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canadiancreed
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Asking for system build suggestions

Sat Jul 30, 2011 10:19 am

Howdy all. First time poster, found the place from codinghorror's blog and wondered if anyone could give some suggestions for my next system.

This is what I currently would want to do with the system that I'm looking to buy:
  • Coding - The primary purpose, and where the money that will buying this system is coming from, will be what I do for a living. Probably the most taxing of what I use is either running multiple virtual systems for testing, or application servers for Java, such as Tomcat/JBoss, so if it can handle compiling large apps or running multiple VMs at once, anything else I throw at it such as AMP stacks (apache/mysql/php), python, or mobile development should work fine as well.
  • Moving watching - I've been collecting a nice amount of HD movies, but the current system cant' handle playing them back, so it is one of the tasks that this system will need to do
  • Gaming - Once upon a time I was able to multi client with EVE, which can be taxing. I'd be looking to be able to run at most three of four clients at nce (obviously more is better)
  • Handling multiple monitors - after being stuck on a 15 inch laptop for the last three years the more video real estate the better. Was thinking two 24's with a 27/30 in the centre, but I'm open to options.
  • Quiet - For such a tiny system, the laptop that I have is quite loud, what with the fans and optical drives. Needless to say, anything that tones down the noise without affecting performance would be welcomed.

So that's what I need for it to do in a nutshell. Budget isnt' much of a concern if the system will say "how high?!" when I say "jump!", although I'd prefer to keep it on the right side of 2k.

Thanks to anyone that replies.
 
Coran Fixx
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Re: Asking for system build suggestions

Sat Jul 30, 2011 11:01 am

Welcome to TechReport, I hope you decide to stay.

My suggestion would be an I7-2600k with a P67 or Z68 Motherboard and 4 x 4GB of DDR3 1600 Ram. I like ASUS and Gigabyte for Motherboard brands ( I have used Biostar for budget builds, and they seem to work out). I like Crucial, Corsair and Kingston brands in Ram.

I'll let JAE fill in the rest when he sees the thread because I am lazy :D
 
RickyTick
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Re: Asking for system build suggestions

Sat Jul 30, 2011 11:14 am

Welcome to TR.

I would suggest start looking through the TR System Guide, http://techreport.com/articles.x/21164

You can make some adjustments to these recommendations to better meet your needs, such as more ram like Coran Fixx was suggesting.
Corsair 450D | EVGA SuperNova G3 650W | Asus Z270 Prime-A | Intel i7-7700K | Cryorig H7 | MSI GTX1070 Gaming X 8G | 16gb GSkill TridentZ DDR4 3200 | Crucial MX300 M.2-2280 1TB | Corsair K70 Rapidfire | Logitech G502 | Asus ROG Swift PG279Q
 
UltimateImperative
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Re: Asking for system build suggestions

Sat Jul 30, 2011 7:27 pm

The other possibility would be to get do an LGA 1366 build with an i7-970, for 6 cores/12 threads and a possibility of 24 GiB of RAM on the cheap (but the mobo + CPU will be quite expensive).
i5-750 @ 3.3 GHz; Asus P7P55D-E Pro; Thermalright Silver Arrow; Antec P183; 4 GB; 2x Radeon HD 6950; Corsair HX650.
 
JustAnEngineer
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Re: Asking for system build suggestions

Sat Jul 30, 2011 7:39 pm

Coran Fixx wrote:
I'll let JAE fill in the rest when he sees the thread because I am lazy :D
:P

canadiancreed wrote:
[*] Coding - The primary purpose, and where the money that will buy this system is coming from, will be what I do for a living. Probably the most taxing of what I use is either running multiple virtual systems for testing, or application servers for Java, such as Tomcat/JBoss, so if it can handle compiling large apps or running multiple VMs at once...
Would your VMs benefit from Intel's VT-d (directed I/O), or is VT-x support sufficient? The overclockable Core i7-2600K lacks VT-d. The locked-down Core i7-2600 has it.

Let's consider:
$300 Intel Core i7-2600 hyper-threaded quad-core 3.4 GHz LGA1155 processor (3.8 turbo)
$ 25 CoolerMaster Hyper 212+ heatsink & fan

$100 Gigabyte GA-Z68MA-D2H-B3 micro-ATX Z68 LGA1155 motherboard
or $129 -25 combo Gigabyte GA-Z68A-D3H-B3 ATX Z68 LGA115
or $147½ Asus P8Z68-V LE ATX Z68 LGA1155

$110 -20 code "EMCKCHB22" 16 GiB PC3-10600 G.Skill F3-10666CL9D-8GBRL (DDR3-1333, CAS 9, 1.5 V) memory
or $110 16 GiB PC3-12800 (DDR3-1600, CAS 9, 1.5 V)

$270 -30MIR HIS Radeon HD6950 2 GB (840 MHz) graphics card
or $340 -20MIR XFX Radeon HD6970 2 GB
or $320 -25MIR EVGA GeForce GTX570 1¼ GB

