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In the test laboratory "ComputerPress" 12 dual-processor servers of domestic manufacturers were tested on Intel Xeon and AMD Opteron processors. The tests compared the performance of the servers when used as file and Web servers. DESTEN Navigator 7280L, DESTEN Navigator RM 7320U1L, ETegro Hyperion RS380, Klondike AS, Klondike President 2000A, Kraftway GEG Express 200 ED21, Kraftway GEG Express ISP ES23, Team Server 2400A, NIKS S4000aBK/pro (SO240PGa0), NIKS S4000A /pro (SX32APRi), Excilon-Major EC27 and Excilon-Major LC27. Out of competition, the Klondike President 1500A server was tested.

Selection criteria

about the tradition that has developed in recent years in our test laboratory in December, two-processor servers from Russian manufacturers were tested. Each manufacturer could provide for testing two servers of its own production that meet the following requirements:

use of any dual-processor motherboard on any chipset with two commercially available processors;
use of any type of RAM with ECC error correction in the amount of at least 2 GB;
installation of hard drives with any interface (IDE, SCSI) and any RAID controller. The operating system was installed on a separate hard drive. The remaining disks were combined into a RAID array with one logical disk for the entire volume of the array, the NTFS file system, and the default cluster size. The level of the RAID array had to ensure the reliability of data storage (RAID level 0 was not allowed);
using an integrated or any other video adapter;
mandatory presence of a network adapter with support for the 1000Base-T interface;
mandatory presence of a device for reading CDs of any type;
mandatory installation of 32-bit x86 operating system Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition SP1 (English version);
installation at the discretion of the manufacturer of device drivers and additional OS tuning, without changing the operating frequencies of the processor, memory and buses.

Since server testing is a lengthy process, in order to even out the conditions, all manufacturers announced the selected server configuration before testing the first server and then could no longer change it.

As a result, seven servers on the Intel platform and five on the AMD platform took part in the testing. At the same time, a wide variety of components used in servers was observed. For the first time, servers on dual-core processors participated in testing. It should also be noted that with the advent of NVIDIA nForce Professional series chipsets, AMD's monopoly position on the market of server chipsets for OPTERON processors has finally been broken.

The Klondike President 1500A server was tested out of competition, as under the terms of testing, companies could only provide two servers each. This server is interesting in that its design uses Intel Xeon processors with an operating frequency of 3.8 GHz, which are currently the most productive single-core server processors from Intel.

The technical characteristics of the test participants are given in Table. 1 .

Test Methodology

the testing methodology has not changed much compared to previous similar tests: we compared the performance of servers in file and web server modes. A distinctive feature was only the use on workstations and the controller of the Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP2 operating system with all updates released before September 2005, and on the server Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition SP1. Recall that in the previous testing, we refused to use Service Pack 2, since installing it significantly reduced the performance of the workstation server pair in the NetBench test. Updates released since then have corrected the situation, and performance has become even better.

For testing, a stand was assembled, consisting of two segments of the local network. The first segment Fast Ethernet 100Base-TX formed 48 workstations, and the second Gigabit Ethernet 1000Base-T communication channels "server switch" and "controller switch". A 3Com SuperStack 3 Switch 4250T (3C1732) was used to network the workstations, controller, and server, with 48 100Base-TX ports and two 1000Base-T ports (see sidebar for details on the switch).

The NetBench 7.0.3 and WebBench 5.0 packages from Ziff-Davis were used for testing.

NetBench 7.0.3 Package

NetBench 7.0.3 is used to determine the overall performance of servers when used as file servers, but does not allow testing individual server subsystems. For example, using this package it is impossible to calculate the relative difference between the performance of the disk and network subsystems.

During the test, each client creates a working directory and performs various file operations in both the client-server and server-client directions, recording the time taken to complete each file operation and the network traffic generated. Note that the server's RAID array was used to create working directories during testing.

In total, the test provides 18 different file operations: Open File, Read, Write, Lock, Unlock, Get File Attributes, Set File Attributes, Get Disk Free Space, Close, Get File Time, Set File Time, Find Open, Find Next, Find Close, Rename File, Delete File, Create New File, Flush File Buffers.

The controller computer synchronizes the work of all clients, collects information from them about the progress of the test, and calculates the total network traffic between the server and the network. No programs are installed or launched on the server itself, which fully corresponds to the ideology of the file server.

During the test, the number of working clients gradually increased, while the dependence of network traffic, measured in megabits per second, on the number of working clients was determined. The program theoretically supports up to 1000 clients, but keep in mind that each client works in a stressful mode and emulates the work of several dozen real clients.

WebBench 5.0 Package

The WebBench package measures the performance of servers when used as Web servers.

On each of the computers connected to the local network, client software is installed that simulates the operation of a Web browser. On the server's RAID array, a common workspace is created for all clients, imitating a real Web site with a volume of about 61 MB and consisting of a tree of folders that contain 6160 *1ext1l, *.gif files and test executable files, and a CGI folder - BIN dynamic executable modules. The modules implement different server request interfaces: CGI (Common Gateway Interface) and ISAPI (Internet Server API).

The web server receives requests from clients, processes them, and sends responses. Depending on the type of request, this will either be a file upload from the workspace, or data received by the server as a result of running dynamic executable files.

Each client measures the server's response time to the execution of its requests, calculates the network traffic it generates, registers the number of requests made, and transmits the received data to the controller computer, which synchronizes the work of all clients and calculates the total result.

During the test, the number of running clients was gradually increased in order to be able to determine the dependence of the number of requests processed by the server per second and network traffic, measured in megabits per second, on the number of running clients.

WebBench 5.0 provides the ability to test a Web server in normal and SSL mode. But since you need to obtain a security certificate to set up SSL mode, and since the vast majority of open Web servers do not work with SSL mode, this mode was not used in these tests.

Three tests were run from the WebBench 5.0 package simulating various Web server operation modes: static (WebBench Static), dynamic with the simcgi.exe module (WebBench CGI), and dynamic with the simisapi.dll module (WebBench ISAPI).

To increase the load on the server, the WebBench CGI and WebBench ISAPI tests were run with the number of load generators on the client increased to 4 and 10, respectively (set when configuring the test with the Engines Per Client parameter). The values were chosen experimentally.

Based on the test results, the most productive file and Web servers were determined. The winner in the "Best performing file server" category was determined by the maximum netbench result, which was calculated as the average traffic value over all runs (each run runs with a different number of activated clients).

Among Web servers, the best was determined by the maximum final result in the WebBench test, which was calculated as the geometric mean of the integral results in the Static, CGI and ISAPI tests. The integral result in each of the WebBench tests was determined as the average value of the number of transactions over all runs (each run took place with a different number of activated clients).

Test results

As we already noted last year, the performance of two-processor servers has increased so much that in certain modes of operation the gigabit network interface becomes the bottleneck of the server, and this test confirmed this conclusion. In three tests out of four conducted (NetBench, WebBench ISAPI and WebBench Static), the network interface load of the leaders almost reaches 100%, and only in the CGI test, the server's capabilities are limited by processor performance.

Almost all the servers that participated in our previous tests were assembled in pedestal-type cases. However, this time we tried to formulate the test conditions in such a way as to interest manufacturers in providing servers assembled in compact rack-mount cases. We partially succeeded in this, and several servers in 1 U and 2 U rack cases took part in the testing, but their configuration turned out to be very far from the maximum possible and they could not compete with the leaders. The best result among compact servers was shown by the DESTEN Navigator RM 7320U1L server.

NetBench Test Results

The results of the NetBench test are presented in Table. 2 and in fig. 1.

The best performance in the NetBench test was demonstrated by Klondike AS servers from Klondike Computers and NICS S4000aBK/pro (SO240PGa) from NICS Computer Supermarket. Both servers use dual-core AMD OPTERON 280 processors.

Among servers based on Intel processors, the Klondike President 1500A server tested out of competition with 3.8 GHz Intel Xeon processors had the best result.

The difference in server performance across platforms has not changed from last year. It is interesting to note that the Klondike President 2000A and Kraftway GEG Express 200 ED21 servers, which use Intel Xeon DualCore processors, have lagged far behind.

WebBench test results

The final results of the WebBench test are shown in Table. 3 .

Table 3. Final results of the WebBench test (file WebBench_2006.xls, sheet Result)

In this test, the best overall performance was also achieved by servers based on AMD OPTERON 280 dual-core processors. The winners were Klondike AS and ETegro Hyperion RS380 servers. However, their leading position was due to a significant advantage in only one test CGI, and in the other two tests ISAPI and Static was in no way inferior to the leaders, and sometimes even surpassed their Klondike President 1500A server, which was tested out of competition. Servers on Intel Xeon DualCore processors are again lagging behind.

The results of individual WebBench tests are shown in Table. 4-6 and in fig. 2-4.

In the WebBench CGI test, the processor load reaches 100% in the saturation region with a low network interface load, so the result in this test is determined by the processor performance. The best result was shown by the server Klondike AS. The performance of servers using dual-core AMD OPTERON 280 processors was significantly higher than that of all the others. Comparing their results with the results of the DESTEN Navigator 7280L server, which uses single-core AMD OPTERON 250 processors running at the same clock frequency (2.4 GHz), one should note the high efficiency of the dual-core OPTERON processor. The increase in performance when adding a second core reaches 80%.

In the WebBench ISAPI and WebBench Static tests, processors are loaded much less, and the main load falls on the server network interface, the utilization of which reaches 100%. Under these conditions, the advantage of servers based on AMD OPTERON dual-core processors disappears. In the WebBench ISAPI test, the Klondike President 1500A server had the best result, and in the WebBench Static test, the Klondike AS and Klondike President 1500A servers were in the lead with almost identical results. It should be noted that the results demonstrated by the leaders in this year's WebBench Static test practically do not differ from the results of last year's testing, which is not surprising, since there have been no changes in the network interface this year.

Editor's Choice

The winners of the testing were determined in the nominations "The most productive file server" and "The most productive Web server". Both nominations were won by servers based on AMD OPTERON dual-core processors.

The choice of winners in the first nomination was based on the results of the NetBench 7.0.3 test: servers became the winners and owners of the "Editor's Choice" sign Klondike AS And NIKS S4000aBK/pro (SO240PGa).

