Apple Store: Xserve, 750GB, Apple Care

[djgamble]

At Apple's prices, it's hard to understand how any business can justify switching to Xserve. Sorry, but I can buy several Dells with the same CPUs and RAM for what Apple is charging. This is unbelieveable. I canb buy SuperMicro or Tyan 1U barebones and assemble all the remaining CPUs/components myself and set it up in about 2 to 3 hours and probably still come out 1/5th the price of the Xserve. This just makes absolutely no sense at all.

It's good that you apologized before giving us all this misinformation!
Apple in fact offers some of the CHEAPEST rackmount servers. That's why they were used for the Virginia Tech cluster remember!!

Go to Dell's page, I just customized one of their PowerEdge 2950's to be EXACTLY the same as the Xserve (except for the OS) and here's the diff:

Dell PowerEdge 2950
$6,749.00 - $1000 because it's over $5000
so... $5749 (just the fact that they can take $1000 off if you're spending over $5000 shows how much extra they are charging customers!)
Dual Core Intel® Xeon®, 4MB Cache, 3.00GHz, 1333MHz FSB
Operating System Windows Server® 2003 R2, Standard x64 Edition,Includes 5 CALs
Additional Processor
Dual Core Intel® Xeon® 5160, 4MB Cache, 3.00GHz, 1333MHZ FSB
Memory
1GB 533MHz (4x256MB), Single Ranked DIMMs
Riser Card Riser with 3 PCIe Slots
Primary Hard Drive
80GB, SATA, 3.5-inch, 7.2K RPM Hard Drive
Primary Controller
PERC 5/i, x4 Backplane, Integrated Controller Card

Apple Xserve
$4,798.00
Two 64-bit 3.0GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon processors
1.33GHz frontside bus and 4MB shared L2 cache per processor
1GB memory (667MHz DDR2 ECC fully buffered DIMM)
80GB 7200-rpm Serial ATA hard drive1
Built-in ATI Radeon X1300 graphics with 64MB RAM
Mac OS X Server 10.4 Unlimited-Client Edition

So go back to your mummy and cry! At a fraction of the price the Xserve is actually a better machine because I could not get 667Mhz DDR2 for the Dell! The Dell also has no graphics card!

This is not including the fact that Apple gives substantial discounts if you order a stack of these with a RAID!

So when you say 'Dells'... be very specific!!!
Rackmount Dells with Woodcrest Xeons (just like the Xserve) are a LOT more expensive than just some Dell server that is apparently 1/5 of the price of the Xserve.

It is a MYTH that Dell is cheap! Stack them side-to-side with Apple on any level and their machines are generally either the same price or more expensive than Apple's.

 

[twoodcc]

It's good that you apologized before giving us all this misinformation!
Apple in fact offers some of the CHEAPEST rackmount servers. That's why they were used for the Virginia Tech cluster remember!!

Go to Dell's page, I just customized one of their PowerEdge 2950's to be EXACTLY the same as the Xserve (except for the OS) and here's the diff:

Dell PowerEdge 2950
$6,749.00
Dual Core Intel® Xeon®, 4MB Cache, 3.00GHz, 1333MHz FSB
Operating System Windows Server® 2003 R2, Standard x64 Edition,Includes 5 CALs
Additional Processor
Dual Core Intel® Xeon® 5160, 4MB Cache, 3.00GHz, 1333MHZ FSB
Memory
1GB 533MHz (4x256MB), Single Ranked DIMMs
Riser Card Riser with 3 PCIe Slots
Primary Hard Drive
80GB, SATA, 3.5-inch, 7.2K RPM Hard Drive
Primary Controller
PERC 5/i, x4 Backplane, Integrated Controller Card

Apple Xserve
$2,999.00
Two 64-bit 2.0GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon processors
1.33GHz frontside bus and 4MB shared L2 cache per processor
1GB memory (667MHz DDR2 ECC fully buffered DIMM)
80GB 7200-rpm Serial ATA hard drive1
Built-in ATI Radeon X1300 graphics with 64MB RAM
Mac OS X Server 10.4 Unlimited-Client Edition

So go back to your mummy and cry! The Xserve is actually a better machine because I could not get 667Mhz DDR2 for the Dell! The Dell also has no graphics card!

So when you say 'Dells'... be very specific!!!
Rackmount Dells with Woodcrest Xeons (just like the Xserve) are a LOT more expensive than just some Dell server that is apparently 1/5 of the price of the Xserve.

you tell em!