$ 50 Creative Labs SoundBlaster X-Fi Titanium (refurbished) PCIe sound card

$200 0.12 TB Corsair Force 3 (SF-2281) SSD
$ 60 1.0 TB Samsung HD103SJ Spinpoint F3 7200 rpm hard-drive
or $150 2.0 TB Western Digital WD2002FAEX Caviar Black 7200 rpm
or $ 72 2.0 TB Western Digital WD20EARS Caviar Green 5400 rpm
$ 75 -15 combo LG WH12LS30 Blu-ray burner
or $ 60 Samsung SH-B123L BD-ROM/DVD-RW w/ PowerDVD

$ 60 -10MIR Antec Three Hundred Illusion ATX case
or $128 Fractal Design Define R3
$ 88 SeaSonic S12II 620 Bronze power supply
or $ 60 Antec EarthWatts EA-650

$130 Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit OEM

$1500 +tax (wait for sale under $1200) Dell UltraSharp U3011 2560x1600 IPS LCD monitor
or $1000 +tax (wait for sale under $475 each) 2x Dell UltraSharp U2410 1920x1200 IPS LCD monitors

That's $1448, delivered (before MIRs) without the monitor. With the U3011 included, we're around three grand.
· R7-5800X, Liquid Freezer II 280, RoG Strix X570-E, 64GiB PC4-28800, Suprim Liquid RTX4090, 2TB SX8200Pro +4TB S860 +NAS, Define 7 Compact, Super Flower SF-1000F14TP, S3220DGF +32UD99, FC900R OE, DeathAdder2
 
canadiancreed
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Re: Asking for system build suggestions

Sat Jul 30, 2011 9:30 pm

Would your VMs benefit from Intel's VT-d (directed I/O), or is VT-x support sufficient?


That is a very good question. I'd be using the Sun/Oracle VM software since VMWare is a bit pricey at this time
 
canadiancreed
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The new build, finally

Thu Sep 01, 2011 7:44 pm

After two months of getting the finances together, I can finally act on this thread here to build the replacement system that will hopefully be the unstoppable machine for at least the next three years.

Here's the base, with prices taken from my local computer shop:

Intel Core i7 2600K 3.4GHz 8M S1155 Processor, Retail $314.00
Asus P8Z68-V PRO Z68 S1155 ATX Mainboard $212.00
Corsair XMS3 16GB (4x4) PC3-10666 DDR3 Memory Kit $116.00
Corsair Graphite 600T SE Mid-Tower Case, White - NO PSU $180.00
Crucial m4 128GB 2.5" SSD $192.77
Corsair Pro Gold 850 Watt Power Supply $207.00

Currently the video and audio would be handled by their onboard counterparts, and the storage is enough to get everything of note from the laptop. That being said, here's what I'm thinking of eventually (building in pieces to save credit card shock)

Video card:

Asus Radeon HD6950 DirectCU II 2GB GDDR5 PCI-E Video Card $291.50

Probably start with just one, then added a second if needed, or if I get the coin for a third monitor.

Audio:

Debating between just going with a simple 2.1 setup or a decent headphones here. Suggestions would be welcomed.

Storage:

3Ware 9650SE-4LPML 4-Port 3Gb/s SATA RAID Controller $324.00
WD RE4 1TB 7200RPM 64MB 3.5" SATA Hard Drive $460.00

I have a lot of files, mainly pictures, some video and application files that I've developed over the years that I currently have backed up on my file server. And while it's quite robust, it's over four years old, and I think I've been more then fortunate that I havnet' had to deal with HD issue s(knock on wood) so having those files available on the same system that I'll be working on them with would be a good idea methinks. Having my storage go from 750GB to 3TB is nice too.

Optical:

Asus BW-12B1ST 12X SATA Blu-Ray Burner $100.33

Just a standard Blu-ray burner. More for finally being able to watch my Bluray disks.

Monitors:

Looking to get either do a set fo 24's, a set of 27's, or go hog wild and do a three monitor setup. Posted recommendation requests in another thread.

Peripherals:

Looking at getting a new keyboard (since the current one has half the keys rubbed off) that would stand being typed on for over 80 hours a week, and a good quality laptop, since I'll be skyping like mad.

So that's pretty much it. Don't think I've missed anything, thoughts, constructive criticisms and recommendations most welcomed. :)
 
vargis14
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Re: The new build, finally

Thu Sep 01, 2011 8:03 pm

If you are set on the 6950 card get the sapphire toxic card just released there are 2 reviews of it on todays shortbread,has the switch with twin bios and is allready loaded to unlock the 6970 features,clocked at 880mhz.
This is the story of the fastest Radeon HD 6950 graphics card that turned out not only faster than its fellow HD 6950 products, but even faster than the top-of-the-line Radeon HD 6970.Quote Xbitlabs http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/graphi ... toxic.html Looks like a awesome deal :P
NOTE pureoverclock.com stinks,they didnt even notice the bios switch turns it into a 6970 it even has 1 8pin and 1 6 pin pciE power connections like the 6970.I dont like there reviews. :x
2600k@4848mhz @1.4v CM Nepton40XL 16gb Ram 2x EVGA GTX770 4gb Classified cards in SLI@1280mhz Stock boost on a GAP67-UD4-B3, SBlaster Z powered by TX-850 PSU pushing a 34" LG 21/9 3440-1440 IPS panel. Pieced together 2.1 sound system
 
