Help me specify components for a reliable workstation

[commando]

I'd like to build myself a decent workstation, as my current PC has some data corruption issues - see this thread for more details. My main concern is reliability and I'd like it to last a good number of years, so I wonder if a Xeon processor and ECC memory are worth investing in. If an i7 and a really good quality motherboard without ECC is considered workstation grade that's fine too.

It'll be a general use machine - media server (only 1-2 clients), internet, email, but I'm a developer and a photographer so I will throw 2000 RAW images at quite often in summer. My current i7 2660 CPU is fast enough for my 12megapixel cameras, but it crawls a bit with 36MP images. Four cores is probably enough, just to keep costs down. I don't play games at all, the cheapest nVidia 1GB card would do fine (Photoshop uses OpenGL). It needs to have at least 6 SATA ports, more is better. 16GB of RAM is enough, ECC preferred.

I have plenty of hard drives: currently two SSDs, a 2x4TB HGST software RAID array, and a couple of other drives, all SATA. I may want a new case and power supply, just because my current case (Cooler Master Silencio 550) is a bit small and fiddly. I have a good quality 550W PSU but wouldn't mind a modular one - plus I want to make sure it's not a power issue causing problems for my PC.

I'm based in New Zealand, I'd be happy buying motherboard/cpu/RAM from newegg, but case, psu, etc I'd buy locally as it's expensive to ship heavy items. Shipping a full premade server including case is too expensive.

Max budget: US$1500, lower preferred as I have to get this past my wife, who does think a reliable PC and data integrity are important.

Some ideas, based on quick research:
- Xeon E3-1231v3 Haswell 3.4GHz LGA 1150. Link. Looks a little faster than my 2600, US$250, $450 in NZ. Are there any faster processors that aren't too much more expensive?
- SuperMicro motherboard. X10SLL-F is a cheaper one with 6 SATA and 6 USB ports that might just do the job, X10SAE seems to have 8 SATA/6 USB ports at $219, X10SAT seems to have a couple more ports at $280.
- RAM - nothing on the compatibility lists seems to be available on newegg. Any recommendations?
- nVidia 720 video card. Link. Aiming for the lowest or second lowest model in the latest generation.
- PSU something like the Enermax 450W modular. Most PCs use far less power than people think, especially with basic graphics.

Alternately (if it's considered good enough) a modern i7 and matching RAM with a reliable server grade SuperMicro motherboard?

All suggestions welcome!

The standard questions...
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Web, email, Lightroom photo processing.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$1200 - $1500 US but flexible if there's good reason.

3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
New Zealand

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.

Motherboard, CPU, RAM, case, PSU, video card, fans, cables (good quality), maybe a cooler.

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.

Will reuse Samsung 840 pro, OWC SSD, various hard drives, DVD drive.

6) Will you be overclocking?
No. I want stability and data integrity.

7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
Dell IPS, 1080p resolution for now. Maybe higher in future.

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Core components from the USA as it's cheaper, but the rest in New Zealand

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.
Standard interactive workstation features. Min 6xSATA, ideally some SATA 6Gbps. At least a couple of USB 3.0 ports, plus a good number of USB 2.0.

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Yes, I have Win7-64, but will be running W10 tech preview and upgrading when full is available.

 

[Dangman]

Newegg doesn't ship to New Zealand so you can't really order from Newegg.

Which online computer hardware stores that do ship to New Zealand will you be buying parts from?

 

[commando]

Newegg doesn't ship to New Zealand so you can't really order from Newegg.

Which online computer hardware stores that do ship to New Zealand will you be buying parts from?

Newegg ships some components to New Zealand, but not everything. That motherboard and processor ship from newegg to NZ, but some RAM sticks won't ship. If they won't ship direct I can use a reshipper. Other options are amazon.com and a local supplier I often use is www.ascent.co.nz.

 

[Dangman]

1) In your situation, I don't see a good reason to spend the extra money for a Xeon based setup. Solid consumer-grade setups can last for quite a long time. Now if this was for an actual file server holding 10TB+ of data, then yeah I could see a solid argument for a Xeon setup with ECC RAM being a viable purchase.

