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Domestic dual-processor servers. Russian computers for large corporations

will the video card fit Nvidia GeForce 8800 GS to Kraftway GEG motherboard? and got the best answer

Answer from Mad Doctor [guru]
do you have a server?
if so, here's infa
but about vidyuhi, I don’t know, I’ve never encountered it, but I found a description of some Kraftway GEG Express 400 EM11 server
Intel SR4850HW4 platform (Harwich), Intel E8500 chipset, 667MHz FSB,
up to 4 CPU Intel Xeon MP (1MB L2 cache, up to 8MB L3 cache),
up to 64GB DDR2-400 (PC3200) ECC Registered SDRAM, up to 4 memory cards (16 DIMM slots), each board has 2 memory banks (4 DIMM slots),
1 x8 PCI-Express, 3 x4 PCI-Express, 1 64bit / 133MHz PCI-X, 2 64bit / 100MHz PCI-X,
Integrated:
Video controller: 2D / 3D accelerator ATI Radeon 7000, 16MB SDRAM,
Network adapters: 2-channel Bradcom NetXtreme Gigabit Ethernet Server Controller (BRCM5704C), 10/100/1000 Mbit / s,
SATA controller: 1 port, used to connect CDD or DVD,
SCSI controller: Integrated 2-channel (2 internal channels) Ultra320 SCSI controller (LSI 53C1030), the ability to activate (RAID Activation Key) the integrated SCSI RAID controller.
Server control and management functions (Intel Management Modules).
Intel SR4850 (Granby) case, black color, weight ~ 31kg.
Designed in a 19 "Rackmount 4U enclosure.
Dimensions in Rackmount (4U) version: height - 173 mm, width - 447 mm, depth - 706 mm.
2 x 1470W hot-swappable power supplies (redundancy 1 + 1, hot-swap),
5 x 3.5 "x1" HDD bays with front access, hot-swap,
FDD is not installed,
1 external 5.25 "compartment,
2 dual redundancy 2 + 2 hot swap cooling fans for system components.
The 19 "Rackmount chassis includes telescopic rails to slide the server out of the 19" rack.
CPU
4 * CPU Intel Xeon MP 3160 MHz cache L2-1MB, FSB 667 MHz
RAM
RAM 4096 MB DDR2-400 ECC Reg (4 * 1 GB)
One expansion board is installed in the basic server configuration random access memory.
Controllers for connection hard drives
Enabling Integrated 2 Channel SCSI RAID controller 512MB DDR2-400 cache with battery
Installing hard drives

HDD SCSI hot-swap 72 GB 10000 rpm, 80 pin
HDD SCSI hot-swap 72 GB 10000 rpm, 80 pin
HDD SCSI hot-swap 72 GB 10000 rpm, 80 pin
HDD SCSI hot-swap 72 GB 10000 rpm, 80 pin
Optical disc drive
DVD ± RW (OEM) Slim
Server control and management functions
Intel Management Module Professional Edition
Standard Control Panel for Intel 4U 6U Chassis
Intel Server Manager software is included with every server.
Periphery
USB keyboard
USB mouse
Warranty service
Express 400 Warranty Year 1-3 OS Year 4-5 Std

A misfortune happened, one of the available servers periodically began to fall into the "blue screen of death", and always with completely different error codes. Most often, there were errors 050, 02E ..., but with such a variety of these errors, it was not possible to identify the cause of the failure. After numerous searches, we decided that the problem may be in the crooked drivers, or in Windows 2003 Server itself. Since we saved all the data from the server in advance, then reinstalling windows 2003 was not critical for us, which we started to do. But, as it turned out, even when installing the OS, at different stages, a blue screen popped up and the installation ended there. Further, our research was directed towards the "hardware", the first thing we tried was to change the SCSI disks, since there are 5 of them in the server combined into a RAID5 array. To do this, we created new arrays from different three disks, trying to exclude a possibly faulty one, but these actions did not lead to a positive result. For the sake of interest, we tried to remove one of the two processors with motherboard, which was in the second slot, the server also worked on one processor, but it also fell into an error, the second processor was not removed, because access to it was not very convenient. The next object to be checked was the Intel SRCU42X two-channel SCSI controller, it has a 128 MB memory bar, since we did not find a suitable memory, we decided to change the entire controller.

On one of the existing servers, the controller was removed, though not the same as in the faulty server, but SRCU42L, which has no removable memory strip and only one channel.

The replacement of the controller made us happy at first. The OS was installed and we decided that the problem was found, but after a while the server returned an error.

The motherboard of this server also has a built-in SCSI controller, but it was not used, for the sake of experiment we removed the PCI-SCSI controller and formed an array on it, but that did not help either. We also tried to select drivers for all three controllers, but what we just didn’t slip, we didn’t get a positive result. Then the question was about replacing the motherboard or basket SCSI disks and have already begun to look for where they can be purchased.

Finally, we decided to be more sophisticated and remove the processor from the first slot of the motherboard, and replace it from the second slot, and what was our surprise when the server started working in normal mode after that.

Here is the culprit in the photo - the Intel Xeon SL73P processor (3066DP / 1M / 533 / 1.525):

This is how our long troubleshooting ended and the server now runs on one processor, since it performs one simple task, for which the performance of a server with one processor is enough.

The ComputerPress test laboratory tested 12 dual-processor servers of domestic manufacturers on Intel Xeon and AMD Opteron processors. The tests compared server performance when used as file and Web servers. DESTEN Navigator 7280L, DESTEN Navigator RM 7320U1L, ETegro Hyperion RS380, Klondike AS, Klondike President 2000A, Kraftway GEG Express 200 ED21, Kraftway GEG Express ISP ES23, Team Server 2400A, NIKS S4000aBK / pro (SO240PGa), NIKS / pro (SX32APRi), Exilon-Major EC27 and Exilon-Major LC27. Out of competition, the Klondike President 1500A server was tested.

Selection criteria

About the tradition that has developed in recent years in our test laboratory in December, we tested two-processor servers from Russian manufacturers. Each manufacturer could provide for testing two servers of its own production that meet the following requirements:

use of any dual-processor motherboard on any chipset with two commercially available processors;
use of any type of RAM with ECC error correction in the amount of at least 2 GB;
installation of hard drives with any interface (IDE, SCSI) and any RAID controller. The operating system was installed on a separate HDD... The rest of the disks were combined into a RAID array with one logical disk for the entire volume of the array, file system NTFS and default cluster size. The RAID level had to provide reliable data storage (RAID level 0 was not allowed);
use of an integrated or any other video adapter;
mandatory presence of a network adapter supporting the 1000Base-T interface;
the obligatory presence of a device for reading CDs of any type;
mandatory installation of a 32-bit x86 operating system Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition SP1 ( English version);
installation at the discretion of the manufacturer of device drivers and additional OS configuration, without changing the operating frequencies of the processor, memory and buses.

Since server testing is a long process, in order to level the playing field, all manufacturers announced the selected server configuration before testing the first server and then could no longer change it.

As a result, seven servers on the Intel platform and five on the AMD platform took part in the testing. At the same time, there was a wide variety of components used in the servers. For the first time, servers with dual-core processors participated in testing. It should also be noted that with the advent of the NVIDIA nForce Professional series chipsets, AMD's monopoly position on the server chipset market for OPTERON processors was finally broken.

The Klondike President 1500A server was tested out of competition, since according to the testing conditions, companies could only provide two servers. This server is interesting in that it uses Intel Xeon processors with an operating frequency of 3.8 GHz, which are currently the most powerful single-core server processors from Intel.

The technical characteristics of the test participants are given in table. one .

Testing methodology

The testing methodology has remained practically unchanged in comparison with previous similar tests: we compared the performance of servers in the file and Web server modes. A distinctive feature was only the use of Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP2 on workstations and the controller with all updates released before September 2005, and on the server - Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition SP1. Recall that in the previous testing, we refused to use the Service Pack 2, since installing it significantly reduced the performance of the workstation-server pair in the NetBench test. Updates since then have corrected the situation, and the performance has become even better.

For testing, a stand was assembled, consisting of two segments of the local network. The first segment - Fast Ethernet 100Base-TX - formed 48 workstations, and the second - Gigabit Ethernet 1000Base-T - server-to-switch and controller-to-switch communication channels. The 3Com SuperStack 3 Switch 4250T (3C1732), which has 48 100Base-TX ports and two 1000Base-T ports, was used to connect workstations, a controller and a server into a network (for more information on the switch, see the sidebar).

For testing, we used the NetBench 7.0.3 and WebBench 5.0 packages from Ziff-Davis.

NetBench 7.0.3 Package

NetBench 7.0.3 is used to determine the overall performance of servers when used as file servers, but does not test individual server subsystems. For example, using this package it is impossible to calculate the relative difference between the performance of the disk and network subsystems.

During the test, each client creates a working directory and performs various file operations in both the client-to-server and server-to-client directions, recording the time taken for each file operation and the network traffic generated. Note that we used the server's RAID array to create working directories during testing.

In total, the test provides 18 different file operations: Open File, Read, Write, Lock, Unlock, Get File Attributes, Set File Attributes, Get Disk Free Space, Close, Get File Time, Set File Time, Find Open, Find Next, Find Close, Rename File, Delete File, Create New File, Flush File Buffers.

The computer controller synchronizes the work of all clients, collects information about the test progress from them and calculates the total network traffic between the server and the network. No programs are installed or launched on the server itself, which fully corresponds to the ideology of the file server.

During the test, the number of working clients gradually increased, while determining the dependence of network traffic, measured in megabits per second, on the number of working clients. The program theoretically supports up to 1000 clients, but it should be borne in mind that each client works under stress and emulates the work of several dozen real clients.

WebBench 5.0 package

The WebBench package measures the performance of servers when used as Web servers.

Client software is installed on each of the computers connected to the local network, which simulates the operation of a Web browser. A common workspace for all clients is created on the server's RAID array, which simulates a real Web site with a volume of about 61 MB and consists of a tree of folders in which 6160 files of type * 1ext1l, * .gif and test executable files are placed, and in the CGI folder - BIN - dynamic executable modules. The modules implement a different interface for requests to the server: CGI (Common Gateway Interface) and ISAPI (Internet Server API).

The web server receives requests from clients, processes them, and sends responses. Depending on the type of request, it will be either sending a file from the workspace, or data received by the server as a result of executing dynamic executable files.

Each client measures the server's response time to the execution of its requests, calculates the network traffic it generates, registers the number of executed requests and transmits the received data to the controller computer, which synchronizes the work of all clients and calculates the total result.

