CPU/Motherboard (/GPU) for virtualization (GPU passthrough)

- Budget & Location: Would $800 be enough? And USA

- What is your intended use for this build? The more details the better.

*Able to pass a second GPU through to a virtual machine of Windows 7 (or Windows 8.1/10) to play Windows games on a Linux distro. And when I can/feel like it, playing games that are on Linux (steam/gog) or through WINE/Playonlinux . . . Folding@home, browsing the net, watch videos.

If gaming, what kind of performance are you looking for? (Screen resolution, FPS, game settings)

* Resolution: 1080p *perhaps* up to 4k (at some point?)
* FPS - Up to or around 60, since I only have 60 hz monitors.
* It'd be nice to play at (or near) the highest settings as if I was playing natively on Windows

My current parts list:
CPU: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80637i73770k]Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor[/url]
Motherboard: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-motherboard-gaz77xud5hwb]Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H-WB ATX LGA1155 Motherboard[/url]
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (x2)
Storage: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/sandisk-internal-hard-drive-sdssdx120gg25]Sandisk Extreme 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive[/url]
Storage: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/samsung-internal-hard-drive-mz75e250bam]Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive[/url]
Storage: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/seagate-internal-hard-drive-st2000dm001]Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive[/url]
Storage: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/seagate-internal-hard-drive-st3000dm001]Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive[/url]
Video Card: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/powercolor-video-card-ax79703gbd52dhv3]PowerColor Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card[/url]
Case: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/cooler-master-case-rc942kkn1]Cooler Master HAF X ATX Full Tower Case[/url]
Power Supply: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/seasonic-power-supply-ssr550rm]SeaSonic G 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply[/url]
Optical Drive: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-optical-drive-drw24b1stblkbas]Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer[/url]
Optical Drive: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/lg-optical-drive-wh14ns40]LG WH14NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer[/url]
Operating System: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/microsoft-os-glc00182]Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate Full (32/64-bit)[/url]
Operating System: What ever Linux distro works . . . . . . . .
Monitor: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-monitor-pb278q]Asus PB278Q 60Hz 27.0" Monitor[/url]
Monitor: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/lg-monitor-22mp55hqp]LG 22MP55HQ-P 60Hz 22.0" Monitor[/url]
Keyboard: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/microsoft-keyboard-jqd00001]Microsoft SIDEWINDER X4 Wired Gaming Keyboard[/url]

No overclocking at all - I live in one of the hottest states (during summer) I don't need the extra heat, nor we exactly get cold winters (as Philip of PCPP could tell you)

Will you re use the ram?if so there are dual socket 2011 mobo and xeons e5 2670 but a cpu with higher frequency/more ipc(higher clocked SB xeon cpu/Ivy bridge xeon) would be a better choice(if you are doing mainly VM and multitasking) about the gpu wait for polaris or get a cheap r9 390

dbzlotrfan said:

My current parts list:
CPU: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80637i73770k]Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor[/url]
Motherboard: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-motherboard-gaz77xud5hwb]Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H-WB ATX LGA1155 Motherboard[/url]
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (x2)
Storage: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/sandisk-internal-hard-drive-sdssdx120gg25]Sandisk Extreme 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive[/url]
Storage: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/samsung-internal-hard-drive-mz75e250bam]Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive[/url]
Storage: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/seagate-internal-hard-drive-st2000dm001]Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive[/url]
Storage: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/seagate-internal-hard-drive-st3000dm001]Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive[/url]
Video Card: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/powercolor-video-card-ax79703gbd52dhv3]PowerColor Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card[/url]
Case: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/cooler-master-case-rc942kkn1]Cooler Master HAF X ATX Full Tower Case[/url]
Power Supply: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/seasonic-power-supply-ssr550rm]SeaSonic G 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply[/url]
Optical Drive: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-optical-drive-drw24b1stblkbas]Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer[/url]
Optical Drive: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/lg-optical-drive-wh14ns40]LG WH14NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer[/url]
Operating System: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/microsoft-os-glc00182]Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate Full (32/64-bit)[/url]
Operating System: What ever Linux distro works . . . . . . . .
Monitor: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-monitor-pb278q]Asus PB278Q 60Hz 27.0" Monitor[/url]
Monitor: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/lg-monitor-22mp55hqp]LG 22MP55HQ-P 60Hz 22.0" Monitor[/url]
Keyboard: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/microsoft-keyboard-jqd00001]Microsoft SIDEWINDER X4 Wired Gaming Keyboard[/url]

