AMD Tech Tour Bundles

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Wow, the Tech Tour sucked IMO. Just so you know. they make you wait till dinner to get your bundles( about 3 hours into it). It was just so boring, but it was worth it for the deal on the server. I am going to be putting up my (current) CPU, Mobo, and Ram up for cheap if anyone in interested. Need money to buy a new mobo and memory.
 
vodEVIL said:
Wow, the Tech Tour sucked IMO. Just so you know. they make you wait till dinner to get your bundles( about 3 hours into it). It was just so boring, but it was worth it for the deal on the server. I am going to be putting up my CPU, Mobo, and Ram up for cheap if anyone in interested. Need money to buy a new mobo and memory.
Click to expand...

Which core was the cpu??
 
vodEVIL said:
Wow, the Tech Tour sucked IMO. Just so you know. they make you wait till dinner to get your bundles( about 3 hours into it). It was just so boring, but it was worth it for the deal on the server. I am going to be putting up my CPU, Mobo, and Ram up for cheap if anyone in interested. Need money to buy a new mobo and memory.
Click to expand...

Worst, the cpus are OEM. :(
I was expecting retail CPUs.

Did you get the Enterprise Edition of windows 2003 64 bit instead of the standard version?
That kind of makes up for the OEM cpus. :)
 
I heard that the 3200+ is a Venice, now that you guys know you want the A64 for sure. You could pick me the server bundle at the same time maybe?
 
I signed up too late. I couldn't pre-order my bundle, but I thought I would still be able to get one there if there were extras. Nope! Oh well. I was kinda looking forward to another couple of duallies. I was a bit surprised how little some of the vendors knew. The asus guy left a bit to be desired in terms of knowing about specs and products (eg he said wsxga was 1280x800). That and nobody had any turion stuff around. The MS talk I heard part of, about media center, was fairly amusing and mostly painful. He started talking about Chicago being part of Wisconsin and as such we all love cheese. The place was dead quiet.
 
well i havent recieved a reply about anyone being able to pick me up either,, if you can pls pm me!!!!, and if you pick up a coupon,, what does it have on it? anyway i can get a hold of a couple?
 
Does anybody know what the latest time people can enter the show? I may not be able to get to the convention until 5pm - is that considered too late?
 
You can show up whenever you want to, just make sure to register early. For instance, I didn't get there until 6:30, but there were people coming in much later than me.
 
wazoo42 said:
You can show up whenever you want to, just make sure to register early. For instance, I didn't get there until 6:30, but there were people coming in much later than me.
Click to expand...
When you say register early, do you mean AT the show or online? I already registered online :)
 
Loot was good. Great show. I go tthere about 7:15 (started at 3:30), missed dinner and missed the bundle pickup. Got the bundle at the end of the show.

Server Bundle:

win2k3 x64 ENTERPRISE, and it DOESNT say NFR on it !!!!
2 opteron 246's OEM
tyan board retail box

I also won an ATI x600 pro PCI-E. I was shocked....

Overall loot was:

Server Bundle (see above)
AMD Cap
AMD USB HUB (4 port)
AMD headphones (retractable)
2 amd pens
amd bag
some marketing stuff from microsoft
AMD t-shirt (XL) that says Windows 64-bit edition on it
 
Robstar said:
Loot was good. Great show. I go tthere about 7:15 (started at 3:30), missed dinner and missed the bundle pickup. Got the bundle at the end of the show.

Server Bundle:

win2k3 x64 ENTERPRISE, and it DOESNT say NFR on it !!!!
2 opteron 246's OEM
tyan board retail box

I also won an ATI x600 pro PCI-E. I was shocked....

Overall loot was:

Server Bundle (see above)
AMD Cap
AMD USB HUB (4 port)
AMD headphones (retractable)
2 amd pens
amd bag
some marketing stuff from microsoft
Click to expand...
How'd you win it? What kind of contest? :)
 
Oh my! I don't want to eat dinner, or listen to people blab on. So, If I show up late, what time do they hand out the bundles??!
 
