I was looking for a high powered desktop system with the newest, fastest, and most energy efficient components available. I compared build your own options, barebones systems, Dell XPS Desktops, Dell Precision Workstations, Poweredge Servers, IBM Lenovos, and Gateway Desktops. I am posting what I feel is the best deal on a stable high power desktop workstation geared for work AND play.

Lenovo ThinkStation S10

PROCESSOR:          Intel® Core™ 2 Quad Q9550 Processor (2.83GHz 1333MHz FSB 12MB L2 Cache)
OPERATING SYSTEM:   DOS (No Software Preloaded, will install 64 bit Ubuntu 8.04 once it arrives)
MEMORY:             4GB ECC DDR3 PC3-8500 SDRAM (2x2GB uDIMMS)
VIDEO CARD:         NVIDIA Quadro NVS 290
HARD DRIVE:         73GB SAS Hard Drive - 15000 rpm
OPTICAL DRIVE:      Lenovo 16x DVD ROM
ACCESSORIES:        No Keyboard Selected & No Mouse Selected
PRICE: MSRP $2,645.00, on sale for $1,983.75
                                   $ 198.40 Coupon [exp Aug24] (10%): USPGO4SAVINGS
                                 - $ 177.18 MSN Live CashBack (10%)
                                 - $  53.16 FatWallet CashBack (3%)
                                 ==========
                                   $1541.51

Both CashBack programs are confirmed to work, first click through FatWallet's CashBack in one window. Then click through the MSN Live CashBack in another window. Complete the transaction from the MSN Live CashBack window.
FatWallet CashBack Link: for the lazy
MSN Live CashBack Link: for the lazy

Do not use PayPal checkout to ensure you get rewarded for your CashBack on this purchase. Discover Card Rewards Certificates (double rewards for Lenovo) are *NOT* applicable to this deal, because those orders have to be placed over the telephone. Lenovo Sales agents are unable to match MSN & FatWallet CashBack incentives.

I placed this order using my Household Bank HSBC Credit Card, which rewards me an additional 2% on all purchases. (If you don't already have this card, get it.)

Why the Lenovo Thinkstation S10 is the best deal...

...vs building on my own: If I built it on my own, vs a barebones S10 configuration (no upgrades), I would save $200. I also run the possibility of using inferior but seemingly identical components, which may not perform as well together as IBM's configuration. I trust IBM's Research and Development team to do a better job than I would myself. $200 is not worth losing next business day support for 3 years, and the hassle of ordering a power supply, motherboard, CPU, RAM, a case, and assembling it.

...vs Dell XPS or Precision: The comparable XPS systems were dramatically overpriced, I hate haggling with Dell Sales Reps over the phone, I tried it and they only dropped $200 or so off the web price. No XPS deals on desktops had similar specifications. Dell Precision comes close in pricing and specs, but they don't support DDR3 RAM (like the S10 does) unless you spend obscenely more for a system which can scale beyond 8GB of RAM and 1 or 2 processors.

...vs Dell Poweredge Servers: Crippled slots on the motherboard stop me from upgrading the video card.

...vs Gateway systems: Forced me to buy Microsoft software, and ramped the price up so much it became a poor value.

...vs other Lenovo systems: The laptop line does not have a comparably powerful system, the laptop which comes the closest to this system is priced $4,000+. The desktop line does not have comparably power systems, and I am forced to buy Microsoft software. The workstation line only has the low end S10 and high end D10 systems. While the D10 is more scalable (can go up to dual processors and 32GB of RAM), the FSB on the D10 processors and DDR2 (not DDR3) RAM speeds are lacking. As a desktop with the current applications (and at least for the next 5 years), I suspect a system limited to 8GB of DDR3 RAM should suffice very nicely.

Why I chose these components...

• Intel® Core™ 2 Quad Q9550 Processor (2.83GHz 1333MHz FSB 12MB L2 Cache)
  This is the cream of the crop in the newest 45nm processors which IBM offers in its S10 series, though 3.16Ghz Xeons in the D10 can rival this processor, their lower FSB and higher price was the dealbreaker for considering the D10. The older (and inferior) 3.0Ghz Extreme processor is priced $300+ more! Perhaps a marketing trick to push the older 3.0Ghz Extreme processors off their shelves. People often think more expensive is better. Because the 3.0Ghz Extreme processor is an older 65nm processor, it draws more power. It is not worth the $200 excess to endure a smaller L2 Cache and poor power efficiency. For those participating in the World Community Grid (link), the Q9550 processor will outperform the QX6850.