The best models in the nomination "The most productive Web server" were determined by the final result in the WebBench 5.0 test. The servers won in this nomination and received the sign "Editor's Choice" Klondike AS And ETegro Hyperion RS380.

Test participants

The DESTEN Navigator series from DESTEN Computers is designed for use as file and proxy servers, mail servers and database servers. Their low price and scalability allow building low-budget solutions for small and medium businesses.

The DESTEN Navigator 7280L is a server variant based on the AMD platform. It is based on the MSI K8D Master3-FS (MS-9161) motherboard and is equipped with two AMD OPTERON 250 processors with a clock speed of 2.4 GHz and 2 GB of DDR333 ECC error-correction memory operating in dual-channel mode. Two Kingston KVR333D4R25/1G memory modules with a capacity of 1024 MB each are used.

The MSI K8D Master3-FS (MS-9161) dual-processor motherboard with Socket 940 sockets is based on the AMD 8000 chipset (AMD8131+AMD8111) and is designed to work with AMD OPTERON 200 and 100 series processors supporting AMD x86-64 technology. The board has 12 slots for installing DDR200/266/333/400 memory modules, and the maximum supported memory size is 24 GB. You can use both double-sided and single-sided modules with or without ECC support.

The motherboard has three 64-bit PCI-X slots (66/100/133 MHz) connected to two independent buses of the AMD8131 controller, and one 32-bit PCI slot (33 MHz). One of the PCI-X slots (green) can accommodate a Zero Channel RAID controller.

The board integrates an ATI Rage XL video controller with 8 MB of video memory and a two-port gigabit network controller based on the Broadcom BCM5704C chip connected to the PCI-X bus (64 bit/100 MHz). There is also an integrated single-channel Ultra320 SCSI controller Adaptec AIC-7901.

To organize the disk subsystem, the server uses a dual-channel SCSI RAID controller Intel SRCU42X with 128 MB of cache memory and autonomous emergency power supply (BBU), which supports the construction of RAID arrays of levels 0, 1, 5, 10 and 50. The disk subsystem of the server consists of RAID - a level 10 array built on four Maxtor Atlas 15K II 8E036J0 hard drives and a separate hard drive of the same model on which the operating system is installed. All hard drives are housed in a single-channel five-device cage and are hot-swappable.

The server is assembled in an EverCase ECS9500 chassis with a 460 W power supply.

The server cooling system includes two fans on the processor heatsinks, two fans for cooling the hard drive cages, and a 120 mm exhaust fan located on the back of the case.

Navigator RM series servers from DESTEN Computers are designed for ISP, ASP and telecommunications companies that require compact solutions with high performance. Servers of this series are mounted in a 19" rack with high density.

DESTEN Navigator RM 7320U1L is based on the Intel SE7520JR2 motherboard with two 3.2 GHz Intel Xeon processors and is equipped with 2 GB DDR2-400 MHz ECC error correction memory (two Kingston KVR400D2S4R3/1G modules) operating in dual-channel mode.

The SE7520JR2 motherboard with Socket 604 sockets is designed to work with Intel Xeon processors with a FSB frequency of 800 MHz and support for EM64T technology. The board is based on the Intel E7520 chipset, which supports the PCI Express I/O subsystem and has improved features to ensure reliability and continuity of operation. The board has six slots for installing memory modules and supports up to 12 GB of registered dual-channel DDR2-400 MHz memory with ECC error correction. There are options for memory mirroring and allocation of modules to a hot spare.

The board integrates an ATI Rage XL video controller with 8 MB of video memory and a dual-port Gigabit Ethernet controller Intel 82546GB.

There are two slots for installing expansion cards inserted through an adapter (Riser card). One of them, which supports Intel Adaptive Slot technology, has two buses PCI-X 64 bit/66/100/133 MHz and PCI Express x4. Full length and height cards can be installed in this slot. The type of installed card is determined automatically, using different adapters. The second slot is a regular PCI-X 64 bit/66/100 MHz for installing a half-length and height card.

The disk subsystem of the server is based on an Intel SRCU42E SCSI RAID controller with 128 MB of cache and battery backup (BBU) and three Maxtor Atlas 15K II 8E036J0 hard drives. The operating system is installed on a separate hard drive, and the remaining drives are combined into a RAID 1 array. The hard drives are housed in hot-swappable, front-access drive bays.

The server is made in the Intel SR1400 chassis and is equipped with a 500 W power supply.

The cooling system of the server components is determined by the design of the case and includes two passive radiators on the processors, plastic air ducts, as well as four dual and one single fans, which simultaneously cool the hard drives in the cages and the processors.

ETegro Hyperion RS380

The ETegro Hyperion RS380 from ETegro Technologies is another AMD-based server based on the Iwill DK8ES motherboard and equipped with two AMD Opteron 280 dual-core processors clocked at 2.4 GHz and 4 GB of DDR400 ECC registered RAM. Eight modules of 512 MB each from the Corsair TWINX1024RE-3200LL kits are used as memory modules.

A roomy 3 U chassis that allows for building large disk subsystems and redundant core components make this server suitable for business-critical applications that require performance and storage capacity. The ETegro Hyperion RS380 server is assembled in a 3 U Hyperion RS380 chassis designed for installation in a standard 19-inch rack. The power supply has a power of 650 watts.

The Iwill DK8ES motherboard, designed for servers and workstations, is based on a system logic set that consists of NVIDIA nForce Professional 2200, which supports the PCI Express x16 bus, and a PCI-X bus controller AMD-8131. The north bridge has a built-in four-channel SATA II controller with the ability to organize RAID arrays of levels 0, 1 and 10; The board has four SATA connectors.

The board has eight slots for installing memory modules, which can accommodate up to 16 GB of registered memory with error correction type PC3200/2700/2100. To install additional expansion cards, the motherboard has three 64-bit PCI-X slots (33/66/100/133 MHz) connected to two independent buses of the AMD8131 controller, and two PCI Express x16 slots, one of which operates at x16 speed , and the second on x2.

Of the devices integrated on the motherboard, we can name an ATI RageXL video controller with 8 MB of video memory and two Broadcom PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet gigabit Ethernet controllers (BCM5721).

The disk subsystem of the server is based on a dual-channel SCSI RAID controller LSI Logic MegaRAID 320-2X with 128 MB of cache memory and nine hard drives. The operating system is installed on a separate Fujitsu MAU3036NC hard drive, and a RAID 10 array of eight Hitachi Ultrastar 15K147 HUS151436VL3800 hard drives was used for data placement.

Hard drives installed in hot-swappable, front-access bays are connected to a dual-channel backplane (Backplane). The disks that form the RAID array are equally divided by channels, and a total of 16 SCSI disks can be installed in the server.

The cooling system includes three fans with a diameter of 120 mm, which are located on the bulkhead of the case, and two fans mounted on the processor heatsinks.

3Com SuperStack 3 4250T Switch (3C17302)

Managed switch of the second level 3COM SuperStack 3 Switch 4250T (3C17302) is made in a light blue metal case measuring 440x274x44 mm, so it can be mounted in a standard 19-inch rack, and four rubber feet provide desktop placement.

The switch is positioned as an inexpensive solution for building a flexible network infrastructure. Whether used as a network core switch as a managed L3 switch or a high-performance switch with gigabit ports, the 3COM SuperStack 3 Switch 4250T is the perfect choice as a terminal device to which network clients connect directly.

The front panel of the switch has two built-in Gigabit Ethernet ports (10Base-T/100Base-TX/1000Base-T), as well as 48 Fast Ethernet ports (10Base-T/100Base-TX), grouped into three groups of 16 ports each. All ports support full duplex and half duplex operation, as well as automatic detection of connection speed and cable type (Auto-negotiation, Auto MDI/MDI-X). The ports are made in the form of RJ-45 connectors with built-in LEDs for indicating activity and connection speed and port status.

The rear panel of the switch contains an RS-232 console control connector, an AC power cable connector, and a backup power connector.

The 3COM SuperStack 3 Switch 4250T uses store and forward switching. Full-duplex flow control is based on the 802.3x standard, and half-duplex flow control uses the Back-Pressure method.

According to the technical documentation, the size of the MAC address table of the 3COM Switch 4250T is 8K entries. The switch throughput is 13.6 Gbps when using the maximum packet length or 10.1 Mpps when using the minimum packet length.

The switch provides the ability to stack up to four switches and manage them as a single device with a single IP address. No additional hardware is required to stack switches; however, Switch 4226T (3C17300) and Switch 4228G (3C17304) switches can also be included in the stack.

Among the additional functionality of the switch, we will name support for frame prioritization using the 802.1p protocol (two priority levels for each port), the ability to organize trunking of ports using the 802.3 ad protocol. The organization of up to 60 virtual networks according to the 802.1Q standard is provided.

Both local and remote management of the switch is supported. Local control is via the RS-232 serial port. Remote (network) management is implemented via Telnet or via the embedded Web server; SNMP and RMON protocols are supported (Statistics, History, Alarms, Events groups). It should be emphasized that in terms of functionality, remote management is similar to console management.

The switch supports STP, RSTP, IGMP protocols.

The kit includes 3COM Network Supervisor software, which allows you to configure the system with a graphical display of connected devices and monitor network activity by issuing messages and reporting faults and errors.

The editors would like to thank MERLION (www.merlion.ru) for providing the 3Com SuperStack 3 4250T switch.

Klondike AS

The Klondike AS model from Klondike Computers is an example of an all-in-one server based on the AMD platform. The server is built on Tyan K8SD Pro (S2882G3NR-D) motherboard with AMD 8000 chipset (AMD 8131+AMD 8111) and equipped with two latest dual-core AMD OPTERON 280 processors with a clock speed of 2.4 GHz and 2 GB of PC3200 corrected registered memory errors (four 512 MB Corsair modules).

Tyan K8SD Pro allows you to increase the amount of RAM up to 16 GB, for which the board has eight slots for installing PC3200/2700/2100 registered memory modules. For installing additional device cards, the system board has four 64-bit PCI-X slots (two slots for each independent PCI-X bus of the AMD 8131 controller) and one 32-bit PCI slot (connected to the AMD 8111 controller).

The board integrates an ATI RageXL video controller with 8 MB of video memory, as well as a two-port gigabit Ethernet controller Broadcom BCM5704C, which uses the PCI-X bus. There is also an Intel 82551QM 10/100 network controller, which can be used for remote server management. The last integrated device worth looking at is the Silicon Image Sil3114 SATA RAID Accelerator, a quad-lane RAID 0, 1, and 10 RAID controller that uses a 32-bit PCI bus.

