Am I going to Hell? I may have to build a i845 based system. Talk me out of it if possible..

[Windogg]

Ugh... I feel so dirty.

Here's the scoop. I got the most unusal of request from my dad. He needs a harsh environment desktop for use within his warehouse. There will be no comfy server room or office to keep this guy healthy. All there will be is choking dust, dirt, and grit. Worst case scenatio will have the system running around a low of 20F to a high of 90F. I plan on getting the sturdiest parts I can find and elimate as many moving parts as possible. Any advice is appreciated on the system as a whole.

First the easy stuff. For the video I plan on getting a Matrox G550 and a decent digital flat panel. The no fan Matrox and superior 2D quality combined with DVI should work nicely in a warehouse. The smaller size will make it less of a target for heavy equipment and for easy relocation.

For storge I am putting in 2 x 5400RPM 60GB Maxtors. The 5400RPM drives will run cooler and hopefully have a longer life than a 7200RPM. The two drives in RAID1 will provide data protection and keep the system running until the bad drive can be swapped out. Speed is not an issue.

Finally, the touchy issue. After much debate I decided on a S478 i845 board plus the cheapest P4 CPU I can find. Reliability is more important than performance so a i850 + Rambus solution is way overkill. Last thing he needs is a system cooking itself to death or BSODing should the fan fail. Depending on the situation, the CPU might have to go another 1 - 20 hours before a fix can be implemented. I guess clock throttling is my friends here. The stability of Intel chipsets also played a key role in the decision.

I am trying to find a Cyrix C3 800Mhz with no luck so far.

So basically that is the road I am taking unless someone has a better suggestion.

Windogg

 

[smp]

"Reliability is more important than performance so a i850 + Rambus solution is way overkill. "
I didn't know that the 845 was more stable than the 850.

 

[AndyHui]

What about a Celeron 800 (or lower) and an i815EP chipset motherboard?

 

[mchammer187]

would tualatin be overkill? they run VERY COOL tho

other than that u could go with a BX (ppl still singing its praises) and older P3

 

[smp]

yeah.. actually.. I got a BX right here.. it's my home server and it isn't even in a case, it just sits on the shelf collecting mad dust, I think it likes the dust.

 

[KpocAlypse]

Or maybe a tully celly with 815-B step MOBO?

 

[Guilty]

PC133 runs much cooler though, and as mentioned performance isnt as important as reliability and ability to cope with the enviornment.
Dont skimp on the fan filters, wire mesh is the best if I remember.
LCD is a great idea since they dont require air holes where impuritiescan enter.

 

[Windogg]

I would go with a BX board + P3 w/ big heatsink if I possible.

I did have a fan die on a P3 once and the system BDODed after a while. Couldn't rigure it out until I opened up the case to see a dead fan. Like a idiot I touched the heatsink and the sucker was scorching. I guess my other choice is getting a CPU and underclocking it as well as lowering the voltage. I need a system that can continue working after the heatsink fan has died.

Chipset wise I cannot praise the 440BX/GX/ZX, 810 (yea it was crappy but it ran stable), 815, i840, i845, i850 enough. They all ran rock stable. Notice the one not on the list?

Windogg

EDIT: guilty brought up a point I missed completely. Thanks for the heads up. Forgot about the cooler running aspect of SDRAM.

 

[rmblam]

The system sounds fine, but what is with all of the "clock throttling is good" threads lately?

[begin rant]

Previously there was the big buzz over Intel clock throttling and how bad it was. Then came the flaming cpu's video.

It's like the republicans vs the democrats.

At what point did fan failure on a computer become mission critical to dictate what CPU to use? How often do fans fail?

Do I need to buy a certain brand of car for fear that the oil pump may fail and my engine burn up? Should I RPM throttle my engine to keep from over-revving it?

[end rant]

No offense to you Windogg. You have good judgement, you'll make the right choice. I can't think of any particular solution that is proven in that type of environment. The P4 is priced right at the bottom end so no argument there.

 

[zeruty]

one idea would be a liquid cooled case, www.koolance.com has a simple solution. that eliminates unneeded airflow in the system, which reduces dust, and if you want you could seal most of the system to keep dust out. the liquid cooling may also extend life of the components. you could get the hard drive cooler to help keep them cool too.

 

[Adul]

you are going to burn in hell for a very long time.

Claim 10 hail maries now and all will be forgiven.

 

[Windogg]

zeruty, great idea. The Koolance case slipped my mind completely. Pretty cheap once you consider all the factors in plan. I'll check it out.

Windogg

 

[MasterTech]

Windogg,

You are right on track with the 845 I suggest the ASUS P4B mainboard.

