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20x Computer Build Help

The savings over the dental specialist provider is $20,000. Dell would probably make this cheaper, or at the same price.

well most of these dental programs require atleast a NVIDIA 6200 minimum. dell has shitty integrated.
 
they don't have to. i have a dimension 9150 here i'm about to tear to bits with an x600 in it.
 
they don't have to. i have a dimension 9150 here i'm about to tear to bits with an x600 in it.

do you have proof that they dont have to?
I got the paper work sitting right in front of me. I'm doing the exact thing as this guy in the summer, but not with 20 computers
 
I'd go with cheaper RAM...this GSkill pair seems nice enough...and the bandwidth difference from DDR-800 to DDR-533 isnt really noticeable (especially on that kind of system).
If the proc is at stock speed, the DDR-533 is probably faster since it runs synchronously. PC4200 is dirt cheap compared to exotic stuff.

But for 20 systems, I'd go with an OEM. Several vendors will supply decent systems with LCDs for $750 and three-year warranties (and may even have Office bundled in). Even leasing may be an option tax-wise, with new machines showing up every three years.
 
I chose to go with the laptop style keyboard and mouse, do the falling reasons
-there will be no desk for a regular keyboard and mouse to be set on
-during some procedures blood does go airborn. All keyboards and mice must have some kind
of plastic covering so that everything can be clean. There is a company that produces lots of
laptop key coverings that are made for hospitals and etc. This would work great with that.
-the keyboard and mouse unit is very small and the patient can even to use the keyboard to
look at their x-rays and etc.


Why I did not go with onboard video-
-the software requires a nvidia 6200 minimum like AMD RULES stated (thank you man)
-yes passively cooled would have been nicer ;/ but there was a $10ea difference


Folding = Lawsuit
-thanks for the heads up, but I am totally fine on this. My dad does not work for any branch or etc.
There will be no problems with the software/legal conflicts. Also... the Patterson Dental software
does not run to 2x cpu's. It will not take advantage of the other core at all really. I can easily run the
Folding Client on the 2ed core and not bog down the system.


Why I did not go with Dell
-Yes I could have saved some money by going with them though I didn't want to go that
route. My dad wanted me to do this project and if it coast him a little extra, he wanted to
give me a chance and learn things. If something breaks or arrives DOA. This will be a great
learning experience for me to go through (while it may be a pain in the @$$ every once in
a while :D).

What I do may not be the way that you want to go but o well :p



I can build the computers and etc in about 2x days. I have got good cases that will alow me to
do a very simple yet really nice wire jobs.

I am expecting parts to fail or arive DOA. If so I can easly send them back and get the computers
fixed up. I do have time to get these computers installed by, 4x weeks, and really should be fine.





AMD RULES
please PM me more so that we can talk :)
 
I chose to go with the laptop style keyboard and mouse, do the falling reasons
-there will be no desk for a regular keyboard and mouse to be set on
-during some procedures blood does go airborn. All keyboards and mice must have some kind
of plastic covering so that everything can be clean. There is a company that produces lots of
laptop key coverings that are made for hospitals and etc. This would work great with that.
-the keyboard and mouse unit is very small and the patient can even to use the keyboard to
look at their x-rays and etc.


Why I did not go with onboard video-
-the software requires a nvidia 6200 minimum like AMD RULES stated (thank you man)
-yes passively cooled would have been nicer ;/ but there was a $10ea difference


Folding = Lawsuit
-thanks for the heads up, but I am totally fine on this. My dad does not work for any branch or etc.
There will be no problems with the software/legal conflicts. Also... the Patterson Dental software
does not run to 2x cpu's. It will not take advantage of the other core at all really. I can easily run the
Folding Client on the 2ed core and not bog down the system.


Why I did not go with Dell
-Yes I could have saved some money by going with them though I didn't want to go that
route. My dad wanted me to do this project and if it coast him a little extra, he wanted to
give me a chance and learn things. If something breaks or arrives DOA. This will be a great
learning experience for me to go through (while it may be a pain in the @$$ every once in
a while :D).