Note that, despite the presence of an integrated gigabit network controller, the Klondike AS server has an additional two-port gigabit network controller Intel PRO / 1000 MT Dual Port Server Adapter, which we used during testing, since it allows you to get better results compared to integrated controller Broadcom BCM5704C.

The disk subsystem of the server is based on an Intel SRCU42X SCSI RAID controller with 512 MB of cache and five Fujitsu MAU3036NC hard drives installed in a single-channel rack for six hot-swappable drives. The operating system was installed on a separate hard disk, and the remaining disks were combined into a RAID 10 array. To increase reliability, a RAID controller with a BBU was used.

The Klondike AS server is assembled in an InWin R3000 chassis equipped with a 700 W power supply. The ruggedized power supply consists of a power distribution board and three units, one of which operates in hot standby mode.

The server component cooling system consists of two active processor heatsinks, additional memory cooling units, a dual 120mm fan on the back of the server, and two fans that cool the hard drive cage.

The Klondike President 2000A universal server from Klondike Computers is designed for corporate departments and medium-sized businesses. It can provide information sharing to a large number of users and a variety of network services.

The server is built on a SuperMicro X6DH3-G2 motherboard with two dual-core Intel Xeon DualCore 2.8 GHz processors and is equipped with 2 GB of DDR2-400 MHz RAM with ECC error correction, operating in dual channel mode.

The X6DH3-G2 motherboard with Socket 604 sockets is designed to work with single and dual-core Intel Xeon processors with a FSB frequency of 800 MHz and support for EM64T technology. The board is based on the Intel E7520 chipset, supports the PCI Express I/O subsystem and has enhanced features to ensure reliability and continuity of operation.

The board has eight slots for installing memory modules and supports up to 16 GB of registered dual-channel DDR2-400 memory with ECC error correction. There are options for memory mirroring and allocation of modules to a hot spare. There are ample opportunities for installing expansion boards. Two PCI Express x8 slots, three 64-bit PCI-X slots and one 32-bit PCI slot (33 MHz) are installed. The PCI-X slots are connected to two independent buses of the Intel 6700PXH controller, one of them operates at a frequency of 133 MHz, and two operate at a frequency of 100 MHz. One of the 100 MHz PCI-X slots (green) can accommodate a Zero Channel RAID controller.

The board integrates an ATI Rage XL video controller with 8 MB of video memory and two Gigabit Ethernet Intel 82541P1 controllers. In addition, there is an Adaptec AIC 9410W Zero Channel SAS RAID Controller.

To improve the performance of the network interface, the server additionally has an Intel PRO/1000 MT Dual Port Server Adapter, which the server worked with during testing.

To organize the disk subsystem, the server uses a dual-channel SCSI RAID controller Intel SRCU42X with 512 MB of cache memory and autonomous emergency power supply (BBU), which supports the construction of RAID arrays of levels 0, 1, 5, 10 and 50. The disk subsystem of the server consists of RAID - a level 10 array built on four Fujitsu MAU3036NC hard drives and a separate hard drive of the same model on which the operating system is installed. All hard drives are housed in a single-channel cage for six devices and are hot-swappable. It is also possible to install an additional basket.

The server is enclosed in an Intel SC5300 chassis. The server's power system consists of a power distribution board and two 730-W hot-standby power supplies, which means they can be replaced without powering off the server.

The cooling system of the server components includes two passive processor heatsinks, and for effective heat dissipation, plastic air ducts are included in the chassis package and four powerful hot-swappable fans that create the necessary airflow passing through the drives in the cage and processor heatsinks simultaneously.

This server from Kraftway is designed to seamlessly serve e-commerce applications. It can also be used to organize the work of a remote office and maintain databases. The server has high performance, high operational reliability and fault tolerance. The server package includes a printed user manual in Russian, which contains detailed information about the technical characteristics of the server and the capabilities of its components, as well as information about how to configure the server, maintain and upgrade. Note that among all the domestic servers presented in our review, only Kraftway servers are equipped with such a manual.

This model is a classic version of the Intel platform and is almost entirely assembled on the basis of components produced by this company. The server is based on an Intel SE7520AF2 motherboard with two 2.8GHz Intel Xeon DualCore processors and is equipped with 2GB of DDR2-400MHz ECC error-correcting memory in dual-channel mode.

The SE7520AF2 dual-processor Socket 604 motherboard is designed to work with single and dual-core Intel Xeon processors with a FSB of 800 MHz and support for EM64T technology. The board is based on the Intel E7520 chipset, which supports the PCI Express I/O subsystem and has enhanced features to ensure reliability, continuity and serviceability.

The board is equipped with eight slots for installing memory modules and supports up to 16 GB of registered dual-channel DDR2-400 memory with ECC error correction. It is possible to mirror memory and allocate modules to a hot spare. Three PCI-X slots are connected to two independent buses: two of them operate at a frequency of up to 133 MHz, one - up to 100 MHz. The PCI Express slots (x8 and x4) are connected directly to the northbridge.

The board integrates an ATI Rage XL video controller with 8 MB of video memory and a dual-port Gigabit Ethernet controller Intel 82546GB. There is a dual-channel SCSI RAID controller LSI Logic 53C1030 Ultra320 SCSI that supports RAID levels 0 and 1, as well as an additional SCSI RAID controller Intel SROMBU42E, implemented on the Intel IOP332 processor, which has a separate slot for installing memory (up to 256 MB), integrated with BBU module. The RAID controller supports RAID levels 0, 1, 5, 10, and 50. An Intel RAID Activation Key is required to activate the optional RAID controller and is purchased separately.

The disk subsystem of the server is based on the LSI Logic MegaRAID 320-2X SCSI RAID controller and ten Fujitsu MAU3036NC hard drives installed in two cages (for four and six devices) that have the ability to hot-swap drives and are connected to different channels of the RAID controller. The operating system was installed on a separate hard drive, and the remaining nine drives were combined into a RAID 5 array, which gives the maximum utilization of disk space.

The server is made in the Intel SC5300 chassis. The server's power system consists of a power distribution board and two 730-W hot-standby power supplies that can be hot-swapped to the server. The server has a control module with an LCD screen that allows you to quickly monitor the status of the server.

The cooling system of the server components includes two passive processor heatsinks; for effective heat dissipation, plastic air ducts are included with the case and four powerful hot-swappable fans that create an airflow that simultaneously passes through the drives in the cages and through the processor heatsinks.

Klondike President 1500A Intel based server from Klondike Computers based on ASUS NCCH-DR motherboard with Intel E7210 chipset and equipped with two 3.8 GHz Intel Xeon processors and 2 GB PC3200 memory (four 512 MB modules) which operates in dual channel mode.

The ASUS NCCH-DR motherboard allows you to increase the amount of RAM up to 4 GB, for which there are four slots for installing memory modules. Memory modules of PC3200/PC2700 type are supported both with and without error correction. To install additional expansion cards, the board provides two 64-bit PCI-X slots and three 32-bit PCI slots.

The board integrates an ATI RageXL video controller with 8 MB of video memory and two single-port gigabit Ethernet controllers Intel PRO/1000 CT Network Connection (Intel 82547GI) and Intel PRO/1000 Network Connection (Intel 82541GI). When choosing a network controller for organizing a server communication channel with a local network, preference should be given to the 64-bit Intel PRO/1000 CT Network Connection controller, which uses the CSA (Communication Streaming Architecture) bus with a bandwidth of 266 MB / s, and the 32-bit Intel controller PRO/1000 Network Connection can be used to remotely control a server or to create a redundant connection.

The Klondike President 1500A server is made in the Intel SC5275-E chassis, equipped with a 600W power supply. The case design provides for the installation of active processor heatsinks (air ducts are not provided in this case). In addition, additional fans (non-hot-swappable) are installed on the hard drive cage and on the back of the chassis (120mm) to create an efficient heat dissipation system.

The GEG Express ISP ES23 model from Kraftway is designed for reliable and uninterrupted maintenance of resource-intensive Internet / Intranet applications, e-mail, document management, hosting, and caching. To increase reliability, all critical components in the server are duplicated; in addition, the hard drives, power supplies, and cooling fans in the server can be replaced without interrupting the operation of the server. The server comes with a printed user manual in Russian, which contains detailed information about the technical characteristics of the server and the capabilities of its components, as well as information about how to configure the server, maintain and upgrade.

The server is made in a low-profile 2 U chassis designed for mounting in a 19" rack, and has a compact design that allows you to achieve high performance in a limited amount of space, ease of maintenance, and extensive upgrade options.

Kraftway GEG Express ISP ES23 is based on an Intel SE7520JR2 motherboard with two 2.8 GHz Intel Xeon Dual Core processors and is equipped with 2 GB DDR2 400 MHz ECC memory (two Samsung M3 93T2950BG0-CCC modules) operating in dual channel mode .

The dual-processor motherboard SE7520JR2 with Socket 604 sockets is designed to work with single and dual-core Intel Xeon processors with a FSB frequency of 800 MHz and support for EM64T technology. The board is based on the Intel E7520 chipset, which supports the PCI Express I/O subsystem and has enhanced features to ensure reliability, continuity and serviceability.

The board has six memory slots and supports up to 12 GB of registered dual-channel DDR2 400 MHz memory with ECC error correction. There are options for memory mirroring and allocation of modules to the hot spare.

The board integrates an ATI Rage XL video controller with 8 MB of video memory and a dual-port Gigabit Ethernet controller Intel 82546GB. In addition, there is a dual-channel (one internal and one external) SCSI RAID controller LSI Logic 53C1030 Ultra320 SCSI that supports RAID levels 0 and 1.

The server has a fairly wide range of options for installing expansion cards, for which two slots are provided on the system board (expansion cards are installed through an adapter Riser Card). One of them, which supports Intel Adaptive Slot technology, has two buses PCI-X 64 bit 66/100/133 MHz and PCI Express x4, and up to three cards of full length and height can be installed in this slot. The interface of the installed cards depends on the adapter used (three PCI-X 66/100 MHz cards, or one PCI-X 100 MHz card and two PCI-X 133 MHz cards, or one PCI-X 100 MHz and two PCI Express x4 cards), moreover, the type of the installed card is determined automatically. The second slot is a regular 64bit 66/100MHz PCI-X slot for up to three half-length and height cards.

