My First Build - $700 General Purpose PC

[RS7110]

This is my first PC build. I'm used to building notebooks, mostly Clevo based barebones centered around socket 988B (mobile LGA1155 equivalent), so building a PC actually felt easier.

 

This will be my main rig and I will use it for RTL level hardware design, 3D rendering, occasional video editing, and perhaps some gaming when GTA V comes out. So apparently, I won't be overclocking because there really is no need to.

 

Anyway, here are the parts I've selected

 

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1246 V3 (4C/8T 3.50GHz)

GPU: Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 (1792SP 925MHz)

Motherboard: ASRock B85M-DGS

Memory: G.SKILL Ripjaws 2x 4GB DDR3-1600MHz

Storage: 256GB Crucial MX100 SSD + 500GB WD HDD

Power Supply: EVGA 500W

Case: DIYPC MA01-Black/Green

 

This all totals to around $680. I don't have much space left under my desk so I chose a cheap mini tower case along with a cheap uATX motherboard. The Xeon E3 series have been a legend among non-overclocking users since 2011, they are basically cheap Core i7s that most people dismissed as server CPUs not suitable for home or gaming purpose, not true lol. This particular SKU has an HD P4600 and is priced at around $270 and performs between the i7-4770 and i7-4790.

 

Here we go

 

 

 

[RS7110]

The external build:

 

 

Everything works fine, played with the BIOS for a bit.

It kinda sucks that my power supply has 2x(6+2pin) PCIE connectors, whereas the GPU needs 2x(6pin), leaving two at the side.

[XYOUNEED]

Awesome! GoodLuck and Have Fun!

[Gr8White_Bear]

Nice! Congrats dude!

[RS7110]

Internal Build:

 

 

I know, cables all over the place, I'll rearrange stuff once I get an HD Audio extension cable because the one from the case can't reach its proper place in the motherboard from the back of the case, so I had to lay it on top of everything . This case may be too small, the HD 7950 barely fits in.

 

Front view:

 

 

Green fans get a bit noisy.

[RS7110]

Once again, specs

 

 

[XYOUNEED]

Don't wait to long! Tidy up that place It's begging for a cleanup

[RS7110]

And the benchmarks look pretty good, this is an all-arounder

 

 

 

[RS7110]

3DMark, seems a bit low http://www.3dmark.com/3dm11/9289883

[mark201200]

Awesome! I'm gonna build a pc for my friend with the same precessor!

Did you have any compatibility issues with the cpu?

[ALXAndy]

Awesome! I'm gonna build a pc for my friend with the same precessor!

Did you have any compatibility issues with the cpu?

 

Stick to Asrock where you can they're one of the only board makers to support the Xeons properly.

[mark201200]

Stick to Asrock where you can they're one of the only board makers to support the Xeons properly.

i'm gonna go with an asus, on the official page it says it's supports Xeon 1246-V3  without needing bios updates

[ALXAndy]

i'm gonna go with an asus, on the official page it says it's supports Xeon 1246-V3  without needing bios updates

 

Then you're sorted

[RS7110]

Awesome! I'm gonna build a pc for my friend with the same precessor!

Did you have any compatibility issues with the cpu?

 

Generally, any LGA1150 motherboard will work fine with it. Some server oriented features are not supported though. You can also consider the 1231 V3 which costs $249 and is just 100MHz slower.

 

 

Don't wait to long! Tidy up that place It's begging for a cleanup

 

Will do, I've got some time this weekend and hopefully that extension cable arrives in time.

[mr_greenguy]

Hey man, really interesting build! You got a link to a good write-up about using xeon E3 processors in normal systems?

[RS7110]

Hey man, really interesting build! You got a link to a good write-up about using xeon E3 processors in normal systems?

 

I don't know if there are reviews in English. But the E3-1230s are pretty popular especially in China. As far as compatibility goes, there's nothing to worry about.