No overclocking at all - I live in one of the hottest states (during summer) I don't need the extra heat, nor we exactly get cold winters (as Philip of PCPP could tell you)

Click to expand...

Wait, is that your current PC or the PC you plan on building?

@Dangman, my current part list (of the system I built in about April of 2013 and since then have updated some. If I hadn't have gotten the k series of ivy bridge i7 and had a motherboard that allowed what I wanted I'd probably would be able to do GPU passthrough - and since I can't and want to do so I'm asking what CPU/Motherboard to get to enable it.

Since you're already replacing the CPU and motherboard, you might as well replace the RAM since you still would need to buy more RAM later on to reuse that CPU and motherboard in a new PC. Not to mention that it'll allow you to cram in more RAM. All right, here's what I recommend:
$390 - Intel 5820K CPU
$200 - ASRock X99 Extreme4 Intel X99 ATX Motherboard
$117 - G.Skill Aegis F4-2400C15D-32GIS 2 x 16GB DDR 2400 RAM
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Total: $707 shipped

Some notes:
- Clock for clock, the 5820K CPU performs the same as your current CPU. However, you now get two extra cores and 4 extra threads which should help out with the performance of your VMs.
- Yes that motherboard and CPU both support VT-D
- By going with 16GB stick of RAM right off the bat, you'll be able to eventually upgrade to 128GB of RAM if need be.

I think it'd probably be better to do a "small" or medium ish upgrade, newer parts, being sold . . . Then several years from now when 4k, higher refresh rates, larger capacity HDD/SSDs and more (and faster) is/are cheaper do a complete overhaul (except probably the case, I'd imagine). Did Intel make it so from Haswell I'd have to have another dedicated GPU instead of an IGP for what I want? . . . .

dbzlotrfan said:

I think it'd probably be better to do a "small" or medium ish upgrade, newer parts, being sold . . . Then several years from now when 4k, higher refresh rates, larger capacity HDD/SSDs and more (and faster) is/are cheaper do a complete overhaul (except probably the case, I'd imagine). Did Intel make it so from Haswell I'd have to have another dedicated GPU instead of an IGP for what I want? . . . .

Click to expand...

It's going to cost you more money in the long-run since you would still have to buy all new parts to begin with. In general, Intel keeps the pricing of their older CPUs artificially high in order to make their newer CPUs more of an attractive buy. Not to mention that with Intel's modification of the two year tick-tock cycle of upgrades and releases to a 3 year tick-tock cycle of upgrades and releases means that the newer Intel CPUs won't be that much faster than current Intel CPUs by a massive margin. Plus it also means that older hardware will stay more relevant longer and on the "bleeding edge" so to speak for quite some time. Case in point: The performance difference between your 3770K from 2012 and the latest 6700K from 2015 is about 8% to 12% clock for clock depending on the program.

As for GPU, for the X99 Haswell, yes you need a dedicated GPU. For the Z97/H97 Haswell, you don't need a dedicated GPU.

But if you can get a buyer for your current CPU and mobo pretty quickly, the Z97 Haswell does make sense:
Intel Core i7-4770 Haswell Quad-Core 3.4 GHz LGA 1150 84W BX80646I74770 Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics - Newegg.com
ASRock H97 Pro4 LGA 1150 Intel H97 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard - Newegg.com
---
Total: ~$400 shipped.

But again, it's more than likely going to cost you around $600 to $700 in the future to upgrade to a new CPU, mobo, and DDR4 . So thats $400 + $600 to $700 for the way you propose and if you don't get buyers for your older hardware for newer hardware that aren't that much faster. So really think about it.