The disk subsystem of the server is based on an Intel SRCU42X SCSI RAID controller with 128 MB of cache and six Seagate Cheetah 15K.3 ST336753LC hard drives. The operating system is installed on a separate hard drive, and the remaining drives are combined into a RAID 5 array. The hard drives are placed in hot-swappable front-access bays and connected to a single-channel backplane (Backplane).

The cooling system of the server components is determined by the design of the case and includes two passive heatsinks on the processors, plastic air ducts, and four or eight controlled fans that cool both hard drives and processors at the same time.

The server has an Intel SR2400 chassis. The server's power system consists of a power distribution board and two 700-watt hot-standby power supplies that can be hot-swapped to the server. The server uses a control module with an LCD screen that allows you to quickly monitor the status of the server.

Taking into account the high performance of the server among platforms based on Intel processors, as well as the availability of detailed documentation in Russian, we decided to award this model the “Editor's Recommended” mark, since this model fully meets all the basic requirements for modern servers.

Team Server 2400A from Team Computers belongs to a new series of compact universal servers based on Intel Xeon processors with 800 MHz bus and support for EM64T technology. The servers of this family are available in a compact chassis (2U rack-mountable), have high performance and scalability and are designed for use as domain controllers, file servers, terminal servers and small databases.

The server is based on an Intel SE7520JR2 motherboard with two 3.0GHz Intel Xeon processors and is equipped with 2GB DDR2 400MHz ECC RAM (four Kingston modules). This Socket 604 motherboard is designed to work with single and dual core Intel Xeon processors with a FSB of 800 MHz and support for EM64T technology. The board is based on the Intel E7520 chipset, supports the PCI Express I/O subsystem and has improved reliability and serviceability features.

The board is equipped with six memory slots and supports up to 12 GB of registered dual-channel DDR2 400 MHz memory with ECC error correction. It is possible to mirror memory and allocate modules to a hot spare.

The board integrates an ATI Rage XL video controller with 8 MB of video memory and a dual-port Gigabit Ethernet controller Intel 82546GB. A dual-channel (one internal and one external) SCSI RAID controller LSI Logic 53C1030 Ultra320 SCSI is also provided, supporting RAID levels 0 and 1.

The server provides a very wide range of options for installing expansion cards, for which the system board has two slots (expansion cards are installed via the Riser Card). One of them, which supports Intel Adaptive Slot technology, has two buses PCI-X 64 bit 66/100/133 MHz and PCI Express x4. Up to three cards of full length and height can be installed in this slot. The interface of the installed cards depends on the adapter used (three PCI-X 66/100 MHz cards, or one PCI-X 100 MHz plus two PCI-X 133 MHz, or one PCI-X 100 MHz plus two PCI Express x4). The type of installed card is detected automatically. The second slot is regular (PCI-X 64 bit/66/100 MHz) and can accommodate up to three half-length and height cards.

To organize the disk subsystem in the server, a dual-channel SCSI RAID controller Intel SRCU42E with 128 MB of cache memory is used. The disk subsystem of the server consists of a RAID level 1 array built on two Seagate Cheetah 10K.7 ST373207LC hard drives and a separate Seagate Cheetah 10K.7 ST336807LC hard drive where the operating system is located. The hard drives are installed in hot-swappable front-access bays and connected to a single-channel backplane (Backplane).

The server is enclosed in an Intel SR2400 chassis. The server's power system includes a power distribution board and two 700W power supplies. The units operate in hot standby mode and can be replaced without powering off the server.

The cooling system of the server components is determined by the chassis design and includes two passive heatsinks on the processors, plastic air ducts, and four controlled fans that simultaneously cool the hard drives in the cages and the processors.

NIKS S4000aBK/pro (SO240PGa)

The high-performance universal server NIKS S4000aBK/pro (SO240PGa) from NIKS Computer Supermarket is another server based on the AMD platform.

It is based on the TYAN Thunder K8WE (S2895UA2NRF) motherboard and is equipped with two AMD OPTERON 280 dual-core processors with a clock speed of 2.4GHz and 4GB of DDR400 ECC registered RAM. Eight modules of 512 MB each (four sets of Corsair TWINX1024RE-3200LL) are used as memory modules.

The Thunder K8WE motherboard is positioned by the manufacturer as a board for high-performance workstations and has very wide capabilities. The board is based on a chipset consisting of NVIDIA nForce Professional 2200, NVIDIA nForce Professional 2050 and PCI-X bus controller AMD-8131.

The board is equipped with two PCI Express x16 slots (one each from nForce Professional 2200 and nForce Professional 2050), three 64-bit PCI-X slots (100/133 MHz) connected to two independent buses of the AMD8131 controller, and one PCI slot 32 bit 33 MHz. The nForce Professional 2200 has a built-in quad-channel SATA II controller (300 MB/s per channel) with the ability to organize RAID arrays of levels 0, 1, 5, and 10; in addition, the board has four SATA connectors. There is also an LSI Logic 53C1030 Ultra320 SCSI dual-channel SCSI RAID controller that supports RAID levels 0 and 1.

The board has eight slots for installing memory modules, which can accommodate up to 16 GB of registered memory with error correction type PC3200/2700/2100. ChipKil technology is supported.

Two gigabit Ethernet channels are implemented through nForce Professional 2200 and nForce Professional 2050. In addition, FireWare bus support and sound (Analog Devices 1981B codec) are integrated.

Since the motherboard does not have an integrated video controller, the Gigabyte GeForce6200TC board is used as a video card.

The server has an additional gigabit Ethernet adapter Intel PRO/1000 MT Server Network, which was used during testing.

To organize the disk subsystem, the server has a dual-channel SCSI RAID controller Intel SRCU42E with 128 MB of cache memory and autonomous emergency power supply (BBU). The disk subsystem of the server consists of a RAID 10 array built on ten Maxtor Atlas 15K II 8E073J0 hard drives and a separate hard drive of the same model on which the operating system is installed. The hard drives included in the RAID array are placed in two baskets for five devices connected to different channels of the RAID controller and are hot-swappable. The hard drive with the OS is installed in an additional (for three devices) cage, which occupies two five-inch bays, and is connected to the LSI Logic 53C1030 controller. Also in this basket there is a second similar hard drive, designed to ensure OS fault tolerance in normal operation, but during testing, when the operating system was not supposed to be installed on RAID arrays, it was used to store the swap file.

NIKS S4000aBK/pro (SO240PGa) is assembled in the SuperMicro CSE-942S-600B case, which can be installed in a standard 19-inch rack using a special kit, while its height will be 4 U. The server is powered by a power supply unit with a total power of 600 W , which consists of a power distribution board and three units operating in a 2 + 1 scheme (one of the units is always in hot standby). Blocks can be replaced without powering off the server.

The cooling system consists of two 120 mm fans located on the bulkhead of the case, one fan on an additional basket, two fans on the processor heatsinks and a 120 mm exhaust fan located on the rear wall.

The NIKS S4000BK/pro (SX32APRi) universal server from NIKS Computer Supermarket, designed for corporate departments and medium-sized businesses, can provide information sharing to a large number of users and a wide variety of network services.

The server is based on a SuperMicro X6DH8-XG2 motherboard with two 3.2 GHz Intel Xeon processors and is equipped with 4 GB of DDR2 400 MHz ECC error-correction memory operating in dual-channel mode.

The X6DH8-XG2 motherboard with Socket 604 sockets is designed to work with single and dual-core Intel Xeon processors with a FSB frequency of 800 MHz and support for EM64T technology. The board is based on the Intel E7520 chipset, supports the PCI Express I/O subsystem and has improved features to ensure reliability and continuity of operation.

The board is equipped with eight slots for installing memory modules and supports up to 16 GB of registered dual-channel DDR2-400 memory with ECC error correction. There are options for memory mirroring and allocation of modules to a hot spare.

To install expansion cards, the board has a PCI Express x8 slot and five 64-bit PCI-X slots, three of which operate at 133 MHz, and two at 100 MHz.

One of the 100 MHz PCI-X slots (green) can accommodate a Zero Channel RAID controller.

The PCI-X slots are distributed over four independent buses of two Intel 6700PXH controllers.

The board integrates an ATI Rage XL video controller with 8 MB of video memory, a dual-port Gigabit Ethernet controller Intel 82546GB, and a dual-channel Ultra320 SCSI controller Adaptec AIC-7902.

To organize the disk subsystem, the server uses a dual-channel SCSI RAID controller Intel SRCU42X with 128 MB of cache memory and autonomous emergency power supply (BBU). The disk subsystem of the server consists of a RAID 10 array built on ten Maxtor Atlas 15K II 8E073J0 hard drives and a separate Maxtor Atlas15K II 8E036J0 hard drive where the operating system is installed. The hard drives included in the RAID array are located in two cages (for five devices each), connected to different channels of the RAID controller, and provide hot-swap capability. The hard drive with the OS is installed in an additional (for three devices) cage, which occupies two five-inch bays, and is connected to the Adaptec AIC-7902 controller. Also in this basket there is a second similar hard drive, in normal operation designed to ensure OS fault tolerance, but during testing, which did not involve installing the operating system on RAID arrays, it was used to store the swap file.

NIX S4000BK/pro (SX32APRi) is manufactured in the SuperMicro CSE-942S-600B case, which can be installed in a standard 19-inch 4 U rack using a special kit. The server is powered by a 600-W power supply, which consists of a power distribution board and three blocks operating according to the 2 + 1 scheme (one of the blocks is always in hot standby) and can be replaced without powering off the server.

The cooling system consists of three 120 mm fans located on the case baffle, two fans on the processor heatsinks and a 120 mm exhaust fan on the rear wall.

The Exilon-Major EC27 server from Inel Data is built on an Intel SE7520BD2 D2 motherboard with two Intel Xeon 3.0 GHz processors and is equipped with 4 GB DDR2 400 MHz ECC error-correcting memory operating in dual-channel mode (four 1024 MB Kingston module).

The SE7520BD2 D2 dual-processor Socket 604 motherboard is designed to work with single and dual-core Intel Xeon processors with a FSB of 800 MHz and support for EM64T technology. The board is based on the Intel E7520 chipset, supports the PCI Express I/O subsystem and has improved reliability and serviceability features.

