What would be an ideal system for replacing school computers

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mikeny

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Aug 6, 2006
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I bet no one has ever encountered this question. Our school got a nice size grant and we want to recycle the really old computers in the computer room (30 of them). Doing graphics design, creating games (not proferssional), robotics, and possibly movie making. Of course, the usualk word processor, adobe, and firefox would be included as well. We want to try to bring in CAD as well. What would be a good system to create. If its within the budget, we would build 30 identical setups. Kind of like rebuilding the computer lab and having these systems for a very long time. I was thinking of Q9300 (just in case we need more than one program open) but to keep the price down, I was also thinking of the older Kentsfield processors or would the E8200 be good enough? I dont think we would be doing major graphics design. The Art teacher wants to do archetecture. I was thinking if we went to dell--the price would be soooo astronomical. Going through a vendor for the schools would give us crappy computers. I cant even explain what crap we've had and they quickly died and are more used as paper weights.

We are looking to rebuild from the ground up <from the tower all the way to the PSU (and monitor). I have some ideas but was researching for a few hours so I need some new eyes/ideas. Thank you in advance for anyones input.
 
ok here is what i have come up with, without any knowlege of what your budget is i arbitrarily chose these components, but it should be able to run almost anything you throw at it

CPU: AMD Phenom 9600 quad core 2.3Ghz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103244

Mobo: Ecs 780g fairly cheap but not a pos i think
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813135075

Memory: 4gigs pqi ddr2 800
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820141366

Video Card: 4870
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814129113

PSU: Corsair 550vx
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139004&Tpk=550vx

Hard Drive: 250gigs seagate 7200.10
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148262

CD/DVD: Lite-on retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106264

Case: its a case and it isn't expensive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811233033

Monitor: Acer 22in good deal a 22in for under $200
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009094

Total ~ $950

Have fun building 30 comps :)
 
Actually we had this exact same question put forth by a computer science teacher about 2 months ago. If i remember correctly he went with an Intel system using the E7200 CPU, a G31/33/35 motherboard for onboard graphics. Had a bunch of donated Antec Sonata cases with 500w power supplies. Used a SATA 160 - 250 GB hard drive , Sata burners and 2x1 GB of DDR2 800 1.8v RAM. He already had some HDs, burners, monitors etc. so didn't need complete systems for everything.
 
Your going to need to give a budget. If you are going to keep them for a long time and do some of the CPU intensive tasks that you want, then you should go quad. The Q6600 is really cheap right now and can get a really simple and mild OC to 3G with an after market heatsink. I would recommend the aftermarket HS anyway, because the stock push pin mounting system is bad.

I know you don't want to OC 30 school computers, but it is that easy and won't shorten their lives appreciably if at all, assuming you confirm the temps are good. You have to check the temps anyway so it's no extra work. No voltage increases are required, you just lock the PCIe to 100Mhz and the RAM to whatever speed it is then set the FSB to 1333MHz.

It's hard to advise you when we have absolutely no idea of how much you can spend.

In any case I would go Intel quad.
 
Pricing out a complete build at todays prices.
Case/PSU - The same Antec Sonata case with the 500w Earthwatts power supply. Over 80% efficient. $80
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129024
Processor - Core 2 Duo E7200 $120
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115052
Quad core alternative - Q6600 $190
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115017
Motherboard - includes on board graphics, G31 Gigabyte $59
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128078
Upgrade alternative - with on board graphics Gigabyte G43 $105
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128354
Memory - DDR2 800 1.8v 2x1 Kingston $35
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134117
Hard Drive - 160 GB Seagate SATA $45
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148230
Burner - LiteOn SATA - retail $29
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106264

@$370 for the cheap system
@$485 for higher end system
 
I am guessing they didn't get 30,000 grant for 30 computers. it is probably more like 15,000 grant. So they won't need a top of the line videocard, or 4 gigs of ram. BTW... ECS motherboards are junk. This is what I would do:





Antec Three Hundred Black ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Antec Three Hundred Black ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Item #: N82E16811129042
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy



$69.95




Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Item #: N82E16822148262
Return Policy: Limited 30-Day Return Policy



$59.99




PNY VCG88512GXEB-FLB GeForce 8800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

PNY VCG88512GXEB-FLB GeForce 8800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
Item #: N82E16814133232
Return Policy: Limited 30-Day Return Policy

Protect Your Investment (expand for optionshide options)

Service Net Replacement Extended Warranty Plan

The product will be replaced and shipped directly to you at no charge(more info)

* 1 year: $24.99
* 2 year: $39.99



$110.99




ASUS Black SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model DVD-E818A3T

ASUS Black SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model DVD-E818A3T - Retail
Item #: N82E16827135176
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

Protect Your Investment (expand for optionshide options)

