LGA2011 or LGA1150 For New Build

nevewers

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I'm in the process of building a PC and I need some assistance to finalise it.

The PC would be used mostly for
Designing in Photoshop,Indesign and Illustrator
Video Editing in Adobe Premiere and After Effects
Photo editing in Lightroom
General Browsing
Minimal Gaming

Now I am working on a budget of $1200
My LGA 2011 Setup CPU+Motherboard = $631
My LGA 1150 Setup CPU+Motherboard = $444

With the LGA 2011 I've opted for an inferior Graphics card
LGA 2011 – R5450 1GB
LGA 1150 – R7 240 2GB

I still have the option of removing the video card altogether from the LGA2011 system and adding one at a later date if necessary.

I've cut down as much as I can to make the prices as close as possible, mainly with a cheaper Monitor and Case for the LGA 2011.

Do you think for my purposes it's better for me to get the more expensive ISP monitor (since there's a ton of design work happening on this machine)

Lastly, the cases.

The case i chose for the LGA 2011 is
Coolmaster Force 500 – $49 http://www.coolermaster.com/case/mid-tower/cm-force-500/
For the LGA 1150
Thermaltake Urban T21 – $95
http://www.thermaltake.com.au/products-model.aspx?id=C_00002141

Is there a big difference in which I choose? I prefer the Urban T21.

Otherwise I've managed to keep the other parts fairly similar with slightly cheaper models for the LGA 2011
The final setup prices came to

LGA 2011 – $1245
LGA 1150 – $1196

Can I have some advice on where I should go from here,
Thanks
 
Solution
This is why I recommend S2011. Sorry to say this but the suggestions from others so far have been
mostly completely incorrect for your tasks. Your op says, "minimal gaming". Merely including AE in
your tasks llist means your system really needs to have as much RAM as possible, and an SSD for
the AE cache (one can use the same SSD for both the media cache and the main disk cache).

If your budget can't stretch to buying all new, then source used items where it's sensible, or leave
some aspect at entry level (eg. get a used GTX 580 1.5GB which will still be very good for Adobe apps)
and upgrade it later.

But don't get an 8350 or somesuch with hardly any RAM and a cheap PSU for the kind of tasks you've
described, that would be very...

mapesdhs

Distinguished
For the tasks you list, definitely 2011 is best, but ye gods get a decent GPU! :D One or more used GTX 580 3GB
is a good budget option for use with Adobe apps, ie. CUDA acceleration (if you can't afford something more ideal
upfront like a 780 Ti or Titan). See:

http://forums.creativecow.net/thread/2/1019120

I've posted extensively on that thread & elsewhere about systems for AE and related issues. Note that if
you want to oc the CPU (eg. my AE system has a 3930K @ 4.7, 64GB DDR3/2133 and four GTX 580 3GB),
then get a bigger case, preferably something that can take an H80 or better watercooler. Also helps with
choosing a cooling setup that minimises noise. Smaller case = smaller fans = more noise.

Btw, personally I'd recommend the ASUS P9X79E WS, but perhaps that's beyond your budget.


And yes, get an IPS monitor! Definitely do not use a TN panel for any kind of pro work. Dell
does some good 24" 1920x1200 models, as does HP. Don't get a 1080 model. The extra height
from a 1200 will prove very useful. Or if you can afford it, the Dell 27" 2560x1440 IPS is also good.

Ian.

 

CTurbo

Pizza Monster
Moderator
$950 for everything but the case. For some reason partpicker doesn't have the Thermaltake Urban T21

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/337AJ
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/337AJ/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/337AJ/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1230 V3 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($244.30 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H87 Pro4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($88.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($131.95 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial M500 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($69.49 @ Amazon)
Storage: Hitachi Ultrastar 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($46.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($329.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $950.70
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-02 21:23 EST-0500)
 

nevewers

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Mar 2, 2014
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Thanks for the build.
Sadly I'm in Australia now so those price, rebates and shipping costs don't match.
A build with similar parts comes to $1250

The Cpu is $50 more
The Motherboard is $20
Video Card is a whopping $100 more
 

TheUnknownPC

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This is the best you can get in Australia :

PCPartPicker part list: http://au.pcpartpicker.com/p/338IJ
Price breakdown by merchant: http://au.pcpartpicker.com/p/338IJ/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://au.pcpartpicker.com/p/338IJ/benchmarks/

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($244.00 @ CPL Online)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H80i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($135.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Motherboard: Asus M5A99FX PRO R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($175.00 @ CPL Online)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($111.99 @ Mwave Australia)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card ($249.00 @ CPL Online)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($85.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($135.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Total: $1203.99
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-03 13:57 EST+1100)
It might not be LGA 1150 But it works just as good :) :D
 

CTurbo

Pizza Monster
Moderator
Ah I didn't know you were in Australia.