What I do may not be the way that you want to go but o well :p



I can build the computers and etc in about 2x days. I have got good cases that will alow me to
do a very simple yet really nice wire jobs.

I am expecting parts to fail or arive DOA. If so I can easly send them back and get the computers
fixed up. I do have time to get these computers installed by, 4x weeks, and really should be fine.





AMD RULES
please PM me more so that we can talk :)
ok. sounds good man
 
ok. sounds good man

Except for the part he omitted about telling his dad he plans to run his own extra personal software 24/7 in the background that will keep the cpu running at 100% utilization 24/7 in a barely-cooled case, thereby increasing the possibility of premature system failure.
 
Dell has multiple computers for sale. Not all have shitty integrated...
well most of the business grade computers do except for "workstations"
I see what you mean though. He is better of building where he can upgrade to better video in the future when digital imagry becomes more advanced.

Except for the part he omitted about telling his dad he plans to run his own extra personal software 24/7 in the background that will keep the cpu running at 100% utilization 24/7 in a barely-cooled case, thereby increasing the possibility of premature system failure.
well that could be an issue. But if he has sufficent processor cooling, he should be alright. Also, I hope your not planning to overclock these things :p :D ;) :)
 
well that could be an issue. But if he has sufficent processor cooling, he should be alright. Also, I hope your not planning to overclock these things :p :D ;) :)



Running software such as Folding on a BUSINESS computer, especially ones that DO NOT BELONG TO HIM, is a big no-no and would get your ass fired so fast in a job situation....again, he is showing his (lack of) intelligence in this matter. It's wrong for a "professional" to even do that, not too mention it can be illegal. It's asking for trouble, plain and simple.
 
Oh my. I will only make this comment: The people in this thread that have actually supported PCs and Networks are attempting to save you from yourself. I see pain, annoyance and dread in your future, OP.
 
I just can't help but laugh at the original poster.:D :D

How old are you? If you're still in HS.....:D :D

I bet you it's going to be a nightmare assembling those machines. There is a 10% chance of failure with computer hardware so you're going to be doing a lot of RMA's. Then, you're going to run into trouble maintaining the systems. What if something fails inside a computer? Are you going to determine what the problem is and fix it ASAP? It's not that easy. 20 power supplies? What if one blows and takes the whole computer with it? You going to pay for that? What if 5 parts fail in a week, you gonna call up 5 different companies and beg them to replace the parts for you while your dad's company waits several weeks?

It's a lot of responsibility.

But with that said, I wish you good luck. It's going to be fun assembling the PCs.... until you get sick of it on the 5th one.;)
 
Your'e dad is right about you learning things. Good luck with the nightmare this is going to turn into. Your biggest problem is parts. Having to deal with so many individual Warranty terms is a VERY bad idea. I work as a support tech for a relatively small business. I had never heard of mpc.com for an OEM provider. But we use a lot of their systems. Why? Because my boss got a good deal on stuff from them, including warranty support. May the force and tylenol be with you.:D
 
Wow, what a challenge. Everyone is waiting for you to "learn your lesson" the hard way. Anyhow, good luck to you... I hope you prove us all wrong. 20 builds? should be fun.

Take your time, relax, and have a cold beer. I hope you have a friend/brother/cousin to help you out. If not, find one (or more; the more the merrier)... They could definately help. Your hands will start to hurt if you do all of them in one day, hehe. Use an electric screw driver. Wear some gloves when prepping the cases (punching out any metal covering the bays). Since you're dealing with so many systems, you might want to wear an anti-static wrist band. Setup one system, image the drive, and push that image onto the rest (assuming you get volume licensing).
 
Running software such as Folding on a BUSINESS computer, especially ones that DO NOT BELONG TO HIM, is a big no-no and would get your ass fired so fast in a job situation....again, he is showing his (lack of) intelligence in this matter. It's wrong for a "professional" to even do that, not too mention it can be illegal. It's asking for trouble, plain and simple.

OP, please read this again for YOUR OWN SAKE.