JustAnEngineer
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Re: The new build, finally

Thu Sep 01, 2011 8:26 pm

Threads merged.


canadiancreed wrote:
Intel Core i7 2600K
What did you decide regarding the improved VM performance (Intel VT-d) of the locked-down Core i7-2600 vs. the overclockable Core i7-2600K?

canadiancreed wrote:
Storage:
3Ware 9650SE-4LPML 4-Port 3Gb/s SATA RAID Controller $324.00
WD RE4 1TB 7200RPM 64MB 3.5" SATA Hard Drive $460.00
That's a big chunk of change to spend on storage. Have you considered just putting a bunch of 2.0 TB 5400 rpm (or 5900 rpm) drives in RAID 1+0 or RAID5 on a cheap controller? With your most performance-sensitive applications on the SSD, adding a CA$60 1 TB 7200 rpm drive for your other applications would pretty much eliminate a need for a super-fast RAID array.
· R7-5800X, Liquid Freezer II 280, RoG Strix X570-E, 64GiB PC4-28800, Suprim Liquid RTX4090, 2TB SX8200Pro +4TB S860 +NAS, Define 7 Compact, Super Flower SF-1000F14TP, S3220DGF +32UD99, FC900R OE, DeathAdder2
 
canadiancreed
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Re: The new build, finally

Thu Sep 01, 2011 8:35 pm

JustAnEngineer wrote:
Threads merged.


That does explain why it said topic doesnt' exist anymore. :D

JustAnEngineer wrote:
canadiancreed wrote:
Intel Core i7 2600K
What did you decide regarding the improved VM performance (Intel VT-d) of the locked-down Core i7-2600 vs. the overclockable Core i7-2600K?


Decided to go for versatility of the overclocking, plus with the storage being moved to this system, I can take my other system and have it as my VM testbed (since that's really all it'll be doing)

JustAnEngineer wrote:
canadiancreed wrote:
Storage:
3Ware 9650SE-4LPML 4-Port 3Gb/s SATA RAID Controller $324.00
WD RE4 1TB 7200RPM 64MB 3.5" SATA Hard Drive $460.00
That's a big chunk of change to spend on storage. Have you considered just putting a bunch of 2.0 TB 5400 rpm drives in RAID 1+0 or RAID5 on a cheap controller? With your most performance-sensitive applications on the SSD, adding a $60 1 TB 7200 rpm drive for your other applications would pretty much eliminate a need for a super-fast RAID array.


I agree that its' a nice slice of cash (and it was originally 3TB drives before I saw the cost, compromises and all.). Here's my logic on it

1) Will be moving almost a TB of data to the new system. Data that I cant' afford to have corrupted or lost.
2) Speed will be pretty important due to the tasks this system will be performing. Compiling, video editing, etc...
3) Last system that had a software RAID (actually the system before the laptop that I had) had the controller die and friend the data on my drives. The controller that I've specced is on my other file server and has worked like a champ. As a former sys admin, I've learned many many times that saving money on controllers jsut means you'll pay for it down the road. Or I just have bad luck. Either or. :D

At least that's my logic behind the selections.
 
TheEmrys
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Re: The new build, finally

Thu Sep 01, 2011 8:56 pm

canadiancreed wrote:
1) Will be moving almost a TB of data to the new system. Data that I cant' afford to have corrupted or lost.
2) Speed will be pretty important due to the tasks this system will be performing. Compiling, video editing, etc...
3) Last system that had a software RAID (actually the system before the laptop that I had) had the controller die and friend the data on my drives. The controller that I've specced is on my other file server and has worked like a champ. As a former sys admin, I've learned many many times that saving money on controllers jsut means you'll pay for it down the road. Or I just have bad luck. Either or. :D

At least that's my logic behind the selections.


This is really the only thing I disagree with. A higher-end controller is completely justified in (many) server/workstation environments, but it really isn't necessary. If you are that concerned about data integrity, you would actually be more protected with an on-board RAID setup and a NAS that backs up nightly. If you are worried about a 1-time move issue, just clone the HD to the NAS. You can get a pretty nice NAS for the price of that controller.
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JustAnEngineer
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Re: The new build, finally

Thu Sep 01, 2011 9:06 pm

That's a very nice controller, but I'm having trouble reconciling that level of concern for data that will be stored on a system that you intend to overclock.
· R7-5800X, Liquid Freezer II 280, RoG Strix X570-E, 64GiB PC4-28800, Suprim Liquid RTX4090, 2TB SX8200Pro +4TB S860 +NAS, Define 7 Compact, Super Flower SF-1000F14TP, S3220DGF +32UD99, FC900R OE, DeathAdder2
 
canadiancreed
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Re: Asking for system build suggestions

Fri Sep 02, 2011 5:43 am

Hmmm good points. It's more on the future acquisitions list anyways so it's easily cut off from the final purchase.

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