Workstation build

[brtlmj]

First things first:

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc

In no particular order:
- Altium (CAD)
- SolidWorks (CAD)
- Xilinx ISE (CAD)
- Photoshop
- Lightworks (video)
- WRF (weather forecasting tool, MAJOR number cruncher)
- VMWare
- browsing, email, etc.
- light gaming, if any.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?

I am aiming at $1200 before taxes and shipping. Less is better, but I am not very price sensitive. Given a good reason, I can go higher.

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

California.

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, power supply, HDDs, CPU cooler, OS.

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

Monitor. Dell U2311H. 1920x1080.

6) Will you be overclocking?

No.

7) 7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?

1920x1080, 23 inches.

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?

Within two months.

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.

RAID is a must. SATA 6Gb/s and onboard video 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?

No.



I would like the PC to be quiet. Not "home theater" quiet, but quieter than a typical desktop/workstation.

RAID1 has saved my backside in the past and I intend to continue using it. Two different HDDs from different manufacturers - bad batches do happen.

Stability and reliability are pretty important to me. I am not planning to overclock anything. ECC RAM. Oversized CPU cooler. Did I mention RAID?

For now, I am planning to stick to the onboard (or rather on-CPU) video. If this proves inadequate, I can always add a decent video card later.

Here is the setup I have in mind. All prices are from Newegg, except the power supply.

• CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1245 V2 ($294.99)
• Motherboard: ASUS P8C WS ($239.99)
• RAM: 2 x Kingston 4GB Model KVR16E11/4 ($55.98)
• HDDs:
  • Western Digital WD AV-GP WD10EURX 1TB IntelliPower SATA 6.0Gb/s ($99.99)
  • Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s ($79.99)
• CPU cooler: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 ($29.99)
• Case: Antec Performance One Series P183 V3 ($139.99)
• Power supply: Antec CP-850 850W ($149.95)
• OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit ($99.99)

I think I would prefer Supermicro X9SAE-V motherboard instead of the ASUS one - if I could only find it in stock anywhere...

Any comments or suggestions?

Thanks!
Bart

 

[Dangman]

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Within two months.

Can you narrow down that time frame any further? Perhaps to a few weeks from now? Our recommendations tend to change monthly for certain parts. If you can't narrow down the time frame, please come back when you're 2-3 weeks away from buying the parts for the PC for up-to-date hardware advice.

Though two things I have to point out:
1) You do not need a 850W PSU: Your setup will be fine with a solid 400W to 500W PSU.
2) Considering your usage scenarios, you should be looking at 8GB sticks of RAM, not 4GB sticks of RAM. Going for 8GB sticks of RAM will allow you to get and use up to 32GB of RAM without having to replace any RAM in the future. Also, if you plan on using more than 16GB of RAM, you will need to upgrade the OS to Windows 7 Pro 64bit.

Also what's the total cost of that build as is?

 

[brtlmj]

This PC is going to be my Christmas present, so two months it is. Well, closer to six weeks. I asked the question now in case there are any parts that need to be ordered in advance, like the Supermicro motherboard.
I will bump the thread before I actually place the order

Regarding the power supply - I am a bit undecided (if I weren't I would not be asking for opinions ). I agree that 850W is way more than I need for the proposed setup. I would still be in the efficiency sweet spot, though. And, I would not have to worry about any future expansion (like a video card). There are fanless 400-500W alternatives that I find appealing, but they are as expensive or more expensive than the Antec PSU.

The total cost right now is $1190 with 2x4GB or RAM or $1315 with 2x8GB (Kingston KVR16E11/8).

Thanks!

 

[E4g1e]

This PC is going to be my Christmas present, so two months it is. Well, closer to six weeks. I asked the question now in case there are any parts that need to be ordered in advance, like the Supermicro motherboard.
I will bump the thread before I actually place the order

Regarding the power supply - I am a bit undecided (if I weren't I would not be asking for opinions ). I agree that 850W is way more than I need for the proposed setup. I would still be in the efficiency sweet spot, though. And, I would not have to worry about any future expansion (like a video card). There are fanless 400-500W alternatives that I find appealing, but they are as expensive or more expensive than the Antec PSU.

The total cost right now is $1190 with 2x4GB or RAM or $1315 with 2x8GB (Kingston KVR16E11/8).

Thanks!

You've actually been misled about the "efficiency sweet spot". This is because most PCs spend much of their time just idling. True, at full load the power consumption may be within the PSU's "efficiency sweet spot" - but then, that same PC would spend most of its time at much less than 20% load. PSUs are generally at their least efficient at 15% or less load. As a result, an 850W PSU outputting only 100W will consume a bit more electricity from the wall than a 500W PSU that outputs those same amount of watts (100W). Instead of wasting money and electricity on a PSU that outputs twice as many watts as the rest of the PC actually draws, try to more properly match that build with a PSU that outputs about 20% to 25% more watts (at the PSU's maximum capacity) than what your planned build actually needs at its full load.

