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Looking To Build A Workstation First, Gaming Second PC Build

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  • Gaming
  • Workstations
  • Build
  • Systems
Last response: in Systems
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June 13, 2014 10:33:20 AM

Hey guys,

First time posting.

I'm looking to build a small form-factor custom PC to service primarily for work needs, but also the occasional non-graphic intensive games.

So far I have my eye set on the Bitfenix Prodigy chassis.

Definitely shooting for an Intel CPU with no plans to overclock.

Parts I don't need include the OS, a ODD, and a SSD/HDD.

So effectively, I need to figure out what CPU/Mobo combo, RAM (aiming at 16gigs), PSU, and GPU would go best with the Bitfenix.

The budget is roughly $800 (or $700 minus the Bitfenix).

First priority is as a workstation, the gaming necessities come second.

Thanks!

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Cheerio

More about : build workstation gaming build

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June 13, 2014 10:43:03 AM

Hm, this budget may contain a SSD which would provide much higher increase in performance (especially in Windows) then any other components can. Furthermore if you dare you can try build a macintosh - a PC with OS form Apple.
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a b 4 Gaming
June 13, 2014 10:43:57 AM

If this is just a generic office workstation then 8gb is plenty, 16gb is just wasted money in all reality.

What tasks will be done with the workstation so we can prioritize funds the best.
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June 13, 2014 11:14:25 AM

Thanks for the replies guys

@jirakst I already have a SSD that I will be using with build which is why I excluded it from the budget :) 

I also was considering going straigh mac/hackintosh route, but I lost interest after a few applications where unavailable.

@boosted1g I regularly use a handful of the apps in the Adobe suite including AE at time, and I believe those were quite memory intensive. Although, feel free to correct me.

I don't do any crazy 3D rendering or such, mostly just Illustrator, Photoshop, Premiere Pro and the occasional After Effects.
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a b 4 Gaming
June 13, 2014 11:15:00 AM

Without any additional info on workstation needs here is what I would go with (the Prodigy case was not in the list so I just left case blank and priced it for 700).

The PSU sale is for limited time only.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 Extreme3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($129.91 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($73.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 760 2GB ACX Video Card ($229.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Rosewill Hive 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $693.86 Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-13 14:13 EDT-0400
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a b 4 Gaming
June 13, 2014 11:18:51 AM

Wow I posted build right at same time you put up more detailed information.

The CPU will be good either way.
If you have many projects open or are dealling with very very large files then the Adobe software could utilize the 16gb ram.
If so then you would just need to either increase your budget or downgrade the gpu to something like an amd r7-265 which goes for around $150.00

edited: Now that I think about it, the adobe software makes better use of cuda cores on Nvidia so you should go with a GTX750 Ti if you were to downgrade the GPU to get more memroy, in which case the PSU is huge overkill.
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June 13, 2014 12:08:47 PM

The prodigy is a mini itx case, or you can get a prodigy m which fits micro atx
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June 13, 2014 12:15:36 PM

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.98 @ SuperBiiz) Motherboard: ASRock Z87E-ITX Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Newegg) Memory: Corsair XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($73.99 @ Newegg) Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 760 2GB ACX Video Card ($229.99 @ Newegg) Power Supply: Rosewill Hive 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg) Total: $693.94 Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-13 15:14 EDT-0400

Fixed.
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a b 4 Gaming
June 13, 2014 11:32:11 PM

The 4590 cpu is a new generation haswell, and will require a bios update if you get a Z87 board, so he should still get a z97 board however he should do this one instead: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asrock-motherboard-z97mpro...

I would recommend the m version with the micro-atx motherboad over the itx. After a GPU you have no upgrade slots in an itx board, and itx platforms can be harder to cool because everything is packed so tight together.
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June 14, 2014 8:09:40 AM

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H97N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($104.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($73.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 760 2GB ACX Video Card ($229.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Rosewill Hive 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $668.93
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-14 11:02 EDT-0400

Actually, the Prodigy case is easier to build into and cools better than the Prodigy M, because it's a pretty big case for itx, and the M is the same size. This motherboard has the h97 chipset, which matches better than the z97 with the 4590 and its locked multiplier. It has populating the mini pcie slot, and is Gigabyte, so if the OP decides later to make a dual boot machine with the Mac OS, he has the most compatible motherboard.
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June 14, 2014 8:11:22 AM

D'oh! It has a wifi bluetooth card in the mini pcie!
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