If you don't mind refurbs, tigerdirect usually has a nice supply. No problems here w/ any refurbs that I bought there.
What are you talking about??? http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=555&l=en&oc=MLB1271&s=biz Dell still carries the T3400. The only issue that I see is that it does not appear that the 525w PSU (which I have on my Dell T3400) is available any longer. You can configure 2 mb of RAM and an E8400, 3.0 GHz/1333FSB with 6MB of cache with dual NVS-290 graphics cards for $1256. I bought mine 2 years ago and only paid $1,000 and that included 4 mb's of RAM and a 525w power supply.
Yeah I know they have them in the US, however since I'm in Canada they refuse to accept my money in exchange for their products. Apparently Canadians aren't allowed to buy from Dell USA and Dell Canada isn't willing to sell T3400 525w to Canadians anymore. I do not want a 375w machine because with 2 video cards running 4 monitors my system would be fried in under 8 months I reckon. The ugly Canadian face of Dell (please note that 1 USD = 1.07 CAD these days): http://www1.ca.dell.com/ca/en/business/desktops/precndt/ct.aspx?refid=precndt&s=bsd&cs=cabsdt1 5500 is out because it is at least double the cost of the 3400 without anywhere close to double the specs as far as I can tell. That CyberPower machine looks nice, I will call them on Monday to see if they will ship to Canada.
Where did you get that notion? Totally riduculous. In fact, 525W in a trading machine with workstation video cards is overkill to the point of being wasteful. 375W is more than enough unless you're running high power gaming video cards.
The NVS 290, which doesn't use a fan, has a 21W power rating. You do the math. http://www.nvidia.com/object/IO_14605.html
Ok -- how can I get the total power draw for the whole system together? Sry not a computer guy really, I suppose the dell guy was just trying to rip me off then when he said even 525 watts wasn't really enough for running 4 displays. If 375 is actually enough that makes my life a lot simpler, I just don't want to run into a situation where I can't do even a basic upgrade without replacing the PSU. Dell is asking just over 1300 CAD after tax (1200 USD) for the T3400 with dual nvs 290 and 2gb of ram.
To get an accurate read on total power, you'd need to plug your rig into a watt meter. But I doubt a T3400 with NVS cards would draw any more than 180W. The PSU is concerned with the video cards, not the monitors... they have their own power supply. The Dell guy, as usual, simply doesn't know what he's talking about.
That sounds like a lot of money... unless you're getting a well-upgraded CPU. Can you order directly off of Dell's USA website and/or Dell Outlet?
I just compared with USA site and it's 400 USD cheaper, plus they throw in a pretty decent monitor (Dell Canada offers no monitor). Too bad Dell USA won't ship to me, despite the so-called free trade agreement. Unless someone knows a way around this? It's annoying being ripped off just because I happen to be living 200 miles north of the border.
You could buy one off of eBay, but I don't know how the warranty transfer and its honoring would work if Dell USA won't ship to you... ??