cooler Master Centurion 534) and the Hard Drive(s).

Also I wouldn't touch a Radeon with a bargepole (because of their Linux drivers). Besides I have just ordered a XFX GeForce 8800 GT 512MB Extreme ALPHA DOG for a very reasonable price.

bofors
bofors
Posted
Posted
Bofors,

 

I agree with most of what you say.

Personally I'd spend more also on the case (I love my Cooler Master Centurion 534) and the Hard Drive(s).

Also I wouldn't touch a Radeon with a bargepole (because of their Linux drivers). Besides I have just ordered a XFX GeForce 8800 GT 512MB Extreme ALPHA DOG for a very reasonable price.

 

In my last building cycle, almost two years ago, I bought three CoolerMaster Centurion 5's for about $45 each. While they are not perfect, for that price they might as well be. I would certainly consider buy more of them or something similiar from CoolerMaster. I have been slapping the free white Apple logo stickers that you get with real Macintoshs on them to give it a Mac Pro-like look.

 

I got four Ultra V-Series 500W PSU's for free after rebate from Frys/Outpost.com. While I am certainly not encouraging anybody to skimp on PSU's, JonnyGuru.com reported that these PSU were quality, they had good reviews and no reported failures when I bought them, and they seemed to have worked well for me for overclocking on air. However, last year one of my three Intel BadAxe / Conroe machines had problems and eventually died. I wasn't really paying much attention to it, so I am not exactly sure what happened, but the PSU, RAM (Crucial Ballistix) and the motherboard (BadAxe2) all had to be replaced. So, it looks like the PSU could have failed then taken the RAM and motherboard down with it. Everything was covered by the manufacturers under warranty, all I had to pay was about $25 in shipping.

 

I do not pay too much attention to the latest graphics cards because I have no need for that type of power. I am more concerned with high-performance computing, not games and media. But I lean towards Nvidia because Titan/Natit/NVInject/etc. made it the choice for OSx86 almost two years ago (but may not be an issue now at all). I have three XFX 7600GS boards, they have served my needs perfectly and I got them at good prices. Like CoolerMaster, I would certainly lean toward buying more graphics boards from XFX.

 

I think there are a couple of things to say here about implications of Nehalem (Gainestown) for Apple dual socket Mac Pro with respect to OSx86 but I do not feel like typing any more right now: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nehalem_(microarchitecture)

Alessandro17
Alessandro17
Posted
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Posted
I got four Ultra V-Series 500W PSU's for free after rebate from Frys/Outpost.com. While I am certainly not encouraging anybody to skimp on PSU's, JonnyGuru.com reported that these PSU were quality, they had good reviews and no reported failures when I bought them, and they seemed to have worked well for me for overclocking on air. However, last year one of my three Intel BadAxe / Conroe machines had problems and eventually died. I wasn't really paying much attention to it, so I am not exactly sure what happened, but the PSU, RAM (Crucial Ballistix) and the motherboard (BadAxe2) all had to be replaced. So, it looks like the PSU could have failed then taken the RAM and motherboard down with it. Everything was covered by the manufacturers under warranty, all I had to pay was about $25 in shipping.

 

PSUs have remained a bit of a mystery for me. For my present computer I bought one from a virtually unknown brand (I needed one in a hurry), server grade. It has served me well, but it is very noisy.

There was a time when I believed that there was nothing better than Enermax, but then I read bad (user) reviews and compatibility issues, so today I wouldn't know what to buy. Price is not much of an issue.

Alessandro17
Alessandro17
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quick word on PSU's

 

Ultra is decent, Antec is the cream of the standard crop... the you have corsair and thermaltake, etc...

 

How about the cream of the cream? And I suppose you don't think a lot of the Enermax (you don't mention them...)

Redliner
Redliner
Posted
Posted

I've never messed with them before, I'm using an ultra at this moment, I have another PC with an Antec trio power, and I've got a friend with one of the 700+watt Corsairs... everything thermaltake that I've ever seen as been good.

  • 2 weeks later...
tele
tele
Posted
Posted

Please notice that the most interesting bit, IMO, is that such a system has the potential to be (a lot?) faster than a Mac Pro at a fraction of the price, without even overclocking it!

 

 

mmm... it seems you guys never used seriously a REAL mac pro....

 

just to start please consider a mac pro has 2 XEON CPU for 8 total cores... that 2.66 GHz Nehalem Quad Core uses 1 cpu and also overclocking it you won't match a total power of a 3ghz x 8 (24.000 mhz) total power equipped with 2 separate busses for each cpu !

 

probably apple will mount a quadcore CPU into next revision of top of the line iMac and the performance should be similar to that $894 PC... add a decent monitor and still need same bucks as a REAL mac :)

Synaesthesia
Synaesthesia
Posted
Posted

A Nehalem Quad core has 8 threads. It's nearly as fast as an 8-core penryn in multithreaded tasks, especially if it's overclocked! It will be faster than a Mac Pro in single threaded performance too.

 

Sure it's a little slower than an 8-core but it costs way less!

  • 3 weeks later...
Alessandro17
Alessandro17
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What do you people think? Do you still believe that we are going to get a 2.66 GHz, $300 Nehalem within a month or so?

I have put both my desktop and laptop for sale, but maybe it is too early for that.

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