I had been meaning to do a somewhat comprehensive review of SQL Server performance from versions 2000 to 2008 for both 32 and 64-bit on Data Warehouse type queries, with in depth examination of scaling in parallel execution plans.   For now, I can provide a short summary. The test platform is a Dell PowerEdge 2900 with 2 quad-core Xeon ...

Or the IBM x3950M2 8-way Quad-Core Xeon? Consider the following specs: 8-way Quad-Core Opteron (32 cores total) Max Memory: 512GB (64 DIMM sockets) 11 PCI-E slots: 3x16, 3x8, and 5x4 or option for 7 PCI-E and 2HTx   Compare this with the HP ProLiant DL585G5: 4-way Quad-Core Opteron (16 cores total) Max Memory: 256GB (32 DIMM ...