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  • mfenn - Monday, April 23, 2012 - link

    Nice to see some of the technology from their server line make its way into the workstations.
  • cjcoats - Monday, April 23, 2012 - link

    As the user of a previous-generation Dell T7500 forced on me by the bean-counters, I was appalled at the lack of potential storage--a max of four 3.5-inch drives (which is unheard-of for such a full-tower case).

    Some of us do real storage-intensive tasks on our workstations, and this is simply unacceptable (a typical single run of what I'm working on generates about 2 TB of output, and there's no way I can do even two-way comparisons in the space available.

    Is the T7600 likewise crippled?
  • blackbrrd - Monday, April 23, 2012 - link

    So, 4 hdd spaces of 3tb set in RAID 1 gives you 6TB space, enough to do a two-way comparision with 2TB of space left over. There are 3TB drives available...
  • oynaz - Monday, April 23, 2012 - link

    He wrote typical. that presumably means that some runs are larger.
  • cjcoats - Monday, April 23, 2012 - link

    Foundation (input) files take up space.
    Other projects take up space.

    Model-calibration does multi-way comparisons, and wants at least 10 TB, but 6 TB was the most Dell would put in the machine.

    My original spec had 16 TB, and was ignored by the bean-counters, because Dell could/would not put more than 6TB in the machine. (Which was delivered 3 months late, btw., and without the right monitor-cables.)
  • TheTechSmith - Monday, April 23, 2012 - link

    Clearly you have a special need, and the machine is meant for a broader audience. Consider using an external RAID enclosure with as many bays as you need, perhaps connected via eSata.
  • sphigel - Monday, April 23, 2012 - link

    First of all the T7500 isn't really that big of a case. It is large compared to most modern desktops but accommodating 4 hard drives is perfectly reasonable for a case of its size. Secondly, if you need more than 4 hard drives in your system and aren't custom building your desktops you're going to have trouble finding desktops that work for you. It seems like you'd be better off using a high speed external raid enclosure. Also, you should have known the HD capacity of the system before you bought it. It sounds like your problem is with your "bean counters" and not Dell.
  • ZeDestructor - Monday, April 23, 2012 - link

    I think you need a DAS, or else a GPU-equipped server. The brand new PowerEdge T620 has room for up to 12 3.5" drives or 32 2.5" drives.

    I myself want a taller version of the T620 chassis to build a monster watercooled gamingrig because it has so much space inside and doesn't look too bad either. (assuming you add the bezel)
  • eanazag - Monday, April 23, 2012 - link

    Basically, what does the motherboard's SATA count look like? I am guessing cjcoats would be looking at an external storage solution. I think this would likely require a SAS/SATA add-in card. You may be able to go the 4 x 2.5" drive route, but doubt you will be able to get enough free space to work it.

    Stick it to the bean counters with a 10GbE external iSCSI storage. CJCoats will likely have storage issues no matter what workstation they roll with if it is not a a 4U size chassis.
  • MichaelD - Monday, April 23, 2012 - link

    I couldn't help but notice the physical configuration of the CPUs in the dual-CPU models.

    They are one right behind the other, in a line. So with the front-to-back cooling flow, the hot air from CPU0 blows right into CPU1. This is far from optimal in a workstation where cooling performance is attenuated in the name of acoustics. In a server with 1K CFM of airflow it wouldn't matter.

    I know all this gets tested out in product development, and I'm sure the thing would probably run forever in the desert, but it's worth noting.

    Other than that niggle, I feel Dell has done an admirable job with this new line of workstations! I really dig the hotswap PSU (long time overdue IMO) and the move to a slim DVD drive. The article mentions a possible 4x2.5" drive cage in place of the DVD drive. Is that a definite option? That much additional onboard HDD Storage would really add value in this market segement.
  • eanazag - Monday, April 23, 2012 - link

    I'd like to see how their new cards compete in this all nVidia review. The only problem I see is I can't make sense of how many different series AMD has.

    http://www.amd.com/US/PRODUCTS/WORKSTATION/GRAPHIC...
  • thetuna - Monday, April 23, 2012 - link

    One of us doesn't know what a page fault is...
  • YaBaBom - Monday, April 23, 2012 - link

    I like the Dell workstations, and administer a few of them. But I have to agree with cjcoats--the limited options for disk expansion--especially in the 7x00 series--are inexcusable.

    I wish they would take a queue from something like the Fractal Design Arc Midi that has 8 internal 3.5" bays.
  • bobj3832 - Monday, April 23, 2012 - link

    The machine itself is nice but it is the custom power supply, custom drive brackets, etc. that I hate.

