When you get to a certain spec with PCs, especially workstations, it's less a case of how fast you want it to go, and more a case of how fast do you want to spend money.
So, how fast can you spend over $75,000 on a workstation? Well, the controversy over the price of Apple's new Mac Pro[1] got me wondering just how much an ultra high-end Windows 10-based workstation would set you back.
If you're sensitive to big price tags, you might want to take a seat before reading any further.
Also: Deconstructing the base Mac Pro: Why is it so expensive?[2]
Titan Computers[3] is a US-based manufacturer of workstations and servers, and its online store allows you to build monster systems that can handle pretty much any task you can throw at them.
For this experiment I started with a Titan X650, a Xeon-based workstation that has a starting price of $12,350. And for that you get a very impressive spec indeed:
- Motherboard: SUPERMICRO X10QBL-4 Server Motherboard Quad LGA 2011
- Processor: 4 x Intel E7-4809 v4 Eight-Core Processor Broadwell EP 2.1GHz 20MB L3 Eight-Core (32 Cores / 64 Threads Total)
- OS Hard Drive: Crucial MX300 275GB SATA III 3-D Vertical Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
- Storage Hard Drive: 2TB - Seagate 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
- Memory: 64GB (8 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR4 2400Mhz Quad Channel Memory (Exp. to 4TB RDIMM)
- Audio: No Onboard Sound Card
- Power Supply: 1400W Redundant Digital PS 80 PLUS, Platinum Certified
- Video: NVIDIA Quadro P2000 5GB GDDR5 PCIe 3.0 x16 Workstation Video Card
- Case: Supermicro SYS-8048B-TR4F Chassis
OK, that's pretty cool, but we can do better.
Much better.
- Case