 

[Silentwave]

Go to Dell's page, I just customized one of their PowerEdge 2950's to be EXACTLY the same as the Xserve (except for the OS) and here's the diff:

You forgot the processors. the XServe had 2.0GHz chips, the Dell has the 3.00.

Even so, the XServe with 2x3.00GHz Xeon 5160 chips is only $4,798, and as you said has a graphics card, faster RAM, and also has larger DIMMs so more slots are still open.

 

[Buschmaster]

Find out how to get your order for $2,331.00 per month with an Apple Credit Account.

But hey, it's free shipping.

 

[scu]

The 750 MB option is welcoming. I wonder how much less is a hard drive over the net?

 

[paeza]

when MB s gonna be updated???????? i need it soonnnn

 

[fishoutofagua]

hi

 

[Umbongo]

The 750 MB option is welcoming. I wonder how much less is a hard drive over the net?

750GB drives can be had for under $400 if that is what you meant.

 

[ormandj]

#1 feature: The xserve is small and takes little rack space
#2 redundnet power supplies
#3 disks and power supplies are front servicable (these are the thing that break all the time)
#4 Bundled with server version of OSX
#5 It comes with an option for no graphic card.
#6 Lights Out managment (see #5 above)

Of the above I bet #6 and #1 are the most populare features

Here is soething that competes with the xserve
http:http://www.sun.com/servers/coolthreads/t1000/

Notice they talk abut "power comsumption" and "compute density" something that only someone running many dozens or hundreds of these would care much about.

If yu realy want an xserve and can't afford one. I'd suggest buying a 1U rack mount PC case putting an ASUS mainboard inside of it and installing BSD UNIX. A Mac without a graphic card and with no mouse or keyboard is just a UNIX box.

The Niagra-based Sun servers aren't even close to the same as an Xserve. Maybe an X2200:
http://www.sun.com/servers/x64/x2200/

Regardless, Xserves are aimed at the media crowd/HPC crowd. They've never targetted anything larger than small-business/workgroup usage in terms of serving anything except media. That's how it has been, and how it will be for some time more.

If you want real servers, go Sun and use Solaris (or if you're too much of a weenie, Lihnucks).

 

[parenthesis]

What about if applecare is sending you a new MB to replace an old defective ibook? You didn't buy it, so you don't have a receipt. Could you exchange it for a C2D?

I don't have a lot of experience with this directly, but I'm going to guess that you can't.

Don't be too greedy, you're already upgrading from an iBook to a MB. You did pretty well.

 

[SMM]

It's good that you apologized before giving us all this misinformation!
Apple in fact offers some of the CHEAPEST rackmount servers. That's why they were used for the Virginia Tech cluster remember!!

Go to Dell's page, I just customized one of their PowerEdge 2950's to be EXACTLY the same as the Xserve (except for the OS) and here's the diff:

Dell PowerEdge 2950
$6,749.00 - $1000 because it's over $5000
so... $5749 (just the fact that they can take $1000 off if you're spending over $5000 shows how much extra they are charging customers!)
Dual Core Intel® Xeon®, 4MB Cache, 3.00GHz, 1333MHz FSB
Operating System Windows Server® 2003 R2, Standard x64 Edition,Includes 5 CALs
Additional Processor
Dual Core Intel® Xeon® 5160, 4MB Cache, 3.00GHz, 1333MHZ FSB
Memory
1GB 533MHz (4x256MB), Single Ranked DIMMs
Riser Card Riser with 3 PCIe Slots
Primary Hard Drive
80GB, SATA, 3.5-inch, 7.2K RPM Hard Drive
Primary Controller
PERC 5/i, x4 Backplane, Integrated Controller Card

Apple Xserve
$4,798.00
Two 64-bit 3.0GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon processors
1.33GHz frontside bus and 4MB shared L2 cache per processor
1GB memory (667MHz DDR2 ECC fully buffered DIMM)
80GB 7200-rpm Serial ATA hard drive1
Built-in ATI Radeon X1300 graphics with 64MB RAM
Mac OS X Server 10.4 Unlimited-Client Edition

So go back to your mummy and cry! At a fraction of the price the Xserve is actually a better machine because I could not get 667Mhz DDR2 for the Dell! The Dell also has no graphics card!

This is not including the fact that Apple gives substantial discounts if you order a stack of these with a RAID!

