computer build ~2k

[silents]

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming ( BF4, SC2, LOL,WOW, Skyrim, and many more), Web browsing, VM (Call manager, Unity, Windows 8 servers, Windows 7 [VM will only be on when I do labbing for my studies], watching video.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
~2k (flexible here, I would like a bang for the buck build )
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.

USA, GA
near Microcenter and Frys
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.
CPU,RAM,case,PSU,MB,DVD drive,monitor [getting one of those 27" korean monitor],hard drive, quad nic card(for my lab, I can only find one that cost around $150 if anyone knows any cheaper ones that would be great) ,hmmm im sure im missing something
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
my old monitors, 1 x 25" and 1 x 24", keyboard, mice, creative x-fi music (i think this is still better than on-board sound card, if not I won't be using it. need advice)
6) Will you be overclocking?
sure why not, probably amateur OC because it is more cost effecient
7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
2560x1440
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Sept 5th (looking for deals until then but I want to buy everything by then)
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc.
as many NIC as possible, SATA 6Gb/s
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
yes. windows 7 64 bit

 

[Dangman]

What software will you be using to run virtual machines?

 

[silents]

either VM workstation or vm Esxi . VM workstation allows me to lab without rebooting but Esxi will be more useful to learn since my work place uses it. (leading toward ESXI more)

 

[Dangman]

Those Catleap monitors are averaging around $350 to $375. So that's roughly ~$1600 for the rest of the build. I have a strong feeling that you'll be exceeeding that $2000 budget due to your requirements. Speaking of whcih, which $150 NIC did you see?

All right, if you're actually serious about virtualization, then overclocking is out of the question since Intel's overclock capable unlocked K series CPUs lack VT-D, an important feature needed by ESXi in order to do GPU passthrough to a VM. So you're looking at the regular Core i7 4770 or the Core i5 4670/4570 at a minimum, not the Core i7 4770K or 4670K. Do note that since the aforementioned regular CPUs aren't the K series CPUs, they don't apply for Microcenter's $40 off CPU + mobo combo deals.

Although just to cover my bases, do you mind at all relatively high power usage and heat generation?

You'll also need to get an AMD GPU since apparently new Nvidia cards don't work too well with GPU passthrough. Luckily high-end AMD GPUs have dropped in price so they're not that bad of a choice nowadays. I'd aim for the ~$310 HD 7970 3GB. I'd also grab a second cheap GPU just for ESXi itself. Somethign like the HD 6450 should do the job.

I recommend getting two of this RAM set so that you'll be maxed out at 32GB of RAM right off the bat:
$120 - Crucial BLS2CP8G3D1609DS1S00 Ballistix Sport 2 x 8GB DDR3 1600 RAM

And the rest of the parts:
$165 - Samsung 840 Series 250GB SSD
$95 - Seagate Barracuda ST2000DM001 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$115 - Corsair HX750 750W Modular PSU

I recommend any of the following cases:
$100 - Corsair Carbide Series 400R ATX Case
$100 - Antec 1100 ATX Case
$97 - Fractal Design Define R4 Arctic White ATX Case
$112 - Fractal Design Define R4 with Window Arctic White ATX Case
$110 - Antec P280 ATX Case
$90 - Lian Li PC-7HX Black Aluminum ATX Case
$105 - Corsair Carbide Series 500R ATX Case
$100 - Corsair Vengeance Series C70 Gunmetal Black ATX Case
$120 - Corsair Vengeance Series C70 Arctic White ATX Case
$115 - Corsair Graphite Series 600TM ATX Case
$135 - Fractal Design Define R4 with Window Black Pearl ATX Case
$135 - Fractal Design Define R4 with Window Titanium Grey ATX Case
$140 - Corsair Obsidian Series 550D ATX Case
$144 - Silverstone RV03B-W ATX case
$144 - Silverstone RV03B-WA ATX case
$154 - Corsair Special Edition White Graphite Series 600T ATX Case
$168 - Silverstone TJ04B-EW ATX Case
$167 - Corsair Obsidian Series 650D ATX Case
$230 - Silverstone FT02B-USB3.0 ATX Case
$250 - Silverstone FT02S-W-USB3.0 ATX Case
$245 - Corsair Obsidian Series 800D CC800DW ATX Case

 

[silents]

Those Catleap monitors are averaging around $350 to $375. So that's roughly ~$1600 for the rest of the build. I have a strong feeling that you'll be exceeeding that $2000 budget due to your requirements. Speaking of whcih, which $150 NIC did you see?