Any pictures of the Server Chips? the total winnings?

I've heard from the anandtech.com forums that teh desktop chip is a Venice, but I want to know if the Opterons are Troy chips (first line ends in a BL)
 
CSSmitty said:
I heard that the 3200+ is a Venice, now that you guys know you want the A64 for sure. You could pick me the server bundle at the same time maybe?
Click to expand...

Can anyone verify the 3200+ is a Venice? If so is it also OEM? I wouldn't mind winning a PCI-E card to make the upgrade process a little cheaper :D
 
Jesus tapdancing christ they were just in chicago today (yesterday?) and I didn't even know.
/me bangs head against wall
 
good for you Centronme!


My review (based on previous experience in 2002)

The Good:
3200+ is a retail Venice Core
Bundled Asus board is decent
Server 2003 is Enterprise Edition (very unexpected!)
Tyan had a K8WE (the board I'm getting) there to look at. Rep was very helpful (after he got off the phone).

The Bad:
Opterons have no heatsink or Opteron sticker (hey, I want 2 Opteron stickers on my chassis ;) ) (Initially showed "Tray", or OEM, but text was removed. I hoped this meant they decided to do retail. They didn't.
Server mobo did NOT have Ultra 320 SCSI as initially advertised. This has since been removed from the bundle description, but when I ordered, it said Ultra 320. I'd fight them about it as false advertising, but I'm not keeping the board anyway (anyone wanna make a deal?)
Personally, I was hot. I would have preferred fans be around...but this is location specific and I can't fault AMD for this.
Not enough vendors!
--Back in 2002, they had AMD, Microsoft, Chaintech, nVidia, MSI, Gigabyte, Biostar, Abit, LSI, 3Ware (I think), plus a few distributors.
--This year, they had AMD, Microsoft, ASI(a distributor), Tyan, Asus, ATI, and Gigabyte.

The Food:
A buffet was set up(2002 had served meals): Tacos, Pasta, Roast, and the ammenities that go with the above. The brownies were damned good.
Free 10oz bottles of Coke (diet coke and sprite were there too...but fuck them. Coke is better). These bottles were glass.
Free bottles of Aquafina water.
No limit on the drinks or the food....I ended up getting 5 pieces of the roast and 4 brownies....and a half dozen cokes and 3 bottled waters....kept me awake for the 3 hour drive home!

The Swag:
MS gave out an anti-piracy shirt. 2X max size. not sure if it'll shrink or not.
Tyan had pens & catalogs
Asus had catalogs....not sure if anything else.
Gigabyte had lanyards, a lot of brochures.
ATI had brochures and posters of that one chick.
ASI (a distributor) may or may not have given out a white polo...a friend of mine got it, but I didn't see the name...he said he thought it was ASI.
EVERYONE got a free:
AMD:
--Green x64 tote bag to hold swag
--ink pen
And, upon leaving, AMD gave everyone a:
--X64 hat(velcro backing)
--retractable headphones(that has no indicator of left and right channel)
--USB2.0 hub.
Microsoft:
--Grey Windows XP x64 Professional shirt (XL)
--brochures on varios MS apps.
--ink pen


the headphones and USB 2.0 hub will be nice for my laptop....so long as I ignore the fact I'm running an intel Pentium M ;)

The lectures:
Honestly, the Media Center Edition had me the most interested. I'd never really had time to play around with it before, and seeing it in action has me interested. I was dissappointed to hear there would be no x64 version of it (Longhorn release will have an MCE edition, but nothing for XP).
The dual core tire race was interesting.
Dual core Opteron & Athlon X2 presentations and performance claims were questionable (what took 2 hours to do on an older system took 5 seconds on the new system...I'd believe it when I saw it)...but the 2 dual core CPU SpecView (I think) benchmark they did was impressive, when compared to the 2 single core CPUs.


