$1500-2200 CAD/Revit/3D Rendering Workstation (ADVICE NEEDED)

I would go for the Noctua NH-D14 and the Asus motherboard (Asus make better workstation boards than ASRock).

For the 4930k, you need to purchase the "special edition", which is the same price but instead of the normal mounting plates, it has the mounting plate for LGA 2011. Other than that, just switch the fan to the other side (the outside fan) if it blocks any RAM slots, which shouldn't happen if you have low-profile RAM.

You also have to keep in mind that some motherboards won't immediately recognize the i7-4XXX chips because a BIOS update will be required before the CPU will be recognized. I definitely agree with the Noctua D14 as CPU fan - it's still the reigning king of air heat sinks - and has been since 2009. The only thing that comes close to topping that would be a dual fan radiator like the Swiftech H220, NZXT X60, or Thermaltake Water 3.0 Extreme would also suffice without the gigantic heat sink.

RedLime,

For a workstation that involves rendering, and using Autodesk and Adobe CS, I suggest a Xeon > ECC RAM > Quadro system. Below is a suggestion for a system of that kind. I recommend against overclocking for this kind of use and anyway, there are some usefully fast OEM server CPU's around, the Xeon E5-16XX series.

CPU > For high memory bandwidth and expandability, LGA2011 will allow an upgrade after a couple of years to a 6, 8, 10, 02 12 core CPU. A Xeon E has double the bandwidth of E3 or i5. In case your budget allows, and rendering is important enough at this point, there are two options for CPU, the second being a Xeon six core that will provide more rendering threads. Most programs are single threaded, -Autodesk and Adobe, but many rendering programs can use all the threads.

GPU > The graphics card choice today is difficult, especially as you're using both applications that are CUDA accelerated and others that benefit from good OpenGL performance. Be aware that most workstation applications do not see multiple GPU's, although I think some can see the memory in both cards and some systems use a pair of cards to run independent monitors, giving better performance than multiple monitors on a single card. Also, a system that has workstation applications as it's priority will not be a screamer in games as the ECC parity checks and the Quadro / Firepro driver emphasis on finishing frames rather than frame rates lower the speed. This can be overcome, but you need to use the very top end cards in the Quadro K5000 / Firepro W9000 league. For the video card, I recommend a Quadro K4000, but would suggest that the careful purchase of a used K5000 would be rewarded. Then in two years, change the CPU for a 6 or 8 core, increase memory to 32 or 64GB and you will have another 3 or 4 years' use.

Drives > I am using my first SSD and actually, I'm not sure it's that valuable in a workstation except if very large files are loaded- video for example. The computer and applications do start faster, but it's whether saving 30 -45 seconds starting in the morningn and 10 seconds starting an application is that valuable. What I would suggest is that to save memory wear on the SSD,- they for example should not be defragged- that you build the system and optimize / update your HD on the mech'l drive using a partition that is slightly smaller than the SSD size. Load the antivirus last. Then when everything is loaded, remove the antivirust, and optmize using something like Perfect Disk, make a pristine system image placed in another partition on the mech'l drive and then either clone the mech'l drive or restore the system image to the SSD.

BambiBoom PixelDozer Cadamodagrapharific Blazomatic iWorkarama 3000 ™$#©™_12.13.13

1. Intel Xeon Quad-Core Processor E5-1620 v2 3.7 / 3.9GHz 0GT/s 10MB LGA 2011 CPU, OEM> $295 (Superbiz) (Passmark CPU score= 9199, rank = No. 38)

1A.____ OPT'L CPU > Intel Xeon Six-Core Processor E5-1650 v2 3.5 / 3.9GHz 0GT/s 12MB LGA 2011 CPU, OEM > $580 (superbiiz)

2. ASUS Z9PA-U8 ATX Server Motherboard LGA 2011 DDR3 1600/1333/1066 >$280

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131915

3. 16GB (2X 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 ECC Unbuffered Server Memory >about $150. (Check motherboard compatibility list) ( If the budget permits, you might consider starting with 32GB. Note the use of 8GB modules. the ASUS board has 8 slots so this would allow an eventual 64GB RAM.

4. NVIDIA Quadro K4000 3GB GDDR5 Graphics card (PNY Part #: VCQK4000-PB) > $763 (amazon)

5. SAMSUNG 840 EVO MZ-7TE250BW 2.5" 250GB SATA III TLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) > $170

6. WD BLACK SERIES WD1003FZEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive > $90.

7. SeaSonic X Series X650 Gold ((SS-650KM Active PFC F3)) 650W ATX12V V2.3/EPS 12V V2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Full Modular Active PFC Power Supply $120.

8. LIAN LI PC-7HX Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $100.

9. ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM $17.

10. Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit (Full Version) - OEM $140

TOTAL = $2,125 or $2,410 with E5-1650 V2

_____________________________________________

OPTIONS > Pushing the budget a bit. If it's necessary to reduce costs, consider a good "new other" Quadro K4000 at about $550, or Quadro 4000 used at about $350, deleting the SSD or to be added later, and possibly using > Motherboard: ASRock X79 Extreme3 LGA 2011 Intel X79 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard at $200. If you're adventurous, and want the perfect GPU, consider a good "new other" Quadro K5000 at about $1,100, or to improve upon a Quadro 4000, a good "new other" Quadro 5000 at about $450-600.

Cheers,

BambiBoom


1. HP z420 (2013) > Xeon E5-1620 quad core @ 3.6 / 3.8GHz > 24GB ECC 1600 RAM > Quadro 4000 (2Gb)> Samsung 840 SSD 250GB /Western Digital WD1003FZEX 1TB> M-Audio 192 sound card > AE3000 USB WiFi // Windows 7 Ultimate 64 > Autodesk Building Design Suite 2013, Inventor Pro2011, Solidworks 2013, Adobe CS6 MC, Corel Technical Design X-5, Sketchup Pro 2013, WordP Office X-6, MS Office Pro+2013 [Passmark system rating = 3815, 2D= 680 / 3D=2044]
Backup > StarTech SAT3510BU33.5" USB 3.0 SATAIII HD Enclosure / Seagate Barracuda 1BD142 500GB (16MB cache) HD > Flash Drive > Adata UV128 / 16GB USB 3.0

2. Dell Precision T5400 (2009) > 2X Xeon X5460 quad core @3.16GHz > 16GB ECC 667> Quadro FX 4800 (1.5GB) > WD RE4 500GB / Seagate Barracuda 500GB > M-Audio 2496 Sound Card > Linksys 600N WiFi > Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit > HP 2711x 27" 1920 x 1080 > AutoCad, Revit, Solidworks, Sketchup Pro 8, Corel Technical Designer, Adobe CS4 MC, WordP Office, MS Office Pro 2007 (Passmark system rating = 1859, 2D= 512 / 3D=1097)

Application > Architecture, industrial design, graphic design, rendering, writing