Service Net Replacement Extended Warranty Plan

The product will be replaced and shipped directly to you at no charge(more info)

* 1 year: $9.99
* 2 year: $14.99



$22.99




Antec Neo Power 430 430W ATX12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Modular Active PFC Power Supply

Antec Neo Power 430 430W ATX12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
Item #: N82E16817103939
Return Policy: Limited 30-Day Return Policy

-$45.00 Instant


$89.99
$44.99




CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 675 (PC2 5400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X2048-5400c4

CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 675 (PC2 5400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X2048-5400c4 - Retail
Item #: N82E16820145015
Return Policy: Memory (Modules, USB) Return Policy



$43.99




ASUS P5N73-AM LGA 775 NVIDIA GeForce 7050 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

ASUS P5N73-AM LGA 775 NVIDIA GeForce 7050 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Item #: N82E16813131338
Return Policy: Limited 30-Day Return Policy

Protect Your Investment (expand for optionshide options)

Service Net Replacement Extended Warranty Plan

The product will be replaced and shipped directly to you at no charge(more info)

* 1 year: $14.99
* 2 year: $19.99



$59.99




Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 Wolfdale 2.53GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80571E7200

Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 Wolfdale 2.53GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80571E7200 - Retail
Item #: N82E16819115052
Return Policy: Processors (CPUs) Return Policy

Protect Your Investment (expand for optionshide options)






This didn't include a copy of windows for each computer but you probably get a good deal through microsoft on a 30 user license of XP for reasonable cheap. So maybe add $50 more per computer just windows.
 
Very good point qwerty, but it will give the OP a place to negotiate from if/when they contact Dell/HP to see about premade systems. IIRC the last school inquiry a couple of months back was using the computers in a class that required them to build the computers, they took them apart after every quarter for the next class to build them again.
 
Dude, get a batch of Dell's and pop a new video card in and be done. We just did a lab for engineering in our district, were able to get a dual core intel just can't remember the model of it, I think it was a mid range though, maybe e4500 or better. But we also got over 20 Quadro fx 370 cards at around 100 each from dell, go around, pop in all the cards, and get one machine set up exactly like you want, use norton ghost or something similar, and ghost all those puppies to the same config and done.
 

+1 to that

Go with HP or Dell. It's worth the markup for the warranty. I am a big fan of homebuilt for tech savvy people at home but at work it's nice to have HP to fall back on it there's a hardware failure.
 




Wow, you did so much research. I wasnt expecting this much. Thank you soo much and everyone else who posted possible builds. I thought XP isnt available anymore. Funny you should mention, the Dells we have now have XP when XP first came out and its the Proffesional version. WOuld Vista be ok? I was thinking of Vista and see if Mircrosoft can cut a deal..especially with a City School and I was thkinking (see message below of rebuilding 15 laptops instead of 30.
 
I think my previous post didnt post. We (myself and the grant people) were thinking of maybe rebuilding only 15 out of the 30 desktops. Then were the other 15 are, it would become a laptop station since we have 1300 laptops. (1:1 school). The grant people budgeted $600-$800 per computer. I was going to do most of the building. The students would at least be the one to load all the software and connect the minor devices (mouse, keyboard, monitor, eathernet cable) Some will do the more advanced but I will be watching over them like a hawk.

Would CAD need Quad?


We have video equipment and we are getting Adobe (video edititing program that is eluding my brain and I cant think of the whole programs name).
 
You should absolutely supply the latest operating systems. In the case of MS they will supply them for free if you jump through the hoops, or at reduced cost otherwise.

Although having identical hardware would simplify much of your process, I think you want to go with Dirtmountain's more expensive build for the majority, then build a few machines for CAD. You could get away with an upgrade to just the RAM and GPU from your base system.

Workstation graphics cards are far better for CAD because of optimized drivers. Pretty much anything on this list would work:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010380449%204017&name=$100%20-%20$200


 
Do your students a favor and get Vista, it's a no brainer. I would argue against Vista because of my personal irritation with DRM, but you have a responsibility to present the latest technology to your students. Anything less is, at a minimum, irresponsible.

It reminds me of the class I took in COBOL, it was a serious waste of my time and money. I knew it at the time and it pissed me off, but it was required. Don't make the same mistake. There is no choice other than, God help me, Vista.

I never thought I would recommend Vista, and it's all your fault. [:zorg:2] :lol:

You really should know better, it's kind of embarrassing.
 


Heh reminded me of the year I spent in C+ only to realize the school was behind the times and I needed to learn object-oriented programming 😛
 
Hey, at least it wasn't f_ing COBOL. It was dead dead dead. I know it's not technically dead, somehow it still breaths. I'm sure there is someone that will chime in and tout its value.

I guess they were just getting us "fully" prepared for a cubicle in a government building somewhere.
 
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