During the test, the number of working clients was gradually increased so that it was possible to determine the dependence of the number of requests processed by the server per second and network traffic, measured in megabits per second, on the number of working clients.

WebBench 5.0 provides the ability to test the Web server in normal and SSL mode. However, since setting up SSL mode requires obtaining a security certificate, and the vast majority of open Web servers operate without SSL mode, this mode was not used in these tests.

Three tests were run from the WebBench 5.0 package that simulate different modes of operation of a Web server: static (WebBench Static), dynamic with the simcgi.exe module (WebBench CGI), and dynamic with the simisapi.dll module (WebBench ISAPI).

To increase the load on the server, the WebBench CGI and WebBench ISAPI tests were performed with the number of load generators on the client increased to 4 and 10, respectively (set when configuring the test by the Engines Per Client parameter). The values were determined experimentally.

Based on the test results, the most productive file and web servers were determined. The winner in the category "Most Performing File Server" was determined by the maximum cumulative result in the NetBench test, which was calculated as the average traffic value across all runs (each run is run with a different number of activated clients).

Among Web servers, the best was determined by the maximum final result in the WebBench test, which was calculated as the geometric mean of the integral results in the Static, CGI and ISAPI tests. The cumulative result in each of the WebBench tests was determined as the average of the number of transactions across all runs (each run was run with a different number of activated clients).

Test results

As we already noted last year, the performance of dual-processor servers has increased so much that in some operating modes the gigabit network interface becomes the bottleneck of the server, and this testing has confirmed this conclusion. In three tests out of four conducted (NetBench, WebBench ISAPI and WebBench Static), the network interface load of the leaders almost reaches 100%, and only in the CGI test the server's capabilities are limited by the processor's performance.

Almost all the servers that participated in our previous tests were assembled in pedestal-type cases. However, this time we tried to formulate the testing conditions in such a way as to interest manufacturers in providing servers assembled in compact rack-mount cases. We partially succeeded, and several servers in 1 U and 2 U rack enclosures took part in testing, but their configuration turned out to be very far from the maximum possible and they could not compete with the leaders. The best result among compact servers was shown by the DESTEN Navigator RM 7320U1L server.

NetBench benchmark results

The NetBench benchmark results are shown in table. 2 and fig. one.

The best performance in the NetBench test was demonstrated by Klondike AS servers from Klondike Computers and NIKS S4000aBK / pro (SO240PGa) from NIKS - Computer Supermarket. Both servers use AMD OPTERON 280 dual-core processors.

Among servers based on Intel processors, the Klondike President 1500A server with Intel Xeon 3.8 GHz processors was tested out of competition.

The difference in server performance across different platforms has not changed since last year. Interestingly, the Klondike President 2000A and Kraftway GEG Express 200 ED21 servers, which use dual-core Intel Xeon DualCore processors, are lagging far behind.

WebBench test results

The final results of the WebBench test are shown in table. 3.

Table 3. Final results of the WebBench test (file WebBench_2006.xls, sheet Result)

In this test, the best overall performance was also achieved by servers with AMD OPTERON 280 dual-core processors. The winners were Klondike AS and ETegro Hyperion RS380 servers. However, their leading position was due to a significant advantage in only one test - CGI, and in two other tests - ISAPI and Static - it was in no way inferior to the leaders, and sometimes even surpassed their Klondike President 1500A server, which was tested out of competition. Servers based on Intel Xeon DualCore processors lagged behind again.

The results of individual WebBench tests are shown in table. 4-6 and fig. 2-4.

In the WebBench CGI test, the processor load in the saturation region reaches 100% with a low load on the network interface, so the result in this test is determined by the processor performance. The best result was shown by the server Klondike AS. The performance of servers using AMD OPTERON 280 dual-core processors was significantly higher than that of all others. Comparing their results with the results of the DESTEN Navigator 7280L server, which uses single-core AMD OPTERON 250 processors operating at the same clock frequency (2.4 GHz), the high efficiency of the OPTERON dual-core processor should be noted. The performance gain with the addition of a second core reaches 80%.

In the WebBench ISAPI and WebBench Static tests, the processors are much less loaded, and the main load falls on the server's network interface, the utilization of which reaches 100%. Under these conditions, the advantage of servers based on AMD OPTERON dual-core processors disappears. In the WebBench ISAPI test, the Klondike President 1500A had the best performance, and in the WebBench Static test, the Klondike AS and Klondike President 1500A servers were leading with almost the same results. It should be noted that the indicators demonstrated by the leaders in the WebBench Static test this year practically do not differ from the results of last year's testing, which is not surprising, since there have been no changes in the network interface this year.

Editor's Choice

the diners of the conducted testing were determined in the nominations "The most productive file server" and "The most productive Web server". Servers based on AMD OPTERON dual-core processors won in both nominations.

The selection of the winners in the first category was based on the results of the NetBench 7.0.3 test: the servers became the winners and owners of the Editors' Choice sign. Klondike AS and NICS S4000aBK / pro (SO240PGa).

The best models in the "Most Performing Web Server" nomination were determined by the final result in the WebBench 5.0 test. The servers won this nomination and received the Editors' Choice badge. Klondike AS and ETegro Hyperion RS380.

Test participants

The DESTEN Navigator series from DESTEN Computers is designed for use as file and proxy servers, mail servers and database servers. Their low price and scalability make it possible to build low-budget solutions for small and medium-sized businesses.

The DESTEN Navigator 7280L is a server variant based on the AMD platform. It is assembled on the basis of the MSI K8D Master3-FS (MS-9161) motherboard and is equipped with two AMD processors OPTERON 250 s clock frequency 2.4GHz and 2GB DDR333 ECC memory operating in dual channel mode. Two Kingston KVR333D4R25 / 1G memory modules with a capacity of 1024 MB each are used.

Dual-processor system MSI board K8D Master3-FS (MS-9161) with Socket 940 is built on the AMD 8000 (AMD8131 + AMD8111) system logic set and is designed to work with AMD OPTERON 200 and 100 series processors supporting AMD x86-64 technology. The board has 12 slots for DDR200 / 266/333/400 memory modules, and the maximum supported memory size is 24 GB. Both double-sided and single-sided modules with or without ECC support can be used.

The system board has three 64-bit PCI-X slots (66/100/133 MHz) connected to two independent buses of the AMD8131 controller, and one 32-bit PCI slot (33 MHz). One of the PCI-X slots (green) accepts a Zero Channel RAID controller.

The board integrates an ATI Rage XL video controller with 8 MB of video memory and a dual-port Gigabit LAN controller based on the Broadcom BCM5704C chip connected to the PCI-X bus (64 bit / 100 MHz). There is also an integrated Adaptec AIC-7901 single-channel Ultra320 SCSI controller.

To organize the disk subsystem, the server uses a dual-channel SCSI RAID controller Intel SRCU42X with 128 MB of cache memory and autonomous emergency power supply (BBU), which supports building RAID arrays of levels 0, 1, 5, 10 and 50. The server disk subsystem consists of RAID -array level 10, built on four hard drives Maxtor Atlas 15K II 8E036J0, and a separate hard disk the same model on which the operating system is installed. All hard drives are housed in a single-channel, five-drive cage and are hot-swappable.

The server is assembled in an EverCase ECS9500 case with a 460-W power supply.

The server cooling system includes two fans on the processor heatsinks, two fans that cool the hard drive baskets, and a 120mm exhaust fan located on the rear of the chassis.

DESTEN Computers Navigator RM series servers are designed for ISPs, ASPs and telecommunications companies that require compact solutions with high performance. Servers in this series are mounted in a 19 "high density rack.

DESTEN Navigator RM 7320U1L is assembled on the basis of the system Intel boards SE7520JR2 with two 3.2 GHz Intel Xeon processors and 2 GB of DDR2-400 MHz memory with ECC error correction (two Kingston KVR400D2S4R3 / 1G modules), operating in dual channel mode.

The SE7520JR2 motherboard with Socket 604 is designed to work with Intel Xeon processors with 800 MHz FSB and support for EM64T technology. The board is based on the Intel E7520 system logic set, which supports the PCI Express I / O subsystem and has improved reliability and continuity features. The board has six memory slots and supports up to 12GB of DDR2-400MHz dual-channel registered memory with ECC error correction. Features include memory mirroring and hot spare modules.

The board integrates an ATI Rage XL video controller with 8 MB of video memory and an Intel 82546GB dual-port Gigabit Ethernet controller.

There are two slots for installing expansion cards, inserted through an adapter (riser card). One of them, supporting Intel Adaptive Slot technology, has two buses - PCI-X 64 bit / 66/100/133 MHz and PCI Express x4. This slot accepts full length and full height cards. A type installed card determined automatically, using different adapters. The second slot is a regular PCI-X 64 bit / 66/100 MHz for installing a card of half length and height.

The disk subsystem of the server is based on an Intel SRCU42E SCSI RAID controller with 128 MB of cache and autonomous emergency power supply (BBU) and three Maxtor Atlas 15K II 8E036J0 hard drives. The operating system is installed on a separate hard drive, and the remaining drives are combined into a RAID level 1 array. The hard drives are housed in front-access hot-swappable bays.

The server is manufactured in an Intel SR1400 chassis and is equipped with a 500 W power supply.

The cooling system for the server components is determined by the chassis design and includes two passive heatsinks on the processors, plastic air ducts, and four dual and one single fans that simultaneously cool both the hard drives in the cages and the processors.

ETegro Hyperion RS380

ETegro Hyperion RS380 from ETegro Technologies is another AMD-based server based on the Iwill DK8ES motherboard and equipped with two dual-core AMD Opteron 280 processors with a clock speed of 2.4 GHz and 4 GB of DDR400 ECC registered RAM. Eight 512 MB modules each of the Corsair TWINX1024RE-3200LL kits are used as memory modules.

A spacious 3 U chassis that allows for the construction of large disk subsystems, and redundancy of the main components allow this server to be used in business-critical applications that require performance and disk subsystem capacity. The ETegro Hyperion RS380 is housed in a 3 U Hyperion RS380 enclosure and is designed to be installed in a standard 19 ”rack. The power supply has a power of 650 watts.

The mainboard Iwill DK8ES, designed for servers and workstations, is based on a set of system logic, which consists of the NVIDIA nForce Professional 2200, which supports the PCI Express x16 bus, and the PCI-X AMD-8131 bus controller. North bridge has a built-in four-channel SATA II controller with the ability to organize RAID-arrays of levels 0, 1 and 10; the board has four SATA connectors.