PCPartPicker part list: http://au.pcpartpicker.com/p/338AE
Price breakdown by merchant: http://au.pcpartpicker.com/p/338AE/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://au.pcpartpicker.com/p/338AE/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1230 V3 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($299.00 @ CPL Online)
Motherboard: ASRock B85M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($87.00 @ CPL Online)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($103.99 @ Mwave Australia)
Storage: Crucial M500 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($314.00 @ CPL Online)
Power Supply: XFX TS 550W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($99.00 @ PLE Computers)
Total: $1001.99
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-03 13:53 EST+1100)
 

nevewers

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Mar 2, 2014
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So I decided to use your original build and do some sourcing of parts from different stores in my area. (Within driving distance to avoid shipping costs)
Still more than your build but wasn't bad.

Intel Quad Core Xeon CPU E3-1230v3 - $299
ASRock H87M-PRO4 M/B, Socket 1150 - $105
Gigabyte GTX760 - $305
Crucial DDR3 PC12800-16GB Kit - $175
Sandisk Ultra Plus SSD SDSSDHP-128GB - $95
Corsair 430Watt 80Plus Bronze Power Supply - $69
Total: $1048

I decided to not get a HDD because I have a fairly new 1TB External I've barely used and a empty 320GB 2.5"
I also decided to get only 430W Power Supply after looking into the max power my machine would be using if I only upgrade memory and HDD from this point on (which is all I would upgrade in the future)
 
look into the motherboard being compatible with the XEON, apparently even if the socket is the same it does not mean that motherboard will work. Make sure XEONs are listed in the compatible CPU list for that motherboard. To my memory (I haven't looked into it for a while) but XEON supported motherboards are pretty expensive.
 

nevewers

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I am even more confused now than when I first posted.

So since I WILL NOT be doing a ton of Gaming and mostly Designing and Editing, I should go with 2100?
Please, I need a definitive answer, not gaming builds.
 

mapesdhs

Distinguished
This is why I recommend S2011. Sorry to say this but the suggestions from others so far have been
mostly completely incorrect for your tasks. Your op says, "minimal gaming". Merely including AE in
your tasks llist means your system really needs to have as much RAM as possible, and an SSD for
the AE cache (one can use the same SSD for both the media cache and the main disk cache).

If your budget can't stretch to buying all new, then source used items where it's sensible, or leave
some aspect at entry level (eg. get a used GTX 580 1.5GB which will still be very good for Adobe apps)
and upgrade it later.

But don't get an 8350 or somesuch with hardly any RAM and a cheap PSU for the kind of tasks you've
described, that would be very unwise.

Please have a look at the posts I made on the Creativecow thread mentioned above. Advising people
on pro builds is one of the main things I do, especially for AE setups.

Btw, there are some excellent sources of used X79 boards out there. If you can't start off with a
much more appropriate board like an ASUS P9X79E-WS, then for example consider a Gigabyte GA-X79-UD3;
I bought a UD3 last week for just 60 UKP (I got mine from Novatech, one of the best UK sellers on eBay).

Perhaps the only item you'll probably have to buy new (and wise to do so really) is the RAM. Don't get
less than 16GB, and for Adobe apps it's probably not worth the expense of having anything faster than
DDR3/2133, although sometimes product pricing can mean a faster kit may actually be cheaper (I bought
two 32GB DDR3/2400 TridentX kits for my AE setup, because they were cheaper than the 2133 kits, but
I run them at 2133).

When it comes to getting the most for your money though, there are plenty of bargains to be had with
respect to SSDs, PSUs, cases, etc. One caveat: for motherboards on eBay, only ever buy from a seller
that lists an item as, "Returns Accepted".

For a case that has plenty of room to handle all the parts with lots of space for future expansion,
the Cooler Master HAF 932 is good, or the Aerocool XPredator (not the newer X1).

Ian.

PS. Re the CPU for a S2011 build: if you can't get a 3930K in the 1st instance, then buy a 4820K
as a starting point. It'll be faster at stock speeds than any other suggestion here so far and it'll
oc like crazy.

 
Solution

nevewers

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Mar 2, 2014
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Thank you so much, I appreciate it.
It's admittedly been difficult getting good advice on all the boards I've tried because most of the advice is from people used to building for gamers, which I am not.

