New workstation for programming

[Aslund]

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Multithreaded programming (C++ and Qt4)
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
Around 1000-1300
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
Denmark
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+Cooler, RAM, Motherboard, Graphic card, SSD, Keyboard+Mouse, Headphones
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Case: CoolerMaster Stacker
PSU: Seasonic M12II 520W
6) Will you be overclocking?
Maybe, depending on the increased compiling speed
7) 7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
Properly 2*19" 1280x1024
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Within a month
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)? etc.
Primarily stability and reliability, secondary is flexibility and future use
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Will be running Ubuntu 64-bit with Gnome3


I have found the following components (using american shops for linking):
CPU: Intel i7-2600K
Cooler: Thermalright Macho
Motherboard: Asus Maximus IV Gene-Z/GEN3
RAM: 2x4GB G.Skill Ripjaws X 1866Mhz
Graphic card: Gainward Phantom GTX 560 non-Ti
SSD: Crucial M4 128GB
Keyboard+Mouse: Logitech MK520
Headphones: Sennheiser HD205-II

So any thoughts on this build?

Regards

Sebastian Aslund

 

[tiraides]

No on the motherboard and RAM. Why would you buy a micro ATX board when there are plenty of good ATX boards available for around the same price range? What does the Maximus IV Gene-Z have that the P8Z68-V doesn't? (And don't say PCI-E 3.0; I chose the Gen.3 version of the P8Z68-V, but I don't believe that it will be a necessity for the next year, at least.)

You don't need DDR3 1866 RAM for overclocking. As you would be using the i7-2600K's unlocked CPU multiplier to overclock, you could get by with DDR3 1333 RAM.

 

[Aslund]

My choice of the motherboard comes from several reasons, although mediocre. First of all there is the onboard sound card, since I will be working in an environment with plenty of people and machines I will properly listen to a great deal of music.
Second is design, I find many of Asus's blue/white boards, well not ugly, but they do not attract me, but the maximus does.
Again small things, but since I will not need the extra connections of an ATX board (I have a home media center/server for that), then I lean towards the maximus.

Regarding the RAM, then I have seen several tests that have shown difference in performance for different frequencies and apparently higher frequency provides minor improvement, so I just think why not go for a notch higher frequency.

 

[tiraides]

First of all there is the onboard sound card, since I will be working in an environment with plenty of people and machines I will properly listen to a great deal of music.

The onboard audio on most of today's motherboards is more than serviceable.

Second is design, I find many of Asus's blue/white boards, well not ugly, but they do not attract me, but the maximus does.

I personally don't believe that a motherboard's "look" should be an important factor to consider. Then again, I don't have a windowed case.

Again small things, but since I will not need the extra connections of an ATX board (I have a home media center/server for that), then I lean towards the maximus.

So you wish to spend comparatively more money on a board with comparatively less features? And looks matter more than not having to work in potentially tight spaces?

Regarding the RAM, then I have seen several tests that have shown difference in performance for different frequencies and apparently higher frequency provides minor improvement, so I just think why not go for a notch higher frequency.

Which tests? Many of the benchmarks that I've seen are synthetic, and most people can't tell any real-world performance difference among faster DDR3 RAM speeds. You'd likely obtain a more noticeable performance boost by simply overclocking the processor.

 

[Aslund]

I made some additional research and it turns out that Asus Maximus IV Gene-Z/GEN3 is actually equipped with a realtech sound chip, what a let down.

I was a bit unsure about bringing it up, but one more reason for choosing the maximus was that it gave an impression of being more stable. I do not have any link on it, I have searched different fora and it was sorta the impression I got. Reliability is a key issue, one area I do not which to save money on.

 

[tiraides]

Onboard sound, even Realtek chips, has improved over the years to the point that it's more than good enough for most users. Granted, a dedicated sound card is still an improvement over onboard sound, but it's no longer a "requirement."

Most boards are reliable when everything is running at stock speeds. How far do you plan on pushing your overclocking?

 

[grimster]

And if you're going to be working around other people, and it's a somewhat noisy environment, squeezing out every bit of sound quality is going to be pointless.

