Advice on a workstation build

[ricardmo]

This is going to be my first build and I would really appreciate some advice.

 

• This is mainly going to be a workstation for application development. Gaming, video editing and 3d rendering might happen but it is not the main purpose of the build.
• I develop highly concurrent applications so more core is better
• I prefer stability over balls-to-the-wall performance, so no overclocking is going to happen
• The build needs to support 3 screens (already have 1, need to buy 2)
• Monitors should be able to pivot in portrait mode and if possible have a VESA mount.
• Linux will be the *only* operating system
• I already have my input peripherals (keyboard and mouse)
• The build needs to be as quiet as possible
• Budget is 2000$CAD (canada)

Here is what I have so far:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1240 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($274.98 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U9B SE2 37.9 CFM CPU Cooler  ($44.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme6 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($189.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Elite 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($162.00 @ Amazon)
Storage: OCZ Vertex 460 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($139.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($149.35 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Superclocked Video Card  ($139.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($89.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: SeaSonic G 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($85.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Monitor: Dell U2412M 60Hz 24.0" Monitor  ($238.49 @ Amazon)
Monitor: *Dell U2412M 60Hz 24.0" Monitor  ($238.49 @ Amazon)
Total: $1754.23
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-01 12:48 EDT-0400

 

 

Here are my main questions about this build:

• Video card: How good are the drivers support under linux?  Am I better with ATI or GeForce chipsets?
• SSD drives... Intel 730 series are considerably more expensive, are they worth it?
• Motherboard: I don't need overclocking support but high-bandwidth memory support and a lot of room for HD expansion is needed.
• CPU: I don't care for onboard graphics or overclocking so I went with a Xeon processor, is it a good choice or am I still better with an i7?

I plan to expand to 32Gb of memory in the future (hence the 2 x 8Gb dimms) and add more SSDs and HD also.

 

Thanks

 

mo

[ForsakenLive]

Overall, looks like a great build!

I found a decent review of the GTX 750ti on Linux, apparently drivers are working just fine http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=nvidia_maxwell_benchmarks&num=1

 

For 1080p gaming the graphics card is good enough, if you want to enhance the gaming side of the build you can always throw some more money at the GPU.

 

The 730 Series from intel is all about having a great performance on a super reliable drive (as usual with Intel SSDs). Have you considered the Plextor M5S Series 256GB?

[ricardmo]

The 730 Series from intel is all about having a great performance on a super reliable drive (as usual with Intel SSDs). Have you considered the Plextor M5S Series 256GB?

 

I didn't know about the Plextor M5S Series. Looks solid. What about Intel 530 Series?

[ForsakenLive]

I didn't know about the Plextor M5S Series. Looks solid. What about Intel 530 Series?

Anandtech is the website to go if you are looking at SSD reviews, google the name of the drive + anandtech and you find almost all of them

 

I recommended the M5S to you, because it's not only a very reliable SSD, but works pretty well with both compressible and incompressible data. So you can say performance is pretty balanced. The garbage collection works well regardless of OS. Most Linux distros that I know don't have trim enabled by default, and I couldn't enable it and having work properly on some of them (I'm not a great Linux user though).

[brob]

This is going to be my first build and I would really appreciate some advice.

 

• This is mainly going to be a workstation for application development. Gaming, video editing and 3d rendering might happen but it is not the main purpose of the build.
• I develop highly concurrent applications so more core is better
• I prefer stability over balls-to-the-wall performance, so no overclocking is going to happen
• The build needs to support 3 screens (already have 1, need to buy 2)
• Monitors should be able to pivot in portrait mode and if possible have a VESA mount.
• Linux will be the *only* operating system
• I already have my input peripherals (keyboard and mouse)
• The build needs to be as quiet as possible
• Budget is 2000$CAD (canada)

Here is what I have so far:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1240 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($274.98 @ SuperBiiz)

CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U9B SE2 37.9 CFM CPU Cooler  ($44.98 @ OutletPC)

Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme6 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($189.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Memory: Crucial Ballistix Elite 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($162.00 @ Amazon)

Storage: OCZ Vertex 460 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($139.99 @ Amazon)

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($149.35 @ OutletPC)

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Superclocked Video Card  ($139.99 @ Amazon)

Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($89.99 @ Micro Center)

Power Supply: SeaSonic G 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($85.98 @ SuperBiiz)

Monitor: Dell U2412M 60Hz 24.0" Monitor  ($238.49 @ Amazon)

Monitor: *Dell U2412M 60Hz 24.0" Monitor  ($238.49 @ Amazon)

Total: $1754.23

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-01 12:48 EDT-0400

 

Here are my main questions about this build:

• Video card: How good are the drivers support under linux?  Am I better with ATI or GeForce chipsets?
• SSD drives... Intel 730 series are considerably more expensive, are they worth it?
• Motherboard: I don't need overclocking support but high-bandwidth memory support and a lot of room for HD expansion is needed.
• CPU: I don't care for onboard graphics or overclocking so I went with a Xeon processor, is it a good choice or am I still better with an i7?

I plan to expand to 32Gb of memory in the future (hence the 2 x 8Gb dimms) and add more SSDs and HD also.

 

Thanks

 

mo

 

With respect to ssd and the worth of the Intel 730 series. It really depends on what you are looking for. The 730 have decent, but not outstanding performance. They are intended to bring "enterprise" reliability to the desktop. On the other hand they do run hot and other ssd have proven very reliable. Samsung 840 EVO for example; an ssd line I would recommend.

 

OCZ ssd do not have a very good reputation and I have noticed a number of compatibility issues reported on the net.

 

I would suggest a motherboard like the Asus Z97-A or if you really want the Asus Sabertooth Z97 Mark 2.

 

The Xeon E3-1240 V3 is a Haswell cpu and for your purposes equivalent to the same speed i7.

 

I would suggest a Noctua NH-U12S cpu cooler. Being larger it should be able to provide good cooling at lower fan rpm. It does not have any memory height issues.

[Scotty P]

The monitors are a little over 30% of the total cost, I would rather invest in cheaper monitors and a stronger GPU.

 

But other than that, looks like a great build! Good luck to you, sir.