After reading your post I did some digging and I plan to get a build that I am pretty happy with, including i7 480k & X79 and falls within my current $1200 current limit.
Only problem is in order for this to work I will have to get my video card some other time.
I decided to go ahead with this especially since i'm not doing a lot in AE right now but more design jobs.
Instead decided in a month or 2 I'll get myself a high end video card

Does this make sense?
It seems like the best option for me. Am I planning smartly?
 

nevewers

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Mar 2, 2014
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Just to clarify what I was saying before, I have a Video Card I can use until I buy a high end version for a couple months.

@RobCrezz .... Wanna explain why you wouldn't go 2011 with a 4 core CPU?
 

RobCrezz

Expert
Ambassador


Sure, more expense for no performance benefit over a i7 4770k on the 1150 platform.
 
nevewers,

There are important advantages to using LGA2011 over LGA 1150 for your applications > double bandwidth, more CPU cache, more memory capacity, more PCIe lanes and very importantly, the ability to use 4,6,8,10,12 and in future 15 core CPU's.

One of your more demanding applications is Adobe Premiere. Premiere in the past few years has done very well to improve it's performance. Video editing /processing is very demanding as there is the potential to process every frame, multiple audio tracks, and so on. Premiere today can use all available CPU cores / threads, has CUDA acceleration, and now uses OpenGL and can address multiple GPU's. Still, Premiere needs as fast a clock speed as possible, and benefits from CUDA acceleration, more system RAM and video RAM. An ideal system would have two eight core Xeon 2687W V2's, 64GB RAM, two 6GB GTX Titans, a pair of 512GB SSD. and so on- perhaps 12000Eu.

Ideal systems are useful because it indicates the direction for the hardware > more cores, more memory, a wide bandwidth GPU with a lot of RAM and CUDA cores, and so on. One aspect to consider is the use of ECC RAM, and in my experience (I've used Adobe CS MC since CS4), the accurate placement of shadows, reflections, particles, and color gradients strongly benefits from ECC and workstation GPU / systems that can run 10-bit color.

That said, my suggestion is for a quad core LGA2011 Xeon > ECC > GTX system, with the idea that the video card may be doubled and the CPU may be changed for a 6 or 8-core in future >

BambiBoom PixelDozer Videorendagrapharific Blazomatic iWorkarama TurboScream 9000 ™$#©™_3.4.14

1. CPU > Intel Xeon Quad-Core Processor E5-1620 v2 3.7 / 3.9GHz 0GT/s 10MB LGA 2011 CPU, OEM> $295 (Superbiiz) (Passmark CPU score= 9199, rank = No. 38) (This system would be extremely enhanced by using a Xeon 6-core E5-1650 V2 @ 3.5 /3.8GHz, which would add about +$330)

2. CPU Cooler > Cooler Master Hyper T4 - CPU Cooler with 4 Direct Contact Heatpipes > $30 (The Stock CPU coolers are supposed to be sufficient, but I've seen terrifying temperatures when rendering.)

3. ASRock X79 Extreme3 LGA 2011 Intel X79 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard > $200 (The X79 is a very fast chipset)

4. 16GB RAM > (2) Samsung or Kingston 8GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) ECC Registered Server Memory >about $180 (This allows expansion to 32GB later)(Check ASRock site for compatible models)

5. GTX 580 3GB > about $200 (The GTX 580 has 384-bit bus width, and 512 CUDA cores) (Add a second in SLI later)

6. WD Black Series WD1003FZEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive> $89. (This is starting without an SSD. While an SSD does load the OS, applications, and files faster, I've found that it is not a substantial time saver after work is underway. I suggest starting with a good performing mechanical drive and setting a C: partition of 240 GB for the OS and applications, a second partition for files, and a third for a system image. Load everything, except antivirus, configure, and tune it all up with updates, run a good performance disk optimizer ("smart placement" and file consolidation) and make a pristine system image before using. Then use the system and refine settings. Carefully optimize the disk again and then migrate by restoring the system image of C: to a Samsung Evo 250GB and use the settings and configuration learned from the initial uses. This saves the many, many rewrites of the disk optimization on the SSD )

7. SeaSonic M12II 750 SS-750AM2 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Full-modular Power Supply > $130

8. Case > LIAN LI PC-7B plus II Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $70.

9. Optical Dr > SAMSUNG DVD Burner 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 24X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM SATA Model SH-224DB/BEBE - OEM > $20

