Dell XPS 8700

[robert44444uk]

As a person who has not bought a computer in years, I am looking to buy a machine in the UK that can run multiple versions of LLR consecutively and similar prime hunting programs, the more the merrier.

The machine has to double as a spare home machine for my work applications which are Gates product based, so Windows 8.1 operating system seems logical. I am no fan of Apple products but I do have a lot of music to store for iTunes - I am a moderate surfer and don't play computer games.

it seems like the Dell XPS 8700 system would suit, with an Intel core 7 processor. These days with multiple applications to run I don't know if speed is still the thing I need to look at, or whether other factors come into play, such as memory. There appears to be two choices of Intel processors 3rd generation and 4th generation processors. All very confusing for the "extreme amateur" <-- i.e. me. I presume these are all 64 bit.

Details at:

http://www.dell.com/uk/p/desktops?s=...6~0~345954&p=1

Electricity costs are a bit of a factor - does anyone know how much it costs to run one of these machines 24/7?

Any thoughts/ guidance would be welcome.

Regards

Robert

[firejuggler]

Another question is your budget.

As for the 'non-gaming' part, do you intend to run Mfaktc/mfakto? If you don't, you can use a Motherboard with an integrated graphic chip.

IMO, whats king is the number of real core. maximum speed hasn't moved much in the last 5 years. What you want is a quad core. Hexa(6) and Octo(8) core aren't usual yet.

[robert44444uk]

Originally Posted by firejuggler

Another question is your budget.

As for the 'non-gaming' part, do you intend to run Mfaktc/mfakto? If you don't, you can use a Motherboard with an integrated graphic chip.

IMO, whats king is the number of real core. maximum speed hasn't moved much in the last 5 years. What you want is a quad core. Hexa(6) and Octo(8) core aren't usual yet.

Thanks for responding so quickly firejuggler.

I was thinking about spending around £600, but could go a bit higher if I can see a great benefit.

Ok this is where I get lost. There will be no gaming, so no need for any fancy gaming chip. I wouldn't be doing Mfaktc, but this file would get used a lot is payam2.exe - see

http://www.mersenneforum.org/showthr...t=9755&page=39 where there is a Nehalem version and prior pages.

I think the Intel core 7 has 4 physical cores plus a hyperthread boost, but I don't know whether there is benefit to the 4th generation over the 3rd generation. there is a special "extreme" version, but this runs into £ thousands.

[Thomas11]

Originally Posted by robert44444uk

Ok this is where I get lost. There will be no gaming, so no need for any fancy gaming chip. I wouldn't be doing Mfaktc, but this file would get used a lot is payam2.exe - see

http://www.mersenneforum.org/showthr...t=9755&page=39 where there is a Nehalem version and prior pages.

The Nehalem binary of payam2.exe runs pretty well on 2nd generation Intel Core cpus (and above).
I think also compiled it for AVX capable cpus and tried on 2nd and 3rd gen cpus, but didn't see any speedup. This mainly depends on the MPIR/GMP library. The routines used by payam2 are not yet optimized for AVX.

[tServo]

If considering a Dell, you may want to consider Dell outlet. I see Dell has one in the UK.
I have purchased many machines over the past 15 years from them and have yet to
have a problem. They are like new except for 2 things: they cost less and you can
only choose from their inventory. You must be patient and if you wait for them to
have a sale, the savings can be enormous! The machines I have purchased have
included netbooks, laptops, desktops, workstations, and servers. Unfortunately, I am
the guy everyone knows that works in IT and so they come to me and say, "Hey, can
you help me find a new computer?" Also, I have purchased some for gifts and
business deals. The sales come from signing up via e-mail and also they are on
their main sites. The good ones tend to go fast so you must be patient.
YMMV

[robert44444uk]

Thanks to all for the help. My life is chaotic at the moment, moving house, working a lot overseas on short assignments, so I think tracking Dell outlet may not work for me as I am "time poor" - but thanks for that lead tServo.

Good to know Thomas11 about the Nehalem version of payam2.exe being good for Intel Core.

[TheMawn]

I find dell to be horrendously overpriced. A few weeks ago I looked at some of their desktops and I could have built the same computer for 60%-80% of the price.

Their customization options have gone to absolute shit over the last couple of years. I did buy a desktop from them back when I was a bit of a computer newbie myself, and I can vouch for their appeal, at the very least. You could choose between 4 CPUs, 4 RAM configurations and as many as 6 GPUs. Now, you get maybe 2 CPUs, 4 RAM configurations and often the GPU isn't even an option. A +4GB 1600 MHz RAM upgrade costs you an extra $100 somehow, despite 8GB 2400 MHz RAM kits costing $100 on their own.

If you think of the extra cost as being a premium for making your life a lot easier, then you're still in decent shape. On the other hand, a Dell is going to be RAM bottlenecked as they never offer more than 1600 MHz and definitely not overclockable.


That being said, my recommendation would be to stick to an i5 with integrated graphics. Best bang for your buck without a GPU which you clearly don't need. I don't think any of the programs you want to run take advantage of hyperthreading which is the only thing that makes an i7 better than an i5.

[robert44444uk]

That's really valuable advice. Thanks TheMawn!