19" Rackable PC Vendor Recommendation for FQT Station

[_Rollin_]

Hi!

I am looking to upgrade our old 2U R7910 Dell Rack Computer that is part of our standard test station. That machine has a Xeon processor and it is really slow.

We run LabVIEW 2023 and TestStand and we use slots in the back to interface with two PXI chassis'.

I have been told that for the best LabVIEW performance I should not get a Xeon because that is for servers, but instead should get the fastest Intel with P cores. Is that still true?

Our IT department loves Dell, but Dell only sells Xeon processor in their rackable PCs. 

I was wondering if you had experience using non-Xeon machines in a rackable form factor? is there a recommended vendor alternative to Dell?

I look forward learning from your experiences.

Thank you,

Rollin

[crossrulz]

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@_Rollin_ wrote:

I was wondering if you had experience using non-Xeon machines in a rackable form factor? is there a recommended vendor alternative to Dell?

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In the past, I used SuperLogics for my rack-mount computers. No major issues with the setups I put together. I have also heard great things about Stealth. There are plenty of other computer companies out there who will do the rackmount setups you will be interested in.

[Jay14159265]

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@_Rollin_ wrote:

...

I have been told that for the best LabVIEW performance I should not get a Xeon because that is for servers, but instead should get the fastest Intel with P cores. Is that still true?

Did you hear that from NI?

[_Rollin_]

An experienced member of the LabVIEW community mentioned that to me in a conversation a couple years ago.

If I didn't care about the end-user's experience, I would just go with IT's approved Dell Xeon rack,  even though I don't need ecc memory, don't need raid, don't need many cores, don't need to pay more for features I don't use.

In my mind (please correct me if I am wrong) a Xeon is like a tank, powerful and safe, but not in a way I need,  and an i7 or i9 is like a corvette, fast.

but maybe I am overthinking things?

[RTSLVU · Accepted solution]

Rackmount PC's are so expensive it's stupid. So what we do is just put a rack mount shelf in our racks and use a desktop PC.

[_Rollin_]

I like your method:

• Flip a tower desktop PC on it's side, or maybe find a desktop PC that natively sits flat.

I could select a Dell model which would make my IT department happy, and would spare me from having to fight the paperwork battle of justifying the need to select another vendor. 

[RTSLVU]

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@_Rollin_ wrote:

I like your method: You flip a tower desktop PC on it's side, or maybe find a desktop PC that natively sits flat.

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The first build we used desktops that were low profile and meant to sit flat. On our last build we ended up going with mini-PC's. Everything in our racks are LXI or USB now so there's no need for anything larger.

[crossrulz]

Just to throw out another potential alternative, you could use a good laptop and hook up to PXIe chassis via a Thunderbolt. I do not have experience with this, but it is something I plan to try in the near future.

[Kyle97330]

At my company we have a mix of "standard" PCs and "server" PCs running LabVIEW.  "Server" meaning a PC with a Xeon chip and a server-oriented motherboard, regardless of whether it's in a rack-mount case or not.

While we have used a number of different models of each, I can say that on average, a "Server" PC has been more likely to give me issues related to hardware than a "standard" PC.  I speculate that this is because "Server" PCs and their chipsets are far less likely to utilize USB devices, expansion cards other than network cards, and any intense video operation. 

As such, the manufacturers of such boards probably deprioritize checking for issues with USB devices (especially bus-powered ones), expansion cards, and video drivers.  And any hardware makers who supply USB devices or expansion cards probably test their products less on server chipsets and are more likely to miss edge-case bugs that only present on those systems.

Add to that Xeon chips+motherboards costing more and not significantly increasing performance, and it's very much not worth it if you can avoid it, in my experience.

[santo_13]

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@_Rollin_ wrote:

Hi!

I am looking to upgrade our old 2U R7910 Dell Rack Computer that is part of our standard test station. That machine has a Xeon processor and it is really slow.

We run LabVIEW 2023 and TestStand and we use slots in the back to interface with two PXI chassis'.

I have been told that for the best LabVIEW performance I should not get a Xeon because that is for servers, but instead should get the fastest Intel with P cores. Is that still true?

Our IT department loves Dell, but Dell only sells Xeon processor in their rackable PCs. 

I was wondering if you had experience using non-Xeon machines in a rackable form factor? is there a recommended vendor alternative to Dell?

I look forward learning from your experiences.

Thank you,

Rollin

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AFAIK it is unlikely that Xeon processors are not suited for LabVIEW apps. NI even sells their high-end embedded controllers with Xeon processors https://www.ni.com/en-us/shop/model/pxie-8881.html

It all boils down to complete hardware specs and how you write your application, a poorly written application even when run in a supercomputer may perform worse.