• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

System Build for FEA Simulations

C

cycleback

n00b
Joined
Oct 13, 2009
Messages
23
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Finite element simulations; Primarily 2D with multiple simulations in parallel
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
I would like to keep the build around $1500.
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
U.S.A.
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.
Everything accept monitors
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
I already have 2 Dell UltraSharp U2414M 24" Monitors (1920 x 1200)
6) Will you be overclocking?
Maybe with Option #1 see below.
7) 7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
2 x 1920 x 1200
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
As soon as possible
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.
Nvidia Tesla support would be nice.
SATA 6 GB/s for SSD
eSATA would be nice
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
I will need to get a Windows 7 Professional 64 Bit license.


I need to purchase or put together a system for running FEA simulations ASAP. This is in an academic environment so cost is an issue. The software I plan to run doesn’t scale well beyond 4 cores and the scaling really drops off after 2 cores per simulation though I could run multiple simulations. The performance of the software pretty much scales with CPU and memory speed/bandwidth.

One thought that I had was build something that would accept an NVidia Tesla GPU as the software is just starting to support it. I think though most of my models will be to small to really take advantage of it.

I have come up with four system configurations and would like some advice on which one to pick, two I would assemble myself and two are pre-built by dell, and advice on component selection.

I already have two Dell UltraSharp U2414M 24" Monitors (1920 x 1200) connected to another computer one using DVI and one using Display Port. I want to use these monitors in conjunction with the new system so the video card will need to have at least one DVI and one Display Port outputs.

Overview of Options:
Option #1 Build Myself, i7-3770K & Asus motherboard with Z77 Chipset
[$1584.88]
Advantages:
Overclockable for higher CPU speeds
Large capacity for internal hard drives
Newest Ivy-Bridge processor

Disadvantages:
No Vt-d
No ECC memory
Nvidia Tesla Support?

Option #2 Build Myself, Xeon E3-1275 v2, Supermicro motherboard with C216 Chipset
[$1696.88]
Advantages:
Newest Ivy-Bridge processor
Large capacity for internal hard drives
Easy to upgrade components
Vt-d
ECC Memory

Disadvantages:
Nvidia Tesla Support?


Option #3, Dell T1650, Xeon E3-1270 v2 3.5 GHz, C216 Chipset
[$1536.84]
Advantages:
Overclockable for higher CPU speeds
Large capacity for internal hard drives
Vt-d
ECC Memory

Disadvantages:
Lack of internal hard drive spaces
Nvidia Tesla Support?
Difficult to upgrade components

Option #4, Dell T3600, Xeon E5-1620 3.6 GHz, Dell motherboard with C600 Chipset
[$1596.78]
Advantages:
Vt-d
ECC Memory
Nvidia Tesla support I think

Disadvantages:
Older Sandy Bridge CPU
Proprietary components especially the power supply
Limited capacity for internal hard drives (2?)
Expensive to upgrade memory capacity
Difficult to upgrade components
Need to reinstall Windows on SSD

Questions:

Does it make any sense to build the system so it could accept a Nvidia Tesla card in the future or just build for raw CPU speed today?

What is the relative speed difference between Ivy-Bridge and Sandy-Bridge processors?

What is the recommended CPU cooler these days?

For the option 1 and option 2 is there a cheaper Nvidia video card option with at least 1 Display Port and 1 DVI-D output?

Thoughts on which one I should pick?



Options Details:

Option #1: Build Myself, i7-3770K & Asus motherboard with Z77 Chipset

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor 1 $329.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116501
CPU Cooler: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO RR-212E-20PK-R2 1 $34.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099&Tpk=Hyper 212 Evo
Motherboard: ASUS P8Z77-V LE PLUS LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard 1 $154.9
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131848
Memory: CORSAIR Vengeance LP 8GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CML8GX3M1A1600C9 2 $49.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233389
Videocard: ASUS GTX660-DC2-2GD5 GeForce GTX 660 2GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card 1 $234.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121664
Power Supply: SeaSonic X Series X650 Gold ((SS-650KM Active PFC F3)) 1 $139.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151088
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 Titanium Grey Silent ATX Mid Tower Case 1 $109.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352022
Optical Drive: ASUS 24X DVD Burner - Black SATA Model DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS - OEM 1 $19.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204
Storage: SAMSUNG 840 Pro Series MZ-7PD128BW 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) 1 $139.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147192
Storage: Western Digital WD Black WD2002FAEX 2TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive 1 $179.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136792
Keyboard

