Hardware

5-6 years ago I wanted a new PC with more cores than the usual Intel I7, 4 cores and 8 threads you can buy in your local computer shop. And workstations seemed the ones to look for. But these workstations were rather expensive, often ridiculous expensive for what one would get for the money.


Then my eye fell on refurbished workstations and especially those of HP which seems to be available in large numbers here in the Netherlands against affordable prices (a factor of 2½ - 3 - 4 cheaper) and offered with 2-3 year guarantee. I hesitated, the Internet is a shifty place. Eventually I tried my luck by a nearby reseller (which I knew from the past) and bought a refurbished HP with 8 cores and 16 threads for about 650-700 euro. I used the PC for aprox. 5 years for the heavy work and it never gave a problem. These workstations are rock solid.


Last year it started to itch again, I wanted more, more cores, more memory (the virus never dies, does it?) and ended up with Queen Systems another shop I bought stuff before and they offered a rich choice of refurbished HP workstations. My choice fell on the HP Z620 2.8-3.5Ghz, 20 cores, 40 threads, 16Gb Ram, 450Gb SSD harddisk and 2 x 1TB harddisk. In total 1000 euro. New price probably in the range of 3000-4000 euro. I have it now for almost a year, such a fine PC.


Now one year later I noticed another HP Z620 for 1149 euro but look what you get for your money in comparison with mine. It even has a GTX 1050ti inside, an excellent starting point for the use of Lc0.


What I am saying is are 2 things.


1. Why buy a new workstation when a refurbished one with a 2-3 year guarantee is like buying a car of 6 months old against 25-35% of the new price?


2. I can recommand Queen Systems as a reliable partner when you are considering a refurbished PC. I know them from my active days (the 90's), bought from them, good service. Besides the Netherlands they also ship international. On top of the webpage you can change language.


I have no financial interest nor any relationship with Queen Systems, this page is meant to

create awareness that refurbished is an alternative to be considered.


Having said that I asked them to give me their best price for 3 systems, low-end, budget and high end with emphasis on a good graphical GPU card, such as the GeForce GTX 1060, (new price € 250-300 following bol.com) for the use of NN engines (like Lc0 and those to come). These are:

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Click here to see the full specs of the 3 systems.

Queen Systems


Some hints


1. Buy flowers for your wife, it helped me.

if that doesn't work -

2. Arrange a romantic dinner, wasn't necessary up to now.