The board has eight slots for installing memory modules and supports up to 16 GB of registered dual-channel DDR2-400 memory with ECC error correction. Memory mirroring and allocation of modules to a hot spare are possible. One PCI Express x4 slot, one PCI 32bit/33MHz slot, and three 64bit hot-swappable PCI-X slots are provided for installing expansion cards. The PCI-X slots are connected to two independent Intel 6700PXH buses, with one of them operating at 133 MHz and the rest at 100 MHz.

The board integrates an ATI Rage XL video controller with 8 MB of video memory and two gigabit Ethernet controllers Marvell Yukon 88E8050 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet and Intel 82541PI Gigabit Ethernet. There is also a LSI Logic 53C1030 Ultra320 SCSI dual-channel SCSI RAID controller that supports RAID levels 0 and 1, although the connector is set to only one channel.

To organize the disk subsystem, the server uses a dual-channel SCSI RAID controller Intel SRCU42E with 128 MB of cache memory. The disk subsystem of the server consists of a RAID 5 array built on three Seagate Cheetah 15K.3 ST373457LC hard drives and a separate Seagate Cheetah 10K.7 ST336807LC hard drive on which the operating system is installed. All hard drives are housed in a single-channel cage for six devices and are hot-swappable.

The server is enclosed in an Intel SC5300 chassis. The server power system consists of a power distribution board and a 730 W power supply; to increase reliability, you can install a second power supply.

The cooling system for the server components includes two passive processor heatsinks, plastic airflow ducts, and two hot-swap controllable fans.

The Exilon-Major LC27 model from Inel Data is assembled on the basis of the Intel SE7520JR2 motherboard with two Intel Xeon 3.0 GHz processors and is equipped with 4 GB of DDR2 400 MHz RAM with ECC error correction (four Kingston modules).

The SE7520JR2 Socket 604 motherboard is designed to work with single and dual core Intel Xeon processors with a FSB of 800 MHz and support for EM64T technology. The board is based on the Intel E7520 chipset, supports the PCI Express I/O subsystem and has enhanced features to ensure reliability and serviceability.

The motherboard has two slots for installing expansion cards (installed via Riser Card). One of them, which supports Intel Adaptive Slot technology, has two buses: PCI-X 64 bit 66/100/133 MHz and PCI Express x4. Full length and height cards can be installed in this slot, and the type of installed card is determined automatically (different adapters are used for installation). The second slot is a regular PCI-X 64 bit 66/100 MHz, which is used to install a half-length and height card.

There was a misfortune, one of the available servers periodically began to fall into the "blue screen of death", and always with completely different error codes. Most often there were errors 050, 02E ..., but with such a variety of these errors, it was not possible to identify the cause of the failure. After numerous searches, we decided that perhaps the problem is in the crooked drivers, or in Windows 2003 Server itself. Since we saved all the data from the server in advance, reinstalling Windows 2003 was not critical for us, which we started to do. But, as it turned out, even when installing the OS, at different stages, a blue screen popped up and the installation was completed. Further, our research was directed towards the "hardware", the first thing we tried was to change SCSI disks, since there are 5 of them in the server combined into a RAID5 array. To do this, we created new arrays from three different disks, trying to exclude a possibly faulty one, but these actions did not lead to a positive result either. For the sake of interest, we tried to remove one of the two processors from the motherboard, which was in the second slot, while the server worked on one processor, but also fell into an error, the second processor was not removed, because. access to it was not very convenient. The next test object was the Intel SRCU42X dual-channel SCSI controller, it has a 128 MB memory bar, since we did not find suitable memory, we decided to change the controller entirely.

On one of the existing servers, the controller was removed, though not the same as in the faulty server, but SRCU42L, which does not have a removable memory bar and only one channel.

The replacement of the controller made us happy at first, because. The OS was installed and we decided that the problem was found, but after a while the server returned an error.

The motherboard of this server also has a built-in SCSI controller, but it was not used, for the sake of experiment, we removed the PCI-SCSI controller and formed an array on it, but this did not help either. We also tried to select drivers for all three controllers, but no matter what we tried, we did not get a positive result. Then the question was about replacing the motherboard, or SCSI drive cages, and they already started looking for where they can be purchased.

Finally, we nevertheless decided to innovate and remove the processor from the first slot of the motherboard, and put it in its place from the second slot, and imagine our amazement when the server then started working normally.

Here in the photo the culprit of the malfunction is the Intel Xeon SL73P processor (3066DP / 1M / 533 / 1.525):

This is how our long troubleshooting ended and the server is now running on one processor, since it performs one simple task, for which the performance of a server with one processor is enough.

Oleg Denisov, Sergey Nazarov

The summer PC testing conducted by the BYTE/Russia testing laboratory was not quite usual: according to the rules we set, only computers from manufacturers actively participating in large state and/or corporate tenders and producing PCs in mass quantities were accepted for testing. Therefore, the testing turned out to be small - only four machines (and in connection with this, it was decided not to select the winners and not to mark anyone with the BYTE / Russia Editors' Choice sign), but it was representative - only leading Russian manufacturers of computer equipment participated in it.

According to the testing rules, participants could provide for testing a PC with any processor officially announced at the time of testing, 256 MB RAM, a video subsystem that provides 32-bit color at a resolution of 1024x768 and an image refresh rate of 75 Hz, an Ethernet network interface, an audio subsystem , keyboard and mouse. Manufacturers could add other components of their choice to the machines. In addition, the wholesale price of a set of the system unit, keyboard and mouse, OS and accompanying software submitted for testing was limited to no more than $ 700 at the time of testing when delivered in batches of 100 sets.

We also asked for a PC complete with an LCD monitor for testing. But, given that the same PC can be equipped with a variety of monitors - depending on the needs and budget of the buyer, we do not consider them in the review and provide data about them only as additional information.

In order to characterize the PCs discussed here in more detail, the test participants were asked to provide the editors with information materials describing: the model range, which includes the tested PC; the concept of designing and using office PCs for large corporations; the concept of building large office computing systems; technology for testing and selecting components and testing PCs at the stage of developing serial models of computers; technology for testing serial PCs in the production process; principles of construction and methods of work of the service department; as well as historical information about the company. These materials are presented in the article in sidebars. All data on the production volumes of each company, its places in the ratings, etc., are given from the words of representatives of the respective company and have not been verified by us.

Test Methodology

To determine the overall system performance, we used the ZD Business Winstone 2002 1.0.1 package, designed to measure PC performance when working with popular office applications. PC performance in 3D graphics was measured using tests from the MadOnion 3DMark2001 SE Build 330 package.

We also used processor and memory performance tests from SiSoft Sandra Standard 2003.3.9.44 and WCPUID 3.1a and EnTech PowerStrip 3.40, which measured the operating clock speeds of CPUs, GPUs, RAM, and VRAM.

All tests were conducted in video mode with a color depth of 32 bits, a resolution of 1024x768 and an image refresh rate of 75 Hz under Microsoft Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 1.

Detailed characteristics of the tested systems and test results are given in .

Aquarius Elt DF240

Choosing a quality PC case that is both reliable, safe, roomy, comfortable and ingeniously designed is not an easy task, but the Aquarius Elt DF240 developers did an excellent job of it. The case of this PC provides good opportunities for system expansion - three bays for external 5.25-inch drives, one for floppy and three for hard drives (and two of them can be placed in a removable basket, which is convenient). To enhance the strength of the case and the rigidity of fastening the drives, an additional steel plate was used - it is placed vertically in the lower right corner and "connects" the rack with the drive bays and the bottom and front panels of the case. The side walls of the case are fixed using convenient locks embedded in their upper part and can be removed without tools. The motherboard is mounted on a separate metal chassis. The front and rear panels provide one slot for additional fans. Plus to that - elegant and memorable appearance of the case. True, there are no connectors for audio and USB ports on its front panel, which can be considered a disadvantage - the output of two audio and two USB ports on the front panel of a PC has become a de facto standard today.

Elt DF240 is built on the basis of high-quality and reliable components from manufacturers with an excellent reputation - this is an Intel Pentium 4 2.4 GHz processor with a 533 MHz bus, an ASUS P4PE motherboard on an Intel 845PE NMS with built-in 10/100-Mbps network Ethernet - Broadcom BCM4401 controller, ASUS V8170 DDR/SE/T video card based on Nvidia GeForce4 MX 440-SE GPU with 64 MB VRAM, 40 GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 ST340014A hard drive and 52X ASUS CD-S520 CD-ROM drive. We also note good system expansion options - three slots for memory modules and six free PCI slots (although two PCI bays are occupied by expansion brackets) - and connection of peripheral devices - optical and coaxial S / PDIF outputs, a Game / MIDI port, two serial ports and two TV outputs - S-Video and RCA. By the way, the process of design, development and production of this PC is certified according to the ISO 9001:2001 quality standard. In addition, the PC is certified to be compatible with Microsoft Windows 2000 and Windows XP.

During tests, the Elt DF240 showed good results in the Business Winstone integrated office test and RAM speed tests, more modest results in the 3DMark2001 graphics 3D test and processor tests, which, however, corresponds to the configuration and computing capabilities of this machine.

In addition to the system unit, Elt DF240 is equipped with a standard keyboard and mouse, printed PC and motherboard user manuals, Microsoft Windows XP Professional OS and Kaspersky Anti-Virus and is provided with a long three-year warranty (for a detailed description of the Aquarius service network, see sidebar) . Elt DF240 and other Aquarius equipment can be purchased from more than 750 partners of the company, who purchase it through three distributors - Landata, OCS, Verysell.

"Aquarius"

The Aquarius production company (http://www.aq.ru), founded in 1989, is part of the Aquarius group, which, in turn, recently became part of the National Computer Corporation (NCC) holding. ). The main activities of Aquarius are the development and manufacture of PCs and servers under the Aquarius trademark, the development and support of a regional partner network, and the development of a regional service infrastructure.

Aquarius became the first non-governmental organization in Russia to set up its own factory production of PCs. Today the company has a PC manufacturing plant in Shuya, Ivanovo Region. with a capacity of 120 thousand PCs per year and a production workshop in Moscow with a capacity of 36 thousand PCs per year. According to analytical agencies IDC and ITResearch, Aquarius is one of the top three PC and server sales leaders in the Russian market.

