Need advice on buying a Workstation

Q

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Hi all. Let me start with a Thank you for reading my post.
I am using 10 year old Dell T-7500 with 12 monitors using outdated ATI Fire Pro 2460 graphic cards ( 512 MB, each runs 4 monitors ) with 12 GB RAM.

I was considering Dell workstation 5820 couple of years ago with Xeon W-2235 ( OR i-9 10900X ), 16 GB RAM & Nvidia T-600 graphics cards. But with your advice I changed the power supply & so far it is working except I can use only Win-7 & I have no comparable back up system.

But Dell has a newest one called Dell 3660 which has newest ports & other stuff but I could not find any info on what size graphics slots it has. T-3660 Pdf shows only following :
● One PCIe x16 Gen5 (discrete graphics card only)
● One PCIe x4 Gen4
● One PCIe x4 Gen3

But on Dell website it allows me to configure two Nvidia T600 4GB Cards which are full x16 length.

So I am confused if above are all full length x16 or what ? I need 3 graphics cards to run 12 monitors. I tried hard to find any info on Dell 3660 but no luck.
It does have two Display ports so can I run two monitors 1200x1980 on them and two more on USB 3.2 Type-C ?

Dell 5820 is 4 years old but has 5 full length slots but old USB ports & have a choice of Xeon or i-9, 10th Gen. Dell 3660 only allows intel i-5, 7 & 9 cpus but 12th generation.

I use tick charts a lot because my system works better & charts are much smoother.

So kindly advice Dell 5820 OR Dell 3660. Both are priced about same with similar components.

Also how i-7 12700 compares to Xeon W-2235 ? i-7 is half the price but much higher passmark.

Here is link to all Dell workstations :
https://www.dell.com/en-us/work/shop/workstations-isv-certified/sr/workstations/precision-desktops

Thank You
 
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1. If your present rig is running your tic charts to your satisfaction, then either either of the CPUs available will be more than enough. (The W-2235 costs more because it's a "workstation class" CPU.)

2. Though priced similarly, the T5820 is the choice you need... primarily because it has 5, x16 slots (needed for video cards) while the 3660 has only 1, x16 slot. This factor alone settles the issue for you. (Also, the 3660 has "integrated graphics". That tells you it's "baby class"... shouldn't even be described as "workstation".)

3. As for USB... The 5820 has USB 10 (or is it 8?) v3.1 + 2 Type C. While 3.1 isn't as fast as 3.2, there is little effective difference because there isn't much in the PC world yet that would benefit from the difference. And, you have 2x Type C if you need that kind of speed.

4. The 3660 will have NVME ... you don't really need that in a trading environment... the 5820 has an adapter which can mount NVME if you really want that.

5. While the 5820 could use a refresh/new model... with USB 3.2 and 2x, NVME ports on the mobo... it's not only the better choice for you between the two, it's the only choice.

Bottom line... the 5820 is a 1st class, entry-level workstation. The 3660 is really just a "consumer PC".

_______________________________________________________________

Personally I have 4x, Precision T5810s... the 5820's predecessor. They are now 6 years old and all still work just fine. If you wanted to save some money you could buy one used and get everything you need in the computer itself. Yes, it won't have the fastest "anything" because of its age... but would likely get you by for another 4-6 years on the cheap. It does have 3x, x16 slots which you need for your video cards. Tons of them available online/eBay, so you can find just about any configuration (doubt you'd find one with 3x, quad-port video cards however). Square Trade warranties available too. Just a thought.
 
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Seems to me the only complication are the 12 monitors. You need to make sure you have connectivity for them all on the workstation and that the connectors aren't so old that they won't connect to the new system (thinking VGA for example). Obviously it will need the 3 slots for the cards, but that's common today and most 2 year old cards will do the job. Charts are not graphics hoggs and you aren't playing the latest video games in 4K... As long as RAM is high (32 GB) and connectivity is good you should be ok with either system.
 
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Scataphagos said:
1. If your present rig is running your tic charts to your satisfaction, then either either of the CPUs available will be more than enough. (The W-2235 costs more because it's a "workstation class" CPU.)

2. Though priced similarly, the T5820 is the choice you need... primarily because it has 5, x16 slots (needed for video cards) while the 3660 has only 1, x16 slot. This factor alone settles the issue for you. (Also, the 3660 has "integrated graphics". That tells you it's "baby class"... shouldn't even be described as "workstation".)

3. As for USB... The 5820 has USB 10 (or is it 8?) v3.1 + 2 Type C. While 3.1 isn't as fast as 3.2, there is little effective difference because there isn't much in the PC world yet that would benefit from the difference. And, you have 2x Type C if you need that kind of speed.

4. The 3660 will have NVME ... you don't really need that in a trading environment... the 5820 has an adapter which can mount NVME if you really want that.

5. While the 5820 could use a refresh/new model... with USB 3.2 and 2x, NVME ports on the mobo... it's not only the better choice for you between the two, it's the only choice.

Bottom line... the 5820 is a 1st class, entry-level workstation. The 3660 is really just a "consumer PC".

_______________________________________________________________

Personally I have 4x, Precision T5810s... the 5820's predecessor. They are now 6 years old and all still work just fine. If you wanted to save some money you could buy one used and get everything you need in the computer itself. Yes, it won't have the fastest "anything" because of its age... but would likely get you by for another 4-6 years on the cheap. It does have 3x, x16 slots which you need for your video cards. Tons of them available online/eBay, so you can find just about any configuration (doubt you'd find one with 3x, quad-port video cards however). Square Trade warranties available too. Just a thought.
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Scataphagos said:
I checked Dell Outlet. They don't have any T5820s listed right now.
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Do you update the drivers?
 
trend2009 said:
buy from ebay amd 5950x. i bought a new one and installed memory and ssd myself. saving 1500
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No question that Ryzen has some hot, high performance CPUs. But comparing to workstation platform is like comparing a sports car to a diesel work truck.
 
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