Armari Magnetar X2
To best evaluate Woodcrest, Armari supplied us with a configured example of their Magnetar X2 workstation SKU. If you click the link you'll see the base spec, but Armari doubled the memory to 8GiB for us, while swapping out the original equipment Seagate 7200.9 drive for one of Western Digital's 150GB Raptor disks. Pics to come.Here's the basic specification, as tested:
Hardware
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|---|---|
| Processor(s) | 2 x Intel Xeon 5160 3.0GHz, dual-core, 4MiB L2 shared |
| Mainboard(s) | Supermicro X7DAE Intel 5000X |
| Memory | 8 x 1GiB DDR2-533 FB-DIMM |
| Memory Timings | 4-4-4-10 @ 533MHz |
| BIOS Version | 05/03/2006 |
| Disk Drive | 150GB Western Digital Raptor 10,000rpm SATA |
| Graphics Card(s) | PNY Quadro FX 3500 Pro (450/680) |
The Supermicro X7DAE was a willing host for the 5160s, giving 5000X plus the 6321ESB, support for up to 32GiB of memory and plenty of peripheral expansion via PCIe.
Pictures
Summary
Note the passive heatsinks for the Woodcrest-based processors, but also the plastic shroud to direct in-chassis airflow over the heatsinks to keep them working. The shroud is also directed over the FB-DIMM modules, which you can see in the pictures. The fan bank means that the Magnetar X2 isn't a quiet workstation system.Indeed, it's very loud when the fan array is spinning at good speed, giving us cause to suspect the Magnetar X2 of being the loudest PC or workstation system to hit HEXUS for testing in quite some time. The Opteron box it goes up against is much quieter, although we suspect better heatsinks for the Woodcrest CPUs, that aren't passive, would do the same job for less noise.
Specification wise, though, you can't find fault. I can remember the first time I tested an 8GiB system, built by Armari and featuring the first dual-socket Opteron CPUs to be produced, and now these days it's rare to get a system from the guys without that much system memory.
The X7DAE is the basis, a Supermicro chassis and associated PSU do the containing and power, while dual 5160s and a Quadro FX 3500 rounds off the workstation aspirations very well indeed.
Armari's inclusion of a 150GB Raptor shows its performance-oriented roots, and Windows XP Professional x64 hints that most customers order the Magnetar X2 with a 64-bit host OS.
Finally, we have to commend Armari's integration work and general system setup. Rarely, if at all, do they ship us something for eval that's not top notch. Integration of the Magnetar X2, with its new mainboard, CPUs and memory components, was excellent, and we can't find fault.
A fine example of how to build a high-end workstation system, bar the noise, without question.
We compared it to a similar specification Opteron system, detailed on the next page. Join us for a look.