The Aquarius Elite PC family was developed by Aquarius specifically for the most demanding customers. These models are characterized by high reliability, quality, excellent technical characteristics, rich functionality, wide upgrade options, which provide them with a long service life and low total cost of ownership. They can be successfully used to solve a variety of tasks - working with large databases, 3D graphics, video data, CAD, etc. Elite family PCs are equipped with Intel Pentium 4 processors, ASUSTeK and Intel motherboards, and are certified for Microsoft Windows 2000 compatibility /XP and can be supplied with pre-installed licensed versions of these operating systems, as well as with the Microsoft Office 2000/XP office suite.

The company "Aquarius" produces a wide range of PCs and servers, allowing you to build modern office computing systems for various purposes. In addition to the powerful Aquarius Elite PCs, workplaces can be equipped with inexpensive models of the Aquarius Standard series and workstations for corporate users Aquarius Professional. Collective services can be organized on the basis of servers of the AquaServer E, AquaServer P and AquaServer T families.

AquaServer E servers are designed for use in small companies or workgroups of up to 20 people. These machines are marginally more expensive than powerful PCs, but are more reliable and expandable.

AquaServer P servers are based on Intel platforms and are designed to work in large networks and data centers. Careful selection of components, pre-testing of components and a mandatory 72-hour thermal chamber test ensure that the AquaServer P will function reliably even under the toughest conditions.

AquaServer T compact servers are installed in a 19-inch rack and are designed to organize telecommunications nodes and data centers with high density of computing power and communication ports, with increased reliability, flexible redundancy and load distribution.

All Aquarius servers are certified for compatibility with operating systems from the Microsoft Windows 2000/2003 Server family.

In the process of developing serial models, the Aquarius test laboratory checks the performance of PCs in configurations assembled from components of different manufacturers that are similar in characteristics, and gives its recommendations on the most reliable combinations of components (it is indicated which components should be used together, which ones can be used and which ones are unambiguous it is forbidden). In the future, "Aquarius" forms a model range of computers, focusing exclusively on the first category, but at the request of customers can use configurations of the second category.

Serial production of Aquarius PCs begins with the input testing of components, and the company is very strict about the quality of the entire purchased lot. If the percentage of rejects exceeds the allowable limit, Aquarius will part ways with this supplier, regardless of its weight in the IT business. PCs that come off the assembly line undergo mandatory 24-hour testing in a heat chamber at a temperature of 35-40°C. Servers are subjected to even more severe tests - they are sent to the customer only after a trouble-free 72-hour operation in a thermal chamber. Based on the statistics of service centers, breakdowns are constantly monitored and analyzed. The marketing service and commercial service regularly analyze claims from customers and dealers. As a result, the TQC-system of total control (Total Quality Control) unites all departments of the company.

In the summer of 2002 "Aquarius" introduced a new model for building a service maintenance network. This step was caused by the active regional expansion of Aquarius equipment distributors, which required a full-fledged warranty service and an extensive network of service centers in all regions of the Russian Federation. Today this network includes 173 service centers in all regions of Russia.

Own service program was developed, which enables any regional company that meets the qualification requirements to become an Aquarius service center. Since the manufacturing company trusts its reputation to often unfamiliar firms, the requirements for the quality of service (they include both the quality of the repair itself and compliance with the three-day deadline) were quite stringent. In order to interest potential partners, it was necessary to provide them with the opportunity to make good money on the repair of equipment. After analyzing the statistics of failures, "Aquarius" took an extraordinary step - for each repair case, partners are paid $ 25 when replacing components (excluding the cost of the latter) and $ 5 if components are not replaced.

Almost all authorized service centers, with the exception of Moscow, are not structural subdivisions of Aquarius. The program also lists in detail the cases in which the company terminates relations with the service center, depriving it of authorization - non-compliance with the terms of repair (no more than three days), poor-quality repairs and the use of components that are not included in the list recommended by Aquarius.

In August 2003 "Aquarius" plans to launch a program of authorization of server service centers.

At the moment, equipment supplied by Aquarius to several large corporate customers - the Social Insurance Fund of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, deliveries under the Children of Russia program, etc. contracts. A general system of extended service support is also being developed, which will be available to any buyer of Aquarius equipment and should be launched by the end of 2003. This system will include such types of services as on-site repair, accelerated equipment repair times, guaranteed services, for example, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, etc. The cost of extended service packages will, of course, depend on their content.

Corporate customers who have concluded an extended service agreement are provided with technical advice by phone from Aquarius service partners. Other users of Aquarius equipment can consult by phone or e-mail at the company's Moscow service center. In addition, in almost all cities where Aquarius products are sold and installed, there are authorized service centers where users can contact for advice during business hours. When the sale of extended service packages begins, users will be able to receive 24/7 support if necessary.

DEPO Race 465

Among all the PCs tested, the DEPO Race 465 stood out with the most powerful processor and fastest system memory - Intel Pentium 4 2.8 GHz with 800 MHz system bus and Hyper-Threading in conjunction with dual-channel DDR400 SDRAM. Not surprisingly, this model took first place in tests for the speed of the processor and RAM.

Processor and memory performance, combined with a fast Western Digital Caviar Special Edition WD400JB 40GB hard drive with 8MB cache buffer, gave the DEPO Race 465 a clear lead in the Business Winstone integrated test, where it far outperformed the competition. However, the leadership of this model was not undisputed - Race 465 is equipped with 512 MB of RAM, which did not meet the requirements for the tested PC (256 MB of RAM). In the 3DMark2001 graphic 3D test, the performance of this PC was modest - third place.

The Race 465 is housed in a very well thought out body. First of all, it is roomy - you can install four external 5.25-inch drives, an external floppy drive, and one external and one internal (or two internal) 3.5-inch drives. Even so, the inside of the PC is quite spacious, and you can easily get to all the internal components. Under the protective cover on the front panel of the PC, two USB and two audio connectors are "hidden". The left side cover of the case is installed and removed without tools (by the way, it can be locked with a lock - there is a special eyelet on the rear panel for this), like all internal 5.25-inch devices and floppy drive - they are fixed with plastic latches. The motherboard is mounted on a separate metal chassis. The strength of the case is reinforced by a vertical stiffening rib, which also houses plastic clips for expansion cards. On the front and rear panels there is one landing slot for additional fans.

The advantages of the Race 465 include the use of high-quality memory modules manufactured by Kingston, "tied" with metal cooling radiators, a fast gigabit Ethernet board Intel PRO/1000 MT Desktop Adapter, the presence of DVI-I- and TV-out, a full "wiring" of USB- subsystems - eight external USB ports (as a rule, PC manufacturers are limited to six or four) and the presence of two serial ports. The sound subsystem of this PC is quite ordinary - it is based on the six-channel AC "97 audio codec Realtek ALC655 (note the lack of a Game / MIDI port here).

In addition to the system unit, the Race 465 package includes a standard DEPO KWD-701 keyboard, a DEPO C1310 optical mouse, Microsoft Windows XP Professional OS, a PC user manual and a quick installation guide. We emphasize that Race 465 is certified for compatibility with Microsoft Windows 2000/XP, and its manufacturing process is certified for compliance with the ISO 9001 quality standard.

The cost of Race 465 includes a three-year warranty service at Deline service centers (more than 130 centers in Russia) with a maximum five-day repair period, but if desired, the user can choose another warranty plan: two years of service at a service center - minus $ 12 from PC cost, two years with first year onsite service plus $44, three years with first year onsite service plus $58, two years of onsite service plus $69, three year on site - plus $127

"Deline"

The company "Dealine" (http://www.dealine.ru), a major Russian distributor and manufacturer of computer equipment, has been producing PCs under the DEPO trademark since June 2002. This was preceded by serious preparatory work, including market research, study of world experience in PC production , development of production technology and the process of interaction with suppliers and customers, organization of a support service and a service network. In addition, our own experience in the production of "non-branded" PCs played a big role - since 2000, "Dealin" has been supplying white boxes (platforms from tested components for assembling computers). Currently, Dealin produces a full range of PCs, which includes the DEPO Neos, Myst, Race personal computers, DEPO Race workstations and DEPO Storm servers, with a total monthly sales of about 12,000 DEPO-branded products.

DEPO computers are manufactured in industrial conditions at Deline's own production facilities located on the territory of a single office and warehouse complex and designed to produce up to 1000 computers and 20 servers per day*. The production of DEPO computers is certified for the compliance of the quality management system with two standards: the international TUV CERT ISO 9001 and the Russian standard GOST R ISO 9001-2001. Modern lines have been installed in the production workshop "Dealin"; the qualifications of the specialists working for them, necessary for the production of each model of DEPO equipment, are confirmed by the relevant certificates.

Parallelization of operations is implemented in the production cycle, which provides for the possibility of simultaneous work of several sections on one order. Thanks to the concept of "just in time" (just-in-time) at the right time in the right area, all processes are synchronized, which gives a significant increase in productivity.

The technological process begins with the preparatory stage, at which the processing and preparation of components and their 100% input control take place. In the manufacture of DEPO equipment, only high-quality modern components of well-known brands that have proven themselves in the market are used, coming from the largest warehouse of computer components in Russia. Prepared components go to the assembly and final inspection line, where the actual assembly and testing of finished products is performed.

DEPO products have all the necessary certificates (hygienic and ROSTesta) in accordance with current legislation. All DEPO PC lines are certified for Microsoft Windows 2000/XP compatibility. DEPO servers are certified compatible with Microsoft Windows 2000 Server and Windows 2000 Advanced Server. Taking into account the increased requirements for the quality of servers, and in order to ensure their high reliability, DEPO servers undergo a long cycle of testing - including under load.

A special department has been created in the structure of the divisions of the company "Deline", which is engaged in technical research and development. The main tasks of the research and development department are to determine promising directions for the development of the model ranges of DEPO equipment, taking into account their compliance with advanced and efficient technologies; development and creation of product samples based on research data on customer preferences and in accordance with industry development trends; comprehensive testing of samples for compatibility with operating systems and obtaining the necessary certificates; involvement of independent certification laboratories for additional comprehensive testing of products; creation of a product standard for subsequent launch into mass production; development and continuous improvement of testing methods for finished products; creation of compatibility sheets with options for each model.