The board has eight slots for installing memory modules, in which you can install up to 16 GB register memory with error correction like PC3200 / 2700/2100. To install additional expansion cards, the system board has three 64-bit PCI-X slots (33/66/100/133 MHz) connected to two independent buses of the AMD8131 controller, and two PCI Express x16 slots, one of which operates at x16 speed , and the second - by x2.

The devices integrated on the motherboard include an ATI RageXL video controller with 8 MB of video memory and two Broadcom PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Gigabit Ethernet controllers (BCM5721).

The disk subsystem of the server is based on the LSI Logic MegaRAID 320-2X dual-channel SCSI RAID controller with 128 MB of cache and nine hard drives. The operating system is installed on a separate Fujitsu MAU3036NC hard drive, and a RAID level 10 array formed from eight Hitachi Ultrastar 15K147 HUS151436VL3800 hard drives was used to accommodate the data.

The hard drives installed in the front-access hot-swappable bays are connected to a dual-lane backplane. The disks forming a RAID array are divided equally by channels, and a total of 16 SCSI disks can be installed in the server.

The cooling system includes three fans with a diameter of 120 mm, which are located on the bulkhead of the case, and two fans installed on the processor heatsinks.

3Com SuperStack 3 4250T Switch (3C17302)

Managed switch of the second level 3COM SuperStack 3 Switch 4250T (3C17302) is made in a light blue metal case measuring 440x274x44 mm, so it can be mounted in a standard 19-inch rack, and four rubber feet allow for desktop placement.

The switch is positioned as an inexpensive solution for building a flexible network infrastructure. When used as a central network switch with a managed Layer 3 switch or a high-performance switch with gigabit ports, the 3COM SuperStack 3 Switch 4250T is ideally suited for the role of an end device to which network clients directly connect.

The front panel of the switch has two built-in Gigabit Ethernet ports (10Base-T / 100Base-TX / 1000Base-T), as well as 48 Fast Ethernet ports (10Base-T / 100Base-TX), grouped into three groups of 16 ports each. All ports support full-duplex and half-duplex operation, as well as auto-negotiation of connection speed and cable type (Auto-negotiation, Auto MDI / MDI-X). The ports are made in the form of RJ-45 connectors with built-in LEDs indicating activity and connection speed and port status.

The rear panel of the switch contains an RS-232 management console connector, an AC power connector, and a backup power connector.

The 3COM SuperStack 3 Switch 4250T uses Store and Forward switching. Full-duplex data flow control is organized according to the 802.3x standard, and back-pressure method is used to control data flow in half-duplex mode.

In accordance with the technical documentation, the size of the MAC address table of the 3COM Switch 4250T switch is designed for 8 thousand entries. The throughput of the switch is 13.6 Gbps when using maximum packets or 10.1 Mpps when using shortest packets.

The switch can be stacked up to four switches and managed as a single device with a single IP address. No additional hardware is required to stack switches; the switch 4226T (3C17300) and Switch 4228G (3C17304) can also be stacked.

Additional functionalities of the switch include support for 802.1p frame prioritization (two levels of priority for each port), the ability to organize port trunking using 802.3 ad. Organization of up to 60 virtual networks according to the 802.1Q standard.

Both local and remote switch management are supported. Local control is performed through the RS-232 serial port. Remote (network) management is implemented via Telnet or through the embedded Web server; SNMP and RMON protocols are supported (Statistics, History, Alarms, Events groups). It should be emphasized that in terms of functionality, remote control is similar to the console one.

The switch supports STP, RSTP, IGMP protocols.

The kit includes 3COM Network Supervisor software that allows you to configure the system with a graphical display of connected devices and monitor network performance with messages and reports of faults and errors.

The editors would like to thank MERLION (www.merlion.ru) for providing the 3Com SuperStack 3 4250T switch.

Klondike AS

The Klondike AS model from Klondike Computers is an example of a generic server on the AMD platform. The server is built on the Tyan K8SD Pro (S2882G3NR-D) motherboard with AMD 8000 system logic (AMD 8131 + AMD 8111) and is equipped with two latest dual-core AMD OPTERON 280 processors with a clock frequency of 2.4 GHz and 2 GB of PC3200 registered memory with correction errors (four 512 MB Corsair modules).

Tyan K8SD Pro allows you to expand the amount of RAM up to 16 GB, for which the board has eight slots for installing register memory modules of the PC3200 / 2700/2100 type. To install option cards, the system board contains four 64-bit PCI-X slots (two slots for each independent PCI-X bus of the AMD 8131 controller) and one 32-bit PCI slot (connected to the AMD 8111 controller).

The board integrates an ATI RageXL video controller with 8 MB of video memory, as well as a Broadcom BCM5704C dual-port gigabit Ethernet controller that uses the PCI-X bus. There is also an Intel 82551QM 10/100 network controller, which can be used for remote server management. And the last integrated device to look out for is the Silicon Image Sil3114 SATA RAID Accelerator 4-channel with RAID 0, 1, and 10, using a 32-bit PCI bus.

Note that, despite the presence of an integrated Gigabit LAN controller, the Klondike AS server has an additional Intel PRO / 1000 MT Dual Port Server Adapter, which we used during testing, since it allows us to get better results compared to integrated controller Broadcom BCM5704C.

The server disk subsystem is based on an Intel SRCU42X SCSI RAID controller with 512 MB cache and five Fujitsu MAU3036NC hard drives installed in a single-channel, hot-swappable six-device cage. The operating system was installed on a separate hard drive, and the remaining drives were combined into a RAID 10 array. A RAID controller with a BBU was used to improve reliability.

The Klondike AS server is assembled in an InWin R3000 case, equipped with a power supply unit with a total power of 700 watts. The ruggedized power supply consists of a power distribution board and three blocks, one of which operates in hot standby mode.

The server component cooling system consists of two active processor heatsinks, additional cooling blocks for memory modules, a dual 120mm fan on the rear of the server, and two fans to cool the hard drive cage.

The Klondike President 2000A universal server from Klondike Computers is designed for corporate departments and midsize companies. It can provide information sharing for a large number of users and a variety of network services.

The server is built on a SuperMicro X6DH3-G2 motherboard with two Intel Xeon DualCore 2.8 GHz processors and is equipped with 2 GB of DDR2-400 MHz RAM with ECC error correction operating in dual channel mode.

The X6DH3-G2 mainboard with Socket 604 is designed to work with single and dual-core Intel Xeon processors with 800 MHz FSB and support for EM64T technology. The board is built on the Intel E7520 system logic set, supports PCI Express I / O subsystem and has advanced features to ensure reliability and continuity of operation.

The board has eight memory slots and supports up to 16GB of DDR2-400 dual-channel registered ECC memory. Features include memory mirroring and hot spare modules. There are ample opportunities for installing expansion cards. There are two PCI Express x8 slots, three 64-bit PCI-X slots and one 32-bit PCI slot (33 MHz). PCI-X slots are connected to two independent buses of the Intel 6700PXH controller, one of them operates at 133 MHz, and two at 100 MHz. It is possible to install a Zero Channel RAID controller in one of the PCI-X 100 MHz slots (green).

The board integrates an ATI Rage XL video controller with 8 MB of video memory and two Intel 82541P1 Gigabit Ethernet controllers. In addition, there is an Adaptec AIC 9410W Zero Channel SAS RAID Controller.

To improve the performance of the network interface, the server has an additional Intel PRO / 1000 MT Dual Port Server Adapter installed, with which the server worked during testing.

To organize the disk subsystem, the server uses a dual-channel SCSI RAID controller Intel SRCU42X with 512 MB of cache memory and autonomous emergency power supply (BBU), which supports building RAID arrays of levels 0, 1, 5, 10 and 50. The server disk subsystem consists of RAID - a level 10 array built on four Fujitsu MAU3036NC hard drives and a separate hard drive of the same model on which the operating system is installed. All hard drives are housed in a single channel cage for six devices and are hot-swappable. It is also possible to install an additional basket.

The server is housed in an Intel SC5300 chassis. The server power system consists of a power distribution board and two 730-watt hot-standby power supplies, which means they can be replaced without powering down the server.

The server component cooling system includes two passive processor heatsinks, and for efficient heat dissipation, the plastic air ducts included with the chassis and four powerful controlled hot-swap fans create the necessary airflow through the drives in the cage and the processor heatsinks at the same time.

This server from Kraftway is designed to seamlessly serve e-commerce applications. It can also be used to organize the work of a remote office and maintain databases. The server has high performance, high operational reliability and fault tolerance. The server package includes a printed user manual in Russian, which contains detailed information on the technical characteristics of the server and the capabilities of its components, as well as information on how to configure the server, maintain and upgrade. Note that among all domestic servers presented in our review, only Kraftway servers are equipped with such a guide.

This model is a classic version of the Intel platform and is almost entirely assembled on the basis of components manufactured by this company. The server is based on the Intel SE7520AF2 motherboard with two Intel Xeon DualCore 2.8 GHz processors and is equipped with 2 GB of DDR2-400 MHz memory with ECC error correction, operating in dual channel mode.

Dual-processor motherboard SE7520AF2 with Socket 604 is designed to work with single- and dual-core Intel Xeon processors with 800 MHz FSB and support for EM64T technology. The board is based on the Intel E7520 System Chip, which supports PCI Express I / O and has advanced features for reliability, business continuity, and serviceability.

The board has eight memory slots and supports up to 16GB of DDR2-400 Registered Dual Channel ECC memory. Mirroring of memory and allocation of modules to hot spare is possible. Three PCI-X slots are connected to two independent buses: two of them operate at frequencies up to 133 MHz, one - up to 100 MHz. PCI Express slots (x8 and x4) are connected directly to the north bridge.

The board integrates an ATI Rage XL video controller with 8 MB of video memory and an Intel 82546GB dual-port Gigabit Ethernet controller. There is a dual-channel SCSI RAID controller LSI Logic 53C1030 Ultra320 SCSI, supporting RAID levels 0 and 1, as well as an additional SCSI RAID controller Intel SROMBU42E, implemented on an Intel IOP332 processor, for which there is a separate slot for memory (up to 256 MB), integrated with BBU module. The RAID controller supports RAID levels 0, 1, 5, 10, and 50. To activate an optional RAID controller, an Intel RAID Activation Key is required and must be purchased separately.