Mouse

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 (64-bit) OEM 1 $139.99
Warranty: None accept for components
=====
Total: $1,429.89
=====
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Option #2: Build Myself, Xeon E3-1275 v2, Supermicro motherboard with C216 Chipset

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1275 V2 Ivy Bridge 3.5GHz (3.9GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Server Processor BX80637E31275V2 1 $356.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117282
CPU Cooler: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO RR-212E-20PK-R2 1 $34.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099&Tpk=Hyper 212 Evo
Motherboard: Supermicro X9SAE-O LGA1155/ Intel C216 Express PCH/ DDR3/ SATA3&USB3.0/ A&2GbE/ ATX Server Motherboard 1 $198.99
http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=MB-X9SAE
Memory: Hynix DDR3-1600 8GB ECC Hynix Chip CL11 Server Memory - HMT41GU7MFR8C-PB 2 $67.99
http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=D38GE1600H
Videocard: GIGABYTE GV-N660OC-2GD GeForce GTX 660 2GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card 1 $229.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125443
Power Supply: SeaSonic SS-520FL 520W ATX12V / EPS12V 80 PLUS PLATINUM Certified Full Modular Active PFC Power Supply 1 $149.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151122
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 Titanium Grey Silent ATX Mid Tower Case 1 $109.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352022
Optical Drive: ASUS 24X DVD Burner - Black SATA Model DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS - OEM 1 $19.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204
Storage: SAMSUNG 840 Pro Series MZ-7PD128BW 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) 1 $139.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147192
Storage: Western Digital WD Black WD2002FAEX 2TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive-Bare Drive 1 $179.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136792
Keyboard: ?
Mouse: ?
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 (64-bit) OEM 1 $139.99
Warranty: None accept for components
=====
Total: $1,696.88
=====
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Option #3 Dell T1650, Xeon E3-1270 v2 3.5 GHz

CPU:XEON E3-1270 v2 (3.5GHz, 8M, 0GT) 1 $1,396.85
CPU: Cooler Proprietary Included
Motherboard: [Included in Price]
Memory: 16GB, DDR3 UDIMM Memory, 1600MHz, ECC (2 x 8GB DIMMs) [Included in Price]
Videocard: 512MB NVIDIA Quadro NVS 310, DUAL MON, 2 DMS59 [Included in Price]
Power Supply: 320W Power Supply, 90 Percent Efficiency [Included in Price]
Case: [Included in Price]
Optical Drive: 16X DVD+/-RW, SATA [Included in Price]
Storage SAMSUNG: 840 Pro Series MZ-7PD128BW 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) 1 $139.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147192
Storage: 2TB, 7200 RPM 3.5" SATA 6Gb/s Hard Drive [Included in Price]
Keyboard: Dell USB Entry Business Keyboard, English [Included in Price]
Mouse: Dell MS111 USB Optical Mouse [Included in Price]
Operating System: Windows 7 Professional, No Media, 64-bit, English [Included in Price]
Warranty: 3 Year Basic Hardware Service with 3 Year NBD Limited Onsite Service After Remote Diagnosis [Included in Price]
=====
Total: $1,536.84
=====
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Option #4 Dell T3600, Xeon E5-1620 3.6 GHz, Dell motherboard with C600 Chipset