The company "Dealin" does not work according to a fixed price list with a list of typical models of equipment, but allows each customer to choose their own PC or server configuration. Through the Internet, the customer can design the required computer configuration at any time using the online toolkit and select the desired software. In this way, a bespoke system will precisely meet the needs of the user.

PCs of the DEPO Race family are positioned by Deeline as powerful corporate machines and are intended for users with increased requirements for system performance - system administrators, software and database developers, company and enterprise managers, and those who actively work with digital graphics, audio and video data. The latest architectural solutions and technological advances implemented in the DEPO Race family models guarantee a long life cycle of the PC and provide excellent opportunities for system expansion.

The DEPO Race family is represented by two models - DEPO Race 465 and DEPO Race 475, built respectively on the basis of motherboards with HMC Intel 865PE and Intel 875P. Distinctive features of these machines are Intel Pentium 4 processors with 800 MHz system bus and built-in Hyper-Threading, dual-channel DDR400 SDRAM, AGP 8X graphics interface and Serial ATA/150 interface for connecting hard drives.

GEG Prestige 41240A

The GEG Prestige 41240A performed very well in speed tests. Thanks to the fast Gigabyte GV-R9264D video card based on the ATI RADEON 9200 graphics processor with 64 MB DDR video memory and 8X AGP interface, the Prestige 41240A was the leader in the 3DMark2001 -MHz system bus and built-in Hyper-Threading and high-speed dual-channel DDR333 SDRAM-memory provided this model with the second place in the processor tests and in the tests for the speed of the RAM. The Prestige 41240A performed well in the Business Winstone integrated office test, but it managed to take only third place.

The use of high-quality modern components from leading manufacturers is an undoubted advantage of Prestige 41240A. In addition to the already mentioned Intel processor and Gigabyte video card, the PC is equipped with a Gigabyte GA-8IPE1000 motherboard based on the latest Intel 865PE HMC with a built-in standard six-channel AC "97 audio subsystem, a 40 GB Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 8 6E040L0 hard drive and a 50X CD-ROM drive ASUS CD-S500 We also note that the production process of the Prestige 41240A is certified according to the ISO 9001 quality standard.

The Prestige 41240A provides good options for system expansion - four memory slots (total RAM capacity - up to 4 GB), five PCI slots (of which four are not occupied), three bays for external 5.25-inch drives, one for floppy drives, two - for hard drives. However, with the expansion of the peripheral part, the situation is somewhat worse - the PC is equipped with a digital DVI-I output for connecting an LCD monitor, a combined S-Video-RCA TV output for connecting a TV receiver, a 10/100-Mbps network Ethernet interface (implemented using the Repotec RP-1624W PCI adapter), two serial ports, but lacks Game/MIDI and S/PDIF ports.

The PC is assembled in a well-designed case. Free access to all internal components of the system is provided, with the exception of the power supply and bays for 5.25-inch drives - they are "covered" with an additional stiffener that enhances the strength of the case. The power supply is equipped with a "pass-through" power connector - as a rule, a monitor is connected to it, which is very convenient. An additional fan is located on the front panel, securely protected by a metal casing, on the rear panel there is a slot for a second additional fan. Bays for 5.25-inch drives are closed from the outside with a dustproof door with a cutout for access to the upper bay - a CD-ROM drive was installed in it. Unfortunately, there are no external connectors for USB ports and audio ports on the front panel of the case, which can be considered a disadvantage (however, insignificant) today.

The Prestige 41240A comes with a standard keyboard and mouse, a printed PC and motherboard user manual, Microsoft Windows XP Professional, and Norton AntiVirus 2003. The PC comes standard with a three-year warranty with one year free on-site service, but For corporate customers, it is possible to conclude a separate contract for the maintenance of equipment on site during the entire warranty period and for the replacement of failed components within 24 hours.

Kraftway Computers

Kraftway Computers (http://www.kraftway.ru) launched the production of PCs and servers under its own GEG trademark in 1993, and the very next year it deployed production facilities in the technological premises of the Kvant State Research and Production Enterprise and signed an OEM - an agreement with Microsoft to install licensed software on a GEG PC. In 1995, GEG PCs were tested for compatibility with Microsoft software, mass production of two-processor servers was launched, and the company entered the list of industrial enterprises responsible for the supply of equipment for the Russian Ministry of Defense.

In 1996, the production of Kraftway computers was certified in accordance with the requirements of the ISO 9001 standard, the production of GEG Industrial servers and four-processor servers was launched. The company entered the top ten largest Russian PC manufacturers.

In 1999, Kraftway released the first eight-processor server and became, according to Intel, the leader in the Russian server market, a year later it received the status of Intel Premier Provider and became one of the three largest Russian PC manufacturers.

In 2002, the company began producing servers based on Intel Itanium 2 processors, took part in the Intel Developer Forums (IDF) in San Jose and Moscow, and began building its own production and logistics center in Obninsk, Kaluga Region, the following year it launched new production capacity, allowing to produce up to 30 thousand PCs per month *, and opened the Kraftway Server Solutions Center on the Intel platform.

* IDC/ITResearch data on real production volumes for the first half of 2003 show that the company's production potential has not yet been fully utilized.

Today, Kraftway Computers produces a wide range of PCs, developed on the basis of sales statistics accumulated over more than 10 years, dealer network surveys and special in-depth marketing research, covering almost all consumer niches - from low-cost office PCs to powerful dual-processor graphics stations based on Intel Xeon processors. . Kraftway PCs are based on Gigabyte motherboards and Intel and AMD processors and are equipped with Microsoft Windows XP or Linux OS. Kraftway servers are released on Intel platforms.

GEG Prestige PCs have been designed and positioned as high-performance workstations that can be used for a variety of tasks - as powerful home machines, graphics workstations and systems for scientific and engineering calculations. Characteristic features of these PCs are powerful processors combined with large RAM, fast graphics subsystem, wide possibilities for upgrading and increasing system performance.

The GEG Prestige lineup includes several series of PCs that differ in component base. GEG Prestige DV35xx series machines are equipped with AMD Duron 1.2-1.3 GHz or AMD Athlon XP 1700-2800+ processor, motherboard based on VIA KM266 chipset, DDR266/DDR200 SDRAM system memory, integrated video subsystem without local video memory (it is used instead up to 32 MB system memory). The GEG Prestige DA36xx series includes AMD Duron 1.2-1.3 GHz or AMD Athlon XP 1700-2800+, AMD 761 HMC, DDR266/DDR200 SDRAM, AGP video card with 32MB local video memory.

GEG Prestige 4I10xx are based on Intel Pentium 4 1.8-3.06 GHz and NMS SiS655, have dual-channel DDR266/333/400 SDRAM, AGP video card with 32 MB of local video memory. The GEG Prestige 4I20xx series is an Intel Pentium 4 1.8-3.06 GHz, Intel E7205 NMS, dual-channel DDR200/266 SDRAM, AGP video card with 32 MB of local video memory.

GEG Prestige AA10xx models include up to two AMD Athlon MP 2.0-2.6 GHz processors, AMD 760MXP HMC, DDR266/DDR200 SDRAM, AGP video card with 32 MB local video memory. The GEG Prestige XI31xx series contains up to two Intel Xeon DP 1.8-3.06 GHz processors, Intel E7505 NMS, DDR266/DDR200 SDRAM memory, integrated video subsystem (up to 8 MB of memory from RAM is used).

The basic configurations of all GEG Prestige PCs have an Ethernet interface "on board", with the exception of the GEG Prestige DA36xx series machines - these models are equipped with it additionally. All GEG Prestige machines are also "default" equipped with a built-in AC "97 audio subsystem.

Kraftway Computers PCs undergo strict technological control at all stages of production. Control methods can be conditionally divided into three groups - visual, software and electromechanical. Visual control methods are used at the very beginning of the production process to detect obvious structural defects in components - damage to the paintwork or conductive layer, geometry violation due to improper transportation, etc. - and during the acceptance of the assembled product - to check the correct fastening of nodes, laying loops, etc. d.

Software control methods are designed to verify the declared functionality of the product, reduce the labor intensity and monotony of personnel work (for example, by automating the operations of comparing the configuration of the product with the reference one) and allow you to accurately document the results of control (i.e. avoid errors associated with the human factor).

For such control, special test programs are used, both of our own design and from leading developers of test software and component manufacturers. These programs are combined into test groups designed to test a specific controller or an entire product block. Before launching into production, for each product configuration from test groups, a unique set of test actions is created, which, among other things, specifies the order of passing tests (sequence, simultaneity) and reference test results. The product is placed for testing in a semi-automatic mode, and the testing results are recorded automatically. This provides additional insurance against a "human" error, preventing the product from being transferred to the next production site if the test results automatically stored in a single database differ from the reference ones.

Electromechanical control methods are designed to ensure the electrical safety of the product and to check the reliability of fixing its units and blocks.

To determine the technical prospects for the possible use of new components and architectures to expand the range of servers and PCs Kraftway Computers, the company created a beta testing laboratory, whose specialists create product prototypes and use cross-platform measurement packages to check the speed of standard operations and the compatibility of these systems with various peripheral equipment and cases.

The Kraftway service network includes 115 service centers throughout the country.

Irbis Favorite C2425/80F

In terms of processor power (Intel Celeron 2.4 GHz with 400 MHz system bus and 128 KB L2 cache) and RAM speed (single-channel DDR266 SDRAM), Irbis Favorite C2425/80F was inferior to other test participants; in addition, it was equipped with a rather slow video card (InnoVISION Tornado GeForce4 MX 440 SE on an Nvidia GeForce4 MX 440-SE GPU with 64 MB of DDR video memory). As a result, this PC fell behind the competition in performance tests. But this model is supported by the low price ($640) and the impressive capacity of the disk subsystem based on the 80 GB drive Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 6Y080L0 - according to these characteristics, Irbis Favorite was the leader. This PC was also the only one equipped with a combo optical CD-RW/DVD-ROM drive (Toshiba SD-R1312); the rest of the tested models were equipped with "unpretentious" and, of course, less expensive CD-ROM drives.

Plus, a high-quality motherboard from a manufacturer with an excellent reputation (ASUS P4PE on the NMS Intel 845PE), good system expansion options - three slots for memory modules with a RAM capacity of up to 2 GB; six free PCI slots (although two slots for PCI cards are occupied by expansion brackets); four bays for external 5.25-inch drives, one for floppy drive, two for hard drives and peripherals (TV-out, built-in 10/100-Mbps Ethernet controller Broadcom BCM4401, two serial ports and built-in six-channel audio subsystem with optical and coaxial S/PDIF-out and Game/MIDI port). We also note that the quality management system of the K-Systems company, which produces Irbis Favorite, is certified at all stages of production for compliance with the requirements of the ISO 9001:2000 standard.