So when you say 'Dells'... be very specific!!!
Rackmount Dells with Woodcrest Xeons (just like the Xserve) are a LOT more expensive than just some Dell server that is apparently 1/5 of the price of the Xserve.

It is a MYTH that Dell is cheap! Stack them side-to-side with Apple on any level and their machines are generally either the same price or more expensive than Apple's.

Our company was buying Dell servers when I came to work there. Between 2002 and 2004, we replaced 2 motherboards and FOUR backplanes. If you have never had a backplane failure, it is ugly. The SCSI controller cards plug into it. When it goes, your data looks like a bunch of smiley faces looking back at you. Dell was very quick to replace our failed hardware, and even faster to apologize. We only have one of the original 13 Dell servers left. I will not buy another. Add that to your TOC.

 

[AidenShaw]

Add that to your TOC.

Is "TOC" a dyslexic version of "TCO"??

If not, please explain what you meant...

 

[KamaloPSU]

As of right now, you cannot buy one for $159 each. Read the page: it says "currently unavailable."

I read the page smart@$$ and then ordered two. At that price they sold out. Clearly NOT one of the ones with half an ounce of common sense and CLEARLY one of the ignorant ones with a superiority complex. This is why us switchers don't like "Apple' people like you.

 

[AidenShaw]

http://www.sun.com/servers/coolthreads/t1000/[/url].

If you always have lots of active threads, and you're concerned about overall throughput and not how fast each thread runs, then the Sun T1000 might make sense. It's similar to the Blue Gene, in that it has lots of slow processors. (The T1000 is 4-way Hyper-Threaded per core, and most of us understand the issues with hyperthreading.)

The Woodcrest has much faster performance per thread, but only has four cores (threads) per dual socket system.

Also note that Sun's power, performance and heat claims haven't been updated - they're still comparing their systems to Netburst Xeons, not Woodcrest.

 

[Willis]

I have a not-quite-offtopic question - I know you can exchange your computer for a new one within 14 days if you buy a MB now. (would you have to pay a restocking fee?)

What about if applecare is sending you a new MB to replace an old defective ibook? You didn't buy it, so you don't have a receipt. Could you exchange it for a C2D?

This isn't an entirely greed based query - after years of dealing with the logic board fiasco I'm nervous about getting a lemony macbook that randomly shuts down.

As of last night, theres now a fix!!

 

[Sherman Homan]

The new Xserver is whole lotta machine for the money. I don't see Dell's feature set coming anywhere near the Xserver.

 

[BenRoethig]

The new Xserver is whole lotta machine for the money. I don't see Dell's feature set coming anywhere near the Xserver.

Dell has the advantage of a much more complete server lineup. Apple only offers a 1U configuration with a single operating system and very limited options. Good for Mac users who want a server, bad for enterprise sales.

 

[XForge]

Dell's pricing on their website is cheaper and you can probably get about 1/4 off of that by going through a rep.

I know this sounds very nitpicky, but with a Win-based server serving Macs, you're going to be stuck with 31-character filenames, because Windows Services for Macintosh still thinks Macs are using AppleTalk under OS 9.1.

Add a screen and it'll do it.

Wot, the 20" flatpanel for $699? How much monitor DO you need for a server anyway? Not to mention you could run the whole thing from your MacBook using the remote access software provided.

 

[XForge]

Amen. And I'd love to see a mid-range tower. Something with a graphics card, one available PCI slot, up to two hard drives, and the Core 2 Duo desktop chip(socketed, not soldered please).

Or a flat-but-not-too-flat case that could double as a monitor riser, since the Apple monitors aren't quite high enough on their built-in stands. That'd be nice; I've always liked the PCs most mfrs call "small form factor." We have several at work and I think they're da bomb.

Dell has the advantage of a much more complete server lineup. Apple only offers a 1U configuration with a single operating system and very limited options. Good for Mac users who want a server, bad for enterprise sales.

Lotsa people buy XServes and put UNIX or Linux on 'em. Or you could of course install Windows and it'd run like a bat outta Hell with a rocket up its butt.

 

[BenRoethig]

Lotsa people buy XServes and put UNIX or Linux on 'em. Or you could of course install Windows and it'd run like a bat outta Hell with a rocket up its butt.

People, yes. The money is made in corporate sales. If Apple won't work with them, people won't buy. Apple isn't doing much to widen the base of OSX server. Proprietary environments may be a plus for Mac users, but they're virtually a non-starter in traditional enterprise segments.