itsmyjobtoknow

You don't need much to get by in Computer Science. I've gotten through 4 years with a quad-core Intel Atom and a dual-core hyperthreaded i5 (which thermal throttled) THE ONLY TIME my under-powered laptop didn't handle the task is when I was doing a deep-learning project that required CUDA acceleration to get any results in a fashionable time, but that was my last semester of University.

Damn, was so close to top 500. I guess 554th place isn't too bad...

If you're planning on buying some upgrade for that platform, might as well get yourself a used X5650/X5660/X5670/x5675/X5680 CPU. They're all cheap and they are 6c12t. As per GPU, a used rx 470/570/480/580 or a GTX 1060 should work well.

Intel Core i7 6850K Asus X99-M WS HyperX Predator v2 32GB DDR4 3200Mhz (4x8GB) Sapphire Nitro+ RX Vega64 Fractal Design Define C Mini Samsung 960 Evo 250GB NVMe SSD Samsung 860 Evo 1TB SSD Western Digital Black 500GB NVMe SSD Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5in HDD Seagate Barracuda 2TB 2.5in HDD Seasonic Platinum SS-860XP2 EKWB EK-Velocity RGB - Full Nickel Alphacool GPX-A Vega M05 EKWB EK-CoolStream SE 120 EKWB EK-CoolStream SE 240 Phantek Reservoir (PH-R160_BK01) Swiftech MCP35X PWM DDC Pump Mayhems X1 Coolant - UV Blue

[2019.02.18] Where do I begin...... Well my Reference RX Vega 64 started to die on me around the end of October... Good news was that Sapphire was willing to RMA my card even though I had a waterblock on it. Unfortunately they could only return a Nitro+ RX Vega 64, which is a good a bad thing. Good being that it had a custom PCB and potential to overclock, undervolt better. Bad being that custom waterblock were hard to come by. But Performance-PCS had listed a singular Alphacool Block that fit my card, and I quickly snatched it. If I were to change something in the future, it would be the radiators, fans, and the GPU itself. Noiseblocker Eloops are great fans, but only when there is nothing in front of it. EK-Coolstream SE were chosen because I had one already and the clearance between the GPU and the front were very tight. After building it, I see I could possibly squeeze in a 30mm radiator (preferably HardwareLabs GTS) instead of the 26mm I opted for. Sapphire Nitro+.....I kinda lost the silicon lottery. Can't push the memory overclock past 1020MHz on HBM while my Reference could easily do 1100MHz. TDLR: Reference Vega64 got RMA'ed, got a Nitro+ Vega64 in return. The combination of case, fans & radiators isn't optional in this configuration. Changelog: Added: WD Black NVMe 500GB SSD Samsung 860 EVO 1TB SSD Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5in HDD Barrowch Aluminum GPU Anti-Sag Bracket - Silver EK-CoolStream SE 120 & 240 Radiator Phantek Reservoir (PH-R160_BK01) Swiftech MCP35X PWM DDC Pump Mayhems X1 UV Blue Coolant Changed: Reference RX Vega64 -> Sapphire Nitro+ RX Vega64 Alphacool Eiswolf 120 -> Alphacool GPX Vega M05 Corsair H100i -> EKWB Velocity RGB Full Nickel Removed: WD Black 500GB 2.5in HDD Seagate Barracuda 1TB 2.5in HDD Before Coolant: Final Photos:

I've seen people run their pfSense box off a core 2 duo. You *should* be fine. Worse case scenario, just buy a cheap used LGA1151 Xeon or i3/i5 and put it in there. Maybe take one of your 8GB stick and putting it in the box if you feel the need. What I will say is that if you want to have a VPN on the router level, you will need a CPU with a high single core IPC for AES-NI. I personally run my pfSense box off a i7 4790 & 16GB of RAM just because I have the stuff laying around.... Never liked the idea of having one box do everything in my house. If that one box failed, my entire house would be down.

For VM use exclusively, it wouldn't matter much IMO. More RAM is better then faster RAM. You're not necessarily computing anything heavy enough for faster memory to benefit you. I'll say, keep the 2666MHz stuff. If you really want to get faster memory, do it when you upgrade the CPU down the line (if and when you do) .

