DigitalStorm Slade Pro Workstation PC Review
by Dustin Sklavos on April 23, 2014 12:00 AM EST- Posted in
- desktops
- Xeon
- Quadro
- DigitalStorm
- Workstation
- Octalcore
When it comes to performance, the DigitalStorm Slade Pro is definitely a strong contender. The octalcore Ivy Bridge-EP CPU is one of the best workstation chips you can buy, and the NVIDIA Quadro K4000 is an efficient and capable partner for professional rendering tasks. If performance is your primary deciding factor in looking at a workstation, then DigitalStorm certainly has you covered here.
As far as pricing, we're still in the ballpark, but it's a little hazier. Dell will charge you $5,527 for a similarly configured Precision T5610 system, ~$300 less than this one, but theirs includes a dual socket workstation board and ECC memory and comes with a three year professional level warranty complete with on site service. HP wants nearly $3,000 more for a comparable system, pricing them out of competition. Even with their 20% coupon code, you're still looking at ~$1,500 more. And Lenovo wants a hilarious $3,500 premium just for a $2,000 CPU. Ultimately, Dell continues to be the one to beat.
And that's kind of the issue that DigitalStorm ultimately faces. There are things you can get from DigitalStorm that you can't get from Dell: the 4TB hard drive, the blu-ray reader, the liquid cooling. But these are comparatively small potatoes. As long as Dell is this hungry in the enterprise space, system integrators are going to have an extremely hard time producing a value proposition to compete with them. Dell's cheaper, their service is more capable, their warranties are longer, and the parts are workstation class across the board.
Compared to other system integrators, DigitalStorm makes a solid argument for their Slade Pro. The performance is there, it's quiet, it's efficient, and the components are generally quality. But the elephant in the room for SIs is going to continue to be Dell for the foreseeable future. They win on price, arguably win on service, and on value adds. The Slade Pro is the finest system I've tested yet from DigitalStorm, and for small businesses who just need one or two solid workstations it's a fine alternative to ordering from the evil empire. But for everyone else, I'd still strongly recommend sticking with Dell.
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wwwcd - Wednesday, April 23, 2014 - link
Hmm I see specs of configuration with components with max $3300 price, not for $5,869.processor dealer price ~$1000-1100 depending on the volume of transaction; graphic card ~$400-450, all other hardware and software components ~$1400-$1800 depending on the volume of transactions.
ddriver - Wednesday, April 23, 2014 - link
Ironically, you can get a 8core 32gb ram mac pro for 5899$. There is no mechanical storage, but it does come with a PCI-E SSD and a very convenient form factor.DigitalStorm apparently expects profit margins comparable to those of apple without going through the effort to engineer an actual product.
ddriver - Wednesday, April 23, 2014 - link
Also, 1 year parts warranty? When there is hardly a part of this system that comes with at least 2 or more years of warranty? Those guys suck... so greedy and lazy...ddriver - Wednesday, April 23, 2014 - link
Let me guess what is going to happen if god forbid a part fails after that year... they will ask the consumer pay for a new one, but get a replacement from the part manufacturer for free - and cash in everything...Thanks but no thanks, considering there is nothing custom about this system, you are far better ordering the parts and building it yourself, you will save yourself half the money AND build a better system with more warranty... And even if you are clueless enough to not be able to build it yourself, there are plenty of people who can do it for substantially less than 3500$ LOL...
homer_pickett - Thursday, October 9, 2014 - link
I agree... and either way it stand no chance to other desktops such as CybertronPC Borg-Q GM4213C. /Homer from http://www.consumertop.com/best-desktop-guide/WinterCharm - Wednesday, April 23, 2014 - link
Funny enough, the mac pro is a better deal than this pc. Hahahaha you know your pc prices are out of proportion when.... ;)RhinosRule - Thursday, April 24, 2014 - link
Mac Pro advocates should check this out:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KK2NAwULUA
ddriver - Friday, April 25, 2014 - link
I did not put it because I advocate mac pro or apple, but as example of something shamelessly and ridiculously overpriced. And as much as I despise apple as a company, that video was lame. Who expect upgradeability from a system that is a:) small enough to hold in one hand and b:) powerful enough so you don't have to upgrade it? Only a complete idiot.theduckofdeath - Friday, April 25, 2014 - link
For someone not advocating it, you sure are surprisingly defensive about it... :)akdj - Friday, April 25, 2014 - link
Interesting you comprehended his statement that way when he specifically states, "I did not put it because I advocate MP or Apple, but as an example of something (reviewed rig) shamelessly and 'ridiculously' overpriced....and as much as I despise Apple as a company..."How is that defending Apple? ANY TECH GEEK reading this board that isn't giving Apple credit .(love em, hate em, doesn't matter) for the nMP design is an ignorant, uninformed doorknob. Period. It's an amazing change in workstation performance and as an owner of both Windows 7 workstations, older Mac Pros...and current, extremely happy new MP owner, I can honestly say with the rMBP, rMini, Air and new Mac Pro...as well as Apple's INCREASE in quarterly 'computer' earnings 'went up' while the entire industry is in decline. Again...love em, hate em, doesn't matter, they're innovation and clear vision of future computing, GPU instructions and PCIe storage with thunderbolt is a mind blowing achievement. While AMD FirePro cards aren't nVidia Quadro, they're outstandingly FAST for out workstation tasks...coloring, finalizing ans rendering of 4/5k RED RAW files, rendering, transcoding, editing and finalizing ...even in Premier/AE, it's a mind blowing experience...if you're an FCPx user, it's a night and day difference. Editing 4k/1080p feels like editing ProRes 480 files. Simply. Outstanding. Expect Dell/HP to transition form factors late 14, mid '15. My humble opinion. I use both Win 7 and OSx. Have for almost 30 years (starting on Apple IIe/c pre MS OS. How times have changed). My HP workstation from last year's batch of Xeon, ECC RAM, SSD storage, excellent warranty, etc...just over $9,200 when purchased. My $6,800 nMP runs circles around it (Bootcamp Win 7 or same tasks in OSx). Non 'believers' need do nothing but swing through an Apple store. Look at the form factor. Pick it up...then 'use' it for a half hour. Prepare to be blown away. With the progression of TB, won't be long before we can tie these guys together, utilize powerful, external GPUs....the next progressing is 40Gb/s, bi directional and HDMI 2.0 compliant. Couple of 4k displays simultaneously, editing and transcoding simultaneously, batch processing a couple hundred Nikon D800 RAW files, pick your poison. It's a MONSTER, the size of a kitten;)