Specing a machine -...
 
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Specing a machine - bit of fun

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PaulSanderson
(@paulsanderson)
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I need to spec a forensic workstation. The rules are that I need to use Intel components as far as possible , so motherboard, processors…..

I am a little out of touch, so what would you go for?


   
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(@bithead)
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Joined: 20 years ago
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Within a budget or fantasy machine?


   
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PaulSanderson
(@paulsanderson)
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Topic starter  

My initial thoughts a processor with 4+ cores (poss dual processors), SSD main hard drive…

Dont really know what MB to go for and whether xeon/itanium or i7 would be best, so interested in thoughts.

I may be getting a bit of discount on intel components ) hence the tight spec.

lets play a bit of middle of the road through to dream machine and see what we come up with


   
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(@patrick4n6)
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Using FTK3? Cause I spec one way for that, another way if not.


   
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pbobby
(@pbobby)
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http//www.dell.com/us/en/enterprise/desktops/ct.aspx?refid=desktops&s=biz&cs=555&~ck=mn

I prefer the Dell Precision workstation - $5k can buy an awful lot. Otherwise the Optiplex.

And yes, you can put 96gigs of ram in the T7500. It's fun to click the button to select it at least 😉


   
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(@bithead)
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Intel® Workstation Board S5520SC

Intel® Xeon® Processor X5690

SILVERSTONE TJ11B-W Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case

SILVERSTONE ST1000-P 1000W ATX 12V v2.3 & EPS 12V 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

EVGA 01G-P3-1467-AR GeForce GTX 465 (Fermi) Superclocked 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

LSI MegaRAID SATA/SAS 9260-4i 6Gb/s PCI-Express 2.0 w/ 512MB onboard memory RAID Controller Card, Single


   
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PaulSanderson
(@paulsanderson)
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Topic starter  

Using FTK3? Cause I spec one way for that, another way if not.

Not using FTK.

Oh - I'll want 2 twin head cards - tend to use three monitors when coding.

Dell comments no good ( - this is something I will need to build myself


   
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PaulSanderson
(@paulsanderson)
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Thanks BitHead - any reason you went for that particular spec?


   
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(@bithead)
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I had the previous generation of that motherboard and processor combo. I really like Silverstone cases. The video card was a whim as was the SAS RAID controller (although we do use the LSI cards).


   
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(@davepawlak)
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Joined: 15 years ago
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Good thread. I am also looking to spec a field machine (laptop) and lab machine.

I am looking at a 17" Macbook Pro for a field machine and was contemplating a Mac Pro for a lab machine.

I will be running EnCase6/7, FTK3/4?, and Blacklight R2. Also a variety of other tools including Helix, Raptor, Live Response, and a Cellebrite Logical/Physical Pro in conjunction with these machines.

Oh yeah, budget for both is just shy of $12,000. I only have to spec the machine as the software and tools have already been acquired.

Thoughts/Suggestions?


   
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