The door prizes:
AMD:
2 Ferrari hats
4 Ferrari T-shirts
8 Ferrari Polos
1 X64 Hawaiian shirt
4 Opteron 246 CPUs
ASI:
17" LCD
Microsoft:
256mb Sandisk MP3 player
ATI(?)
AIW X600 PCI-E videocard

It cost me $30 in gas to get up there and back...but I thought it was worth the time & effort.
 
selizo said:
What are the advantages of Microsoft Server 2003 x64 Edition over win xp?
Click to expand...


What are the advantages of Server 2003 over XP?

Server is geared towards stability and availability and high performance systems. It sacrifices compatibility with a number of consumer software packages (Antivirus programs, games) and hardware devices (Logitech's lack of availability of Mouseware and iTouch software for Server 2003).

XP is consumer-centric. It's not geared for high availability or server roles. It's meant for client systems.

The more appropriate questions are what are the advantages of the x64 editions to the standard 32 bit editions: the answers to those were discussed early in the presentations...but basically it came out to higher performance, greater capability for RAM (what was it, 32bit = 4gb RAM, 64bit = 256TB of RAM?)


Basically, the end result is: if your hardware and software can work in x64, go with it instead. Legacy software can be dealt with through Virtual Server 2005 (Virtual PC 2004 is not compatible with x64 OS's, from what I hear. VMWare 5 should be...but I haven't tested it).
 
ok thats great news that its the venice chip! id like to pick that chip up to see how it compares to my 3000+ venice.

do they do any ID/company checks? im 17 and obviously i dont have any kind of company.
 
I own the bugalaman computer corperation and build computers for one person, ME! I hope they accept that :p. its hard to beat $250 for $600 worth of hardware. Even if it costs a crapload in gas, its still worth it to drive 150 miles to sunnyvale
 
aNYONE WILLING TO get me the 3200 bundle!!!!!! PLEASE PM ME!!!!! i will pay like the amount+ shipping cost+ plus an extra like 30-50 bucks.... PLEASE!!! i need 2!!! friends need new systems, they dont have enough for the entire system they are buying parts at a time, al they need is cpu/mb



PLEASAE!!!!! the closest one for meis tampa and thata 4 hour drive,, ugh
 
All that stuff about the show sounds great! Looks like I'm going to Boston.

vbrtrmn said:
Get your tape measure out and let us know :)
Click to expand...
I opened up the case last night and there's no way an EATX board will fit in my Coolermaster. The motherboard tray is just big enough to fit my 12x9.6 NF7-S in it, with no extra room. I would have considered modding it a bit, but the drive bays interfere and make it about 2.5" too short for the Tyan board. Crap.

Can someone with the SkyHawk MSR-4610 from here: http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=906348 measure the mobo tray and let us know how big it is, and if it looks like a 13x12 board would physically fit in it? :)
 
peterhoang2002 said:
ok thats great news that its the venice chip! id like to pick that chip up to see how it compares to my 3000+ venice.

do they do any ID/company checks? im 17 and obviously i dont have any kind of company.
Click to expand...

I'm fairly certain they don't do any checks about your claims of employment. Many here have entered in false (or at least not traditional) company names to claim themselves system integrators. Personally I put in all my information then just affixed the name of the company I work for. I do web application development for them so I guess I'm not totally offbase in doing so, but I'm still stretching the truth as I think this is more of a hype show for those in the retail channel.
 
Waffles730 said:
All that stuff about the show sounds great! Looks like I'm going to Boston.

I opened up the case last night and there's no way an EATX board will fit in my Coolermaster. The motherboard tray is just big enough to fit my 12x9.6 NF7-S in it, with no extra room. I would have considered modding it a bit, but the drive bays interfere and make it about 2.5" too short for the Tyan board. Crap.

Can someone with the SkyHawk MSR-4610 from here: http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=906348 measure the mobo tray and let us know how big it is, and if it looks like a 13x12 board would physically fit in it? :)
Click to expand...