In that case, sounds like a plan. And remember, AMD claimed that AM4 will be supported for awhile, so you might end up having a potential to get a 12c or 16c consumer grade ryzen chip in there, if rumors are to be believed in.

Yes, but if you're getting serious about homelab, having a machine capable of running more VMs isn't a bad thing. Buying a first generation Ryzen 8c16t with DDR4 is overkill for your needs as well. Just for some reference, this is my ESXi Server: https://pcpartpicker.com/user/itsmyjobtoknow/saved/QmpNQ7 What I have running is on it is surveillance, Server 2016 with Active Directory and a file server, and a client. Really overkill, but the system was cheaper then what my friend paid for a Ryzen 2700, B450, and 32GB of RAM.

When it comes to a ESXi Machine or server, the more cores/threads & RAM means that you will can run more VMs. 4c4t on your i5 7600 is probably capable of running 2 VMs at most, but it will struggle. Now there is two routes you can take down. You can take the route that you mentioned and that I recommended my friend to do, is get a Ryzen 8c16t CPU and get all the new stuff. Or you can take the route I took, which is buying retired server equipment such as a dual socket 1366 motherboard, 2x 6c12t processor (total of 12c24t) and 48GB of RAM for 250USD.

Not much, if there is any. HP uses proprietary power cables for their motherboard. And I may be mistaken here, but the PSU inside of there doesn't look like a standard TFX psu either.

While I understand that you're set on getting an i5-8600K, might I suggest you consider getting a Ryzen 2600/X. You get double the thread count, for a lower cost. Or wait until 9th Gen Intel to launch. Since it is literally days away from happening. As per GPU, consider getting a used GTX 1070/TI. I've seen GTX 1070s get sold for around 250USD. If you feel uncomfortable buying used stuff, don't worry about it and get new stuff.

[10/07/2018] It's been awhile. Graduated University with two degree in June. Got a new job Desktop Support job that's been keeping my occupied. Anyways, system has been downsized. The goal for a remote system has been dropped. Machine has changed multiple times from the last update, but this is the current form before I add my watercooling gear into it. Changes: Corsair Q600 -> Silverstone TJ08B-E -> Fractal Design Define C Mini ASUS X99-Deluxe -> ASUS X99-M WS Corsair H110i GT -> Noctua U12S -> Corsair H100i Pro RX Vega 64 Stock Cooler -> AlphaCool Eiswolf 120 Storage Drives

Every 6 months, Microsoft pushes out a feature update. Usually every spring and fall. 1809 is suppose to come out this October....so I have no idea how you manage to get two machines to have it already. Current latest version is 1803

Last time I checked (and I've been working with Optiplex 780s and 980s for nearly a year now) neither of the CPUs you've listed are supported by the models. Optiplex 980s has LGA1156 sockets and Optiplex 780s has LGA775 sockets...

Sidenote: For Superposition you updated my score that had a different CPU

CPU: i7 5775C @ 4.0GHz GPU: R9 Nano @ 1110MHz

Sony Ericsson W810i - Ultimate Backup Phone Sony Ericsson W508 - Broke...I think Samsung S5560 - Retired HTC G1 - Retired Motorola Cliq 2 - Retired Samsung Galaxy S3 - Broke digitizer and eventually scrapped for parts Google Nexus 4 - Screen cracked due to frustration from ghost touching ONLY when battery was below 15%, eventually repaired Oneplus 1 - Cracked screen OnePlus X - Retired Sony Xperia XZs - Current

Correction: i5 8600 is 6c 6t

A. Don't got that exact panel, but something similar made by LG and my girlfriend loves the panel. B. I don't think you can do VR with a panel....you need a headset for that....

https://pcpartpicker.com/products/memory/#Z=65536004&sort=price&t=14

A. 8700K is a mainstream platform, you only get 4 DIMM slots B. You can get 4 sticks of 16GB each, to get 64GB, that's been a thing since Skylake

If I remember correctly...Alienware X51 has an external PSU brick.... So replacement for it isn't possible, correct me if I am wrong.

eBay is your best bet. You could also get in contact with your local universities or offices and see if they have any surplus equipment they are willing to part ways. If you are taking the eBay route, Optiplex 990, 9010, 9020 are roughly in your price range and something you should look for as they are still half decent machines.

You should disassembly the CPU block and see if any crap in it.