Hi Dan Burton; Yeah, the website has at least two computer builders, and you must have got the wrong one. I hope this note makes it easier...
To build an RDRAM system, you have to go to "area 51". I instinctively went there cause that is where they were talking about hot game machines. Here's a direct link to the correct computer builder:
alienware.com
Once there, choose the following items, in order, (not quite the sytem I speced, these are more or less the least expensive choices, given that we are going to put RDRAM in it, and you are going to have to scarf a keyboard &c., from your old machine):
Intel Pentium III 700MHz FSB SSE w/Heatsink & AAVID Cooling Fan
128MB RDRAM Intel-Based-Only Non-ECC(PC-800)
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IBM Deskstar 22GXP 22.0GB HD 9.0ms seek time, 7200RPM, Ultra66
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Nvidia GeForce256 w/32MB DDR TV-Out 4X AGP
KoolMaxx Video Cooling System $46.00
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Aliencare Standard 1-Year Priority Service w/3-Year Limited Manufacturers Warranty (No-Charge)
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Scheduled pick-up by customer (No-Charge)
Hit the calculate price. This gives the cheapest (128MB) RDRAM system at $2442.65. Change the RDRAM to 256MB, you get $3226.65. This is the smallest amount of memory I would consider putting into a mid/high end system at this time. Swap the RDRAM for 256MB SDRAM, PC-133 and calculate, you get: $2072.70.
Thus, switching 256MB SDRAM to 256MB RDRAM upped the system price by $1153.95.
Now in a real workstation, I like to have as much memory as possible. That way, I can route the nastiest chip without thrashing my drive. For people buying an RDRAM based machine, they should purchase as much RDRAM as their machine will handle, cause it may not be easy to find after it goes obsolete...
Anyway, the ASUS Athlon motherboard takes 3 DIMMs, at 256MB each, this comes out to 768MB. The machine totals out well under $2500. A similarly sized RDRAM machine, (assuming you could find the memory size and a motherboard with enough slots), would come to around $6000. And the performance is within a few percent of each other. Not much of a choice, at that kind of price, you'd want a 1GHz CryoTech Athlon.
I should note that the 128MB RDRAM system price is oddly low, given the delta between the 128MB RDRAM and the 256MB RDRAM systems. It is my guess that the reason for this is that Intel is bundling RDRAM with its i820 motherboards, as they have previously announced, and they are basically giving the first 128MB RDRAM away for free. That is, the second RDRAM costs $3226.65 - $2442.65 = $784
This suggests a cool arbitrage play. Order a motherboard from Intel, with bundled RDRAM. They are probably charging well under $400 for the bundle, given that a retailer is able to push a 128MB RDRAM machine out the door for under $3000. Throw the motherboard away, (do you really want to rely on an i820?) and sell the RIMM at the market price.
-- Carl |
