Budget VM workstation upgrade

[randomcoww]

I'm not completely new to PC building but I just haven't bought new hardware in a long time. I believe I chose sensible components based on my needs but I would appreciate a sanity check.

$124.99 - Intel BOXDQ67SWB3 LGA 1155 Intel Q67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
$46.99 - Kingston 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Desktop Memory Model KVR1333D3N9K2/8G
$189.99 - Intel Core i5-2400 Sandy Bridge 3.1GHz (3.4GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52400

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Xen/KVM workstation, general desktop use, HD video playback, compiling. No gaming. I have a separate machine for that.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$400 total
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
Washington state, Seattle area. I'd like online orders only. Don't want to spend time going to a store.
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
I think I just need the above three components which I chose based on the following criteria:
CPU (VT-x and VT-d capable)
MB (mATX and VT-d capable)
RAM (8GB or more)
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Supermicro SC731 case
Seasonic S12II 430W
Perc 5/i raid card
4x1TB WD Greens
M-Audio 24/96 sound card
6) Will you be overclocking?
If possible voltage control is desirable so that I can undervolt. I don't want to spend much on just getting this feature though.
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
1920x1080 x2 (now). Up to 3 of this size total
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Within 7 days, but I can delay if there is good reason to do so
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? etc.
mATX
VT-d (as far as I know only the Q67 officially supports this)
Onboard video (dual DVI/HDMI/anything digital)
An extra PCIe x16 or an x8 would be nice so I can drive my raid card in addition to an addon graphics card for more monitor support. Not high priority but desirable.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Gentoo/Xen 64bit

Thanks in advance!

 

[Dangman]

Looks ok to me.

 

[tonytnnt]

Your parts look good.

If you'd like to save a few bucks on RAM consider this:

$40 (use promo code EMCKAKJ22) - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-8GBRL

Alternatively, if you really want to get an x8 and x16 slot, look into this route:

$170 - Intel S1200BTS uATX Server Motherboard LGA 1155 Intel C202 DDR3 1066/1333 DIMM

$210 - Intel Xeon E3-1220 Sandy Bridge 3.1GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 80W Quad-Core Server Processor BX80623E31220
or
$240 - Intel Xeon E3-1230 Sandy Bridge 3.2GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 80W Quad-Core Server Processor BX80623E31230 -- has hyper threading

(these are both 80w chips)

Lastly, find a GPU that works with your software and gives you multimonitor support. Integrated isn't going to cut it for you with the above C202 motherboard. Also, the motherboard I listed says it takes normal RAM near as I can tell (from Newegg and Intel's product page.)

Note: Core i5 and i7 chips MIGHT work in this motherboard. Need to do more homework on this.

 

[randomcoww]

Thanks for the replies.

Tony, I was leaning towards Intel onboard video for the simplicity and low power but that motherboard is looking great too. Now I can't decide! It has everything else I want and has the added bonus of dual Intel LAN which is a nice bonus for VMs. Also if I can't take advantage of the built in graphics I may as well go Xeon for the 80W. Price difference is small.

I'll need to think about this more. I'll see if I can find a simple graphics card. Something with drivers built into the Linux kernel would be a plus. I need to see what the total cost comes out to and decide if it is worth it.

 

[Chibo]

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellst...4&acd=10549103-1225267-u0t0f0fp25549dd0c0s558
Always that option.

 

[tonytnnt]

Thanks for the replies.

Tony, I was leaning towards Intel onboard video for the simplicity and low power but that motherboard is looking great too. Now I can't decide! It has everything else I want and has the added bonus of dual Intel LAN which is a nice bonus for VMs. Also if I can't take advantage of the built in graphics I may as well go Xeon for the 80W. Price difference is small.

I'll need to think about this more. I'll see if I can find a simple graphics card. Something with drivers built into the Linux kernel would be a plus. I need to see what the total cost comes out to and decide if it is worth it.

Sorry to torture you, but you mentioned the RAID card so I figured I should at least let you know. Also, it's been awhile for me, but nVidia always seemed to have the best Linux drivers IMO. Good luck! Out of curiosity, which CPU would you go with if you went Xeon?

 

[randomcoww]

Hehe. I enjoy planning builds. I have no problems with more options. As for which Xeon..good question. Given the price difference I will most likely go with the 1230 because I assume it will help for compiling. Then again I haven't decided whether I want to do a server board setup or just the original desktop board setup. High end wasn't exactly my initial intent.

@Chibo
Not a bad decision actually but I'm not going to need maximum reliability and uptime. I want to enjoy the build process too. Also a quick search shows that the unit is relatively loud. I need a box that is near silent.



Edit: Found the board I want:
http://www.tyan.com/product_SKU_spec.aspx?ProductType=MB&pid=720&SKU=600000238