This 16-core (2x8) Talos II is around $8ish-K, which is still a lot, but I feel I got my money's worth out of it. 64 threads is good times (each core is SMT-4). I run a "stripper" spec for the Blackbird, which was an experiment to see how low it could go; it came to around $2100, but I would advise going a little higher spec than I did (single-4, no GPU).
The T2 is a great machine, though. There's just no comparison to the Quad G5 sitting next to it. It's quieter, it uses less power and it doesn't feel like I'm lacking for CPU. I got a lot of wear out of the G5 and I'll never get rid of it, but if you don't need 32-bit and/or to run OS X on the metal, the best Power workstation is a Raptor.
The T2 is a great machine, though. There's just no comparison to the Quad G5 sitting next to it. It's quieter, it uses less power and it doesn't feel like I'm lacking for CPU. I got a lot of wear out of the G5 and I'll never get rid of it, but if you don't need 32-bit and/or to run OS X on the metal, the best Power workstation is a Raptor.