Dell Precision 390 workstation goes Core 2, too

Dell's giving that sweet Core 2 love to more than just the XPS 410 and XPS 700 desktops; even workstations are getting into the game. As part of the continuing onslaught of spec-bumped machines, the company announced that its Precision 390 tower is now available with four Core 2 Duo options (1.86GHz E6300, 2.13GHz E6400, 2.40GHz E6660, or 2.66GHz E6700) or even the blazing 2.93GHz Core 2 Extreme X6800, along with a seemingly-ancient 3.0GHz Pentium 4. The new rig can handle up to 8GB of DDR2 RAM, up to a 7,200RPM, 500GB hard drive, and comes with a number of graphics options from either nVIDIA (the Quadro series) or ATI (either a FireGL V7200 or V3400). If you act now, you can pick up a base configuration (which includes the E6300) for just $800, though going high-end will cost significantly more: a Core 2 Extreme--equipped setup more than doubles the price to $1,790.

[Thanks, Michael]

[Intrepid @ Jul 28th 2006 9:57AM]

Yum Yum.

[verticalforce @ Jul 28th 2006 10:03AM]

Stop it with this kind of Core Duo news. Please. I'm begging you.

[june @ Jul 28th 2006 10:08AM]

Looks great, except for case design.
The best case design is Apple & Samsung PC.
I want to buy samsung pc, but it's not available in America. Too bad.

[Khakionion @ Jul 28th 2006 10:38AM]

8GB of RAM? How do they pull that off with a 32-bit processor?

[Lowen SoDium @ Jul 28th 2006 10:43AM]

Well, 8GB isn't that big of a trick to pull of on a 32-bit processor. They have been hacking it to work for a while.

That aside, Core 2 Duo is a 64-bit x86 chip.

[wookie @ Jul 28th 2006 10:54AM]

I think the XPS 700 has it as well..Im sure theyll start popping up on every dell machine..

[Froggy @ Jul 28th 2006 11:51AM]

mw thinks the rumors of an AMD-powered desktop from Dell are premature. Of course, we'll see soon enought, but I don't think it will happen.

[Scott @ Jul 28th 2006 11:54AM]

8GB? Yet you can only use 4GB in Windows.

[Francky @ Jul 28th 2006 1:13PM]

You do know there is such a thing as windows XP 64bit Right ?! It can hangle TONS of memory, can't remember how much but its nuts ;)

And drivers for everything are pretty much available for 64 bit now.

[Dave @ Jul 28th 2006 1:48PM]

read the fine print on dells site:

Four DIMM slots support up to 8GB2 dual-channel3 DDR2 SDRAM ECC or non-ECC 533MHz/677MHz memory


2 The total amount of usable memory available will be less, depending on the actual system configuration. To utilize more than 4GB of memory requires a 64-bit OS.

[Vincent Cotton @ Jul 28th 2006 5:45PM]

So, which is faster - the Dual Core Intel® Xeon® Processor 5080 3.73GHz, 2 X 2MB L2,1066 or the new 2.93GHz Core 2 Extreme X6800?

[John Baker @ Jul 29th 2006 12:31AM]

The article mentions an $800 E6300 system from Dell - can anyone tell me where to find this? I don't see it under their configurations on their web site.

[Russell @ Jul 29th 2006 12:48AM]

core 2 is, think of xeon as P4 SMP capable.

[sdsdv10 @ Jul 29th 2006 3:41PM]

@ John Baker

Did you try clicking on the "Read" link? It takes you directly to the Dell webpage with the $799 model listed on the top of the page. If that doesn't work try this link.

http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/precn_390?c=us&l=en&s=bsd&cs=04

Then you have to customize it. The green "Customize it" link in the lower left. The standard CPU is a P4 631 Cidermill chip. However, the E6300 is a no cost, I'll repeat that no cost, upgrade. The E6400 will cost you $299 and so on.

[Vincent Cotton @ Jul 29th 2006 4:07PM]

Russell:

Then how about the Dual Core Intel Xeon 5160 3.0 Ghz, 4MB L2, 1333 mhz bus versus the 2.93 Ghz Core 2 Extreme X6800? I've read that the 51XX series Dual Core Xeons are based on the new Core 2 architecture. But I'm not sure if this is right.

The reason I'm asking is because I like to buy Dell Workstations with dual cpu's for my software development machines. And I'm wondering if the new Xeons are as fast or faster as the new Core 2 Extremes. Should I buy the single cpu Core 2 Extreme or the dual cpu Dual Core Xeon 5160? Money isn't really part of the equation. I just want the fastest I can get from Dell in their workstation arena.

[Wes Felter @ Jul 31st 2006 6:34PM]

The 5160 and the X6800 are virtually identical; both are based on "The Core". Obviously you can get a PC with two 5160s but only one X6800.

[M @ Aug 12th 2006 4:00PM]

Questions about the 390,

1) Is the $149 SAS Raid controller option a stripped-down or feature-crippled version of a much-more capable/expensive Megaraid counterpat

2) Is Dell using standard Intel 975x motherboard

3) Has anyone purchased one with 6300 or 6400 and done light to moderate OC to get closer to 6600 performance level?