 

[brtlmj]

You've actually been misled about the "efficiency sweet spot". This is because most PCs spend much of their time just idling. True, at full load the power consumption may be within the PSU's "efficiency sweet spot" - but then, that same PC would spend most of its time at much less than 20% load. PSUs are generally at their least efficient at 15% or less load. As a result, an 850W PSU outputting only 100W will consume a bit more electricity from the wall than a 500W PSU that outputs those same amount of watts (100W). Instead of wasting money and electricity on a PSU that outputs twice as many watts as the rest of the PC actually draws, try to more properly match that build with a PSU that outputs about 20% to 25% more watts (at the PSU's maximum capacity) than what your planned build actually needs at its full load.

Good point. I forgot that a 77W CPU will be drawing much less for most of the time.

This particular PSU stays above 80% efficiency between 90W and 600W, with a maximum of close to 85% at 200W (according to silentpcreview.com, with some interpolating).

How much do you think would my system draw with just the OS running? Let's assume that the HDDs are spinning.

Thanks!

 

[Dangman]

There are fanless 400-500W alternatives that I find appealing, but they are as expensive or more expensive than the Antec PSU.

Personally I'm not a fan of fanless PSUs since there's no margin of error to prevent the PSU from overheating. Personally I'd recommend the Seasonic X-650 Gold since it often goes on sale for $100 to $110. It's also serves as the bases for all of Seasonic's fanless PSUs actually.

How much do you think would my system draw with just the OS running? Let's assume that the HDDs are spinning.

No more than 200W.

Also case wise, I'd go with the newer Antec P280 since it appears to be quieter than the P183 and has a far far better HDD layout IMO.

 

[brtlmj]

Personally I'm not a fan of fanless PSUs since there's no margin of error to prevent the PSU from overheating. Personally I'd recommend the Seasonic X-650 Gold since it often goes on sale for $100 to $110. It's also serves as the bases for all of Seasonic's fanless PSUs actually.

Guess what! It IS on sale at Newegg, $99.99 with free shipping. I like the specs, efficiency in particular. X-650 it is for me.

Also case wise, I'd go with the newer Antec P280 since it appears to be quieter than the P183 and has a far far better HDD layout IMO.

Good point. But I plan to keep my PC on my desk, and P280 seems designed to be put on the floor (taller and with all the controls at the top). So, while it does look more modern and is a bit quieter (and on sale!), I think I am going to stick to P183.

Thanks!

 

[Dangman]

Good point. But I plan to keep my PC on my desk, and P280 seems designed to be put on the floor (taller and with all the controls at the top). So, while it does look more modern and is a bit quieter (and on sale!), I think I am going to stick to P183.

You could always just stand up to press the start and reset button...

 

[brtlmj]

You could always just stand up to press the start and reset button...

Stand up? You mean, like, exercise? Horrors!

Seriously though, P183 is probably the biggest case I am willing to put on my desk. I can live with the old style HDD cage.

Danny and E4g1e - thank you for your input. I will be back before I place the order, just in case something new appears on the market.

 

[brtlmj]

I am back. I will probably place the order within a week or two.

One significant change - the ASUS motherboard is out, the Supermicro X9SAE-V is in. It's still not easy to find, but some stores have it. I am planning to order it from CompSource.

• CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1245 V2 ($280)
• Motherboard: Supermicro X9SAE-V ($225.00)
• RAM: 2 x Kingston 8GB Model KVR16E11/8 ($180)
• HDDs:
• Western Digital WD AV-GP WD10EURX 1TB IntelliPower SATA 6.0Gb/s ($100)
• Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s ($85)
• CPU cooler: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 ($35)
• Case: Antec Performance One Series P183 V3 ($140)
• Power supply: SeaSonic X650 ($140)
• OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit ($100)

Grand total of $1,285. Prices are from Newegg, except the MB.

Any comments/suggestions regarding the configuration or vendors will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[Dangman]

I've never heard of CompuSource so I can't vouch for them. Why do you want that specific Supermicro mobo anyway?

OS wise, you have to go with Windows 7 Pro 64bit since Windows 7 Home Premium is limited to 16GB of RAM max whereas 7 Pro is limited to 192GB of RAM max. As for the hard drive, IMO, the Hitachi GST Deskstar 7K1000.C 0F10383 1TB is the better deal.

 

[brtlmj]

Intel C216 seems to be the best match for the E3-1245 V2. I could find two ATX motherboards with this chipset: the ASUS P8C WS and Supermicro X9SAE(-V). The ASUS motherboard does not have very good reviews, and I have read bad things about ASUS customer service. Supermicro, on the other hand, seems to have a pretty good reputation (no specific links here, it's just a general impression I got by browsing this forum and others).

The Supermicro motherboard is also available at:

• compuvest
• worldbuy
• superbiiz ("ships in 1-2 business days" - I think it means that they expect it in stock soon)

Have you heard of any of these?

I looked up the Hitachi hard drive and it seems to be rather similar (price and performance-wise) to the two I picked, except it only supports SATA 3.0Gb/s, not SATA 6.0Gb/s (not that it really matters). What makes it a better deal?

Thanks!

 

[Dangman]

Superbiiz I know of. Haven't ordered from them in years but from what I've seen, they're OK.

As for the Hitachi, ignore my recommendation. I didn't see that the Seagate you linked to earlier is now down to $70. I recommend that instead.

 

[John_TX]

Just pick up the board from PROVANTAGE. I order from them all the time and snagged my X9SAE-V for $203.

 

[brtlmj]

John,

I checked Provantage - "out of stock", sadly. By the way, are you happy with your build so far?

Thanks!