It would be incredibly irresponsible to fold on machines you don't own without permission, especially systems that are potentially mission critical.

I shouldn't even touch on why you should have let a company that has a tech support department handle this job, but any trouble the systems have will eventually fall on you...

Good luck.
 
@ OP

Although i think it's great to build your own machine ( i've built tons) in this case i think you might be best served to go through a large company. They will give you a min of a year on the full system and not just the parts. They can be CTO also, so you can still get the parts you want.

I know HP and Lenovo has a bunch of sweet deals on pretty good systems. Under 1K.
HP is running a few promo's that gives you a free LCD too.

Where as you are buying quantity too, I think you could get a good discount through a big deal letter.

I work at PC Connection, so I talk with those reps on a near weekly basis, i can find out what kind of price we are talking about if you want.


P.S. I am not trying to push product on you, Just offering up some info.
 
Please stop all the flaming GOD!!!!!

Look, I am not just some dumb noob. I know that I will have a warranty and etc if I go with
a company like dell or etc. I understand that something may happen with one or two of these
computers. Hell last night I had a hard drive fail.

The thing is that I know how to fix problems and am fully able to keep these computers going.
I may not be going the easiest route but never the less I know how to fix problems and
I will be fine.
 
I know HP and Lenovo has a bunch of sweet deals on pretty good systems. Under 1K.
HP is running a few promo's that gives you a free LCD too.


A few people have mentioned that I can get free LCD's with going with an OEM. Thank you
for the help but I need monitors that are a step up then those.
 
OP,

By any chance are you building a spare machine? With the cost difference it may be something to look into. That way if a station fails you have another to throw in while awaiting RMA parts. For the cost of the spare system it is something to look into.
 
So you have 20 computers and server...just sitting in a room looking at each other?

What happened to the network? Or the requisite support and software?
 
This guy is dumb enough as it is. Do you really think it's smart to encourage him to DRINK while building these?

EDIT: After reflecting on my comment, I suppose it doesn't make a difference either way. He's fucked one way or the other. May as well get blazed and fucking hammered then build these boxes. The end result will be the same. An angry dad, a pile of broken parts and a moron who wishes he'd taken the advice of people on teh intarwebs!

Amidst all the flaming, I thought I'd offer some advice and encouragement, since he obviously isn't going the OEM route, despite of all the other posts here, lol.

@OP: Like I said above, relax and take your time.
 
So you have 20 computers and server...just sitting in a room looking at each other?

What happened to the network? Or the requisite support and software?

I don't think we have even made it to the software and support stage, yet. The hardware end of it is bad enough. The software end of it? The stuff nervous breakdowns are made of. For the experienced network administrator/workstation field engineer this would be a challenge. For a person suggesting that it is a cool idea to fold on business machines? Uh, yeah.
 
OP- what do you do for a living? Do you have a job or other responsibility? How old are you (not a flamebait, just curious to see if you have other responsibilities).

I ask because you will be ON CALL for your dad's office for the REST OF ETERNITY. Please realize this. You will get calls ALL the time asking for support- hardware as well as software, until you are eligible for Social Security. You will be expected to fix any and all problems, at all times of the day. Also, expect ignorant users to blame you for everything... i.e. "OP installed Windows updates on our systems, now my mouse doesn't work! It's his fault!"

I speak from past experience- my uncle owns a manufacturing company and wanted to save some bucks so he hired his network admin nephew (me) to build his server, workstations, and network. When shit started failing, workers didnt know how to use software, software crashed and there was downtime, etc. I was getting calls all the time and with a full time job it was very difficult to help them with their problems.

The reason OEMs can be more expensive is because all of this support costs $$$. I dont know if your dad is paying you, but the support of that office will ultimately fall on you and consume you and unless you're getting paid to do this full time, it's totally not worth it. Since it's a Dr's office I dont think it would be cool for the patients if you left them hanging because you had a history test at school or were busy with a project at your 9-5 job and couldnt make it onsite until 5:30pm.