The disk subsystem of the server is based on the LSI Logic MegaRAID 320-2X SCSI RAID controller and ten Fujitsu MAU3036NC hard drives installed in two baskets (for four and six devices) with hot swappable drives and connected to different channels of the RAID controller. The operating system was installed on a separate hard disk, and the remaining nine disks were combined into a RAID 5 array, which gives the maximum useful use disk space.

The server is manufactured in an Intel SC5300 case. The server power system consists of a power distribution board and two 730-W hot-standby power supplies that are hot-swappable and hot-swappable. The server has a control module with an LCD screen, which allows you to quickly monitor the status of the server.

The cooling system for server components includes two passive processor heatsinks; For efficient heat dissipation, the supplied plastic air ducts and four powerful hot-swappable fans are used to create airflow that flows simultaneously through the drives in the cages and through the processor heatsinks.

Klondike President 1500A - a server from Klondike Computers on the Intel platform, built on the ASUS NCCH-DR motherboard with the Intel E7210 system logic set and equipped with two Intel Xeon 3.8 GHz processors and 2 GB of PC3200 memory (four 512 MB modules) , which operates in two-channel mode.

The ASUS NCCH-DR motherboard allows you to expand the amount of RAM up to 4 GB, for which there are four slots for installing memory modules. Memory modules such as PC3200 / PC2700 are supported with or without error correction. There are two 64-bit PCI-X slots and three 32-bit PCI slots for installing additional expansion cards.

The board integrates an ATI RageXL video controller with 8 MB of video memory and two single-port Gigabit Ethernet controllers - Intel PRO / 1000 CT Network Connection (Intel 82547GI) and Intel PRO / 1000 Network Connection (Intel 82541GI). When choosing a network controller to organize a server communication channel with local area network preference should be given to the 64-bit Intel PRO / 1000 CT Network Connection controller, which uses the CSA (Communication Streaming Architecture) bus c throughput 266 MB / s, and the 32-bit Intel PRO / 1000 Network Connection controller can be used to remotely control the server or create a redundant connection.

The Klondike President 1500A server is manufactured in an Intel SC5275-E case, equipped with a 600W power supply. The design of the case provides for the installation of active processor heatsinks (air ducts are not provided in this case). Also, to create effective system heatsink additional fans (non-hot-swappable) are installed on the hard drive cage and on the rear of the case (120mm).

The GEG Express ISP ES23 model from Kraftway is designed for reliable and uninterrupted service of resource-intensive Internet / intranet applications, e-mail, document management, hosting, and caching. To increase reliability, all critical components in the server are duplicated; in addition, hard drives, power supplies, and cooling fans in the server allow you to replace them without interrupting the operation of the server. The server is completed with a printed user manual in Russian, which contains detailed information on the technical characteristics of the server and the capabilities of its components, as well as information on how to configure the server, maintain and upgrade.

The server is housed in a low-profile 2 U 19 "rack mount enclosure and is compact to achieve high performance in a limited space, easy to maintain, and flexible to upgrade.

Kraftway GEG Express ISP ES23 is built on the Intel SE7520JR2 motherboard with two Intel Xeon DualCore 2.8 GHz processors and is equipped with 2 GB of 400 MHz DDR2 RAM with ECC error correction (two Samsung M3 93T2950BG0-CCC modules) operating in dual channel mode ...

The SE7520JR2 dual-processor Socket 604 mainboard is designed to work with single and dual-core Intel Xeon processors with 800 MHz FSB and support for EM64T technology. The board is based on the Intel E7520 System Chip, which supports PCI Express I / O and has advanced features for reliability, business continuity, and serviceability.

The board has six memory slots and supports up to 12GB of DDR2 400MHz dual-channel registered memory with ECC error correction. There are options for memory mirroring and hot spare modules.

The board integrates an ATI Rage XL video controller with 8 MB of video memory and an Intel 82546GB dual-port Gigabit Ethernet controller. In addition, there is a dual-channel (one internal and one external) LSI Logic 53C1030 Ultra320 SCSI SCSI RAID controller supporting RAID levels 0 and 1.

The server has ample opportunities for installing expansion cards, for which there are two slots on the system board (expansion cards are installed through an adapter - Riser Card). One of them, which supports Intel Adaptive Slot technology, has two buses - PCI-X 64 bit 66/100/133 MHz and PCI Express x4, and this slot can accommodate up to three cards of full length and height. The interface of the cards to be installed depends on the adapter used (three PCI-X cards 66/100 MHz, or one PCI-X 100 MHz card and two PCI-X 133 MHz cards, or one PCI-X 100 MHz and two PCI Express x4 cards), and the type of installed card is automatically detected. The second slot is a regular 64-bit 66/100 MHz PCI-X slot for up to three cards of half length and height.

The server disk subsystem is based on an Intel SRCU42X SCSI RAID controller with 128 MB cache and six Seagate Cheetah 15K.3 ST336753LC hard drives. The operating system is installed on a separate hard drive, and the remaining drives are combined into a RAID 5 array. The hard drives are housed in front-access hot-swappable bays and are connected to a single-channel backplane.

The cooling system for server components is determined by the design of the chassis and includes two passive heatsinks on the processors, plastic air ducts, and four or eight controlled fans that simultaneously cool both hard drives and processors.

The server has an Intel SR2400 chassis. Supply system this server Consists of a power distribution board and two 700W hot-standby power supplies that are hot-swappable and hot-swappable. The server uses a control module with an LCD screen, which allows you to quickly monitor the server status.

Considering high productivity servers among platforms based on Intel processors, as well as the availability of detailed documentation in Russian, we decided to award this model with the "Editorial Recommends" mark, since this model fully meets all the basic requirements for modern servers.

Team Server 2400A from Tim Computers belongs to a new series of compact universal servers based on Intel Xeon processors with 800 MHz bus and support for EM64T technology. The servers in this family are available in a compact (2 U rack mount) chassis with high performance and scalability for use as domain controllers, file servers, terminal servers, and small databases.

The server is based on the Intel SE7520JR2 motherboard with two Intel Xeon 3.0 GHz processors and is equipped with 2 GB of 400 MHz DDR2 RAM with ECC error correction (four Kingston modules). This Socket 604 motherboard is designed to work with single and dual-core Intel Xeon processors with 800 MHz FSB and support for EM64T technology. The board is built on the Intel E7520 system logic set, supports PCI Express I / O subsystem, and has improved features for reliability and serviceability.

The board is equipped with six memory slots and supports up to 12GB of DDR2 400MHz dual-channel registered memory with ECC error correction. Mirroring of memory and allocation of modules to hot spare is possible.

The board integrates an ATI Rage XL video controller with 8 MB of video memory and an Intel 82546GB dual-port Gigabit Ethernet controller. There is also a dual-channel (one internal and one external) LSI Logic 53C1030 Ultra320 SCSI SCSI RAID controller supporting RAID levels 0 and 1.

The server provides a wide range of options for installing expansion cards, for which there are two slots on the motherboard (expansion cards are installed via a riser card). One of them, supporting Intel Adaptive Slot technology, has two buses - PCI-X 64 bit 66/100/133 MHz and PCI Express x4. This slot can accommodate up to three cards of full length and height. The interface of the installed cards depends on the adapter used (three PCI-X 66/100 MHz cards, or one PCI-X 100 MHz plus two PCI-X 133 MHz, or one PCI-X 100 MHz plus two PCI Express x4). The type of installed card is detected automatically. The second slot is a regular one (PCI-X 64 bit / 66/100 MHz) and is used to install up to three cards of half length and height.

To organize the disk subsystem, the server uses a dual-channel SCSI RAID controller Intel SRCU42E with 128 MB of cache memory. The server disk subsystem consists of a level 1 RAID array built on two Seagate Cheetah 10K.7 ST373207LC hard drives, and a separate Seagate Cheetah 10K.7 ST336807LC hard drive where the operating system is located. The hard drives are installed in front-access hot-swappable bays and are connected to a single-channel backplane.

The server is housed in an Intel SR2400 chassis. The server power system includes a power distribution board and two 700W power supplies. The units operate in hot standby mode and can be replaced without powering down the server.

The cooling system for the server components is determined by the chassis design and includes two passive heatsinks on the processors, plastic air ducts, and four controlled fans that simultaneously cool the hard drives in the cages and the processors.

NICS S4000aBK / pro (SO240PGa)

The high-performance universal server NIKS S4000aBK / pro (SO240PGa) from NIKS - Computer Supermarket is another server based on the AMD platform.

It is based on the TYAN Thunder K8WE (S2895UA2NRF) motherboard and is equipped with two 2.4GHz AMD OPTERON 280 dual-core processors and 4GB of DDR400 ECC registered RAM. Eight 512 MB modules are used as memory modules (four sets of Corsair TWINX1024RE-3200LL).

The motherboard Thunder K8WE is positioned by the manufacturer as a board for high-performance workstations and has very broad capabilities. The board is based on a system logic set consisting of NVIDIA nForce Professional 2200, NVIDIA nForce Professional 2050, and PCI-X AMD-8131 bus controller.

The board is equipped with two PCI Express x16 slots (one each from nForce Professional 2200 and nForce Professional 2050), three 64-bit PCI-X (100/133 MHz) slots connected to two independent buses of the AMD8131 controller, and one 32-bit PCI slot 33 MHz. The nForce Professional 2200 has an integrated four-channel SATA II controller (300 MB / s per channel) with the ability to organize RAID arrays of levels 0, 1, 5, and 10; in addition, the board has four SATA connectors. There is also an LSI Logic 53C1030 Ultra320 SCSI dual-channel SCSI RAID controller supporting RAID levels 0 and 1.

The board has eight slots for installing memory modules, in which you can install up to 16 GB of register memory with error correction of the PC3200 / 2700/2100 type. ChipKil technology is supported.

Two Gigabit Ethernet links are implemented through the nForce Professional 2200 and nForce Professional 2050. In addition, support for the FireWare bus and sound (Analog Devices 1981B codec) are integrated.

Since the motherboard does not have an integrated video controller, a Gigabyte GeForce6200TC is used as a video card.

An additional Intel PRO / 1000 MT Server Network Gigabit Ethernet adapter is installed in the server, which was used in testing.

To organize the disk subsystem, the server has a dual-channel SCSI RAID controller Intel SRCU42E with 128 MB of cache and independent emergency power supply (BBU). The server disk subsystem consists of a RAID level 10 array built on ten Maxtor Atlas 15K II 8E073J0 hard drives and a separate hard drive of the same model on which the operating system is installed. The hard disks included in the RAID array are housed in two baskets for five devices connected to different channels of the RAID controller and are hot-swappable. The hard drive with the OS is installed in an additional (for three devices) cage, occupying two five-inch bays, and is connected to the LSI Logic 53C1030 controller. Also in this basket is provided a second similar hard disk, in normal operation designed to ensure the fault tolerance of the OS, but during testing, when the operating system was not supposed to be installed on RAID arrays, it was used to store the swap file.