I can always bump the budget to 2.5k if that is an issue.(as mention early. this is flexible)

As for the monitor, I'm probably getting the 27" QNIX QX2710 Evolution 2 impressions since it has good reviews and they are cheap
http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-QNIX-QX2710-LED-Evolution-27-2560x1440-WQHD-PLS-Computer-Monitor-Matte-/121117252582?pt=Computer_Monitors&hash=item1c33269be6 ~$270

hmmm seem like the price of quad nic has gone down. i could get it on ebay for around ~$100
Intel Pro/1000 PT Quad Port Server Adapter ( I believe those works with windows7)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-Pro-1...494?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27d31e3006

All right, if you're actually serious about virtualization, then overclocking is out of the question since Intel's overclock capable unlocked K series CPUs lack VT-D, an important feature needed by ESXi in order to do GPU passthrough to a VM. So you're looking at the regular Core i7 4770 or the Core i5 4670/4570 at a minimum, not the Core i7 4770K or 4670K. Do note that since the aforementioned regular CPUs aren't the K series CPUs, they don't apply for Microcenter's $40 off CPU + mobo combo deals.

Will this be better if I use VM workstation? This is suppose to be more of a gaming rig then VM. the only VM i really do care about is call manager and unity. They are both command line so I'm not worry about GPU for the VM at all. Windows server is just there to test out ldap sync with the call manager (not a big deal). I'm also using my old/current rig to do VM for GNS3(routers VM) and a few small distro linux OS (q6600 + 260 GTX).

Although just to cover my bases, do you mind at all relatively high power usage and heat generation?

I rather pay a more then use up more power and AC to cool my room down. The cost of the extra power and cost of AC over the years will probably even itself out, plus you save energy. (go green lol)

You'll also need to get an AMD GPU since apparently new Nvidia cards don't work too well with GPU passthrough. Luckily high-end AMD GPUs have dropped in price so they're not that bad of a choice nowadays. I'd aim for the ~$310 HD 7970 3GB. I'd also grab a second cheap GPU just for ESXi itself. Somethign like the HD 6450 should do the job.

is the 7970 able to do 2560x1440 in high setting? Do I really need a second GPU for VM or for using a third monitor?


so far
$240 - Crucial BLS2CP8G3D1609DS1S00 Ballistix Sport 2 x 8GB DDR3 1600 RAM
$165 - Samsung 840 Series 250GB SSD
$95 - Seagate Barracuda ST2000DM001 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$115 - Corsair HX750 750W Modular PSU
$270 - 27" QNIX QX2710

total so far = $885

 

[Dangman]

I can always bump the budget to 2.5k if that is an issue.(as mention early. this is flexible)

As for the monitor, I'm probably getting the 27" QNIX QX2710 Evolution 2 impressions since it has good reviews and they are cheap
http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-QNIX-QX2710-LED-Evolution-27-2560x1440-WQHD-PLS-Computer-Monitor-Matte-/121117252582?pt=Computer_Monitors&hash=item1c33269be6 ~$270

Never heard of that monitor. You might want to hit up the Displays subforum for more recommendations on monitors. The Catleaps are the main ones I hear about though.

Will this be better if I use VM workstation? This is suppose to be more of a gaming rig then VM. the only VM i really do care about is call manager and unity. They are both command line so I'm not worry about GPU for the VM at all. Windows server is just there to test out ldap sync with the call manager (not a big deal). I'm also using my old/current rig to do VM for GNS3(routers VM) and a few small distro linux OS (q6600 + 260 GTX).

Ahhh, yes VM Workstation would be better.

I rather pay a more then use up more power and AC to cool my room down. The cost of the extra power and cost of AC over the years will probably even itself out, plus you save energy. (go green lol)

The reason I asked that question was because if you were aiming for a ESXI setup, an AMD setup would have been the slightly better choice due to having more threads and guaranteed IOMMU supppot which would have made working with ESXi that much easier. However, an AMD setup would have meant more power usage and greater heat generation. But since you're not going for a ESXi setup, you'll be fine with the regular Core i7 4770K CPU.