I'll measure one of mine when I get home, but I think the answer will be no.

See you at the Boston show.


 
the 4610 won't work. it's ATX compatible, but it's "server" monicker is debateable.

you need a case that's EATX compatible.

mobo.jpg

the extra space shown above is what's needed for the Tyan board: it goes out the extra 3" over the ATX board shown above.

those include:

Antec SX1000 series (and clones). The older style, at least. The new style will NOT work.
Chenbro's entire server series
Lian Li PC-62
Lian Li PC-7x
Lian Li v1200
Coolermaster Stacker

As far as companies go, yeah there were a lot of "kids" there that didn't look like they belonged.

Arguably, I didn't belong...but I -do- build systems for other people as a job. LANExtreme, the group that I signed up for, technically deals with LAN Parties, not reselling computers.







Also, what heatsinks are you Opteron buyers going to use? I bought one of these for the planned dualcore A64 X2...the orientation is wrong for the Tyan boards (it'd blow up instead of back), but it'd likely be more than adequate for the 246's...
 
gulp35 said:
Any pictures of the Server Chips? the total winnings?

I've heard from the anandtech.com forums that teh desktop chip is a Venice, but I want to know if the Opterons are Troy chips (first line ends in a BL)
Click to expand...

They end in "AL"

Rob
 
NecessaryEvil said:
good for you Centronme!


My review (based on previous experience in 2002)

The Good:
3200+ is a retail Venice Core
Bundled Asus board is decent
Server 2003 is Enterprise Edition (very unexpected!)
Tyan had a K8WE (the board I'm getting) there to look at. Rep was very helpful (after he got off the phone).

The Bad:
Opterons have no heatsink or Opteron sticker (hey, I want 2 Opteron stickers on my chassis ;) ) (Initially showed "Tray", or OEM, but text was removed. I hoped this meant they decided to do retail. They didn't.
Server mobo did NOT have Ultra 320 SCSI as initially advertised. This has since been removed from the bundle description, but when I ordered, it said Ultra 320. I'd fight them about it as false advertising, but I'm not keeping the board anyway (anyone wanna make a deal?)
Personally, I was hot. I would have preferred fans be around...but this is location specific and I can't fault AMD for this.
Not enough vendors!
--Back in 2002, they had AMD, Microsoft, Chaintech, nVidia, MSI, Gigabyte, Biostar, Abit, LSI, 3Ware (I think), plus a few distributors.
--This year, they had AMD, Microsoft, ASI(a distributor), Tyan, Asus, ATI, and Gigabyte.

The Food:
A buffet was set up(2002 had served meals): Tacos, Pasta, Roast, and the ammenities that go with the above. The brownies were damned good.
Free 10oz bottles of Coke (diet coke and sprite were there too...but fuck them. Coke is better). These bottles were glass.
Free bottles of Aquafina water.
No limit on the drinks or the food....I ended up getting 5 pieces of the roast and 4 brownies....and a half dozen cokes and 3 bottled waters....kept me awake for the 3 hour drive home!

The Swag:
MS gave out an anti-piracy shirt. 2X max size. not sure if it'll shrink or not.
Tyan had pens & catalogs
Asus had catalogs....not sure if anything else.
Gigabyte had lanyards, a lot of brochures.
ATI had brochures and posters of that one chick.
ASI (a distributor) may or may not have given out a white polo...a friend of mine got it, but I didn't see the name...he said he thought it was ASI.
EVERYONE got a free:
AMD:
--Green x64 tote bag to hold swag
--ink pen
And, upon leaving, AMD gave everyone a:
--X64 hat(velcro backing)
--retractable headphones(that has no indicator of left and right channel)
--USB2.0 hub.
Microsoft:
--Grey Windows XP x64 Professional shirt (XL)
--brochures on varios MS apps.
--ink pen


the headphones and USB 2.0 hub will be nice for my laptop....so long as I ignore the fact I'm running an intel Pentium M ;)

The lectures:
Honestly, the Media Center Edition had me the most interested. I'd never really had time to play around with it before, and seeing it in action has me interested. I was dissappointed to hear there would be no x64 version of it (Longhorn release will have an MCE edition, but nothing for XP).
The dual core tire race was interesting.
Dual core Opteron & Athlon X2 presentations and performance claims were questionable (what took 2 hours to do on an older system took 5 seconds on the new system...I'd believe it when I saw it)...but the 2 dual core CPU SpecView (I think) benchmark they did was impressive, when compared to the 2 single core CPUs.


