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Cobbling some leftover parts into a modest system

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October 14, 2014 10:55:45 PM

I'm left with some older expensive parts and
peripherals after upgrades and was
wondering on everyone's thoughts of how
to cost effectively re-use them in a secondary
system with the understanding of getting the
most bang for the buck

Since this isn't a mission critical purposing I'd
like to get the most out of my money and choices
but am hopelessly lost about the budget options versus
the possibilities for great bargains on last generation
offerings that are still around on offer.

New processor vs last generation, motherboards
that are compatible, low cost RAM packs to fill
sockets, great component inclusions and so on.

I already have my server board based workstation for
the heavy lifting this is just for friends coming over or
side projects.


Approximate Purchase Date:

This weekend or next - depending

Budget Range:

$400-700

System Usage from Most to Least Important:

Surfing, Starcraft, Linux - VM only,
Intake of Photos - light digital editing

Parts Not Required:

GTX460 2Win
Lian Li case
500W PS
250GB & 750GB spinners
cooler master vapor chamber heatsink
monitors
DVD burner
speakers

Preferred Website(s) for Parts:

NCIX or Memory Express because they
are local and I can walk in and pick stuff up
while determining available in stock from the web.

Country:

BC Canada

Parts Preferences:

Motherboard with usb3.0/32GB RAM
CPU most bang for buck
SSD size and speed for OS/limited applications

Overclocking:

Maybe

SLI or Crossfire:

SLI

Monitor Resolution:

1920x1080 (x2)

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

fport

More about : cobbling leftover parts modest system

October 14, 2014 11:29:26 PM

Here is something to get you started.
Let me know if you want older generations in order to save some money.

The thing is that this route will allow you to easily upgrade later on:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($246.98 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: MSI Z97-G55 SLI ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($132.98 @ DirectCanada)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($89.99 @ Memory Express)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($82.89 @ DirectCanada)
Total: $552.84
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-15 02:27 EDT-0400
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October 15, 2014 12:23:56 AM

Pr3di said:
Here is something to get you started.
Let me know if you want older generations in order to save some money.
The thing is that this route will allow you to easily upgrade later on:


I hadn't thought about upgrading, so after following your links I stopped and thought about it.

My next box will be a speed demon taking over for my current dual xeon workhorse which
will step down to take over for this cobbletogether effort which I doubt will have any further
value to me in about 2-3 years time. It'll be a giveaway at that point.

I like the fast i-5, I think I remember it always being recommended over more expensive cpu's for non critical applications like what I want to do, but I would like more RAM and it doesn't have to be overclocker class it just has to be plentiful. The GTX 460 2Win is a beast so I definitely want the 16x slot for it, maybe USB3.0 can be picked up with my add in card which is just laying around here so it is not as necessary to have.

Are there any boards that take ECC RAM, I've got gigs of that laying about.

It's a good start and got me thinking Pr3di.




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Related resources
October 15, 2014 1:31:58 AM

Related to what you want, please also check this out:
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/294360-30-help-choo...

Also, a cheaper non-K CPU, and 16 GB of RAM:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($196.98 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($119.99 @ Memory Express)
Memory: G.Skill Trident X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2400 Memory ($188.14 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($82.89 @ DirectCanada)
Total: $588.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-15 04:31 EDT-0400
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October 15, 2014 9:07:50 PM

Pr3di said:
Related to what you want, please also check this out:
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/294360-30-help-choo...


Believe it or not I saw that thread and didn't know what to make of it. I have 6 pieces of
4GB, DDR3, 1333MHz, ECC, REG, MICRON so it just made sense to ask. Of course
it wouldn't be usable unless I got a Xeon to manage it on a Xeon based MB of some sort.
So the 16GB RAM cost would then evaporate leaving $188 sitting free, but would there
be a budget MB&SLI/CPU combo available.

Since I haven't been following CPU tech I found this to explain the difference in processors,
I mean aside from the $50 savings.

http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/505/Intel_Core_i5_i5-4...

Good news on the budget front since I won't be using the old dual core laptop its 240GB SSD
can be replaced with the original drive and it becomes available as another spare part. When did
RAM get so expensive, I thought it had plummeted along with HD's. 16GB now seems a
good compromise and adding 16 more later if needed or desired. the laptop hums and haws
with a mere 8 once I start surfing and adding things in like text editing and picasa and some
editing of pics, skyping a pickup game of starcraft etc. etc.

Your two motherboard suggestions again make my head spin, for ten dollars, which way to
jump. There's an extra $80 for the SSD floating about now that I realized I am putting the laptop away
when I can upgrade to a quad core a couple of generations ahead. That then makes the i5-4460
vs the i5-4690K dollar difference less acute.

I also don't understand the video support depending on the CPU. Is there in addition to onboard
video an advance in performance depending on the CPU?

Pr3di do you see any clear path through this mess. I'm lost again despite your two solid
recommendations. Don't you have any enemies or rivals that could torpedo your suggestions
and help the process to clarity along by creating a far ranging debate over the bangs for the
budget?




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October 15, 2014 11:23:58 PM

I hope someone else can give you some suggestions :D 
I`ll look into this more when I get to work, and try to give you more suggestions.
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October 16, 2014 9:30:26 AM

Pr3di said:
Ok, so until we get some more people on here, I`ll give you some links (if you don`t have them already) for CPUs/mobos supporting ECC:


Thanks for those Pr3di.

The 'op' (me), has spent some time following the starting points you took the time to lay out and
realised how hopeless it was to hit the spec sheets and web pages on site after site when he
didn't know what he wanted beyond using his leftover parts without a fantastic outlay of cash.
Having no experience with the just past and current possibilities and combination thereof.

My next new machine build is scheduled for 2 years down the road to replace my current workstation.

So I've decided to become fixated on a certain combination and let people take potshots
at it based on 'just as good' but 'way less money' (say $100 +) or better for the same money
keeping in mind this is not a system build for the future that is going to be upgraded. This
system is solely to suck up spare parts to allow me to play starcraft with two ai's on my side
against 3 ai's on the other side, web surf constantly to 20 tabs or better, sometimes 3 different
browsers, use picasa to intake and sort and lightly edit 400-800 photos via usb3.0, skype, irc,
and write all at the same time'ish. The laptop can go back to linux duties.

http://www.ncix.com/detail/intel-core-i5-i5-4690-haswel... $249

http://www.ncix.com/detail/asus-maximus-vii-hero-atx-5c... $229

http://www.ncix.com/detail/kingston-hyperx-fury-memory-... $169

All of which works out to $647 for something slightly different than I started out asking for but
now I think I have a challenge. Given what I am now fixated on after too many trips to the well
what can be accomplished for far less money for what is in effect a throwaway with a limited
life span?

The other thing is that this is all current and in stock and I can put it together this weekend.
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Best solution

October 16, 2014 10:38:39 AM

To be honest, that would be a nice build.
I`m only dreaming of a mobo like that, that I want to get into a "future" NZXT Phantom 410.

Enjoy building!
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