Workstation using Gryphon

saddadbadhad · June 8, 2014

Hi

I work at home as an engineer. Built my first pc 4 years ago after watching Linus unboxing and all the rest on youtube. Now its time to build again. I am thinking of basing the PC on the Asus Gryphon Z97http://www.asus.com/nz/Motherboards/GRYPHON_Z97/specifications/%C2'> motherboard. My old P7H55-M Pro based i3 hasn't missed a beat despite running 12 hours a day for 41/2 years. Do you think the TUF motherboards are worth the extra over the basic Asus board like the H97-M Plus of the Z97 version. The 5 year warantee looks good to me.

The rest of the build will be an Intel i5 chip - no preferences, a fractal design define mini case, Seasonic X or Platinum power supply- maybe fanless. And the cheapest name brand 16GB memory kit at 1600MHz I can find.

Should I pay for higher cost motherboard or is it marketing hype?

Also can I use a GeForce GPU in place or a Quadro. I do 2-D work not 3D.

Thanks

Hecknologist · June 8, 2014

For what you want the TUF series is definitely a consideration, and you can no-doubt justify the extra cost so I'd say yes. There are also the black edition from gigabyte that are stress tested further than the other gigabyte boards, but if it were me I'd get a WS board from Asus. Linus has a video on the Z97 version and they have everything you could need with the stability to match. When it comes to fanless psu's remember that you still need good airflow so in my mind the reduced noise becomes redundant as you'll need fans pushing decent air. I'd look at a higher watt semi-passive as it can run silent and very quietly when thermals require it to.

saddadbadhad · June 8, 2014

Thanks for the advice. I hadn't seen the z97WS models but found them once I changed the setting on the Asus website to USA. I think they are ATX format so I won't buy the case until I decide which way to go. I still have a lingering doubt that the WS and TUF boards are just the same as the other models but a marketing excuse to charge more. The all Japanese capacitors thing sounds like PT Barnum's load of cheap white salmon he marketed as "guaranteed not to go pink in the can!".

I am not building a dedicated cad station but I do need to be able to open and view drawings. At the moment I use the on-board graphics of the i3 which is slow and if an architect send me a pdf file with a lot of line work it can take a few minutes to resolve. I guess Linus would call that a bottlebeck. Would a basic gaming graphics card speed that up or will I need a quadro card? Any thoughts?

WoodenMarker · June 9, 2014

I am not building a dedicated cad station but I do need to be able to open and view drawings. At the moment I use the on-board graphics of the i3 which is slow and if an architect send me a pdf file with a lot of line work it can take a few minutes to resolve. I guess Linus would call that a bottlebeck. Would a basic gaming graphics card speed that up or will I need a quadro card? Any thoughts?

Any compatible and decent consumer graphics card would help.

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