Dell PowerEdge SC1435 Server Teardown

Main Features / Overview

Per Dell, the Dell "PowerEdge SC1435 is a two-socket, rack-dense server.." , (1U format), "…optimized for high-performance compute clusters, distributed Web serving and small- to medium-sized businesses that require leading price-performance ratio and energy conservation features." The server features two Quad-Core AMD Opteron processor. Dell also offers a 1U chassis server with Intel 2 Quad-core Xeon processor (Power Edge 1950). The 1935 and 1950 go head-to-head in this space with apparent trade offs in cost and performance.

The SC 1435 was released simultaneously with the Dell Power Edge 6950 (4 Socket, 4U rack server).

Target Market

Enterprises needing servers for high-performance compute capabilities, or web-serving.

Released

October 23, 2006, per press release.

Pricing and Availability

Per Dell Press release, Oct 2006: "Available now worldwide, the PowerEdge 6950 and PowerEdge SC1435 with dual-core, next-generation AMD Opteron processors are priced from $6,499 and $1,299, respectively." Oddly, despite this pres-release information, the minimum configuration found on Dell's website, at the time of writing (10/2007) starts at $2605 USD. This is nearly half the price of minimally configured Power Edge SC1950's (1U rack mount servers with Intel Xeon processor(s)).

Volume Estimations

Based on the specialized nature of the product as well as specific guidance we have been given for this device, we are assuming manufacturing volumes, for the purposes of this analysis, at approximately 150,000 units over the course of an unmodified two-year manufacturing lifetime.

As a reminder, volume production assumptions are meant primarily to be used for our cost analysis in terms of amortized NRE and tooling costs, especially for custom components specific to the model being analyzed (mechanical components especially), and not necessarily as a market accurate estimate for a specific model. Our estimations are based on iSuppli market research and we derive rational estimates based on overall market shares of the manufacturer in question, as well as the number of products in a given portfolio and the relative popularity of certain lines of products.

Market Sector / Performance

iSuppli expects strong unit shipment growth overall in the server area for the foreseeable future, with combined worldwide sales approaching 8.6 million units in 2007, growing 8.4% to ~9.3 million in 2008, or a CAGR of 7.4% from 2006 to 2011 for the whole server market. However, we expect the "blade" format to increase in popularity during the 2007 - 2011 timeframe, taking over a larger and larger portion of the market.

Cost Notes

It is important to note that while the CPU pricing was derived from AMD's recent price list with an assumed 10% discount for Dell, the other core silicon, and major motherboard cost drivers were cost modeled. Relatively generous margin assumptions were made, but it is IMPORTANT to note that these prices still likely represent very low prices. Broadcom, depending on the volumes sold may have to operate at even higher GM in order to recoup development costs and IP for their core HT-2100 and HT-1000) parts in this design, and are likely to seek even higher ASPs for their product. Nonetheless, we have assumed above average margins across the board for most of the ICs in this analysis that were modeled (including the ATI GPU).

Major Direct Materials Cost Drivers - Representing ~78% of Total Direct Materials Costs

Motherboard

$157.00 - AMD - OSA2210GAA6CX - CPU - 2nd Gen. Opteron™, Dual Core, 1.8 GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 1GHz FSB, 68 Watts, 90nm - (Qty:1)

$22.48 - Mitac - Catac - Main PCB / Motherboard - 8-Layer - FR4 - (Qty:1)

$28.44 - Broadcom - HT-2100 - System I/O / Bus Controller - HyperTransport-to-PCIe Bridge, 2x1GHz, 2-16xHyperTransport Bus, 5-PCIe Masters, 24 Serial I/O Links, Configurable - (Qty:1)

$21.60 - Broadcom - HT-1000 - I/O Controller - 8xHyperTransport Bus, PCI-X64/133, PCI32/33, 4-SATA II, 4-USB2.0, IDE, SMBus, LPC - (Qty:1)

$13.96 - ATI - ES1000 - GPU - 2D, 200MHz Core, 32-Bit 33/66MHz PCI 2.2, 16-Bit 256MB DDR-II SDRAM Support, Dual CRT Support - (Qty:1)

$15.64 - Broadcom - BCM5721KFB3 - Ethernet Controller - 10/100/1000BASE-T, w/ Integrated Transceiver - (Qty:2)

$5.00 - Foxconn - PE120723-3741-01F - AMD Opteron 1207 Socket, w/ Lock - (Qty:2)