CPU: Four Core XEON (E5-1620, 3.6GHz, 10M, Turbo) [Included in Price] 1 $1,336.80
CPU Cooler: Proprietary Included
Motherboard: [Included in Price]
Memory: Kingston 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 ECC Registered Server Memory DR x8 Model KVR16R11D8K4/16 1 $119.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820239241
Videocard: 1.0GB NVIDIA® Quadro® 600, Dual MON, 1 DP & 1 DVI [Included in Price]
Power Supply: 635W Power Supply, 90 Percent Efficiency [Included in Price]
Case: [Included in Price]
Optical Drive: 16X DVD+/-RW, SATA [Included in Price]
Storage: SAMSUNG 840 Pro Series MZ-7PD128BW 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) 1 $139.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147192
Storage: 2TB, 7200 RPM 3.5" SATA 6Gb/s Hard Drive [Included in Price]
Keyboard: Dell USB Entry Business Keyboard, English [Included in Price]
Mouse: Dell MS111 USB Optical Mouse [Included in Price]
Operating System: Windows 7 Professional,SP1,w XP Mode,No Media, 64-bit, English [Included in Price]
Warranty: 3 Year Basic Hardware Service with 3 Year NBD Limited Onsite Service After Remote Diagnosis [Included in Price]
Extras: PERC H310 for Dell Precision, SATA/SAS 6Gb/s, RAID 0/1/5/10 (4 ports) [Included in Price]
=====
Total: $1,596.78
=====
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
cycleback said:
Does it make any sense to build the system so it could accept a Nvidia Tesla card in the future or just build for raw CPU speed today?
Click to expand...
It makes sense if you're absolutely certain that you will be using the Tesla.
cycleback said:
What is the relative speed difference between Ivy-Bridge and Sandy-Bridge processors?
Click to expand...
3 to 5% clock for clock. IN other words, a 3.1Ghz Ivy Bridge would perform the same as a 3.3GHz Sandy Bridge.
cycleback said:
What is the recommended CPU cooler these days?
Click to expand...
That would be the Coolermaster Hyper 212+
cycleback said:
For the option 1 and option 2 is there a cheaper Nvidia video card option with at least 1 Display Port and 1 DVI-D output?
Click to expand...
$15 cheaper:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130825
cycleback said:
Thoughts on which one I should pick?
Click to expand...
The Dell due to its better support.
 
Danny Bui said:
It makes sense if you're absolutely certain that you will be using the Tesla.
Click to expand...

Definitely not sure that I will be using the Tesla card as it is almost $2000. I also have concerns that the few benchmarks I have seen are only for certain steps of the solution process.

Danny Bui said:
3 to 5% clock for clock. IN other words, a 3.1Ghz Ivy Bridge would perform the same as a 3.3GHz Sandy Bridge.
Click to expand...

When are Ivy-Bridge-E CPUs supposed to be released?
Danny Bui said:
$15 cheaper:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130825
Click to expand...

I don't need a card nearly as high end but it seems Nvidia doesn't sell anything with a DVI and display port in their lower end models.
Danny Bui said:
The Dell due to its better support.
Click to expand...

The Dell T3600 option is bad but two things have made me hesitant to pull the trigger otherwise I like the increased memory bandwidth.

A) The lack of 3.5" hard drive slots. Only 2 slots in the case. I have run out of storage space for simulations before and it was really annoying to be shuttling results around or swapping hard drives. The case is the biggest disappointment.

B) I would have liked to have one of the newer Ivy-Bridge-E processors for the IPC boost.
 
cycleback said:
Definitely not sure that I will be using the Tesla card as it is almost $2000. I also have concerns that the few benchmarks I have seen are only for certain steps of the solution process.
Click to expand...
I doubt many people using the Tesla card have a desire to publish what they're using the cards for.

cycleback said:
When are Ivy-Bridge-E CPUs supposed to be released?
Click to expand...
Only bit of info I can find just says "2013".
cycleback said:
I don't need a card nearly as high end but it seems Nvidia doesn't sell anything with a DVI and display port in their lower end models.
Click to expand...
Thats what I've seen as well, yes.
cycleback said:
The Dell T3600 option is bad but two things have made me hesitant to pull the trigger otherwise I like the increased memory bandwidth.

A) The lack of 3.5" hard drive slots. Only 2 slots in the case. I have run out of storage space for simulations before and it was really annoying to be shuttling results around or swapping hard drives. The case is the biggest disappointment.

B) I would have liked to have one of the newer Ivy-Bridge-E processors for the IPC boost.
Click to expand...
Well you have to figure out what matters more: More storage capability or the ability to blame someone else for any potential issues.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top