 

[Aslund]

I have taken the choice of motherboard up for revision. I had an earlier look at AsRock P67 Fatal1ty
I am not sure if P67 is a step down from Z68, the biggest difference I see is the ability to use the internal graphics, not a deal-breaker for me. I am just wondering if companies have used the oppotunity with Z68 to make some small tweaks and improvements over their P67 counter part. If this is not the case, then P67 might also be an alternative.
While the Fatal1ty and Gene-Z is priced the same on newegg, then here in Denmark the Fatal1ty costs 83 dollars less than the Gene-Z gen3 and 50 dollars less than Gene-Z, sounds quite tempting. Even compared to other P67 motherboards it is quite cheap.
Besides the earlier mentioned Asus P8Z68-V, are there other motherboards people wants to throw in?
I can show the prices and availability here in Denmark ( 1 dollar = 6Kr )
P67 Motherboards
Z68 Motherboards

Regarding overclock, then it is not something that really have caught my attention. atleast in the past, but it seems that Sandy-Bridge have quite a bit head room, so something like 4.2-4.5Ghz would be nice, but not crucial. The goal is stability and reliability for the system.
Moving to the RAM, if I go for 1600Mhz, what RAM would you recommend? I have seen some test where it seems that Kingston have a slight edge over G.Skill in terms of performance. I have for long also been a fan of Mushkin, but I can't find many review of the Redline-series, any thoughts on them?

 

[Dangman]

I have taken the choice of motherboard up for revision. I had an earlier look at AsRock P67 Fatal1ty

I would not reccommend that AsRock mobo on account of how poorly the AsRock Z68 mobos faired in HardOCP's testing as well as their shorter warranty compared to other companies:
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2011/12/07/asrock_z68_pro3_lga_1155_motherboard_review/
http://hardocp.com/article/2011/11/09/asrock_z68_extreme4_gen3_motherboard_review/

I am not sure if P67 is a step down from Z68, the biggest difference I see is the ability to use the internal graphics, not a deal-breaker for me

The Z68 apparently comes with a faster SATA 6.0Gb/s controller. As such, if you're planning on using a SSD and want the fastest performance possible from that SSD, your best bet is the Z68 chipset.

I am just wondering if companies have used the oppotunity with Z68 to make some small tweaks and improvements over their P67 counter part. If this is not the case, then P67 might also be an alternative.

That is the case in a way as noted by the increase SATA 6.0Gb/s performance mentioned earlier. In addition, this is also proven by how Asus' Z68 mobos are a bit more stable their the P67 counterparts.

While the Fatal1ty and Gene-Z is priced the same on newegg, then here in Denmark the Fatal1ty costs 83 dollars less than the Gene-Z gen3 and 50 dollars less than Gene-Z, sounds quite tempting. Even compared to other P67 motherboards it is quite cheap.
Besides the earlier mentioned Asus P8Z68-V, are there other motherboards people wants to throw in?
I can show the prices and availability here in Denmark ( 1 dollar = 6Kr )
P67 Motherboards
Z68 Motherboards

From that list, I'd recommend the ASUS P8Z68-V, ASUS P8Z68-V/GEN3, or ASUS P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3.

Moving to the RAM, if I go for 1600Mhz, what RAM would you recommend? I have seen some test where it seems that Kingston have a slight edge over G.Skill in terms of performance. I have for long also been a fan of Mushkin, but I can't find many review of the Redline-series, any thoughts on them?

Low CAS timings and RAM speeds above DDR3 1600 has been shown to provide little to no real world performance increase with Sandy Bridge platforms. As such, pretty much any RAM rated at 1.5V and at DDR3 1600 speeds or below will be just fine for your setup. AFAIK, all of the Mushkin's Redline series RAM are rated at 1.65V, well above the recommended voltage for Intel's SB CPUs as noted by the Intel Rep here on the forums. Thus they're unsuitable for Intel platforms:

Ok this is an issue that I have spent a lot of time on. I have even sent this up to an engineer to find out on this. The issue with this is the 1.65v memory is pushing the tolerances on the processor too much. Over on Tom's they did some testing on the memory to see where the point is and they found that anything above 1.575v can damage the processor. In most cases if you have 1.65v memory before you do anything else go into the Bios and set the memory at 1.5v to avoid this issue.

So to reiterate: Any RAM from a reputable manfuacturer (Corsair, G.Skill, Kingston, Mushkin in some cases, Patriot, etc) that's rated at 1.5V and at DDR3 1600 speeds or below will perform virtually the same and just fine. CAS and clock speeds do not matter unless you're want to pay extra for e-peen purposes.