• DOS (No Software Preloaded)
  Will install Windows XP 64-bit Professional, and then install the free 64 bit Ubuntu 8.04. Installing in this sequence lets you split your disk into 2, and have 2 Operating Systems. Windows XP for gaming, Ubuntu for work & everything else! (It's a much faster desktop/operating system.)
• MEMORY: 4GB ECC DDR3 PC3-8500 SDRAM (2x2GB uDIMMS)
  This server can max out at 8GB of RAM. This means I need 2GB uDIMMS in all 4 slots. I don't want to buy 4 2GB uDIMMS when I need to upgrade, and throw away the two 1GB uDIMMS that came as factory default. It is more $ efficient to just buy another 2 2GB uDIMMS when needed, and have a more robust system initially as well.
• VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA Quadro NVS 290
  The Quadro line of NVIDIA cards are unlike the GeForce gaming cards. While GeForce cards have firmware which allows them to drop frames to ensure a high FPS (ideal for gaming), Quadro cards have firmware which wait till each frame is fully drawn to ensure the best AutoCAD or graphics intensive work (Photoshop). If you are upgrading from a laptop to this desktop, even this bare minimum Quadro card will be an amazing improvement in gaming. If you feel you need more performance, add your own GeForce card later on.
• HARD DRIVE: 73GB SAS Hard Drive - 15000 rpm
  Buy your own disks and put them in. The upgrades are a very poor value for your dollar. I will use the 73GB for my OS and applications. I will have plenty of space leftover for casual use (basic file/photo storage for work and gaming) until I get a separate drive for music and videos.
• OPTICAL DRIVE: Lenovo 16x DVD ROM
  How many DVD burners do I really need?
• ACCESSORIES: No Keyboard Selected & No Mouse Selected
  Rip off pricing on these accessories. Reuse your old ones.

This may be a bit of a last minute impulse buy for some because of the coupon expiration tommorrow; but bear in mind you have a bit of time to cancel your order. If Lenovo changes pricing for a Labor Day Sale next week we will be discussing our price adjustments here! (Our systems will not ship until Sept 9ish).

Pretty sweet deal IMHO; Lenovo for teh win.

You must be out of your mind suggesting this is a good deal. This is WAY too high priced even for core 2 Quad

Build it yourself for half the cost.

the only thing which can compete with that is the Quad Core Intel® Xeon® Processor E5440 (2.83GHz,2X6M L2,1333), the CPU in your setup is practically identical, and available in Dell's Precision T5400 series. That can scale up to 32GB RAM, like the D10.

To compare apples to apples look at the Precision 3400, but when you spec it identically to your S10 - the price goes to $2,643. As an added negative: that $2,643 system has DDR2 RAM... any Dell coupons for small business which could drop that precision to a more competitive price?

Short of that... bite the bullet and build it.

CptSavAHo said:Build it yourself for half the cost.

$500 RAM and Motherboard
$200 power supply
$60 case
$20 DVD-ROM
$80 video card
$175 hard drive
$350 cpu & cooling & paste
-----
very close to what Lenovo is charging, and giving NBD warranty... not worth building

ccsave said:Yeah this is a nice high power machine that is for sure. I believe most people on Fatwallet are looking for deals,
I recently purchased a new Lenovo laptop from consumercowboy they had some deals that i just did not see any where else.

hope that helps,

my2cents
They are not looking for deals, they are looking for cheap. This is a deal on a workstation/server system. A $5,000 TV can be a deal. $ $20,000 car can be a deal. Price and deal have nothing to do with one another, usually. I see $349 laptops and $199 desktops advertised, neither of which would be a deal for me since I require a computer with more guts than either of these systems provide.

Green for you OP. Great specs for a great price. Btw, I have built the last three desktops I;ve used and my current build is a 4/07.4 build (4 upgrades since original config). I did some parts checking on your build and I couldn't come close to that price.

If someone can, list the specs and links to the parts. At 18 months, I'm typically replacing a my DT and I might consider one of these rather than a build this time. Wonder how that vidcard compares to the Geforece 9800 GX2?

SlamDonkey said:CptSavAHo said:Build it yourself for half the cost.


$500 RAM and Motherboard
$200 power supply
$60 case
$20 DVD-ROM
$80 video card
$175 hard drive
$350 cpu & cooling & paste
-----
very close to what Lenovo is charging, and giving NBD warranty... not worth building

You do know that building a ~10% slower system will cost ~50% less...example:

Quad Core CPU Q6700: ~$200
4GB DDR2 RAM: ~$70
Motherboard: ~130
Case: ~60
PSU: ~$100
DVD+/-RW: ~30
Video Card: ~100
Hard Drive: get as much as you need: ~100
TOTAL: ~800 (Check/READ one of the *BUILD YOUR OWN SYSTEM* thread on SD)

but since you want the latest and greatest, go ahead and spend ~50% more for that extra 10% performance.