2) Lightroom isn't heavily multi-threaded. So upgrading to a Haswell based setup isn't worthwhile for you since the IPC increases from Sandy Bridge to Haswell is only about 8% to 10%. In other words, whatever times you're getting now with your current CPU, deduct 10% from it.

So basically, it's not a good idea for you to upgrade at the moment if Lightroom is the most demanding program you're using. Wait until 2016 as that's when Intel's Skylake CPUs should be out. That should be at least 15% (hopefully 20%) faster than your current CPU and therefore a justifiable upgrade. Alternatively, you could always hope that Adobe makes future versions of Lightroom more multi-threaded.

 

[commando]

Thanks for your thoughts Dangman. My current i7 2600 based PC is corrupting data because of some fault on the motherboard (see this thread), so I need to upgrade very soon, ideally ordering this week. I don't have 10TB of data, but I photograph peoples weddings and data integrity is crucial to me, plus of course my personal data and images are important. I have probably 6TB of data online, plus backups.

I'd want a good motherboard either way, probably SuperMicro or another good solid brand. The Xeon E3 1241v3 is $275 which is slightly cheaper than the i7-4770 at $300, and performance is about the same according to Passmark, so there's no reason not to get it that I know of. Either CPU would be faster than my current CPU, though not really all that much faster. ECC RAM looks to be about $20 more per 8GB stick, an insignificant. So while it may not be absolutely necessary unless there are downsides I will probably play it safe and go for Xeon with ECC RAM.

I actually use Adobe Bridge, I said Lightroom as it's better known, but you're right it's not always heavily threaded. It does use 80-100% of processor when exporting images, but that's not really relevant as it's rarely done and not time critical. Fewer faster cores would be better.

 

[Dangman]

Thanks for your thoughts Dangman. My current i7 2600 based PC is corrupting data because of some fault on the motherboard (see this thread), so I need to upgrade very soon, ideally ordering this week.

Probably the P67 SATA port bug. A lot of manufacturers were offering free replacements (minus the cost of shipping IIRC) for those mobos once that bug was found.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4143/the-source-of-intels-cougar-point-sata-bug

I don't have 10TB of data, but I photograph peoples weddings and data integrity is crucial to me, plus of course my personal data and images are important. I have probably 6TB of data online, plus backups.

Then you really really should be expanding your backups rather than focus on the main PC itself.

I'd want a good motherboard either way, probably SuperMicro or another good solid brand. The Xeon E3 1241v3 is $275 which is slightly cheaper than the i7-4770 at $300, and performance is about the same according to Passmark, so there's no reason not to get it that I know of. Either CPU would be faster than my current CPU, though not really all that much faster. ECC RAM looks to be about $20 more per 8GB stick, an insignificant. So while it may not be absolutely necessary unless there are downsides I will probably play it safe and go for Xeon with ECC RAM.

The E3-1241 V3 isn't worth the extra cash over the E3-1231 V3 since there's only a 100MHz clock speed difference. So you're better off with the cheaper the E3-1231 V3 from a price to performance standpoint.

In addition, going Xeon doesn't necessarily mean that you'll get a more reliable system. It's still very YMMV. In fact, look at the review ratings for the X10SAE motherboard you posted earlier. It appears that particular Supermicro mobo may acutally be more unreliable than the regular consumer motherboards out there. Also, the price difference is actually $$30 to $45 between consumer DDR3 1600 RAM and ECC Unbuffered RAM.

I recommend the following:
$258 - Intel Xeon E3-1231V3 CPU
$180 - Supermicro MBD-X10SLM-F-O Intel C224 mATX Motherboard
$162 - 2 x Kingston KVR16E11/8 8GB ECC Unbuffered DDR3 1600 RAM
$35 - Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo HSF
----
Total: $635 plus tax and shipping.

I'm not seeing a good reason for you to replace your current PSU unless you're planning on reusing your current PC or something. If you are, then I would not recommend getting the Enermax 450W on account of its poor quality. BTW, you linked to a Seasonic 450W earlier. At its NZ pricing, it's worth getting. At its US pricing, it's a horrible choice from a price to performance perspective.

For the video card, just go for the cheapest non-Zotac GTX 750 card you can find.

