Sleepyhead Media,
There are two motherboards I'd suggest consideration for your dual Xeon E5-2687w build >
1. ASUS Z9PA-U8 ATX Server Motherboard, C602 chipset, LGA 2011 > $290
____
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
2. SUPERMICRO MBD-X9DA7-O Extended ATX Server Motherboard Dual LGA 2011 DDR3 1600/1333/1066/800 > $531.
_____
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
My first choice would be for the Supermicro- they are workstation / server specialists and ASUS seem to focus on high performance gaming. These choices are based on the features, general configuration, RAM and PCIe slots, and general ranking in Passmark Performance Test. These are the motherboards that have the highest systems scores. However, the fastest E5-2687w on Passmark is an HP z820 and these days, the fastest workstations are often HP's z-series, and Dell Precisions.
The TYAN S7053GM2NR is an interesting alternative. Tyan has a very strong reputation in high end workstation and server boards, making $3,000+ boards that support 8X Xeon E7's which can cost $4-6,000 each.
As far as I know, the multiplier and voltages of the E5-2687w are locked and not subject to overclocking. There may- not sure- be ways to more or less lock the first two cores into constant boost at 3.8GHz, but Xeons to ensure stability can not be overclocked, only i-series consumer / gaming CPU's with a K on the end.
What are the applications used? I'm guessing heavy rendering and /or animation. What graphics cards are you thinking of? There are some fantastic deals on Quadro 6000's (6GB) currently.
Here is a system idea from a few months ago, in this example Xeon E5-2687w
v2 -based >
BambiBoom PixelCannon Cadarendercompilagrapharific iWork TurboSignature Extreme ModelBlast 8000 ®©$$™®£™©™_ 1.21.14
CPU >(2) Intel Xeon E5-2687W v2 Ivy Bridge-EP 3.4 / 4.0GHz 25MB L3 Cache LGA 2011 150W 8-Core Server Processor BX80635E52687V2 > $4,400 ($2,200 ea)
____
http://www.newegg.com/?nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords&cm_mmc=K...
____
http://ark.intel.com/products/76161/Intel-Xeon-Processo...
CPU Cooler > CORSAIR Hydro Series H60 (CW-9060007-WW) High Performance Water / Liquid CPU Cooler. 120mm > $65
____
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Motherboard> ASUS Z9PA-U8 ATX Server Motherboard, C602 chipset, LGA 2011 > $289.99
____
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
RAM> 64GB ( 4 X 16GB) SAMSUNG 16GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM ECC Registered DDR3 1600 Server Memory Model M393B2G70BH0-CK008 > $760 ($190 ea.)
____
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Graphics Card> NVIDIA / PNY VCQK5000-PB NVIDIA Quadro K5000 4GB256-bit PCI Express 2.0 x 16 HDCP Ready Workstation video card > $1,800
____
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Hard Drive 1: SAMSUNG 840 Pro Series MZ-7PD512BW 2.5" 512GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) > $470. (OS , Applications, Working Files)
____
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Hard Drive 2: Western Digital 2 TB SATA III 7200 RPM 64 MB Cache Bulk/OEM Desktop Hard Drive, Black, WD2003FZEX (RAID 1) > $168 (Files, Backup, System Image)
Hard Drive 3: Western Digital 2 TB SATA III 7200 RPM 64 MB Cache Bulk/OEM Desktop Hard Drive, Black, WD2003FZEX (RAID 1) > $168 (Files, Backup, System Image)
____
http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-Cache-Desktop-WD2....
Case> Corsair Obsidian Series 900D CC-9011022-WW Black Aluminum ATX Super Tower Computer Case $349.99
____
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168.....
Power Supply > SeaSonic G-750 SSR-750RM 750W ATX12V / EPS12V 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply $110.
____
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
DVD/Blu-Ray Burner> ASUS Black 16X BD-R 2X BD-RE 16X DVD+R 5X DVD-RAM 12X BD-ROM SATA Blu-ray Burner BW-16D1HT > $109.99
____
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Operating system > Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 64-bit - OEM > $140
TOTAL = $8,895.
