3 ms·

I'd vouch for the 3rd possibility: the prices are artificially high because the customers who buy these configurations can afford to pay the premium.

• ams6110 13y ago
  This. Purchasers of the highest-end and/or costly experimental architectures tend to be research institutions or national labs that are using grant money.
  • wmf 13y ago
    In the case of quad-socket, it's actually enterprises running SQL databases and VMware consolidation where the cost of the software license exceeds the cost of the server.
  • michaelt 13y ago
    Most corporations are happy to spend on the highest end hardware when it's cheaper than spending developer salary on performance.