Mav451 said:
And even better is that the Opterons (2-way and 4-way) server chips have gotten a hefty price cut! Mobos, however, are still a long ways to go before becoming cheap enough for the <$700 home built system. This area still solely belongs to the 754's, but until the 939's come, they cannot overcome the single channel memory support they have vs. the dual channel of the FX series.
This is what I've been trying to tell peopel for a while, though I'm glad to see someone from the PC side getting it out there. The dual Opterons are a force to be reckoned with, especially while we're sitting at 2.0ghz. Now, were the new chips to make an appearance in a month at WWDC and clock at 3.0ghz with a commensurate boost in performance... Well, the story would be a bit different.
Interesting to note that you used almost the same setup I did, though. Here's my runthrough the parts, and how I would build it. Going from the ground up, as you would have to with buying a machine from Apple:
AMD Opteron 246 x2
-2.0ghz, 1MB L2, 64bit, HyperTransport FSB
$461 x 2 = $922
Tyan Thunder K8W
-8x Single-Channel PC3200/2700/2100 RAM (maximum of 12GB)
-2x ATA133 (4 devices max)
-AGP 8x, 2x PCI-X, 2x PCI-X B, 1x PCI
-2x PS/2, 5x USB 1.1 (3 rear), 2x Firewire (1 rear) SPDIF Out, 1x COM, !x VGA, 1x LAN
-GigE onboard
-4x SATA 150 RAID 0/1/0+1
-EATX format
$436
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB 8x AGP (same model as the one in the G5)
$225
Soundblaster Audigy2 ZS Platinum Pro $206
6.1 Digital SPDIF In/Out, among other things. Admittedly better than the Apple internal sound, but the only Audigy card with digital in.
$206
Corsair XMS Twin Pack 1GB (2x DIMMs)
$289
Maxtor 250GB SATA 7200RPM
$205
Pioneer DVR-A07 DVD+rw/-RW (same model as the one in the G5)
$153
The case is difficult. There are no Lian Li or Cooler Master cases at NewEgg that can handle the 12'x13" EATX motherboard that we've chosen. As such, I chose the ThermalTake Xaser III SuperTower.
-4x 5.25", 2x 3.5" external, 6x 3.5" internal
-7 expansion slots
-USB x2, Firewire x1, audio in/out - all on front
-7 80mm fans
-Active fan controls
$120
Thermaltake Silent PurePower 560w PSU - The case doesn't have a supply.
$99
Total cost: $2655 on parts.
PowerMac dual 2.0 G5
1GB PC 3200
250GB SATA
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128 MB
Pioneer DVR-A07
Cost: $3645