If this were an HP or Dell, I believe it would cost in the $12-15,000 range. If a
v2 Xeon is used, then 1866 ECC RAM instead of 1600 speed is possible. As well, a PCIe SSD for OS and applications in place of an SATA3 one. Also, I would look into the possibility of using a pair of Firepro W7000's (4GB) (~$750 ea.) in crossfire in place of the Quadro K5000. This is however highly application dependent as I think Adobe CS and possibly Autodesk do not recognize multiple GPU's.
If you can use the E5-2687w v2 , which is about 10% more expensive, they're 3.4 / 4.0GHz, speeds which are not obtainable with the previous first version.
An exciting project- in my view the E5-2687 and v2 version are among the best Xeons ever made.
Still, if you haven't absolutely settled on the E5-2687w, and may not need 16 cores / 32 threads, have a look at the E5-2643 v2, which is 6 cores at 3.5 / 3.8GHz for under $1500- a base rate of 400MHz more than the E5-2687w, 1866 instead of 1600 RAM, 130W instead of 150W- shouldn't require custom liquid cooling, and might save $1,000-1,500 or more depending on eliminating custom cooling:
http://ark.intel.com/products/75268/Intel-Xeon-Processo...
http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=E5-2643V2
Because it's instant paste in , here's an E5-2643 v2 system idea- very close to what I would build for myself>
BambiBoom PixelCannon Cadamodirendacompilarific ExtremeTurboSignature IWork 9000 ®©$$™®£™©™ _6.10.14
CPU > (2) Xeon E5-2643 V2 Six Core 3.5 / 3.8 GHz LGA2011 25MB > $2918 ($1459 ea)
____
http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=E5-2643V2
Motherboard > Supermicro X9DAI-O LGA2011/ Intel C602/ DDR3/ SATA3&USB3.0/ A&2GbE/ EATX Server Motherboard, Retail > $440
____
http://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/Xeon/C60...
____
http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=MB-X9DAI
CPU Cooler > (2) CORSAIR Hydro Series H60 (CW-9060007-WW) High Performance Water / Liquid CPU Cooler. 120mm > $130 ($65 ea)
____
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
RAM > 1 >. 64GB (4 X 16GB, 1866 ECC Reg ) Samsung MEM-DR316L-SL02-ER18 M393B2G70QH0-CMA K4B4G0446Q-HCMA 2 RoHS Low Profile > $584 ($146 ea) >
___
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
GPU > NVIDIA Quadro K5000 4GB GDDR5 Graphics card > $1689.
____
www.amazon.com/NVIDIA-Quadro-K5000-Graphics-PNY/dp/B009...
HD 1 > SAMSUNG 840 Pro Series MZ-7PD512BW 2.5" 512GB SATA III TLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) > $400 (OS and Applications)
___
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
HD 2 and 3 > (2) Seagate Constellation ES.3 ST2000NM0033 2TB 7200 RPM 128MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Enterprise Internal Hard Drive Bare Drive > $ 394 ($197 ea) (RAID 1) (Files, system Image)
___
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Power Supply > CORSAIR HX Series HX850 850W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply > $160.
____
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Optical Drive > 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
Case > Case Labs > Mercury S8 > with options about $400
___
http://www.caselabs-store.com/mercury-s8/
OS > Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 64-bit- OEM > $190
____
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
TOTAL = $7.325
For this level of system, the CaseLabs cases are fantastic- many, many options They are huge and can accommodate custom liquid cooling, many 140mm fans and can be built as an open framework to assemble, configure, and test.
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 Black WD1003FZEX 1TB> M-Audio 192 sound card > AE3000 USB WiFi > HP 2711X, 27" 1920 X 1080 > Windows 7 Ultimate 64 >[Passmark system rating = 3923, 2D= 839 / 3D=2048]
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 >[Passmark system rating = 1859, CPU = 8528 / 2D= 512 / 3D=1097]
2D, 3D CAD, Image Processing, Rendering, Text > Architecture, industrial design, graphic design, written projects