As for case, I recommend the following:
$70 - Corsair Graphite Series 230T Black ATX Case
$70 - Corsair Graphite Series 230T Black w/ Window ATX Case
$86 - Antec 1100 V2 ATX Case
$90 - NZXT Source 530 Full Tower Case
$100 - Thermaltake Core V5 Black ATX Case
$106 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001BK Black Full Tower ATX Case
$110 - Corsair Carbide Series 500R ATX Case
$120 - Corsair Vengeance Series C70 Gunmetal Black ATX Case
$120 - Corsair Vengeance Series C70 Arctic White ATX Case
$120 - Corsair Obsidian Series 450D ATX Case
$120 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001WT White Full Tower ATX Case
$126 - NZXT Phantom 530 Black Full Tower ATX Case
$135 - Corsair Obsidian Series 750D ATX Case
$140 - Corsair Graphite Series 730T ATX Case
$150 - NZXT Phantom 630 White Windowed Full Tower ATX Case
$150 - Phanteks Enthoo Luxe Full Tower Case
$158 - NZXT Phantom 630 Gunmetal Full Tower Case
$163 - Thermaltake Urban T81 Full Tower ATX Case
$160 - Corsair Graphite Series 760T Black Full Tower Case
$170 - Corsair Graphite Series 760T White Full Tower Case
197 - Corsair Graphite Black ATX Full Tower 780T
208 - Corsair Graphite White ATX Full Tower 780T
$240 - Silverstone FT02B-USB3.0 ATX Case

Case (Low Noise Oriented):
$85 - Antec P280 ATX Case
$120 - Fractal Design Define R5 Black ATX Case
$120 - NZXT H440 White/Black ATX Case
$127 - NZXT H440 Red/Matte Black ATX Case
$140 - Corsair Obsidian Series 550D ATX Case

Fewer faster cores would be better.

Yes but none exists right now outside of overclocking.

 

[commando]

Dag nabbit, it could be that bug. It's probably too late to get an exchange or refund.

I do have rather extensive backups, bordering on paranoia level - one on site but offline, plus two offline locations. The images are in multiple formats - RAW, DNG, and jpeg. I don't mirror data as it can corrupt if the main copy corrupts. I also have cloud backups for some things, but not images, they're too big and I have too many.

Good call on the CPU, and yes the motherboard reviews are pretty variable. Any particular reason you recommend that model of MB? I'd have a look at reviews for other motherboards, but I know SuperMicro are rated highly when they work. I've had Asus and Gigabyte MBs both fail.

RAM compatibility seems spotty too. Did you link to RAM you know will work, or is that an example? I found memory from the actual compatibility list on amazon from third party vendors for around $80 but I'd rather buy something that works from newegg.

Agreed re keeping what I have that works right now, PSU and video. I have a Noctuna CPU cooler, I'll see if there's any way to attach it, it's a hulking great beast with two 140mm fans.

Thanks for all your thoughts and advice, it's appreciated

 

[Dangman]

Good call on the CPU, and yes the motherboard reviews are pretty variable. Any particular reason you recommend that model of MB? I'd have a look at reviews for other motherboards, but I know SuperMicro are rated highly when they work. I've had Asus and Gigabyte MBs both fail.

RAM compatibility seems spotty too. Did you link to RAM you know will work, or is that an example? I found memory from the actual compatibility list on amazon from third party vendors for around $80 but I'd rather buy something that works from newegg.

Agreed re keeping what I have that works right now, PSU and video. I have a Noctuna CPU cooler, I'll see if there's any way to attach it, it's a hulking great beast with two 140mm fans.

Thanks for all your thoughts and advice, it's appreciated

Because it's below $200 (once you go above the $200 mark, there better be some massive justifications for the price) and slightly more higher-end and better reviewed than the X10SLL-F.

In general, Kingston ECC RAM tends to work just fine with Supermicro motherboards without issue.

Did you mean to say "Noctua"? If so, you can easily reuse that HSF on the new setup since Intel kept the same HSF mounting holes for all their mainstream platforms over the past 5 to 6 years.

 

[commando]

Yeah I always spell the cooler incorrectly. Great that it should work with no hassles Good tip on the MB, thanks. I'll do some more reading. Good about the RAM, it's out of stock but I'll find it or something very similar