    We have a ton of Dell computers at work. The ability to change out the PSU quickly is great for an IT department IF they buy some extra power supplies and have them sitting in a closet. Unfortunately our IT dept doesn't. PSU blows and it will either be 2 days to get a new one FedEx'd or Dell is out of stock for the 3 year old computer PSU model. With regular ATX PSUs I can buy a new one at a local store and put it in in less than 5 minutes.

    I also couldn't put a full length graphics card or double slot graphics card in some Dells at work.

    A CPU fan died and I can't just replace it with an off the shelf model because it's enclosed in this giant custom Dell air vent.

    Rant over.
  • killazys - Monday, April 23, 2012 - link

    Hi, could someone elaborate exactly what testing is being dome with x264? What's the source clip, encoding settings, whether or not avisynth is being used, etc? Its interesting that the gpu is listed, because x264 encoding is purely software based unless you're using something like DGSource in Avisynth.
  • killazys - Monday, April 23, 2012 - link

    Done*. Please excuse me as I am posting from my phone.
  • Rocket321 - Monday, April 23, 2012 - link

    I've long been jealous of the enterprise/workstation Cases from both HP and Dell. They are designed for such ease of service and have good attention to airflow and ascetics. My HP z600 at work is great with the handle/latch side door, steel panels, etc. I wish an aftermarket case maker would copy some of this stuff!
  • otherwise - Tuesday, April 24, 2012 - link

    Agreed. I've been building computers for almost 20 years now, and the Z600 has to be the best designed case I've ever worked in.
  • randinspace - Tuesday, April 24, 2012 - link

    Is Dell hoping to bring up fond memories of the Playstation 2 or something?
  • cjb110 - Tuesday, April 24, 2012 - link

    The model name orientation suggests they designed it to be horizontal, but the logo on the mesh suggests vertical?

    Unless they have a rotatable logo like the PS3? :)

    Interestingly at work we've just switched outsourcing from HP to IBM, and as part of that any new desktops and laptops are now all Dell. Not this class though, just the i3/i5 models. They definitely look nicer and don't scrimp on memory like the 1/2gb HP ones did.
  • ggathagan - Tuesday, April 24, 2012 - link

    Dustin,
    I realize this is a preview, but was RMT demonstrated to you, or did Dell simply describe its operation to you?

    If you are able to do a full review in the future, that would be one of the 1st things I would want to see tested.
  • Doberman777 - Friday, April 27, 2012 - link

    Hmm, I'm reading that the new Mercury Playback Engine in Adobe CS6 apps dumps the use of CUDA in favor of OpenGL/OpenCL, whereas the NVIDIA website is claiming that their Quadro cards with CUDA further enhance performance. Which is correct, and in view of this, I'm really confused about choosing a new graphics adapter for CS6 apps.
  • Hansz - Friday, July 6, 2012 - link

    Our t3600 appears to have only 2 working SATA ports onboard (SATA0+SATA1). There are 4 more Sata ports which are labeled HDD0 - HDD3 but they dont appear to work. Those HHD ports cannot be seen or activated in BIOS. Some PCI-E controller has been added by Dell which allows more than 2 drives. However it would be nice to be able to use more than 2 onboard SATA ports.

    So what's up, did Dell decide to disable the additional ports because of some problems?
    Also the BIOS info about 3x HDD Fans is a bit confusing as there do not seem to be any HDD fans.. there are 3x system fans..
  • Mafeer - Thursday, February 7, 2013 - link

    Hai,

    how is this system for working auto desk 2013 products like auto cad, 3ds max and maya rendering. our main purpose is rendering 3ds max and maya.

    below the specs which i received from one of my vendor, could any evaluate this,

    Model – Del™ Precision™ T3600
    Base – Standard 635W Base
    Processor – Intel® Xeon® Processor E5-1620 (Quad Core, 3.60GHz Turbo, 10MB)
    Memory – 16 GB
    HDD – 1 TB
    Graphics – 2 GB NVIDIA Quadro 4000 (2DP & 1DVI-I) (1DP-DVI & 1DVI-VGA adapter)
    Operating system – Windows 7 Professional (64Bit) English

    Thanks
  • Caryn - Thursday, May 30, 2013 - link

    Curious if this would be a good computer for me to do my Photoshop (PSE9) and my husband to do his gaming (WOW, etc) ?? I have an older Dell and its been a great computer but having a hard time handling what we are making it do these days. Looking for a new yet not so expensive system and trying to compare. Advice appreciated :) Thanks!!
  • Chris Rodinis - Thursday, June 27, 2013 - link

    Here is an overview of the T3600: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99VvEY58m9g

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