Building PCs is always the fun part- hell I could build PCs 24/7. The support is what sucks, and mark my words, you will be on the line for that forever. The maintenance of these PCs will drive you insane. Do you have any plan for updates (i.e. virus, MS patching, etc)? What about backup solutions? You can't rely on a single server to be bullet proof and indestructible. Even a tape drive would be better than nothing.

Also, as many other people said, folding = bad idea. Save that for your home system.
 
There is a whole aspect that hasn't even been touched. Folding is to help find cures and save lives, right? Well let's start in your own neighborhood. If Xray's get lost, what is the direct impact on someone's life?

More directly, let's go to your own life and your father's practice. What happens if these workstations crash? Or the server crashes? What kind of disaster recovery plan do you have? Backups? Nightly backups? If you don't have one, you need one before you even get started.

More direct impact - network and workstation security. Do you know how to setup a firewall and configure a switch? Because you are going to want traffic routing on a network with 20 nodes. Even 5 nodes and it becomes necessary. Have you priced a router, switches and developed a plan for your network? What server OS will you be using? Will it be open to the internet? Will the workstations have access to the internet?

It is a *huge* liability if patient data gets leaked. You really need to think about how much of an undertaking this is beyond building a few PCs.

No offense, but you are excited about building Ferraris and a cool pit crew when commercial trucks and a warehouse are clearly called for. The majority of this undertaking will succeed or fail on the aspects of it that are decidedly unsexy and boring.
 
Couple of questions for you that I haven't seen asked yet:

1) Have you researched the medical software that's going to be installed on these boxes? Do they provide support with the software installation even if you build your own boxes or does that cost extra? Does it need a special interface card to connect to the x-ray machine and how difficult will that be to install? Will the software be able to be Ghost'd or will you need to do separate installs on every machine.

2) Will the wireless keyboards interfere with any of the medical equiment? Who's going to keep track of changing the batteries? Are they rechargeable or consumable?

There's nothing wrong with building your own boxes, it's just that it's really easy to underestimate the size of the task.
 
OP,
Have you read what anyone has even written or was this, im cool im building 20 computers thread.
From his profile he seems to be 18.
Most importantly did you read what this poster said, I am sure he would be the one you would most want to listen to.

Being a PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication System) administrator for a local hospital that does about 60,000 exams and stores 1.5 million + images a year, I am very familiar with medical grade imaging. In order to do diagnostic reads you must be FDA 510(k) certified and this cost dollars.

You will want at least one Radiology viewing station equipped with a good DICOM compliant monitor.

We use these in our clinical areas....

http://www.planar.com/products/medic.../dome_ex4c.cfm

CDW has decent prices on them....

http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/def...px?EDC=1062272

They come with a DICOM calibrated controller that must be used with the monitor. They will work for most imaging studies but if you are doing digital mammography and some MRI stuff you will need some good 5 mega pixel display (We have some in the Radiology reading room and the ER that cost $25,000)

I know this seams high, but you are dealing with a persons health and liability issues will arise so be smart and do not "cheap out" on the reading station.

As for the exam rooms, any good quality 1600 x 1200 display will do

Oh, I use Dell for all our PC's. Much easier to just call them with your gold support and have NO hassle when a replacement part is needed (this will happen).

Send me a PM if you need more help.
 
in each case there is
front 120
rear 120
side 120
+cpu fan

im good on cooling :)

..and short on smarts....

Running software such as Folding on a BUSINESS computer, especially ones that DO NOT BELONG TO HIM, is a big no-no and would get your ass fired so fast in a job situation....again, he is showing his (lack of) intelligence in this matter. It's wrong for a "professional" to even do that, not too mention it can be illegal. It's asking for trouble, plain and simple.

Oh my. I will only make this comment: The people in this thread that have actually supported PCs and Networks are attempting to save you from yourself. I see pain, annoyance and dread in your future, OP.