Irbis Favorite is assembled in a middle tower case with seven drive bays, which is quite a lot for a system unit of this size, but it provides free access to all internal components, and the PC is quite spacious inside. The design advantages of the case of this model should also include the presence of removable side panels, two slots for additional fans - one each on the rear and front panels (the latter is reliably protected by a plastic casing) and a compartment on the front panel for external audio and USB ports (though they were not used in the tested instance of Irbis Favorite).

Irbis Favorite comes with a standard keyboard and mouse (in addition, there are three buttons - Wake Up, Sleep, Power - and a palm rest at the keyboard), printed PC and motherboard user manuals, Microsoft Windows XP Professional OS and Acronis True Image backup software data.

The Irbis Favorite PC is backed by a two-year warranty with service at the head service center "K-Systems" in Moscow and more than 90 regional authorized service centers throughout Russia. The purchaser may independently upgrade the PC, but in this case, the warranty does not cover self-installed components and defects resulting from such upgrades. In the presence of analogues, the replacement of failed components is carried out within 24 hours; in emergency cases, equipment is provided for replacement during the repair. Within the Moscow Ring Road, under a separate agreement, on-site service is possible - the cost of this service depends on the number of equipment being serviced, but not more than 10% of the cost of equipment per year. During the warranty period, free service support is also provided - consultations by phone and e-mail, updating drivers on the K-Systems ftp server.

Wholesale of PC Irbis in Moscow and St. Petersburg is handled by the direct sales department of K-Systems, retail sales are carried out through the retail chains Belyi Veter, M.Video, Eldorado and TechnoSila. In other cities of Russia, Irbis PCs can be purchased from more than 30 regional partners.

"K-Systems"

The company "K-Systems" (http://www.k-systems.ru) has been operating on the domestic IT market since 1994 and commercially produces computer equipment under its own brand. The main activities of the company - the production of desktop PCs, servers, professional graphics stations, monitors, laptops, Windows-terminals and information display tools; corporate supplies; implementation of complex projects; customer service. According to IDC analysts, in 2002 and in the first quarter of 2003 K-Systems entered the top five Russian PC manufacturers.

K-Systems has its own production facilities. In 2002, a new assembly shop began operating in Moscow, allowing the assembly and testing of more than 18,000 computers* every month. "K-Systems" relies on slipway production - this approach provides better product quality compared to automated assembly and allows you to quickly adjust the configuration of the final product.

* IDC/ITResearch data on real production volumes for the first half of 2003 show that the company's production potential has not yet been fully utilized.

The company's quality management system is certified for compliance with the requirements of the international standard ISO 9001:2000. The quality of K-Systems products is also confirmed by the status of a supplier of the Intel Premier Provider category, certificates of compliance with hygiene standards, the requirements of the State Standard of Russia, the State Technical Commission under the President of the Russian Federation, the Svyaz and Infocert certification systems. The company has licenses from the Federal Security Service of Russia, FAPSI and the State Technical Commission under the President of the Russian Federation, including for work in the field of information security and the provision of services for the protection of state secrets.

When designing office PCs, K-Systems engineers are guided by the following criteria: reliability of the system as a whole; compatibility with the most common software; optimal functionality for the selected class of tasks; ease of preparation for work due to pre-installation of software; ergonomics of the system (design, dimensions, noise); equipment that facilitates the use of a PC; high-quality technical support and service; the best ratio of cost and all listed characteristics; wishes of the customer, if they do not contradict the design concept of the company.

According to K-Systems engineers, Intel processors have an advantage over AMD processors, providing better thermal stability, built-in overheating protection, a higher system bus frequency, and an additional set of SSE2 commands for processing multimedia data. Therefore, when choosing the configuration of the machine, which represented the Irbis Favorite lineup during testing, two processor options were considered - Pentium 4 and Celeron, however, the restriction on the cost of the system became a decisive argument in favor of the Celeron with a clock speed of 2.4 GHz.

According to K-Systems sales statistics, corporate customers prefer integrated Intel Extreme Graphics controllers and discrete video adapters based on the Nvidia GeForce4 MX 440-SE graphics processor. The use of Intel Celeron made it possible to choose a more powerful video adapter based on Nvidia GeForce4 MX 440-SE for the PC submitted for testing.

NMCs for motherboards from Intel are the most trusted by corporate customers due to Intel's stringent quality requirements for products. The choice of a specific NMS model - Intel 845PE - is due to the choice of processor and discrete video adapter. This NMS also provides the ability to further increase the power of the PC if the processor is replaced or the amount of RAM is increased.

Today the choice of memory is the most obvious - PC2100 or PC2700 DDR SDRAM. The tested PC Irbis Favorite uses PC2100 DDR SDRAM memory, because when running Intel Celeron in combination with the selected NMS, the memory bus frequency cannot exceed 266 MHz.

As a disk subsystem, an 80 GB drive with an Ultra ATA/100 interface, a rotation speed of 7200 rpm, without organizing a RAID array was chosen. The use of disk subsystems with Serial ATA/150 and SCSI interfaces in a PC of this class is impractical - their cost is much higher (at least for Serial ATA). Creating a RAID array is justified only in two cases - to achieve maximum performance (for example, when performing voluminous engineering calculations) and to create a highly reliable data storage system (which is typical for server applications).

Most Irbis Favorite office PCs ship with a 52X CD-ROM drive, but you can order another if needed. For example, the Irbis Favorite we tested was equipped with a DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive.

The selected HMC and motherboard provide six-channel audio, although two-channel speakers are enough for office work. Speakers are not included as standard with the PC, as many users use headphones instead (for example, in large offices).

The concept of "office PC" implies teamwork and access to the Internet, so Irbis Favorite PCs must be equipped with a 10/100-Mbps Ethernet interface. A PC can be additionally equipped with an internal modem, but this device is not included in the basic configuration - sales in the corporate sector are mainly focused on large offices with centralized Internet access.

Licensed software is installed on all Irbis Favorite PCs. Pre-installation of the OS is preferable for two reasons - fast PC deployment and correct installation of the OS, drivers, service packages, etc. Irbis Favorite PCs in the basic configuration are supplied with Microsoft Windows XP Professional (when supplying equipment for large offices with a hierarchical domain structure) or Windows XP Home Edition - for home or small offices. At the request of the customer, Microsoft Windows 98 SE, Windows 2000 Professional, ASP Linux 7.3 or 9.0 can be installed.

To restore the OS, all Irbis PCs are equipped with the special Acronis True Image OEM PC software. This package allows you to quickly restore the original OS image and, in addition, maintain your own data archive.

To perform a typical set of tasks, the office infrastructure, as a rule, includes: a group of servers with various functionality (Internet access server, domain structure management, databases, file server) and user workstations. To increase the safety and confidentiality of information, K-Systems offers Termin Windows terminals. In addition, the company produces various models of Irbis Favorite full-size PCs and Irbis M small-sized PCs for "average" employees and systems based on Intel Pentium 4 with built-in Hyper-Threading for users with increased demands on machine performance.

Will Nvidia GeForce 8800 GS graphics card work with Kraftway GEG motherboard? and got the best answer

Answer from Mad Doctor[guru]
do you have a server?
if so, here's the info
but I don’t know about vidyuhi, I never came across it, but I found a description of some Kraftway GEG Express 400 EM11 server
Platform Intel SR4850HW4 (Harwich), Intel E8500 chipset, 667MHz FSB,
up to 4 Intel Xeon MP CPUs (1MB L2 cache, up to 8MB L3 cache),
up to 64GB DDR2-400 (PC3200) ECC Registered SDRAM, up to 4 memory cards (16 DIMM slots) , each board has 2 memory banks (4 DIMM slots) ,
1 x8 PCI-Express slot, 3 x4 PCI-Express slots, 1 64bit/133MHz PCI-X slot, 2 64bit/100MHz PCI-X slots,
Integrated:
Video controller: 2D / 3D accelerator ATI Radeon 7000, 16MB SDRAM,
Network adapters: 2-channel Bradcom NetXtreme Gigabit Ethernet Server Controller (BRCM5704C), 10/100/1000 Mbit/s,
SATA controller: 1 port, used to connect CDD or DVD,
SCSI controller: Integrated 2-channel (2 internal channels) Ultra320 SCSI controller (LSI 53C1030), possibility of activation (RAID Activation Key) of the integrated SCSI RAID controller.
Server control and management functions (Intel Management Modules).
Chassis Intel SR4850 (Granby), black, weight ~31kg.
Execution in 19" Rackmount case 4U high.
Dimensions in Rackmount (4U) version: height - 173 mm, width - 447 mm, depth - 706 mm.
2 x 1470W hot-swap power supplies (redundancy 1+1, hot-swap),
5x 3.5"x1" hot-swap front-accessible HDD bays,
FDD is not installed,
1 external 5.25" bay,
2 twin fans for cooling system components with hot swap (redundancy 2+2, hot swap).
The 19" Rackmount chassis comes with telescopic rails for extending the server from a 19" rack.
CPU
4*CPU Intel Xeon MP 3160 MHz cache L2-1MB, FSB 667 MHz
RAM
RAM 4096 MB DDR2-400 ECC Reg (4*1 GB)
The basic configuration of the server includes one RAM expansion card.
Controllers for connecting hard drives
Activation of the integrated 2-channel SCSI RAID controller cache 512MB DDR2-400 with battery
Installing hard drives

HDD SCSI hot-swap 72 GB 10000 rpm, 80 pin
HDD SCSI hot-swap 72 GB 10000 rpm, 80 pin
HDD SCSI hot-swap 72 GB 10000 rpm, 80 pin
HDD SCSI hot-swap 72 GB 10000 rpm, 80 pin
Optical drive
DVD±RW(OEM) Slim
Server control and management functions
Intel Management Module Professional Edition
Standard Control Panel for Intel 4U 6U Chassis
Intel Server Manager server management software is included with every server.
Periphery
USB keyboard
USB mouse
Warranty service
Express 400 Warranty Year 1-3 OS Year 4-5 Std