NIKS S4000aBK / pro (SO240PGa) is assembled in a SuperMicro CSE-942S-600B case, which using a special kit can be installed in a standard 19-inch rack, while its height will be 4 U. The server is powered from a power supply unit with a total power of 600 W , which consists of a power distribution board and three blocks operating in a 2 + 1 scheme (one of the blocks is always in hot standby). Blocks can be replaced without powering down the server.

The cooling system consists of two 120 mm fans located on the bulkhead of the case, one fan on an additional cage, two fans on the processor heatsinks, and an exhaust fan with a diameter of 120 mm on the rear wall.

The universal server NIKS S4000BK / pro (SX32APRi) from NIKS - Computer Supermarket, intended for corporate departments and for medium-sized companies, can provide shared access to information for a large number of users and the operation of a wide variety of network services.

The server is assembled on the basis of a SuperMicro X6DH8-XG2 motherboard with two Intel Xeon 3.2 GHz processors and is equipped with 4 GB of 400 MHz DDR2 RAM with ECC error correction, operating in dual channel mode.

The X6DH8-XG2 mainboard with Socket 604 is designed to work with single- and dual-core Intel Xeon processors with 800 MHz FSB and support for EM64T technology. The board is built on the Intel E7520 system logic set, supports the PCI Express I / O subsystem, and has advanced features to ensure reliability and uptime.

The board has eight memory slots and supports up to 16GB of DDR2-400 Registered Dual Channel ECC memory. Features include memory mirroring and hot spare modules.

To install expansion cards, the board has a PCI Express x8 slot and five 64-bit PCI-X slots, three of which operate at 133 MHz, and two at 100 MHz.

It is possible to install a Zero Channel RAID controller in one of the PCI-X 100 MHz slots (green).

PCI-X slots are distributed over four independent buses of two Intel 6700PXH controllers.

The board integrates an ATI Rage XL video controller with 8 MB of video memory, an Intel 82546GB dual-port Gigabit Ethernet controller, and an Adaptec AIC-7902 dual-channel Ultra320 SCSI controller.

To organize the disk subsystem, the server uses a dual-channel SCSI RAID controller Intel SRCU42X with 128 MB of cache and autonomous emergency power supply (BBU). The server disk subsystem consists of a RAID level 10 array built on ten Maxtor Atlas 15K II 8E073J0 hard drives and a separate Maxtor Atlas15K II 8E036J0 hard drive where the operating system is installed. The hard disks included in the RAID array are located in two baskets (for five devices each), connected to different channels of the RAID controller, and are hot-swappable. The hard drive with the OS is installed in an additional (for three devices) cage, occupying two five-inch bays, and is connected to the Adaptec AIC-7902 controller. Also in this basket is provided a second similar hard disk, in normal operation, designed to ensure the fault tolerance of the OS, but during testing, which did not involve installing the operating system on RAID arrays, it was used to store the swap file.

NIKS S4000BK / pro (SX32APRi) is manufactured in a SuperMicro CSE-942S-600B case, which using a special kit can be installed in a standard 19-inch 4 U rack. The server is powered from a 600-W power supply, which consists of a power distribution board and three blocks operating in a 2 + 1 scheme (one of the blocks is always in hot standby) and replaceable without powering down the server.

The cooling system consists of three 120 mm fans located on the bulkhead of the case, two fans on the processor heatsinks and an exhaust fan with a diameter of 120 mm on the rear wall.

The Exilon-Major EC27 server from Inel Data is built on an Intel SE7520BD2 D2 motherboard with two Intel Xeon 3.0 GHz processors and is equipped with 4 GB of 400 MHz DDR2 RAM with ECC error correction, operating in dual channel mode (four 1024 MB module Kingston).

The SE7520BD2 D2 dual-processor Socket 604 mainboard is designed to work with single and dual-core Intel Xeon processors with 800 MHz FSB and support for EM64T technology. The board is built on the Intel E7520 system logic set, supports the PCI Express I / O subsystem, and has advanced features to ensure reliability and serviceability.

The board has eight memory slots and supports up to 16GB of DDR2-400 dual-channel registered ECC memory. Mirroring of memory and allocation of modules to hot spare are possible. One PCI Express x4 slot, one 32-bit / 33 MHz PCI slot and three hot-swappable 64-bit PCI-X slots are provided for installing expansion cards. PCI-X slots are connected to two independent Intel 6700PXH buses, one of which runs at 133 MHz and the rest at 100 MHz.

The board integrates an ATI Rage XL video controller with 8 MB of video memory and two Gigabit Ethernet controllers - Marvell Yukon 88E8050 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet and Intel 82541PI Gigabit Ethernet. There is also an LSI Logic 53C1030 Ultra320 SCSI dual-channel SCSI RAID controller, which supports RAID levels 0 and 1, although the connector is set to only one channel.

To organize the disk subsystem in the server, a dual-channel SCSI RAID controller Intel SRCU42E with 128 MB of cache is used. The server disk subsystem consists of a RAID level 5 array built on three Seagate Cheetah 15K.3 ST373457LC hard drives and a separate Seagate Cheetah 10K.7 ST336807LC hard drive on which the operating system is installed. All hard drives are housed in a single channel cage for six devices and are hot-swappable.

The server is housed in an Intel SC5300 chassis. The server power system consists of a power distribution board and a 730 W power supply unit; for increased reliability, a second power supply can be installed.

The cooling system for server components includes two passive processor heatsinks, plastic air ducts that guide airflow, and two controlled hot-swap fans.

Inel Date's Exilon-Major LC27 is based on an Intel SE7520JR2 motherboard with two Intel Xeon 3.0 GHz processors and 4GB of 400 MHz DDR2 RAM with ECC error correction (four Kingston modules).

The SE7520JR2 Socket 604 motherboard is designed to work with single and dual-core Intel Xeon processors with 800 MHz FSB and support for EM64T technology. The board is built on the Intel E7520 System Chip, PCI Express I / O support and advanced features for reliability and serviceability.

The board has six memory slots and supports up to 12GB of DDR2 400MHz dual-channel registered ECC memory. Features include memory mirroring and hot spare modules.

The board integrates an ATI Rage XL video controller with 8 MB of video memory and an Intel 82546GB dual-port Gigabit Ethernet controller. In addition, there is the LSI Logic 53C1030 Ultra320 SCSI dual-channel (one internal and one external) SCSI RAID controller, which supports RAID levels 0 and 1.

The system board has two slots for installing expansion cards (installed via a riser card). One of them, supporting Intel Adaptive Slot technology, has two buses: PCI-X 64 bit 66/100/133 MHz and PCI Express x4. This slot can accept cards of full length and height, and the type of installed card is automatically detected (different adapters are used for installation). The second slot is a regular PCI-X 64 bit 66/100 MHz, which is used to install a card of half length and height.

Oleg Denisov, Sergey Nazarov

Summer PC testing conducted by the BYTE / Russia test laboratory was not quite ordinary: according to the rules we set, only computers from manufacturers actively participating in large government and / or corporate tenders and producing PCs in mass quantities were accepted for testing. Therefore, testing turned out to be small - only four machines (and in this regard, it was decided not to select the winners and not to mark anyone with the BYTE / Russia Editors' Choice sign), but rather representative - only leading Russian manufacturers of computer equipment participated in it.

According to the testing rules, participants could provide for testing a PC with any processor officially announced at the time of testing, 256 MB RAM, a video subsystem that provides 32-bit color at a resolution of 1024x768 and a refresh rate of 75 Hz, an Ethernet network interface, a sound subsystem , keyboard and mouse. Manufacturers could complement the machines with other components of their choice. Plus, the wholesale price of the set from those presented for testing was limited. system unit, keyboard and mouse, OS and supplied software - no more than $ 700 at the time of testing when delivered in batches of 100 sets.

We also asked for a PC complete with an LCD monitor for testing. But, given that the same PC can be equipped with a variety of monitors - depending on the needs and budget of the buyer, we do not consider them in the review and provide data about them only as additional information.

In order to characterize the PCs discussed here in more detail, the test participants were asked to provide the editions with information materials describing: the model range, which includes the tested PC; the concept of designing and using office PCs for large corporations; the concept of building large office computing systems; technology of testing and selection of components and testing of PCs at the stage of development of serial models of computers; technology for testing serial PCs in the production process; principles of construction and methods of work of the service department; as well as historical information about the company. These materials are presented in sidebars in the article. All data on the production volumes of each company, its places in the ratings, etc. are given according to the words of the representatives of the respective company and have not been verified by us.

Testing methodology

To determine the overall performance of the system, we used the ZD Business Winstone 2002 1.0.1 package, designed to measure the performance of a PC when working with popular office applications. PC 3D performance measured using MadOnion 3DMark2001 SE Build 330 benchmarks.

We also used CPU and memory subsystem benchmarks from SiSoft Sandra Standard 2003.3.9.44 and WCPUID 3.1a and EnTech PowerStrip 3.40, which measured the operating clock speeds of the CPU, GPU, RAM, and video memory.

All tests were carried out in video mode with 32-bit color depth, 1024x768 resolution and 75 Hz refresh rate under Microsoft Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 1.

Detailed characteristics of the tested systems and test results are given in.

Aquarius Elt DF240

Choosing a quality PC case that is both reliable, safe, roomy, comfortable and original design is not an easy task, but the developers of the Aquarius Elt DF240 coped with it perfectly. The case of this PC provides good opportunities for system expansion - three bays for external 5.25-inch drives, one for floppy and three for hard drives (two of them can be placed in a removable cage, which is convenient). To increase the strength of the case and the rigidity of mounting the drives, an additional steel plate is used - it is placed vertically in the lower right corner and "connects" the rack to the drive bays and the lower and front panels of the case. The side walls of the case are fixed with convenient locks embedded in their upper part and can be removed without tools. The motherboard is mounted on a separate metal chassis. The front and rear panels each have one slot for additional fans. Plus to that - the elegant and memorable appearance of the case. True, there are no connectors for audio and USB ports on its front panel, which can be considered a disadvantage - the output of two audio and two USB ports to the front panel of a PC has become a de facto standard today.

