Maxed out Dual CPU Workstation/4k gaming. Wall of Text.

[dragoon20005]

Yeah we're gonna build a custom loop for the watercooling.  We're thinking about the EK blocks for the Titan Z (they're pretty).  I can't remember the CPU block off hand.  I know there was one he liked with an LED on it and seeing as the Xeons are multiplier locked, they shouldn't get too hot.  I have most of the water cooling stuff saved on my laptop so I don't have it easily accessible right now.

have you ever consider with the budget you have get Quadros K6000?

 

I say Single Titan Black as the gaming card and the Quadro for rendering 3D and CAD

[dragoon20005]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133494

 

 

this will be a better card than the Titan Z

 

http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Z9PED8_WS/

 

you do know this board supports ECC RAM

 

you will need to change the RAM to ECC one

[ZacDaMan72]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133494

 

 

this will be a better card than the Titan Z

 

http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Z9PED8_WS/

 

you do know this board supports ECC RAM

 

you will need to change the RAM to ECC one

He wants to game though.

[dragoon20005]

He wants to game though.

well one Titan Black and the Quadro

 

titan black for gaming and Quadro for rendering

[meikat]

well one Titan Black and the Quadro

 

titan black for gaming and Quadro for rendering

One titan black is going to not be enough for 4k gaming.  The goal is 4k gaming (potentially 4k surround gaming).  Also, we thought about the Quadro, but he wont really get any benefit from it as the applications he use will run fine on pretty much any high end GPU.

[ZacDaMan72]

One titan black is going to not be enough for 4k gaming.  The goal is 4k gaming (potentially 4k surround gaming).  Also, we thought about the Quadro, but he wont really get any benefit from it as the applications he use will run fine on pretty much any high end GPU.

If he is going to be gaming on all 3 4K monitors, to be honest nothing can do that as of now.

[meikat]

Poor (not as in money) idiot, buying titan Zs.  They're gonna be old news in a year

Even though this is probably a troll since there has been so many of these threads

I understand your point of view, and I almost didn't bother posting this since it's going to seem like a 13 year old posting his dream specs and stroking his e-peen.  With that said, I'm glad I did, I've already gotten some great suggestions and food for thought.  I'll be happy to post some build pictures when we start.  I need to get the parts list to him and the parts should be ordered within the next week.  

[meikat]

If he is going to be gaming on all 3 4K monitors, to be honest nothing can do that as of now.

Yeah, I know it's not really going to be optimal, and I think once he does it a few times, he'll go back to single monitor gaming with one monitor setup for social/web, middle for gaming, and the other for video/work.

[meikat]

 

 

http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Z9PED8_WS/

 

you do know this board supports ECC RAM

 

you will need to change the RAM to ECC one

 

Are you implying he HAS to run ECC memory just because the motherboard supports it?  The memory I am using is in fact on the supported memory list here: http://support.asus.com/QVL.aspx?SLanguage=en&m=Z9PE-D8%20WS&os=

 

ECC is not necessary for what he is doing in my opinion.  If someone can provide a decent argument to counter this, I'm open to it.

[ZacDaMan72]

Yeah, I know it's not really going to be optimal, and I think once he does it a few times, he'll go back to single monitor gaming with one monitor setup for social/web, middle for gaming, and the other for video/work.

Oh good.

 

Are you implying he HAS to run ECC memory just because the motherboard supports it?  The memory I am using is in fact on the supported memory list here: http://support.asus.com/QVL.aspx?SLanguage=en&m=Z9PE-D8%20WS&os=

 

ECC is not necessary for what he is doing in my opinion.  If someone can provide a decent argument to counter this, I'm open to it.

Don't try to object to what he says...

[dragoon20005]

well the RAM you choose is under the supported list

 

but you are running dual Xeons not the i7 4930K 

 

http://www.overclock.net/t/1261060/asus-z9pe-d8-owners-thread

 

http://forums.tweaktown.com/asus/52617-asus-z9pe-d8-ws-overview-typical-issues-solutions-unresolved-issues-please-help.html

 

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?285412-Asus-Z9PE-D8-WS-sees-RAM-Ignores-Capacity

 

there are many treads about the board with pesky RAM problems 

 

 

 

although I can't confirm if non-ECC RAM may work with Xeons

 

but you are spending quite a lot for 8 DIMMS

[WoodenMarker]

What's your client using the system for? It would help to be more specific regarding the types and scale of the projects being worked on. A bit of info regarding workflow would help unless the storage array you've suggested is what he's specifically requested. 