TOTAL = $1,230

________________________________

Cheers,

BambiBoom

HP z420 (2014) > 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 > HP 2711X, 27" 1920 X 1080 > Windows 7 Ultimate 64 > Autodesk Building Design Suite, Inventor Pro, Solidworks, Adobe CS6 MC, Corel Technical Design Sketchup Pro, WordP Office, MS Office Pro [Passmark system rating = 3815, 2D= 767 / 3D=2044]

Dell Precision T5400 (2008) > 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 > (earlier versions) AutoCad, Revit, Solidworks, Sketchup Pro, Corel Technical Designer, Adobe CS MC, WordP Office, MS Office Pro [Passmark system rating = 1859, 2D= 512 / 3D=1097]
 

mapesdhs

Distinguished
nevewers writes:
> Thank you so much, I appreciate it.

Most welcome!


> ... people used to building for gamers, which I am not.

Unsurprisingly, gamers will focus on Z87, because despite its limited/split PCIe setup, that's
still plenty for the vast majority of gaming scenarios. For professional tasks though, it's a
very differrent matter, and even the Z87 boards with PLEX (or similar) chips for PCIe lane
splitting may not be suitable depending ont he task - it's unclear atm whether those chips
provide a full-speed CUDA return path back from multiple GPUs, ie. for CUDA, Tesla cards
do under normal circumstances, but gamer cards do not. PLEX chips just confuse the
issue as it's hard to find sold info on this. Using X79 means one doesn't have to worry
about such things.


> After reading your post I did some digging and I plan to get a build that I am pretty happy
> with, including i7 480k & X79 and falls within my current $1200 current limit.

Sounds like a good approach IMO. With an initially limited budget, that's what I would do.
Oh, one obvious idea: hunt for a sued 3930K on eBay instead of buying a new 4820K.


> Only problem is in order for this to work I will have to get my video card some other time.

Sounds wise. Btw, if you just want something to get buy with for a while, I'd be happy to
lend you a GTX 460 for free for a while - I have loads of them sitting about doing zip atm,
including several 2GB cards. Just cover the shipping. PM for details.


> I decided to go ahead with this especially since i'm not doing a lot in AE right now but
> more design jobs. Instead decided in a month or 2 I'll get myself a high end video card

In the interim, keep an eye out for a GTX 580 bargain, especially any 3GB models. For
various reasons, the 580 is an excellent card for AE, faster than any 600 series card,
usually faster than a 780 (for CUDA I mean, not gaming). Two 580s are faster than a
Titan (for CUDA; I keep having to emphasise this in case a gaming-focused reader
here misinterprets what I'm saying).

I spent a while sourcing four top-end 3GB 580s for my system, but even a reference
772MHz GTX 580 1.5GB will perform really well for AE. Infact, given the availability of
used 580s, I honestly find it impossible to recommend a new 780Ti or Titan for AE
*unless* the user was definitely planning to add a 2nd card later, in which case a
single uber card upfront would mean more efficient power usage in the long term.

Put it this way, the two 580 3GB cards in my gaming PC cost 270 UKP total; for AE,
they're quicker than a Titan and leave a 780Ti in the dust. See the creativecow thread
I mentioned earlier, and also:

http://www.randomcontrol.com/arionbench

My old setup with three reference 783MHz 580s is system no. 28. My new setup with 4x
MSI 950MHz LEs ought to be at position 16 or 17, but the page hasn't been updated yet
(scores about 6K+).


> Does this make sense?

Yup!


> ... Am I planning smartly?

Yes.

Ian.

PS. Assuming you're in the US, see items 131131879260, 231173450423, 301114006657 & 221385904274
on ebay.com.

 

nevewers

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Mar 2, 2014
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I really want to thank everyone for their advice.
I took it all into consideration and decided to post my final build since you guys helped me so much.

I did look into used 3930k devices but they were still out of the budget so I decided against it.

This is the build I decided to go with, the Video Card I already had from before.

I'd be looking into updating at a later date with new SSD, 2TB HDD and Video Card


CPU Intel Core - i7-4820K 3.7GHz Quad-Core
CPU Cooler - Cooler Master Hyper 212X 82.9 CFM
Motherboard - Asus P9X79 ATX LGA2011
Memory - G.Skill Value 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600
Storage - Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120GB 2.5" SSD
[strike]Video Card - Asus Radeon R7 250 1GB[/strike] Found a used (3 months old) GTX580 Online for $160
Case - BitFenix Shadow ATX Mid Tower
Power Supply - EVGA 750W ATX12V / EPS12V
Optical Drive - LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer

Thanks again so much for your advice