Elt DF240 is built on the basis of quality and reliable components from manufacturers with an excellent reputation - this is a processor Intel Pentium 4 2.4 GHz with 533-MHz bus, ASUS P4PE motherboard based on Intel 845PE HMC with integrated 10/100-Mbps Broadcom BCM4401 Ethernet network controller, ASUS V8170 DDR / SE / T video card based on GPU Nvidia GeForce4 MX 440-SE with 64MB VRAM, 40GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 ST340014A hard drive and 52X ASUS CD-S520 CD-ROM. Note also good opportunities system expansion - three slots for memory modules and six free PCI slots (though two PCI bays are occupied by expansion brackets) - and connections peripheral devices- optical and coaxial S / PDIF outputs, Game / MIDI port, two serial ports and two TV outputs - S-Video and RCA. By the way, the design, development and production process of this PC is certified to comply with the ISO 9001: 2001 quality standard. In addition, the PC is certified to be compatible with Microsoft Windows 2000 and Windows XP.

During the tests, Elt DF240 showed good results in the integrated office test Business Winstone and in tests for the speed of RAM, more modest results in the 3D graphics test 3DMark2001 and in processor tests, which, however, corresponds to the configuration and computing capabilities of this machine.

In addition to the system unit, Elt DF240 is supplied with a keyboard and mouse of a standard design, printed manuals for the PC and motherboard, Microsoft Windows XP Professional and Kaspersky Anti-Virus and is backed by a long three-year warranty ( detailed description for the Aquarius service network, see the sidebar). Elt DF240 and other Aquarius equipment can be purchased from more than 750 partners of the company purchasing it through three distributors - Landata, OCS, Verysell.

"Aquarius"

The production company "Aquarius" (http://www.aq.ru), founded in 1989, is part of the "Aquarius" group, which, in turn, recently became part of the holding "National Computer Corporation" (NCC ). The main activities of "Aquarius" are the development and manufacture of PCs and servers with the Aquarius trademark, the development and support of the regional partner network, development of regional service infrastructure.

"Aquarius" became the first non-governmental organization in Russia to set up its own factory production of PCs. Today the company has a PC manufacturing plant in Shuya, Ivanovo region. with a capacity of 120 thousand PCs per year and a production workshop in Moscow with a capacity of 36 thousand PCs per year. According to the analytical agencies IDC and ITResearch, "Aquarius" is one of the three leaders in sales of PCs and servers in the Russian market.

The Aquarius Elite PC family was developed by Aquarius especially for the most demanding customers. These models are distinguished by high reliability, quality, excellent technical characteristics, rich in functionality, ample upgradeability, which provides them with a long service life and a low total cost of ownership. They can be successfully used to solve a wide variety of tasks - working with large databases, 3D graphics, video data, CAD, etc. PCs of the Elite family are equipped with Intel Pentium 4 processors, ASUSTeK and Intel motherboards, and are certified for compatibility with Microsoft Windows 2000 / XP and can be supplied with preinstalled licensed versions of these OS, as well as with an office suite Microsoft Office 2000 / XP.

The company "Aquarius" produces a wide range of PCs and servers, allowing you to build modern office computing systems for various purposes. In addition to powerful Aquarius Elite PCs, workstations can be equipped with inexpensive models of the Aquarius Standard series and workstations for corporate users Aquarius Professional. Collective services can be organized on the basis of servers of the AquaServer E, AquaServer P and AquaServer T families.

AquaServer E servers are designed for use in small companies or workgroups of up to 20 people. These machines are marginally more expensive than powerful PCs, but are more reliable and expandable.

AquaServer P servers are based on Intel platforms and are designed to operate in large networks and data centers. Careful selection of components, pre-testing of components and mandatory 72-hour heat chamber testing ensure that the AquaServer P will function reliably even in the harshest conditions.

The compact AquaServer T servers are installed in a 19-inch rack and are designed to organize telecommunication nodes and data centers with high density of computing power and communication ports, with increased reliability, flexible redundancy and load balancing.

All Aquarius servers are certified for compatibility with operating systems from the Microsoft Windows 2000/2003 Server family.

In the process of developing serial models, the "Aquarius" test laboratory checks the performance of the PC in configurations assembled from components of different manufacturers that are similar in characteristics, and gives its recommendations on the most reliable combinations of components (it is indicated which components need to be used together, which ones can be used and which ones are unique it is impossible). In the future "Aquarius" forms a range of computers, focusing exclusively on the first category, but at the request of customers can use configurations of the second category.

Serial production of the Aquarius PC begins with the input testing of components, and the company is very strict about the quality of the entire purchased batch. If the percentage of scrap exceeds the permissible level, then Aquarius will part with this supplier, regardless of its weight in the IT business. PCs that came off the assembly line undergo mandatory 24-hour testing in a heat chamber at a temperature of 35-40 ° C. The servers are subjected to even more severe tests - they are shipped to the customer only after a trouble-free 72-hour operation in a thermal chamber. Based on the statistics of service centers, the monitoring and analysis of breakdowns is constantly being carried out. The Marketing and Commercial Services regularly review claims from customers and dealers. As a result, the TQC system complete control(Total Quality Control) unites all divisions of the company.

In the summer of 2002, Aquarius introduced new model building a service network. This step was caused by the active regional expansion of distributors of Aquarius equipment, which demanded a full-fledged warranty service and an extensive network of service centers in all constituent entities of the Russian Federation. Today this network includes 173 service centers in all regions of Russia.

We have developed our own service program, which makes it possible for any regional company that meets the qualification requirements to become an Aquarius service center. Since the manufacturing company often trusts unfamiliar firms with its reputation, the requirements for the quality of service (they include both the quality of the repair itself and the observance of the three-day period) were quite stringent. In order to interest potential partners, it was necessary to provide them with the opportunity to make good money precisely on the repair of equipment. After analyzing the failure statistics, Aquarius took an extraordinary step - for each repair case, partners are paid $ 25 for replacing components (excluding the cost of the latter) and $ 5 if the components are not replaced.

Almost all authorized service centers, with the exception of the Moscow one, are not structural divisions of Aquarius. The program also lists in detail the cases in which the company breaks off relations with the service center, depriving it of authorization - failure to comply with the terms of repair (no more than three days), poor-quality repairs and the use of components not included in the list of recommended by Aquarius.

In August 2003, Aquarius plans to start implementing a program for authorizing server service centers.

IN this moment The equipment supplied by Aquarius to several large corporate customers - the Social Insurance Fund of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, supplies under the Children of Russia program, etc. - is serviced on site. Service work is performed by Aquarius partners under separate contracts. A general system of extended service support is also being developed, which will be available to any buyer of Aquarius equipment and should be launched by the end of 2003. This system will include such types of services as on-site repairs, accelerated repair times for equipment, guaranteed services, for example, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, etc. The cost of the extended service packages will, of course, depend on their content.

Corporate customers who have entered into an extended service agreement are provided with technical consultations by phone from Aquarius service partners. Other users of Aquarius technology can consult by phone or e-mail in the Moscow service center of the company. In addition, in almost all cities where Aquarius products are sold and installed, there are authorized service centers to which users can seek advice during business hours. When the sale of the extended service packages begins, users will be able to receive 24/7 support, if necessary.

DEPO Race 465

Among all tested PCs, the DEPO Race 465 model stood out with the most powerful processor and fastest system memory - Intel Pentium 4 2.8 GHz with 800 MHz system bus and Hyper-Threading tools in conjunction with dual-channel DDR400 SDRAM. It is not surprising that this model took first place in the tests for the speed of the processor and RAM.

The processor and memory performance, coupled with the fast 40GB Western Digital Caviar Special Edition WD400JB hard drive with 8MB cache, gave the DEPO Race 465 a clear lead in the Business Winstone Integral Test, where it outperformed the competition. However, the leadership of this model was not indisputable - the Race 465 is equipped with 512 MB of RAM, which did not meet the requirements for the tested PCs (256 MB of RAM). In the 3D graphics test 3DMark2001, the performance of this PC was more modest - third place.

The Race 465 is built in a very well-designed body. First of all, it is spacious - you can install four external 5.25-inch drives, an external floppy and one external and one internal (or two internal) 3.5-inch drives. Even so, the inside of the PC is quite spacious and all internal components can be easily reached. Two USB and two audio connectors are hidden under the protective cover on the front panel of the PC. The left side cover of the case can be installed and removed without tools (by the way, it can be locked with a lock - for this there is a special tab on the rear panel), like all internal 5.25-inch devices and a floppy drive - they are fixed with plastic latches. The motherboard is mounted on a separate metal chassis. The strength of the case is reinforced with a vertical stiffener, which also houses the plastic retainers for the expansion cards. The front and rear panels have one slot for additional fans.

The advantages of Race 465 should also include the use of high-quality memory modules made by Kingston, "tied" with metal cooling radiators, a fast Gigabit Ethernet Intel PRO / 1000 MT Desktop Adapter, the presence of DVI-I and TV-out, full "wiring" USB subsystems - eight external USB ports (as a rule, PC manufacturers are limited to six or four) and the presence of two serial ports. The sound subsystem of this PC is quite common - it is based on the six-channel AC "97-audio codec Realtek ALC655 (note here the absence of a Game / MIDI port).

The Race 465 delivery package, in addition to the system unit, includes standard keyboard DEPO KWD-701, DEPO C1310 Optical Mouse, Microsoft Windows XP Professional OS, PC User Manual and Instruction Manual quick installation... We emphasize that Race 465 is certified for compatibility with Microsoft Windows 2000 / XP, and its manufacturing process is certified for compliance with the ISO 9001 quality standard.

The Race 465 price includes a three-year warranty service in Dealine service centers (more than 130 centers in Russia) with a maximum five-day repair period, but if desired, the user can choose a different warranty plan: two years of service in a service center - minus $ 12 from PC costs, two years with field service in the first year - plus $ 44, three years with field service during the first year - plus $ 58, two years of field service - plus $ 69, three years on-site - plus $ 127

"Deeline"

The company "Dealine" (http://www.dealine.ru), a large Russian distributor and manufacturer of computer equipment, has been releasing PCs under the DEPO trademark since June 2002. This was preceded by serious preparatory work, including market research, study of world experience in PC production , development of production technology and the process of interaction with suppliers and customers, organization of a support service and a service network. In addition, its own experience in the production of "unbranded" PCs played an important role - since 2000, Dealine has supplied white boxes (platforms from tested components for assembling computers). Dealine currently produces a full range of PCs, which includes families personal computers DEPO Neos, Myst, Race, DEPO Race workstations and DEPO Storm servers with a total sales volume of DEPO branded products of about 12 thousand units per month.