$4.50 - Lattice Semiconductor - LCMXO640C-4FT256C - PLD - 640 LUT's, 159 I/O's, 6Kb RAM, 1.8/2.5/3.3V - (Qty:1)

$4.23 - Renesas - R4F2177VTE33V - MCU - 16-Bit CISC Processor, 20MHz, 160KB ROM, 8KB RAM, 16-Bit Timer, 10-Bit A/D, 8-Bit & 14-Bit PWM, 2-Ch Sci Interface, 3-Ch I2C Interface, 4-Ch LPC Interface, 125 I/O (19 Ports) - (Qty:1)

$3.40 - Intersil - ISL6312ACRZ - Regulator - DC-DC Controller, PWM, Four-Phase Buck, w/ Integrated MOSFET Driver - (Qty:2)

$2.32 - Winbond - PC87417 - I/O Controller - LPC Server I/O, For Servers And Workstations - (Qty:1)

Power Supply

$64.50 - Delta Electronics - TDPS-600BB A - Power Supply - 600W w/ Two 40mm Cooling Fans - (Qty:1)

DIMM

$54.32 - Samsung Semiconductor - M393T6553CZA-CE6 - DIMM DDR2 - Registered, 512MB, 64Mx72, 667MHz - (Qty:2)

HDD

$43.50 - Western Digital - WD800JD - 80GB, 3.5", SATA II, 7200RPM, 8MB Buffer - (Qty:1)

What Is Not Included in our Cost Analysis

The total materials and manufacturing costs reported in this analysis reflect ONLY the direct materials cost (from component vendors and assorted

Function / Performance

No performance testing was performed on the dell Power EdgeSC 1435.

Manufacturing Notes

Mitac - Mitac's name appears on the motherboard, and based on this, we believe it is reasonable to assume they are producing the whole board, and not just the PCB. Because the product is labeled Made In USA, it is assumed that Dell integrates the final server in the US from various system-level components: motherboard, power supply, hard drives, etc.

Country of Origin / Volume Assumptions

Country of origin assumptions relate directly to the associated cost of manufacturing, where calculated by iSuppli. In the cases of "finished" sub-assemblies (such as chargers), we do not calculate internal manufacturing costs, but rather assess the market price of the finished product in which case country of origin assumptions may or may not have a direct effect on pricing.

Design Notes

The Dell Power Edge SC 1435 is fairly straightforward in it's design, and despite featuring a great deal of potential processing power (dual quad core processor slots, etc.) and memory, the design still is based on conventional PC/server architecture (CPU, NB, SB, I/O, etc.) and seems compact and well integrated.

Motherboard

CPU

• CPU - AMD - OSA2210GAA6CX - 2nd Gen. Opteron™, Dual Core, 1.8 GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 1GHz FSB, 68 Watts, 90nm

Northbridge

• GPU - ATI - ES1000 - 2D, 200MHz Core, 32-Bit 33/66MHz PCI 2.2, 16-Bit 256MB DDR-II SDRAM Support, Dual CRT Support
• I/O / Bus Controller - Broadcom - HT-2100 - System HyperTransport-to-PCIe Bridge, 2x1GHz, 2-16xHyperTransport Bus, 5-PCIe Masters, 24 Serial I/O Links, Configurable

Southbridge

• I/O Controller - Broadcom - HT-1000 - 8xHyperTransport Bus, PCI-X64/133, PCI32/33, 4-SATA II, 4-USB2.0, IDE, SMBus, LPC

MCU & Glue Logic

• PLD - Lattice Semiconductor - LCMXO640C-4FT256C - 640 LUT's, 159 I/O's, 6Kb RAM, 1.8/2.5/3.3V
• MCU - Renesas - R4F2177VTE33V - 16-Bit CISC Processor, 20MHz, 160KB ROM, 8KB RAM, 16-Bit Timer, 10-Bit A/D, 8-Bit & 14-Bit PWM, 2-Ch Sci Interface, 3-Ch I2C Interface, 4-Ch LPC Interface, 125 I/O (19 Ports)

I/O & Interface

• I/O Controller - Winbond - PC87417 - LPC Server I/O, For Servers And Workstations
• Ethernet Controller - Broadcom - BCM5721KFB3 - 10/100/1000BASE-T, w/ Integrated Transceiver

Memory (On Motherboard)

• SDRAM - Hynix - HY5DU281622FTP-5 - DDR, 128M (8Mx16), 200MHz

Power Supply

• Regulator - DC-DC Controller - Intersil - ISL6312ACRZ - PWM, Four-Phase Buck, w/ Integrated MOSFET Driver