OT: Tis the season for a new PC

Jonathan Neal wrote on 10/28/2009, 2:41 PM
Hey guys,

I'm buying a new PC this season.

I talked to a guy from Boxx, and while he was incredibly helpful I wasn't sold on the unit he suggested for the price I was quoted. It felt $500 - $1000 more than it should have been, even after their customized engineering. More or less, he recommended their 3D Boxx 4850 Series PC.

With that said, I read a great review about a workstation from StoneWave, the StoneWave Pro Studio i7 PC.

Why the comparison between these two? I'm unconvinced, and it's a lot of money. I record music about as much as I edit video, and I don't have the money for two machines (we're talking about dropping the rediculous $2000-$4000 as it is). The StoneWave is much more affordable, and doesn't appear too different.

I've built my own for years, and they never give me the longevity I get from purchasing someone else's complete, "engineered" unit. Has anyone here had experience using either a 3D Boxx 4850 Series or StoneWave Pro Studio i7 PC?

Jonathan

Comments

farss wrote on 10/28/2009, 3:23 PM
No experience with either of those.
I do have experience with having a systems integrator build a system specifically for editing video and it was money well spent. The Same Business Day On Site SLA worked, under 1 hour to get the one problem fixed (RAM needed reseating).

The SuperMicro system I bought around 5 years ago from them is still going strong. I did look at the Boxx systems at the same time however reviews back then indicated the SuperMicro mobos performed better at shifting large amounts of data than the Tynan mobos.

The company I bought the system from, XDT, have shifted their focus to some extent but their latest Catapult DPX server is still built around SuperMicro hardware.

Having said that the systems I've built myself have also stood the test of time. No reason now why you cannot roll your own using SuperMicro components. Probably my next system I'll give the old SuperMicro case a heart transplant and upgrade to the latest Xeon CPUs.

Bob.
CorTed wrote on 10/28/2009, 4:10 PM
Jonathan, since you have built your own systems in the past, I wonder why you now want to spend more and have someone else do this. You should be able to order all of the quality parts from NewEgg build a personalized dream system for less then what they offer.
It allows for using only the components you want and need for your specific application.
It does require you to do some research, but NewEgg has a great website with many user reviews on the various components.

I will be going thru this exercise myself before the year is up, as I feel the Q6600 I have now needs an update.

Ted
Coursedesign wrote on 10/28/2009, 4:19 PM
Jonathan,

I'm also feeling a bit more inclined to let someone else do the work, whether designing my workstations, building them, or supporting them. I'm just too busy using them, and enjoy that more at this time.

Do check out HP also. Their new Z800 workstation is quite a treat, and you should be able to get it for a lot less than BOXX's otherwise excellent machines. You can get onsite service from their workstation VARs, and these guys are not your average consumer PC hawkers. They have professional customers with income at stake, and they understand that.

Jonathan Neal wrote on 10/28/2009, 10:46 PM
I have NEVER, I tell you NEVER had as great of an experience dealing with the support and sales team than at StoneWave. It's 9:37PM my time, and they were up, they being a real person, in my timezone, ready to serve. I never get that kind of treatment, anywhere, and I'm very cordial on the phone.

After talking with their support online, they offered to call me to clarify what I was getting, what I was paying, and run me through the whole process. The guy was realistic, enthusiastic, and dynamic - eg never came across as reading from a cue card.

I had all sorts of questions about upgrades, about deals, about anything and everything I could ask - because dropping that kind of money is no short order.

I've dealt with mostly Dell, AT&T, and a handful of small software companies, and the experience is never pleasant. AT&T mischarged me over $200 and after realizing their error, wanted to charge me to fix it (don't worry, once I explained how wrong that was, they quickly waved the charge).

What I'm trying to get at is, I'm definitely getting the StoneWave unit with the i7 960, 6GB of RAM, and the "silencer" drive enclosures. 3 years parts and 1 year support, and if there support is half as good as tonight, I'd still feel this was one of the most comfortable purchases I have ever made.

I know I'm raving, but man, all I can say is the unit looks amazing, and that customer service really means a lot to me.

Jonathan
Tom Pauncz wrote on 10/29/2009, 6:35 AM
Jonathan,
If you want to save some money, ask them about the i7-8xx processors.

Unlike the i7-9xx, they are hyperthreaded so you get double the cores. As well, the MoBos are cheaper.

I just had a system built with an i7-860 (2.80GHz) , 4GB RAM, two 500GB SATA drives, nVidia GeForce 9800GT video card (1GB), a 750W PS, dual layer DVD R/W, ASUS P7P55D Pro MoBo in an Antec case (P183) for around $1500 CAD.

The system screams through MPG and h.264 renders. Oh yes, and it's super quiet. Can barely hear it sitting right next to it.

Tom
rs170a wrote on 10/29/2009, 7:46 AM
I just had a system built with an i7-860...

Tom, it's about time you got rid of your "dinosaur" :-)

Mike
Tom Pauncz wrote on 10/29/2009, 7:51 AM
Didn't get rid of it! :0)

Still useful for whole lot of things - such as SonicFire, Ultra, SoundForge.... to name a few.

But I do have to say that editing has become fun once again.
Tom
jabloomf1230 wrote on 10/29/2009, 7:52 PM
Bob's right about Supermicro. I don't have one, but if I do upgrade to a 2 CPU server, that's the way I would go. Start with a Supermicro barebone tower server:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816101241

and add the remaining components. You will get a much more powerful and durable system, for the same money, even when you factor in having somebody assemble and test it for you.
Jonathan Neal wrote on 10/31/2009, 2:38 AM
Sure, but the price was reasonable when compared with Newegg but factoring in the insurance on the machine (3 year)..