I just can't help but laugh at the original poster.:D :D

How old are you? If you're still in HS.....:D :D

I bet you it's going to be a nightmare assembling those machines. There is a 10% chance of failure with computer hardware so you're going to be doing a lot of RMA's. Then, you're going to run into trouble maintaining the systems. What if something fails inside a computer? Are you going to determine what the problem is and fix it ASAP? It's not that easy. 20 power supplies? What if one blows and takes the whole computer with it? You going to pay for that? What if 5 parts fail in a week, you gonna call up 5 different companies and beg them to replace the parts for you while your dad's company waits several weeks?

It's a lot of responsibility.

But with that said, I wish you good luck. It's going to be fun assembling the PCs.... until you get sick of it on the 5th one.;)

Your'e dad is right about you learning things. Good luck with the nightmare this is going to turn into. Your biggest problem is parts. Having to deal with so many individual Warranty terms is a VERY bad idea. I work as a support tech for a relatively small business. I had never heard of mpc.com for an OEM provider. But we use a lot of their systems. Why? Because my boss got a good deal on stuff from them, including warranty support. May the force and tylenol be with you.:D

The OP has no common sense and will find out his Big Mistake very soon.....

Wow, what a challenge. Everyone is waiting for you to "learn your lesson" the hard way. Anyhow, good luck to you... I hope you prove us all wrong. 20 builds? should be fun.

Take your time, relax, and have a cold beer. I hope you have a friend/brother/cousin to help you out. If not, find one (or more; the more the merrier)... They could definately help. Your hands will start to hurt if you do all of them in one day, hehe. Use an electric screw driver. Wear some gloves when prepping the cases (punching out any metal covering the bays). Since you're dealing with so many systems, you might want to wear an anti-static wrist band. Setup one system, image the drive, and push that image onto the rest (assuming you get volume licensing).

Please stop all the flaming GOD!!!!!

Look, I am not just some dumb noob. I know that I will have a warranty and etc if I go with
a company like dell or etc. I understand that something may happen with one or two of these
computers. Hell last night I had a hard drive fail.

The thing is that I know how to fix problems and am fully able to keep these computers going.
I may not be going the easiest route but never the less I know how to fix problems and
I will be fine.

OP,
Have you read what anyone has even written or was this, im cool im building 20 computers thread.
From his profile he seems to be 18.
Most importantly did you read what this poster said, I am sure he would be the one you would most want to listen to.

There are just tooooooooooooooooooooooooo mannnnnnnnnnnnnyyyyyyyy DAMN quotes to quote. Stop flaming this guy. He can do whatever he wants or is granted to do by his dad. If he wants to do this, just help him. He never asked for a second opinion from anyone :rolleyes:

Cooling looks good for cases. Which case did you choose?



But MAN people.......:rolleyes:
 
Flowgaming, should we move onto discussion of networking hardware?

-----------------------EDIT----------------

OP,
Have you read what anyone has even written or was this, im cool im building 20 computers thread.
From his profile he seems to be 18.
Most importantly did you read what this poster said, I am sure he would be the one you would most want to listen to.


well yes, but those size monitors are good for large medical offices specializing in bones and such. This is a dental office. 19-22" lcds should do fine
"
 
OP,

By any chance are you building a spare machine? With the cost difference it may be something to look into. That way if a station fails you have another to throw in while awaiting RMA parts. For the cost of the spare system it is something to look into.

There is one spare system and spare parts to go along on top of that.


Flowgaming, should we move onto discussion of networking hardware?

All the networking is taken care of.
(god forbid... if i chose to buy a wire and plug it in. I shall get flamed because I'm not paying someone to do it for me :/)
 
There are just tooooooooooooooooooooooooo mannnnnnnnnnnnnyyyyyyyy DAMN quotes to quote. Stop flaming this guy. He can do whatever he wants or is granted to do by his dad. If he wants to do this, just help him. He never asked for a second opinion from anyone :rolleyes:

Cooling looks good for cases. Which case did you choose?

But MAN people.......:rolleyes:

But I was trying to help him... or did you not read my post? Here, let me quote it again, but with different formatting:

Wow, what a challenge. Everyone is waiting for you to "learn your lesson" the hard way. Anyhow, good luck to you... I hope you prove us all wrong. 20 builds? should be fun.

