Looking to build a white box computer...

[Punkrulz]

Hey guys,

My company wants to begin building a few white box computers for use. As per the case, it doesn't have to be anything extravagant, something simple will suffice. My co-worker was looking for a motherboard that would be able to support 2 processors, however I am finding out if that is a requirement. If the motherboard supports 1 processor, what would you guys recommend?

Motherboard: Anything that supports 2.8GHz or Higher, this shouldn't be a problem. I have a feeling we're going to be going Intel Dual Core, maybe Quad.
Memory: The motherboard needs to be able to support max of 8gb memory.
Power Supply: Something sufficient to be able to power everything.
Video: This can go either way. I'm thinking a motherboard that meets the above specs that also has onboard video, and if not, what kind of cheap video card options are there?

Per the processor: Is it possible to assign one of the cores to a quad core to control a specific application, is there that kind of functionality?

Per the video: Whatever is cheapest; motherboard that supports the above w/ Onboard Video, or a cheap run of the mill video card.

Thanks!

 

[RedLancerOz]

you can set affinity within the task manager per program say if you want cpu0 to run WMP , an cpu1 to run say firefox - its just a PITA an you have to do it everytime , but it can be done

 

[Punkrulz]

Technically speaking though, if this box was to remain on 24/7, and the application were to run constantly (in a perfect environment), it could be done, right?

 

[Dangman]

Yes it could be done as long as you have the neccessary equipment like a UPS, well ventilated room, etc.

Now before we can help, we need a few questions answered:
- What will these PCs be doing?
- What's the budget per PC? How many PCs?
- What parts do you need for that budget? hard drive, case, OS, mobo, DVD burner, etc?
- Have you looked at OEMs like Dell for your PCs? Or in other words, why does your company want to build their own PCs?
- What OS will you be using?

 

[Punkrulz]

Yes it could be done as long as you have the neccessary equipment like a UPS, well ventilated room, etc.

Now before we can help, we need a few questions answered:
- What will these PCs be doing?
- What's the budget per PC? How many PCs?
- What parts do you need for that budget? hard drive, case, OS, mobo, DVD burner, etc?
- Have you looked at OEMs like Dell for your PCs? Or in other words, why does your company want to build their own PCs?
- What OS will you be using?

1) PC's for now will primarily be doing monitoring @ customer sites, specifically MOM. I am not sure what my co-worker has in mind otherwise.

2) The budget is undisclosed, all I know is cheaper is better. We are looking @ about 5 PC's.

3) Case, 2 Hard Drives (1 small 1 big), CDRom, Motherboard, Processor, Memory, Power Supply, Video card.

4) I suggested Dell or another company, however my boss wants it to be more of a "custom" job instead of just placing a standard dell box out there... weird isn't it?

5) I believe Windows Server 2003, possibly Windows XP Professional... not sure... I don't believe they are making the jump to Vista.

 

[Dangman]

I have yet to come across MOM in my schooling or work. So to be honest, I really have no idea what the hardware requirements are for MOM but I'm just gonna assume that faster = better.

Anyway here's a very very rough build list:

Cooler Master Elite 330 RC-330-KKN1-GP ATX Case - $40
Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 CPU - $195
Intel BLKDG33FBC LGA 775 Intel G33 ATX Intel Motherboard - $102
G.SKILL F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ 2 x 2GB DDR2 800 RAM - $140
Western Digital WD1600AAJS 160GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - $50
Western Digital WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - $105
Samsung SH-203B 20X DVD±R SATA DVD Burner - $34
Corsair VX550 550W PSU - $90
---
Total: $755 Plus tax and shipping

If these PCs are going to be up 24/7 or long periods of time, go for an 80+ efficient power supply to cut down on energy bills. The Corsair 550VX that I recommended is 80+ efficient.

The motherboard I chose has onboard video so no need for a video card which should also cut back on energy costs. However, the mATX nature of that mobo I chose may not be for your needs if you need more than 3 PCI slots for expansion cards and such. I also went 4GB of RAM since it looks like you might need the extra power.

Hopefully this helps you out a bit. Though I really do recommend getting Dells instead. Unlike its consumer services, Dell's Business support services are top-notch and you'll get much better support on the hardware.