But I’ve been spoiled by this machine,  and now I want one for home.  Unfortunately they are expensive. As configured that work machine was over $3,000.  Well worth it, but thats out of my budget.

So my project, and the subject of this article, is to see how cheaply I can duplicate the performance of my dell precision 490 workstation.

My first step was to price shop a used Dell 490. But even used they are still pricey. On Amazon a lesser machine is nearly $2000.  Dell Precision 490 Workstation Dual 2.66 Dual Core Xeon / 4GB / 2x 500GB

Then I checked auction. On Ebay the cheapest Dell 490 system was $1000, but it was not even close to my work machine.

Next I priced out building my own from new parts. The first thing to understand is that a these precision workstations are essentially desktop servers. If you go to Fry’s and shop motherboards, 95% of them are single socket boards with 2-4 slots for memory. Fry’s does sell server motherboards with two Xeon sockets, but they are expensive.  Expect to pay $300-500 for a dual socket LGA 771 board. 

The next surprise is the case. You can’t use a cheapo $40 case with these motherboards. The dual socket 771 motherboards require server EATX cases.  Amazon demonstrates the prices and has some deals… Antec Titan 650 ExtendATX Server Case (Black) ~$200.

So $500-$700 spent and thats just case and a bare motherboard. 

-To Be Continued-