Building a data analysis machine

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TJLano

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Jan 19, 2014
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Hi,

I'm building a computer for data analysis and have approximately $2000 to spend. It'll be running Matlab and Brainstorm in order to process EEG and MRI data. Specifically, we'll be conducting cortical source analysis (i.e., mapping EEG data onto structural MRI data points).

I'm wondering if my build will be adequate or would it be worth spending the extra money to upgrade from an i7-4970k to an i7-5930k. Will I see a significant increase in processing power?

Also, I would like to know if it would be a wise investment to use water cooling over air cooling. I'll probably only overclock either processor modestly and I am not very experienced in water cooling.

The current build I have: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/qc2yRB

Additionally, feel free to comment on the prospective build seen in the link. It would be nice to get some feedback on that build.

Sorry, that is a lot of information, but I appreciate any advice!

Thanks,
Tim

 
Solution
Eximo
But you don't want a gaming card for Matlab, you would want a Quadro. Even a cheap one would do.

That CPU certainly offers the best clock speed for the price. I still think you would want a Xeon with ECC memory for this. And if you are after memory bandwidth Quad Channel DDR4 would certainly get you that.

Why two large SSDs? EVOs are nice, but I would want something with provisioning here, and possibly a backup as well.

Full tower case seems unnecessary, just increasing the bulk of the computer. Not much in the way of components inside of it.

Air cooling is certainly more reliable then water cooling.

Not sure how to get ECC memory out of partpicker, but here is what I came up with:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/CBc2f7
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TJLano

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Jan 19, 2014
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It is primarily for data analysis, but it may see some regular web browsing use and such as well. There won't be any gaming or the like. I know the graphics card seems a bit overkill, but it'll be used for creating numerous figures in matlab (many figures have multiple layerings of other figures).
 
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Eximo

Eximo

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But you don't want a gaming card for Matlab, you would want a Quadro. Even a cheap one would do.

That CPU certainly offers the best clock speed for the price. I still think you would want a Xeon with ECC memory for this. And if you are after memory bandwidth Quad Channel DDR4 would certainly get you that.

Why two large SSDs? EVOs are nice, but I would want something with provisioning here, and possibly a backup as well.

Full tower case seems unnecessary, just increasing the bulk of the computer. Not much in the way of components inside of it.

Air cooling is certainly more reliable then water cooling.

Not sure how to get ECC memory out of partpicker, but here is what I came up with:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/CBc2f7
 
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TJLano

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Jan 19, 2014
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Thanks for coming up with this! I'll need to factor in what you've offered here.

I will switch out the graphics cards for that Quadro. I assume the larger 4gb of video ram will come in handy for all the figures created.

The 2 850 EVOs I must have accidentally left in. I meant to only have a single tb in the build (I had been debating between 500gb and a 1tb drive) and I was going to add a 1 or 2 TB HDD for backup of data.

I had chosen the full tower because it can easily house most components and I think I might be able to achieve better airflow in the case, also, space really isn't much of an issue.

Air cooling sounds like a go.

I want to learn more about the Xeon with ECC memory (it sounds like it'll be the best option).

Thanks for your suggestions thus far!

-Tim
 
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Eximo

Eximo

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I went and priced a comparable pre-built Dell Precision, came out a little overbudget, but that would get you warranty support.

For any long duration number crunching ECC on both the system and GPU memory avoids a lot of potential issues. Increases latency somewhat though.

Quadro isn't any different from a regular video card when it comes to graphics persay. What you get is the driver support for professional applications. Applications like Matlab can have plugins that will run on the CUDA cores of a GPU. And workstation class GPUs aren't artifically crippled like the gaming cards and can do things like double precision math with great speed.

That would be something to look into with your particular application. An AMD Firepro might be a better fit if your program can take advantage of OpenGL.

If either is the case, then you may not need as much CPU horsepower as you think.
 
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TJLano

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Jan 19, 2014
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Thanks for your suggestions Eximo. With your input I was able to modify my selection.

Here is what I came up with:

Xeon E5-1630V3 CPU
ASRock X99 Extreme4 LGA 2011-v3 Intel X99 (the one you had suggested had some reviews that it didn't work well with registered ECC RAM)
CM Storm Stryker Tower
DVD burner
2 TB HDD
Samsung 850 Evo 1TB SSD
Seasonic 650 PSU
Cooler Master CPU cooler
Crucial ECC Registered 32gb RAM (8x4) link below
http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-PC4-2133-Registered-288-Pin-CT16G4RFD4213/dp/B00KK8XNLA
nVidia Quadro K2200

Total price came to ~$2220 (tax excluded because it's a University purchase)

Thanks again for all of your helpful advice!

Best,
Tim
 
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Eximo

Eximo

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I like it. Depending on the software you might want to look into Firepro cards, vs Quadro/Tesla cards.

Not sure why partpicker doesn't have an ECC memory option. Found it a bit lacking in that regard for a while now. I mean they have non-ATX motherboards in there for cripes sake.

 
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