Processor: Core2Quad Q6600 @2.4Ghz
Motherboard: MSI P35 Platinum
GFX Card: MSI 8600 GT (512MB)
RAM: Patriot 2x1GB DDR2 800 Mhz (matched pairs)
HDD: Western Digital 400GB HDD (16MB buffer)
SMPS: Cooler Master Real Power 550W
Cabinet: Cooler Master Elite
Screen: Viewsonic VX922 (19″)
DVD Writer: Samsung SH-S203D

Hope this one lasts for 2-3 years without any major upgrade (i know its hoping against hope)

Here are some pics, if you wanna have a look

• 2 x AMD Opteron 2.6 GHz Dual Core 64 bit processors (that’s 4 cores with 2.6 Ghz per core)
• 4 GB DDR2 667 Mhz RAM (ECC RAM)
• 2 x 160 GB SATA II HDDs
• 2 x 1GBps LAN cards

The servers came from Singapore with every component in a separate box! So they had to be assembled first over here. After assembling, RedHat Enterprise Linux v4 was chosen as the OS with the following partitioning scheme:

• /boot – 400 MB
• swap – 8 GB
• / – Left available space

The partitions are over LVM so that the “/” partition can span both the 160 GB disks. Since the software package (Sourceforge Enterprise Edition) was supposed to be installed over an SSH account over the internet from the US, i had to stay up in office all night to assist them. The servers were connected to each other via a HUB and one of the servers was on a DSL link to the internet with its own static IP.

All in all, it was a WONDERFUL experience setting up these servers and i would really like to thank CSC for giving me the opportunity to set up these servers and trusting me on this one

The first server, while installing RHEL (You can see the CDs lying above the server)

The second server.

The POST screen.

Temporary arrangement of servers. Just before we left office at 5:00 AM You can see the hub on top of the 3rd server. The server which has a direct connection to the internet is at the bottom. Heh.. We had to put those post-it notes so that no body disturbs them

This is the video we made while booting the server! Notice the sound?

Last year when the Macs were launched, the idea was to offer real quad core systems motive for which two dual-core Xeons were used to turn the concept into reality. At the moment, quad-core Xeons existed only on papers but when they came out, users replaced the older dual cores with the newcomers and obtained eight-core home computers.

The system runs at 2.4GHz and uses a 1066MHz FSB. The motherboard is loaded with FB-DIMM memory with the V8 producing a 3DMark 06 CPU score of 6089 points. The showcased system uses a single NVIDIA 8800GTX graphics card because of the limits imposed by INTEL’s architecture.

As opposed to that, AMD’s Quad FX platform uses 2 dual-core CPUs but they can work with regular memory rather than Fully Buffered DIMMs. Unfortunately, AMD’s system is much slower than INTEL’s in a wide range of application. The same CPU test found in 3DMark 06 only credits the Quad FX with about 3700 points which is very low indeed.

Moreover, the Clovertons use less power than the FX-74 CPUs, so the system is easier to live with. The cooling system is rather plain compared to AMD’s custom built one but as I’ve said, the INTELs are way ahead, at least at this moment. And AMD doesn’t have a single CPU that can compete with INTEL’s V8.

However, one must not forget that AMD already has working Barcelona CPUs (codename for AMD’s quad cores). No one knows when they will come out but I guess it will happen as soon as possible. Until then, it’s INTEL mayhem.

Holographic discs have been rumored around for some time now, but Hitachi Maxell is already willing to showcase 300GB samples this week. Hitachi Maxell is also planning to make their 300GB holographic discs available to select customers in the entertainment industry as soon as the end of December 2006. This small scale launch will be followed by a general product release aimed at enterprise-class users in the first quarter of 2007.

Hitachi Maxell acquired InPhase Technologies in 2000 and the subsidiary has been working on the development of holographic media ever since. The present 300GB holographic disc is called Tapestry HDS-300R. The new DVD-like medium is being demonstrated this week at the International Broadcast Equipment Exhibition in Tokyo. InPhase announced the technology breakthrough in holographic storage earlier this year. The first generation of holodiscs is primarily aimed at commercial users, but InPhase plans to release consumer-grade products over the next two years, when the format should be standardized, hopefully.

The 300GB holodisc will have data transfer rates of about 20Mb/s and will serve as an excellent support for high-speed, high capacity film recording demanded by the entertainment industry. Enterprise-class companies should also be pleased by the advanced data archiving operations enabled by the holodiscs. In this respect, InPhase aims at displacing magnetic storage cartridges with the holodiscs.

To support the new holographic technology, Displaytech announced the availability of its Spatial Light Modulators that are to be integrated in the appropriate optical drives. A Spatial Light Modulators allows data to be written to holographic discs that feature a capacity 10 to 100 times greater than high-definition HD-DVD or Blu-ray formats.

In 2008, InPhase plans a second-generation 800GB rewritable optical disc with data transfer rates of about 80MBbps, with plans to expand its capacity to 1.6TB by 2010. The current 300GB holodiscs are supposed to retail for around $100-$125, while the optical reader drive is expected to cost $15 000.

Kentsfield is out for almost a week now. That’s good but when it comes to availability, things don’t look that ok anymore. Although several large retailers are already selling QX6700 CPU, most of them do not actually have it in stock. A $1000 price for this CPU calculated using 1000-unit shipments as reference value seems quite high but at least, it’s comparable to the price that the X6800 has.

The retail price actually varies from $1020 to $1218 with a medium value of $1167 per CPU. That may not be as cheap as you would expect but it will surely turn out cheaper than the offer coming from Dell: $1234 over an E6300 Core 2 Duo, when you choose the CPU that will be mounted onto your new PC.

Dell plays it cool since it probably has a sufficient amount of QX6700 CPUs, unlike most suppliers who are almost out when it comes to Kentsfield. A quad core with no less than 8MB of level 2 cache is not an easy thing to find in stores. And the situation can only change for the better with the arrival of another CPU from the same family. Q6600 is set to come out in January and will have the same attributes as his older brother but it will work at a lower speed (2.4GHz). The price tag will be of $851.

Core 2 Duo is slowly evolving into quite a successful product. It’s both a powerful and affordable CPU. And then there’s the fact that it succeeded in turning the tables to INTEL’s side after 2 years of AMD supremacy.

Take into account that there is still a large quantity of older NetBurst CPUs represented by the 900 series and only about 20% of the sales this year INTEL has made represent Core 2 Duo products. And there’s also the problem of availability, since high priced Conroes are pretty rare. And you’d better remember this if you’re planning to buy a new PC on Christmas, since you’ll be lucky if you catch an Allendale CPU.

When it comes to future chipsets, it seems that INTEL has already figured out the recipe.
Salt Creek is the following chipset line coming from INTEL and will include several variations of the following products: X38 (Q3 2007) as the new high end chipset, P35 (Q2 2007) representing mainstream segment and G33/35 chipsets which will be value oriented. All chips will be built around the new ICH9 southbridge. X38 for example will be the first to introduce FSB 1333 and DDR3-1333. G33/35 line will have an integrated GPU with HDCP support and DirectX 10 features and will also use DDR3 rated at only 1066MHz. ICH9 means the disappearance of PATA connectors as well as integrating no less than 12 USB ports onboard among many other things.

The second quarter of 2008 will also bring the new 45nm line represented at first by the mobile Perynn line. That may sound a little far, but the fact that AMD is still struggling with 65nm CPU production should give INTEL all the time it needs.