DEPO computers are manufactured in industrial conditions at the own production facilities of the Dealine company, located on the territory of a single office and warehouse complex and designed to produce up to 1000 computers and 20 servers per day *. The production of DEPO computers is certified for compliance with the quality management system to two standards: the international TUV CERT ISO 9001 and the Russian standard GOST R ISO 9001-2001. Modern lines are installed in the production workshop of "Dealine"; the qualifications of the specialists working for them, necessary for the production of each model of DEPO equipment, are confirmed by the corresponding certificates.

In the production cycle, parallelization of operations is implemented, which provides for the possibility of simultaneous work of several sections on one order. Thanks to the just-in-time concept, at the right time in the right place, all processes are synchronized, which gives a significant increase in labor productivity.

The technological process begins with the preparatory stage, at which the processing and preparation of components and their 100% incoming control takes place. In the manufacture of DEPO equipment, only high-quality modern components of well-known brands are used, which have proven themselves in the market, coming from the largest warehouse of computer components in Russia. The prepared components go to the assembly and final inspection line, where the actual assembly and testing of finished products is performed.

DEPO products have all the necessary certificates (hygienic and ROSTtesta) in accordance with the current legislation. All DEPO PC lines are certified for compatibility with Microsoft Windows 2000 / XP. DEPO servers are certified to be compatible with Microsoft Windows 2000 Server and Windows 2000 Advanced Server. Taking into account the increased requirements for the quality of servers, and in order to ensure their high reliability, DEPO servers undergo a long test cycle - including under load.

In the structure of the divisions of the company "Dealine" a special department has been created, which is engaged in technical research and development. The main tasks of the research and development department are to identify promising directions for the development of DEPO equipment model ranges, taking into account their compliance with advanced and efficient technologies; development and creation of product samples based on research data on customer preferences and in accordance with industry trends; comprehensive testing of samples for compatibility with operating systems and obtaining the necessary certificates; involvement of independent certification laboratories for additional comprehensive testing of products; creation of a product standard for subsequent launch into mass production; development and continuous improvement of testing methods finished products; creation of compatibility sheets with options for each model.

The Dealine company does not work according to a fixed price list with a list of typical models of equipment, but allows each customer to choose their own configuration of a PC or server. Through the Internet, the customer can design the desired computer configuration at any time using the online toolkit and select the desired software. In this way, the bespoke system will meet the exact needs of the user.

DEPO Race family PCs are positioned by Dealine as powerful corporate machines and are designed for users with increased requirements for system performance - system administrators, software and database developers, heads of companies and enterprises, and those who actively work with digital graphics, audio and video data. The latest architectural solutions and technological advances implemented in the models of the DEPO Race family guarantee a long PC life cycle and provide excellent opportunities for system expansion.

The DEPO Race family is represented by two models - DEPO Race 465 and DEPO Race 475, built respectively on motherboards with Intel 865PE and Intel 875P HMCs. Distinctive features of these machines are Intel Pentium 4 processors with 800 MHz system bus and built-in Hyper-Threading, dual-channel DDR400 SDRAM, graphical interface AGP 8X and Serial ATA / 150 interface for connecting hard drives.

GEG Prestige 41240A

The GEG Prestige 41240A PC performed very well in speed tests. Thanks to the fast Gigabyte GV-R9264D video card on the ATI RADEON 9200 graphics processor with 64 MB DDR video memory and 8X AGP interface, the Prestige 41240A was the leader in the 3D graphics test 3DMark2001, while the powerful Intel Pentium 4 2.4 GHz processor with 800 -MHz system bus and built-in Hyper-Threading tools and high-speed dual-channel DDR333 SDRAM-memory secured this model the second place in processor tests and in tests for RAM speed. The Prestige 41240A also performed well in the Business Winstone integrated office test, but it managed to take only third place in it.

The use of high-quality modern components from leading manufacturers is an undoubted advantage of the Prestige 41240A. In addition to the already mentioned Intel processor and video card from Gigabyte, the PC is equipped with a system Gigabyte board GA-8IPE1000 based on the latest Intel 865PE HMC with built-in standard six-channel AC "97-audio subsystem, 40GB Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 8 6E040L0 hard drive and 50X ASUS CD-S500 CD-ROM. Note also that the Prestige 41240A manufacturing process is certified for compliance with the quality standard ISO 9001.

The Prestige 41240A offers good scalability - four memory slots (up to 4GB total RAM), five PCI slots (of which four are unoccupied), three 5.25-inch external drive bays, one for floppy drives, two for hard drives. However, with the expansion of the peripheral part, the situation is somewhat worse - the PC is equipped with a digital DVI-I-output for connecting an LCD monitor, a combined S-Video-RCA TV-out for connecting a TV receiver, 10/100-Mbps Ethernet network interface (implemented by means of the Repotec RP-1624W PCI adapter), two serial ports, but does not have Game / MIDI and S / PDIF ports.

The PC is assembled in a well-designed case. Provides free access to all internal components of the system, with the exception of the power supply and bays for 5.25-inch drives - they are "blocked" by an additional stiffener, which strengthens the strength of the case. The power supply is equipped with a "pass-through" power connector - as a rule, a monitor is connected to it, which is very convenient. On the front panel there is an additional fan, reliably protected by a metal casing, on the back there is a slot for a second additional fan. The 5.25-inch drive bays are closed from the outside by a dust-proof door with a cut-out for access to the top compartment - a CD-ROM drive was installed in it. Unfortunately, there are no external connectors for USB ports and audio ports on the front panel of the case, which today can be considered a disadvantage (though not essential).

Your Prestige 41240A comes with a standard keyboard and mouse, a printed PC and motherboard user manual, Microsoft Windows XP Professional, and Norton AntiVirus 2003. Your PC is backed by a 3-year, one-year free onsite service as standard. For corporate customers, it is possible to conclude a separate contract for the maintenance of equipment on site during the entire warranty period and for the replacement of failed components within 24 hours.

Kraftway Computers

Kraftway Computers (http://www.kraftway.ru) launched the production of PCs and servers under its own GEG trademark in 1993 and the next year deployed production facilities in the technological premises of the Kvant State Research and Production Enterprise and signed an OEM -Agreement with Microsoft for the installation of licensed software on PC GEG. In 1995, GEG PCs were tested for compatibility with Microsoft software, serial production of dual-processor servers was started, and the company was included in the list of industrial enterprises responsible for the supply of equipment for the Russian Ministry of Defense.

In 1996, the production of Kraftway computers was certified for compliance with the requirements of the ISO 9001 standard, and the production of GEG Industrial servers and four-processor servers was launched. The company entered the top ten largest Russian PC manufacturers.

In 1999, Kraftway released the first eight-processor server and became, according to Intel, the leader in the Russian server market, a year later it received the status of Intel Premier Provider and became one of the three largest Russian PC manufacturers.

In 2002, the company launched the production of servers based on Intel Itanium 2 processors, took part in the Intel Developer Forums (IDF) in San Jose and Moscow and began construction of its own production and logistics center in Obninsk, Kaluga Region, next year it launched new production capacity, allowing to produce up to 30 thousand PCs per month *, and opened the Kraftway Server Solutions Center on the Intel platform.

* IDC / ITResearch data on real production volumes for the first half of 2003 show that the company's production potential has not yet been fully utilized.

Today, Kraftway Computers produces a wide range of PCs, developed on the basis of sales statistics accumulated over more than 10 years of work, dealer network surveys and special in-depth marketing research and covering almost all consumer niches - from inexpensive office PCs to powerful dual-processor graphics stations based on Intel Xeon processors. ... Kraftway PCs are based on Gigabyte motherboards and Intel and AMD processors and are equipped with Microsoft Windows XP or Linux OS. Kraftway servers are available on Intel platforms.

GEG Prestige PCs have been designed and marketed as high-performance workstations that can be used to solve a wide variety of tasks - as powerful home machines, graphic workstations and systems for scientific and engineering calculations. The characteristic features of these PCs are powerful processors combined with a large amount of RAM, a fast graphics subsystem, ample opportunities for upgrading and increasing system performance.

The GEG Prestige lineup includes several PC series with different component base. GEG Prestige DV35xx series machines are equipped with an AMD Duron 1.2-1.3 GHz or AMD Athlon XP 1700-2800 + processor, a motherboard based on a VIA KM266 chipset, DDR266 / DDR200 SDRAM system memory, an integrated video subsystem without local video memory (instead of using up to 32 MB of system memory). The GEG Prestige DA36xx series includes AMD Duron 1.2-1.3 GHz or AMD Athlon XP 1700-2800 +, AMD 761 HMC, DDR266 / DDR200 SDRAM, AGP video card with 32 MB local video memory.

GEG Prestige 4I10xx are based on Intel Pentium 4 1.8-3.06 GHz and NMC SiS655, have dual-channel DDR266 / 333/400 SDRAM, AGP video card with 32 MB of local video memory. The GEG Prestige 4I20xx series is Intel Pentium 4 1.8-3.06 GHz, Intel E7205 HMC, dual channel DDR200 / 266 SDRAM, AGP video card with 32 MB of local video memory.

GEG Prestige AA10xx models include up to two AMD Athlon MP 2.0-2.6 GHz processors, AMD 760MXP HMC, DDR266 / DDR200 SDRAM, AGP video card with 32 MB of local video memory. The GEG Prestige XI31xx series contains up to two Intel Xeon DP 1.8-3.06 GHz processors, Intel E7505 NMC, DDR266 / DDR200 SDRAM memory, built-in video subsystem (up to 8 MB of RAM is used).

The basic configurations of all GEG Prestige PCs have an "onboard" Ethernet interface, with the exception of the GEG Prestige DA36xx series - these models are optionally equipped with it. All GEG Prestiges are also equipped with the built-in AC 97 audio subsystem "by default".

Kraftway Computers PCs undergo strict technological control at all stages of production. Control methods can be conditionally divided into three groups - visual, software and electromechanical. Visual inspection methods are used at the very beginning of the production process to detect obvious structural defects of components - damage to the paint and varnish or conductive layer, violation of geometry due to improper transportation, etc. - and during the acceptance of the assembled product - to check the correct fastening of assemblies, laying loops, etc. .d.

Software control methods are designed to verify the declared functionality of the product, reduce the labor intensity and monotony of personnel work (for example, by automating the operations of comparing the product configuration with the reference) and allow you to accurately document the control results (that is, to avoid errors associated with the human factor).