[meikat]

well the RAM you choose is under the supported list

 

but you are running dual Xeons not the i7 4930K 

 

http://www.overclock.net/t/1261060/asus-z9pe-d8-owners-thread

 

http://forums.tweaktown.com/asus/52617-asus-z9pe-d8-ws-overview-typical-issues-solutions-unresolved-issues-please-help.html

 

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?285412-Asus-Z9PE-D8-WS-sees-RAM-Ignores-Capacity

 

there are many treads about the board with pesky RAM problems 

 

 

 

although I can't confirm if non-ECC RAM may work with Xeons

 

but you are spending quite a lot for 8 DIMMS

I am well aware of the problems with ram on that board, hence why I am going out of my way to work memory that is tested by Asus to work with the board.  DDR3 non-ECC memory is compatible with Xeons, search around there are plenty of benchmarks comparing xeons to i7s with both test beds running non-ECC memory. I can't find it now, but there's even a video by Linus explaining why ECC memory doesn't make sense for personal rigs or MOST workstations, it's really only necessary in server applications. This board supports ECC memory because it's a "server" board, but it's clearly marketed toward the niche of high end workstation/gamer combo rigs.

[meikat]

What's your client using the system for? It would help to be more specific regarding the types and scale of the projects being worked on. A bit of info regarding workflow would help unless the storage array you've suggested is what he's specifically requested. 

Most of what he does is way over my head in terms of what he does.  I consulted with a friend of mine who does professional 3d dev work, and he agree'd what we're doing is way overkill, but for pure rendering of the scenes he's doing the extra cores will be nice, but using say Amazon WorkSpaces would be WAY better, the client wants to keep everything in house.  

 

Regardless of whether he NEEDS all this power, there's no convincing him.  He wants literally the most beast computer he can buy.  It's kinda like a person who buys a $300,000 muscle car and never takes it to a drag strip.  Maybe not that severe, but yeah.  He wants what he wants.  

 

Edit: re-read this and it makes no sense.  I will clean this up when I wake up.  Sleep time.

[WoodenMarker]

Most of what he does is way over my head in terms of what he does.  I consulted with a friend of mine who does professional 3d dev work, and he agree'd what we're doing is way overkill, but for pure rendering of the scenes he's doing the extra cores will be nice, but using say Amazon WorkSpaces would be WAY better, the client wants to keep everything in house.  

Regardless of whether he NEEDS all this power, there's no convincing him.  He wants literally the most beast computer he can buy.  It's kinda like a person who buys a $300,000 muscle car and never takes it to a drag strip.  Maybe not that severe, but yeah.  He wants what he wants.  

Workspaces would probably be quite better. Considering how the future of cloud computing is looking, spending so much on a dual xeon system might not be the smartest move. If your client really wants a render farm of his own, it would be quite cheaper and pretty cool in a different way to have a personal grid of render boxes stacked away in a corner. 

[dragoon20005]

^^ I will take his advice

 

many visual effects company which I shall not reveal uses Render Farms instead of personal PC rig for churning out images for scenes like Pacific Rim

 

They uses tiny teradici boxes which are linked to the servers power via the network

 

to harness the power of Rendering farms you can search for Centos OS

 

just saying

[Pelop17]

^^ I will take his advice

 

many visual effects company which I shall not reveal uses Render Farms instead of personal PC rig for churning out images for scenes like Pacific Rim

 

They uses tiny teradici boxes which are linked to the servers power via the network

 

to harness the power of Rendering farms you can search for Centos OS

 

just saying

just a quick question:

so you can have not such a good rendering pc but have render farms which will render for you?

[dragoon20005]

just a quick question:

so you can have not such a good rendering pc but have render farms which will render for you?

yea pretty much how cloud computing works.

With his budget he can make like 20 smaller rigs using mid power geforce for CUDA. It way better than one huge server. Even if one pc breaks down you still able to render but with a monster dead, your work stops.

[Pelop17]

yea pretty much how cloud computing works.

With his budget he can make like 20 smaller rigs using mid power geforce for CUDA. It way better than one huge server. Even if one pc breaks down you still able to render but with a monster dead, your work stops.

thanks , i might do thath since i dont have a great pc or even wait to buy a new pc

[gylmir]

personal i think waste of money on any titan z that sells in the world.

the ssd's in raid 10 total waste if you want speed get a pci ssd maybe oc it a little bit or raid it with a 2nd one if that is possible.

 

the 2 xeon cpu i think they will not keep up for games since they are made for server grade a good I7 with a decent OC will perform better in my eyes.

 

all the HDD in raid 10 is even bigger waste go for raid 5 or 6 if you want you data safe and use 2 ssd in raid 0 since you got a bunch of then and use that as cache for the raid.

 

the 295x is good for 4K gaming and if you want to overkill go quad and add a 2nd one still 3K dollars saved from the 2nd titan z

 

this is just my opinion for a 4K gaming system

[KPZ211997]

-snap-

People who spend that fortune on a PC is definitely work more than play. So no, radeon is not as good as nvidia, plus, he don't want to spend all 4 PCI slots so he went for 2 titan zs, it is indeed has worse p/p ratio than 4 titan blacks but he wanted a PCI slot for a sound card, for the storage, I agree, he should build a NAS for storage instead of putting all of them in a PC. For the CPU, 2 xeons won't make much difference than an OCed i7 in gaming, but in rendering or designing, 2 xeons >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> i7

[meikat]

I'm only going to address a few of the comments since I feel like this thread is devolving into being more about not wasting $25k on a computer, and less about helping me make sure I've picked out things that will work together.