 

[Amused]

<< "Reliability is more important than performance so a i850 + Rambus solution is way overkill. "
I didn't know that the 845 was more stable than the 850. >>



RIMMS run very hot. Not a good idea in an outside area that can reach 90F or higher.

 

[WildDreamer]

A C3 running with just a heatsink might be a good idea. For a motherboard, an ECS P6ISA-II might do the job. The PS would probaby need some kind of filter, or it could be watercooled..

 

[RGN]

Just do it and be happy. There won't be gaming on the machine and it's not meant to be workstation class. It will be perfect for the application.

 

[Wingznut]

i845 was never intended for the people who hang out on this msg board... But for what your dad wants, I can't see any drawbacks whatsoever to the P4/i845 solution.

And why "feel dirty"? Why are people suggesting other than the i845?

As I said, it's not a solution one would choose for a very high performance PC... But what are the drawbacks to this situation?

 

[AGodspeed]

As I said, it's not a solution one would choose for a very high performance PC... But what are the drawbacks to this situation?

There are really only two drawbacks to getting an i845 solution right now:

1. More expensive than, for example, a SiS735 + 1.33GHz AthlonXP.
2. A very poor performer, especially compared to the above solution.

Since Windogg doesn't need a well performing solution, I'd think price would be the next issue on his list. The i845 is still a little more expensive.

The reviews that Anand has done have concluded that the ASUS P4B is indeed a very reliable board.

Anyone here have hands on experience with an i845 board. I'd like to hear your comments.

i845 + DDR = Big Time Sweetness!

 

[MasterTech]

<< Anyone here have hands on experience with an i845 board. I'd like to hear your comments. >>



I have with the ASUS P4B and they are fast, stable and reliable. ASUS is just plain amazing, intel chipsets make them look god like. I don't know why you would have a hard time running a game on 1.7GHZ, Matrox G550 machine? When I can run every game on my P3 500 with a 64MB GF2? Sure the GF2 kicks dirt in a G550 face when it comes to games but you can play them.

 

[Mikewarrior2]

i845 boards are:

Extremely stable (according ot Anandtech)
Fairly decent in application performance
mediocre to poor in gaming

Since the system is intended to be a stable workstation for apps, i dont' see any problem going with what is a very stable motherboard that provide fairly good app performance. Should be really good for the warehouse.



mike

 

[ChipNOW]

<< I would go with a BX board + P3 w/ big heatsink if I possible. I did have a fan die on a P3 once and the system BDODed after a while. Couldn't rigure it out until I opened up the case to see a dead fan. Like a idiot I touched the heatsink and the sucker was scorching. I guess my other choice is getting a CPU and underclocking it as well as lowering the voltage. I need a system that can continue working after the heatsink fan has died. Chipset wise I cannot praise the 440BX/GX/ZX, 810 (yea it was crappy but it ran stable), 815, i840, i845, i850 enough. They all ran rock stable. Notice the one not on the list? Windogg EDIT: guilty brought up a point I missed completely. Thanks for the heads up. Forgot about the cooler running aspect of SDRAM. >>



820 - LOL, what a POS

 

[KpocAlypse]

<<

<< I would go with a BX board + P3 w/ big heatsink if I possible. I did have a fan die on a P3 once and the system BDODed after a while. Couldn't rigure it out until I opened up the case to see a dead fan. Like a idiot I touched the heatsink and the sucker was scorching. I guess my other choice is getting a CPU and underclocking it as well as lowering the voltage. I need a system that can continue working after the heatsink fan has died. Chipset wise I cannot praise the 440BX/GX/ZX, 810 (yea it was crappy but it ran stable), 815, i840, i845, i850 enough. They all ran rock stable. Notice the one not on the list? Windogg EDIT: guilty brought up a point I missed completely. Thanks for the heads up. Forgot about the cooler running aspect of SDRAM. >>



820 - LOL, what a POS >>



Hey with RDRAM is wasn't that bad, but it went straight to the crapper when one put a stick of SD in it...

 

[MasterTech]

<< 820 - LOL, what a POS Hey with RDRAM is wasn't that bad, but it went straight to the crapper when one put a stick of SD in it... >>



We never experienced a single problem with the 820 using rambus memory.

 

[mchammer187]

820 was very stable with RDRAM but performance could not compete with PC133

$800(price at intro) for 128 MB stick of PC800 that does not do better than SDRAM

**shudder**

 

[MasterTech]

<< 820 was very stable with RDRAM but performance could not compete with PC133

$800(price at intro) for 128 MB stick of PC800 that does not do better than SDRAM

**shudder** >>



I never said it was cheaper just reliable. I sold mostly 810 and 815 platforms last year.