As for the motherboard, go for the AsRock Z87 Extreme6, Asus Z87-Pro or MSI Z87-GD65, whichever is available at Microcenter and whoever you trust most.

is the 7970 able to do 2560x1440 in high setting? Do I really need a second GPU for VM or for using a third monitor?

It can. However, since you no longer have to go AMD due to lack of a GPU passthrough requirement, I recommend getting the GTX 770 if you can afford it since it's faster than the HD 7970 3GB. AS for the second GPU, no, you no longer need that second GPU for VM since you're not doing a ESXi setup. As for the 3rd monitor bit, if you do go AMD, you may have to get that second GPU after all as HD 7970 3GB only supports three monitors if that 3rd monitor uses DisplayPort. It's cheaper and easier to get the 2nd GPU in that case due to since not all monitors have DisplayPort and the DisplayPort to DVI adapters don't always work too well.

 

[KazeoHin]

Just a heads up, newer Asrock motherboards can adjust multipliers on non-k CPUs and can also OC on non-Z based boards. Something to consider...

 

[silents]

here is the new parts list after doing some more digging

budget = 2.5k

danny's recommend

$240 - Crucial BLS2CP8G3D1609DS1S00 Ballistix Sport 2 x 8GB DDR3 1600 RAM (32 GB total)
$165 - Samsung 840 Series 250GB SSD
$95 - Seagate Barracuda ST2000DM001 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$115 - Corsair HX750 750W Modular PSU
$105 - Corsair Carbide Series 500R ATX Case (went up in price hardcore. I'll just get the Corsair Vengeance Series C70 Gunmetal Black ATX Case if it doesn't go back down)
$199 Asus Z87-Pro
$280 Core i7 4770K

Display forum (J Macker)

$290 - 27" QNIX QX2710

Audio forum (Nenu, spaceman, atarione)

$120 Creative Zx
$60 Micca MB42
$24 Lepai amp
$129 Dayton Audio SUB-1200 12"
$38 monoprice 12 awg speaker wire
$5 Monoprice 3.5 to RCA

After reading some general posts

$84 - Corsair Hydro H80i Liquid Cooling System
$16 - LG GH24NS95 SATA DVD burner
$450 Gigabyte GTX 770 GDDR5-4GB

I think that is all the parts. what do you guys think? anything i need to change?
total ~ $2415

 

[Quartz-1]

If you're thinking about ESXI then two PCs will be the way to go.

If you're going for a single PC, don't get the K version of the CPU as it lacks VT-D and this may cause issues.

I would suggest dropping the internal DVD drive and getting an external USB one.

How are you going to back up everything?

 

[J Macker]

Never heard of that monitor. You might want to hit up the Displays subforum for more recommendations on monitors. The Catleaps are the main ones I hear about though.

The Qnix QX2710 is the newest overclockable model. There's a HUGE thread in the display forum and over at overclock.net.... sheesh Danny... keep up with the times!

I have a QX2710 and it's awesome. There's no reason to get a Catleap anymore.

 

[silents]

If you're thinking about ESXI then two PCs will be the way to go.

Yeah im going to use my old computer too. now that you mention it, I could practice ESXI on my old computer and game/offload some VM on the new one

I would suggest dropping the internal DVD drive and getting an external USB one.

my old computer has a dvd drive already. I just need a cheap one just to do some boot up cd or install software.

How are you going to back up everything?

I'm not. that is for another time i guess. i think a file server is going to cost another K.

J Macker
I think it was your thread I saw the Qnix QX2710 for.

 

[Dangman]

The Qnix QX2710 is the newest overclockable model. There's a HUGE thread in the display forum and over at overclock.net.... sheesh Danny... keep up with the times!

I have a QX2710 and it's awesome. There's no reason to get a Catleap anymore.

. Sorry, been more busy with photography and gaming than I have with monitors

 

[silents]

256GB Plextor M5P Xtreme SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive on sale on newegg for $180. is that worth it over the 840 for $165?

 

[Dangman]

I'd stick with the Samsung