The door prizes:
AMD:
2 Ferrari hats
4 Ferrari T-shirts
8 Ferrari Polos
1 X64 Hawaiian shirt
4 Opteron 246 CPUs
ASI:
17" LCD
Microsoft:
256mb Sandisk MP3 player
ATI(?)
AIW X600 PCI-E videocard

It cost me $30 in gas to get up there and back...but I thought it was worth the time & effort.
Click to expand...


I won the AIW X600 pro pci-e :) What a surprise...i threw my card in at the last minute. They must have pulled it right out of the top of the bag if they didn't mix it up.

Rob
 
I have a Directron knockoff of the SX1000 so I should be good. I'll just have to move the Single CPU Opteron 240 that's in there right now into another case.... Thanks for the info on cases.
 
Oh my ... this looks like the perfect thing to spend all of my birthday money on.

some questions
will my pc 2700 memory work in the desktop setup ?

should i buy the server and sell the parts ?
is there a demand for these parts ?
 
Hyper_Psycho said:
Oh my ... this looks like the perfect thing to spend all of my birthday money on.

some questions
will my pc 2700 memory work in the desktop setup ?

should i buy the server and sell the parts ?
is there a demand for these parts ?
Click to expand...

Pc2700 memory should probably work.
Demand? Check ebay :)

Rob
 
the A8n-E has a 24 Pin (ATXv2.0 Standard) Power connector, Though I think I have seen someone running one with a 20 pin connector, nevertheless it is not reccomended
 
I'm going to be attending the Sunnyvale (Silicon Valley) stop and buying both bundles. Then again they'll be a business write off for me. :D

Now for the hard decision...

Use the dual 246 setup (with a new MB of course) as my main rig?
Or use the 3200+ instead? At least I could still use the Vapochill with this.
Hmmm.
Things will be further complicated by the new Crossfire enabled boards coming out shortly after I get the hardware.
Hmmmmm indeed. :)

Regards,
fastgeek
 
karrock said:
Yeah, I feel deprived! 210 mile road trip to NJ? No thanks!! :(
That's an awfully huge geographical hole between East Brunswick and Atlanta...

Ouch drizzt, it's only an hour longer for you to go to Chicago :p
Click to expand...

East Brunswick you say? I was too lazy to read because these things supposedly never come to NJ ( I mean what does come to NJ and why?!?!)... I just might jump on this one, since it's only about an 1 1/2 hours away. Thanks!

- James
 
No Acer Ferrari laptop giveaway this time? I won that last year at the AMD Tech Tour. It's a dandy laptop for the price I paid (had to pay tax, I got a 1099-MISC before the end of the year for the value of the laptop, doh!)

I still haven't made my mind up on the server bundle. Selling off the MB and getting a dual proc PCI-X MB would be sweet.
 
The server has 4 PCI-X slots/..... However PCI-X does not = PCI-Express



Silly Xtreme Generation has everyone thinking Ex=X
 
gulp35 said:
The server has 4 PCI-X slots/..... However PCI-X does not = PCI-Express



Silly Xtreme Generation has everyone thinking Ex=X
Click to expand...

Right you are, sir! My bad. I should have just said PCI-Express. Too many damn TLAs. :D
 
auswipe said:
No Acer Ferrari laptop giveaway this time? I won that last year...
Click to expand...

you lucky... wow. i saw one of those once... in greece... on a tour ship...


 
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