 

 

Workspaces would probably be quite better. Considering how the future of cloud computing is looking, spending so much on a dual xeon system might not be the smartest move. If your client really wants a render farm of his own, it would be quite cheaper and pretty cool in a different way to have a personal grid of render boxes stacked away in a corner. 

 

 

Like I said before, I know there are WAY better ways to do this.  This build is more about him being someone who likes to have crazy, expensive, unique things.  He bought a cross desk and he wants the desk filled with the most computing power we possibly can fit in it.  The core build is pretty much set in stone.  I was just looking for advice on a few points, or making sure I didn't miss anything obvious.

 

 

yea pretty much how cloud computing works.

With his budget he can make like 20 smaller rigs using mid power geforce for CUDA. It way better than one huge server. Even if one pc breaks down you still able to render but with a monster dead, your work stops.

 

He does not have a solution to render with CUDA cores on some of his applications.  The way it was explained to me (by my friend who works for a simulation company and helps to build and maintain their render farm) CUDA rendering for some things requires a custom script or software solution to be used.  Many applications still do not have CUDA support for rendering so they ignore your GPU and push everything to CPU while rendering UNLESS you setup a custom rendered (something my client does NOT know how to do).  

 

 

personal i think waste of money on any titan z that sells in the world.

the ssd's in raid 10 total waste if you want speed get a pci ssd maybe oc it a little bit or raid it with a 2nd one if that is possible.

 

the 2 xeon cpu i think they will not keep up for games since they are made for server grade a good I7 with a decent OC will perform better in my eyes.

 

all the HDD in raid 10 is even bigger waste go for raid 5 or 6 if you want you data safe and use 2 ssd in raid 0 since you got a bunch of then and use that as cache for the raid.

 

the 295x is good for 4K gaming and if you want to overkill go quad and add a 2nd one still 3K dollars saved from the 2nd titan z

 

this is just my opinion for a 4K gaming system

 

Please come back with proof.  I've put over 60 hours into researching this build and I have numerous benchmarks that show very minimal loss in performance, and in some games GAINS in performance for the Xeon.  PCI slots are at a premium in this build so that ruled out PCI SSDs.  We also needed something for the right side of the desk, and we're going to build a customer SSD mounting rack and have them lit up and on display, so they're adding to the aesthetics.

 

We almost bought the radeons, but he REALLY wants to be able to continue using his Nvidia Shield and he prefers to be able to have Physx effects in some of the games he plays.  This has been covered already in the OP.

 

 

People who spend that fortune on a PC is definitely work more than play. So no, radeon is not as good as nvidia, plus, he don't want to spend all 4 PCI slots so he went for 2 titan zs, it is indeed has worse p/p ratio than 4 titan blacks but he wanted a PCI slot for a sound card, for the storage, I agree, he should build a NAS for storage instead of putting all of them in a PC. For the CPU, 2 xeons won't make much difference than an OCed i7 in gaming, but in rendering or designing, 2 xeons >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> i7

 

 

I'm well aware that this rig is going to likely require ongoing maintenance.  He is a very close personal friend who lives less than 2 miles from me, and I will be around to help him with any problems that arise, and he has a high end gaming notebook for times that this PC is down.  As far as external storage goes, we have plans for offsite backup.  we didn't see the point in a NAS because the case is so big.  It's a 6 foot desk ffs.  Why have a NAS if there's room inside and it's gonna look empty if we do that?  And if you saw how many electronics he had in his house, you'd understand why I'm not recommending moving ANY of this computer outside of the case.

[meikat]

One more thing, I just asked my client to take a picture for me so MAYBE that will lend a little credence to this post.

 

 

[WoodenMarker]

Like I said before, I know there are WAY better ways to do this. This build is more about him being someone who likes to have crazy, expensive, unique things. He bought a cross desk and he wants the desk filled with the most computing power we possibly can fit in it. The core build is pretty much set in stone.

In that case, it's fine. Just make sure you spend some of that money on some good food. Also, mount a spare ssd onto a fan for good measure.

[brob]

@meikat,

 

An interesting challenge.

 

Have you considered going with ECC memory?

 

If you decide to go with non-ECC memory I would suggest 8x8GB kits with better timings G.Skill F3-19200CL10Q2-64GBZHD or F3-2133C9Q2-64GZH or Corsair CMD64GX3M8A2133C9 for example.

 

The system would be safer with a separate NAS providing backup.

 

By all accounts the Intel 730's need aggressive cooling.

 

There are devices that will let you couple psu. http://www.add2psu.com/ - no comment on suitability or quality.