1) Take your time, relax, and have a cold beer.
2) I hope you have a friend/brother/cousin to help you out. If not, find one (or more; the more the merrier)... They could definately help.
3) Your hands will start to hurt if you do all of them in one day, hehe.
4) Use an electric screw driver.
5) Wear some gloves when prepping the cases (punching out any metal covering the bays).
6) Since you're dealing with so many systems, you might want to wear an anti-static wrist band.
7) Setup one system, image the drive, and push that image onto the rest (assuming you get volume licensing).

No sarcasm intended.
 
But I was trying to help him... or did you not read my post? Here, let me quote it again, but with different formatting:



No sarcasm intended.

I can belive you were trying to help as I see you post list of specs for noobie members on new builds here alot, but the other members are a disgrace to [H].
 
I didn't read the whole thread to see if you got a PSU or not because the thread is long but I have used this in 2 systems that are running still after a year

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817163110

Dispite it saying that it doesn't have PFC the box clearly states that it has Active PFC unless both PSU I'm using are the wrong ones lol. I think these are nice PSU's for the price though.
 
Originally Posted by enginurd View Post
Wow, what a challenge. Everyone is waiting for you to "learn your lesson" the hard way. Anyhow, good luck to you... I hope you prove us all wrong. 20 builds? should be fun.
Thank you, this will be fun and a chalange. Though I am fully able to handle it inspite
of what people think.


1) Take your time, relax, and have a cold beer.
Wish I could my maybe do to my age a Root Beer :D
2) I hope you have a friend/brother/cousin to help you out. If not, find one (or more; the more the merrier)... They could definitely help.
I have a friend that has completed may projects like this for his last 2x jobs.
He not only built them but was the guy that came out and fixed them. He also does
phone teck too.

3) Your hands will start to hurt if you do all of them in one day, hehe.
thats why god gave us painkillers :)
4) Use an electric screw driver.
5) Wear some gloves when prepping the cases (punching out any metal covering the bays).
6) Since you're dealing with so many systems, you might want to wear an anti-static wrist band.
7) Setup one system, image the drive, and push that image onto the rest (assuming you get volume licensing).
That is exactly what I am going to do. Along with keeping an Image Back Up

thanks
 
I've been reading this thread and seeing flaming. He's already bought the damn parts, so lay off. That being said:

-While I recommend against Folding with that farm, it appears you're going to do it anyway, so just fold on the PCs that are not mission critical. The ones that don't runt he network or are next to the doctor.
-Take your time. I've seen plenty of people rush to build a computer and accidentally break something.
-Support is going to be tough, but you can do it. I do admin services occasionally for a set of 30 Dell Workstations, and it's easy most of the time. Some of the time, when you get stuck, you can always ask this forum.
-Use a VLK, it saves time. Also use an image if you can.
-Build one computer, test it out, see if everything's okay, then continue before you run into any problems.

Good luck.
 
You guys lay off him and quit acting like he is trying to do the impossible. I did it, there's no reason he can't. It can be done, its a great learning experience, and he can always make some extra money by charging for support on an hourly basis. :D

I should really emphasize the need for a VLK. You really, really, really need one. It will be cheaper, and a million times easier. With a VLK, you will be able to set up one system, and clone it to the other 19 without any licensing issues. If you don't have a VLK, cloning will be a nightmare (most likely impossible) due to Microsoft's activation system (worst idea ever). Activation is an IT person's worst nightmare, you will very, very, very much appreciate not having to deal with it (and you will also appreciate the lower cost).
 
Have you discussed or figured out your data confidentiality and retention policy yet? Backups methods and storage?
 
the battery powered screwdriver... holy crap the best $20 _ever_ spent working on pcs.
 
Have you discussed or figured out your data confidentiality and retention policy yet? Backups methods and storage?

I think he just thinks to slap the rigs together, install windows on them, and toss 'em into the office. No need for a switch, router, network management, access rights, domains, security, etc.
 
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