For such control, special test programs are used, both of our own design, and from leading test software developers and component manufacturers. These programs are combined into test groups designed to test a specific controller or an entire unit of a product. Before launching into production, a unique set of test influences is created for each configuration of a product from the test groups, in which, among other things, the order of passing the tests (sequence, simultaneity) and the reference test results are set. The product is submitted for testing in a semi-automatic mode, and the testing results are recorded in an automatic mode. This provides additional insurance against "human" error, not allowing the product to be transferred to the next production site if the test results automatically saved in a single database differ from the reference ones.

Electromechanical control methods are designed to ensure the electrical safety of the product and to check the reliability of the fastening of its assemblies and blocks.

To determine the technical prospects for the possible use of new components and architectures to expand the range of Kraftway Computers servers and PCs, the company created a beta testing laboratory, whose specialists create product prototypes and, using cross-platform measurement packages, check the speed of standard operations and the compatibility of these systems with various peripheral equipment and housings.

The service network of Kraftway includes 115 service centers throughout the country.

Irbis Favorite C2425 / 80F

In terms of processor power (Intel Celeron 2.4 GHz with 400 MHz system bus and 128 KB L2 cache) and RAM speed (single-channel DDR266 SDRAM) Irbis Favorite C2425 / 80F was inferior to other test participants; in addition, it was equipped with a rather slow video card (InnoVISION Tornado GeForce4 MX 440 SE on an Nvidia GeForce4 MX 440-SE GPU with 64 MB DDR video memory). As a result, this PC lagged behind the competition in performance benchmarks. But this model is supported by low price($ 640) and an impressive capacity of the disk subsystem based on the 80 GB Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 6Y080L0 drive - according to these characteristics, Irbis Favorite was in the lead. This PC was also the only one equipped with a combined optical drive CD-RW / DVD-ROM (Toshiba SD-R1312); in the rest of the tested models, "simple" and, of course, less expensive CD-ROM drives were installed.

Plus, a high-quality motherboard from a manufacturer with an excellent reputation (ASUS P4PE on Intel 845PE NMC), good system expansion options - three slots for memory modules with up to 2 GB of RAM; six free PCI slots (although two slots for PCI cards are occupied by expansion brackets); four bays for external 5.25-inch drives, one for a floppy drive, two for hard drives and peripherals (TV-out, built-in 10 / 100Mbps Ethernet controller Broadcom BCM4401, two serial ports and built-in six-channel audio subsystem with optical and coaxial S / PDIF-output and Game / MIDI port). We also note that the quality management system of the K-Systems company, which produces Irbis Favorite, at all stages of production is certified for compliance with the requirements of the ISO 9001: 2000 standard.

Irbis Favorite is assembled in a middle tower case with seven drive bays, which is quite a lot for a system unit of this size, but it provides free access to all internal components, and it is quite spacious inside the PC. The design advantages of the case of this model should also include the presence of removable side panels, two slots for additional fans - one each on the rear and front panels (and the latter is reliably protected by a plastic casing) and a compartment on the front panel for external audio and USB ports (though they were not used in the tested Irbis Favorite).

Irbis Favorite comes with a keyboard and mouse of a standard design (in addition, there are three buttons - Wake Up, Sleep, Power - and a palm rest near the keyboard), printed manuals for the PC and motherboard, Microsoft Windows XP Professional and the program Acronis True Image for data backup.

PC Irbis Favorite is provided with a two-year warranty with service at the head service center "K-Systems" in Moscow and in more than 90 regional authorized service centers throughout Russia. The buyer has the right to independently upgrade the PC, but in this case, the warranty does not apply to independently installed components and to defects arising from such an upgrade. If there are analogues, the replacement of failed components is carried out within 24 hours; in emergency cases, equipment is provided for replacement during the repair. Within the Moscow Ring Road, under a separate agreement, on-site service is possible - the cost of this service depends on the number of serviced equipment, but not more than 10% of the cost of equipment per year. During the warranty period, free service support is also provided - consultations by phone and e-mail, driver updates on the K-Systems ftp server.

The K-Systems direct sales department is engaged in the wholesale of Irbis PCs in Moscow and St. Petersburg; retail sales are carried out through the Belyi Veter, M.Video, Eldorado and TechnoSila retail chains. In other cities of Russia, Irbis PCs can be purchased from more than 30 regional partners.

"K-Systems"

The K-Systems company (http://www.k-systems.ru) has been operating in the domestic IT market since 1994 and serially produces computer equipment under its own trademark. The main activities of the company are the production of desktop PCs, servers, professional graphics stations, monitors, laptops, Windows terminals and information display facilities; corporate supplies; implementation of complex projects; customer service. According to IDC analysts, in 2002 and in the first quarter of 2003, K-Systems entered the top five leading Russian PC manufacturers.

The K-Systems company has its own production facilities. In 2002, a new assembly shop was launched in Moscow, which makes it possible to assemble and test more than 18 thousand computers every month *. K-Systems relies on slipway production - this approach provides best quality products in comparison with automated assembly and allows you to quickly adjust the configuration of the final product.

* IDC / ITResearch data on real production volumes for the first half of 2003 show that the company's production potential has not yet been fully utilized.

The company's quality management system is certified for compliance with the requirements of the international standard ISO 9001: 2000. The quality of K-Systems products is also confirmed by the status of a supplier of the Intel Premier Provider category, certificates of compliance with hygiene standards, the requirements of the State Standard of Russia, the State Technical Commission under the President of the Russian Federation, the Svyaz and Infosert certification systems. The company has licenses of the FSB of Russia, FAPSI and the State Technical Commission under the President of the Russian Federation, including for work in the field of information security and the provision of services for the protection of state secrets.

When designing office PCs, K-Systems engineers are guided by the following criteria: reliability of the system as a whole; compatibility with the most common software; optimal functionality for the selected class of tasks; ease of preparation for work due to pre-installation of software; system ergonomics (design, dimensions, noise); equipment that makes it easier to use a PC; high-quality technical support and service; the best ratio of cost and all the listed characteristics; customer's wishes, if they do not contradict the company's design concept.

According to K-Systems engineers, Intel processors have an advantage over AMD processors, providing better thermal stability, built-in overheating protection, higher system bus frequency, and an additional set of SSE2 commands for processing multimedia data. Therefore, when choosing the configuration of the machine that represented the Irbis Favorite lineup during the tests, we considered two processor options - Pentium 4 and Celeron, but the limitation on the system cost became the decisive argument in favor of the Celeron with a clock frequency of 2.4 GHz.

According to K-Systems sales statistics, corporate customers prefer integrated Intel Extreme Graphics controllers and discrete video adapters based on the Nvidia GeForce4 MX 440-SE graphics processor. The use of Intel Celeron made it possible to choose a more powerful video adapter based on Nvidia GeForce4 MX 440-SE for the PC presented for testing.

NMCs for Intel motherboards are the most trusted by enterprise customers due to Intel's stringent quality requirements. The choice of a specific NMC model - Intel 845PE - is determined by the choice of the processor and discrete video adapter. This NMS also provides the ability to further expand the power of the PC in the event that the processor is replaced or the amount of RAM is increased.

Today the choice of memory is the most obvious - PC2100 or PC2700 DDR SDRAM. The tested Irbis Favorite PC uses PC2100 DDR SDRAM, because when Intel Celeron is used in combination with the selected HMC, the memory bus frequency cannot exceed 266 MHz.

An 80 GB Ultra ATA / 100 drive with 7200 rpm rotation speed without a RAID array was chosen as the disk subsystem. The use of disk subsystems with Serial ATA / 150 and SCSI interfaces in PCs of this class is impractical - their cost is much higher (at least for Serial ATA). The creation of a RAID array is justified only in two cases - to achieve maximum performance(for example, when performing volumetric engineering calculations) and creating a highly reliable data storage system (which is typical for server applications).

Most of the supplied Irbis Favorite office PCs are equipped with a 52X CD-ROM drive, but a different one can be ordered if required. For example, the Irbis Favorite we tested was equipped with a DVD-ROM / CD-RW combo drive.

The selected HMS and motherboard provide six-channel audio, although two-channel acoustics are sufficient for office work. Loudspeakers are not included in the standard PC package, as many users use headphones instead (for example, in large offices).

The concept of "office PC" means teamwork and access to the Internet, therefore Irbis Favorite PCs are necessarily equipped with a 10/100-Mbit / s Ethernet interface. The PC can be additionally equipped with an internal modem, but this device is not included in the basic configuration - sales in the corporate sector are focused mainly on large offices with centralized Internet access.

Licensed software is installed on all Irbis Favorite PCs. Pre-installation of the OS is preferable for two reasons - quick PC deployment and correct installation of the OS, drivers, service packages, etc. Irbis Favorite PCs in the basic configuration are supplied with Microsoft Windows XP Professional (when delivering equipment for large offices with a hierarchical domain structure) or Windows XP Home Edition for home or small offices. At the request of the customer, Microsoft Windows 98 SE, Windows 2000 Professional, ASP Linux 7.3 or 9.0 can be installed.

To restore the operating system, special Acronis True Image OEM PC software is installed on all Irbis PCs. This package allows you to quickly restore the original OS image and, in addition, maintain your own data archive.

To perform a typical set of tasks, the office infrastructure, as a rule, includes: a group of servers of different functionality (Internet access server, domain structure management, databases, file server) and user workstations. To increase the safety and confidentiality of information, "K-Systems" offers Windows Terminals. In addition, the company produces various models of Irbis Favorite full-size PCs and Irbis M small-sized PCs for "average" employees and systems on Intel based Pentium 4 with built-in Hyper-Threading for users with increased performance requirements.

Xilence is proud to introduce a new series of power supplies called Performance A. This is the manufacturer's first release since its merger with Listan. The novelties have expanded the entry-level product segment, but offer users high performance and a complete package of protection against abnormal operating conditions: UVP (low voltage protection), OCP (overcurrent protection), SCP (short circuit protection), OLP (protection against overload), OVP (over voltage protection) and OTP (over temperature protection).

The Xilence Performance A line is represented by ...

Discussions about the release of the new Intel Atom S1200 line of processors last week have not subsided yet, and Intel has already unveiled a series of three Atom processors that belong to the Briarwood family. Previously, it was assumed that the release will take place in the first quarter of 2013, but the manufacturer has slightly forced the event. The new series is primarily aimed at use in the segment of server systems and various data storage systems. One of the features of the Briarwood family is energy efficiency and reasonable price.

The Briarwood series includes three ...

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