Xeon E3 or Core i7

[McZ]

is it worth the extra cost $65 to go for an Xeon E3 with ECC ram compared to an Core i7?
(Prices are converted from SEK to USD and includes all taxes I have to pay in Sweden)

Common parts for both
nVidia Geforce GTX560(ti worth extra?)
Corsair Hydro H60

Xeon ~$1060
Asus P8B-WS Intel C206, ATX
Intel Xeon E3-1235, QuadCore, HT
8Gb (2x4Gb) Kingston ECC

Core i7 ~$995 (~$873 if I change to core i5 2500k)
Asus P8Q67-M DO/TPM, mATX
Intel Core i7-2600k, QuadCore, HT
8Gb (2x4Gb) Corsair XMMS3 DDR3

My goal is a stable computer that will not crash randomly (my current one does). Will Xeon and ECC reduce the random crashing/freezing? (what else is the point of ECC?)

And the questions
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Win7 x64 and/or Linux as host and then Run VirtualBox with different VMs in, Mostly Linux and compiling stuff like Linux from scratch.
Modifying/themeing my Android phone (doing this through a VM)
Software development at hobby level, mostly C/C++ but lately more C# and some Android (again through another VM)
Playing a few games to kill time sometimes, WoW, SC2 and in the future Diablo 3. I have no need to max graphics settings. (No I don't play in a VM )
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
6700SEK (That would be ~1000$) including all
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
Sweden
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, Motherboard would prefer mATX to get a smaller case later, Graphics card
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Antec P180b
Corsair HX550
2 harddrives 1 ssd and one mechanical as local data storage. I have a NAS for other files so there will never be more than 2 drives in my computer.
6) Will you be overclocking?
No I want a stable system
7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
1680x1050 Dell 22"
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
I'm planning on building it now...
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video? etc.
I want SATA 6Gb/s
if there is a software that can switch between intels built in gpu and the discrete gpu I want that feature to be able to shut down my powerful graphics card when I'm not using it.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Yes win7 x64

 

[Dangman]

If stability is a high-priority and you can afford to spend the extra cash, then yes the Xeon build is the better choice as Xeon related hardware tend to be more reliable than their consumer counterparts.

Oh and the GTX 560 Ti isn't worth the extra cash over the regular GTX 560 at your resolution.

 

[McZ]

Thank you for your answer

And stability is high-priority so I will use my money on Xeon+ECC instead of going for GTX560ti

One question though.
Is there any stable software that lets me switch between the internal GPU in the CPU and the GTX560 gpu?
if not there is no point in spending money on E3-1235 instead of E3-1230

 

[Dangman]

Thank you for your answer

And stability is high-priority so I will use my money on Xeon+ECC instead of going for GTX560ti

One question though.
Is there any stable software that lets me switch between the internal GPU in the CPU and the GTX560 gpu?
if not there is no point in spending money on E3-1235 instead of E3-1230

I know that the Z68 chipsets support that feature but I am not sure whether or not the server chipsets supports that feature. Intel Z68 chipsets are the only desktop chipsets/tech I know that allows for GPU switching.

 

[McZ]

I know that the Z68 chipsets support that feature but I am not sure whether or not the server chipsets supports that feature. Intel Z68 chipsets are the only desktop chipsets/tech I know that allows for GPU switching.

I have been searching around and I can't find anything that indicates it is working with C206 chipset

To bad Asus P8B-M C204 mATX is like $50 more than the Asus P8B-WS C206 ATX motherboard. Else I would have taken that one and then bought the new Silverstone TJ08-E case.