Build for $1,500 gaming and VMware virtualization lab

rcald2000 · Jun 17, 2015

*** current machine #1 ***

Lenovo X230 / i7 3520 / 16 GB RAM / Samsung 850 EVO 500 GB

*** current machine #2 ***

Dell Precision tower 5810 / Xeon E5-1620 / 8 GB RAM / Intel 750 400 GB SSD / Samsung 850 250 GB RAID 0 x 4

Approximate Purchase Date: This month (June 2015)

Budget Range: $1,250 - $1500

System Usage from Most to Least Important: VMware ESX lab, Gaming

Parts Not Required: Power Supply, video card, storage, Monitors, keyboard, speakers, and mouse

Parts to Upgrade: Case, CPU, MOBO , RAM, CPU fan OR water cooling

Do you need to buy OS: Yes (Windows 7 Professional 64 bit)

Country: US

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: NewEgg, and Amazon.

Parts Preferences: INTEL for CPU and NVIDIA for GPU

Overclocking: Yes, eventually.

SLI or Crossfire: Yes, eventually.

Your Monitor Resolution:1920 X 1200 (two Dell UltraSharp 60 Hz monitors)

Additional Comments: I don't mind paying a little bit more than my suggested budget. Ideally I'd prefer to keep the Dell Precision for my VMWare virtualization lab and then build an additional workstation for gaming, but I can't afford that. I'll probably return the Dell because I'm having trouble making my Intel 750 a boot drive with the C612 BIOS, the MSI GTX 970 is too big for me to close the case and it's 685 watt power supply only has two 6 pin power connectors for video cards. In the future I plan to upgrade to two GTX 980 Ti's and two 1440p IPS 144 Hz monitors; there is no timeline for those specific upgrades. Any suggestions and build tips are greatly appreciated. Thanks again in advance everyone.

*** Parts I already own ***

PS: EVGA 1300 G2
Samsung 850 250 GB (four)
Intel 750 400 GB (one)
GPU: MSI GTX 970 4G Gamer

*** Notes on parts I need ***

case: I like the "Fractal Design Define R5" but I'm open to other ideas.

cpu: I think that I'd prefer 40 lane CPU instead of just 28 lane. The reason is that I plan on buying SLI 980 Ti & RAID 0 PCIe drives in the future. I'm concerned about bottlenecks. It must also support at least 64 GB (see "motherboard" below)

motherboard: 64 GB minimum. Must support booting of Intel 750 therefore X99 or Z97. The 64 GB is needed for my VMware lab. A motherboard supporting 96 or 128 GB would be a bonus but not required.

cpu fan or liquid cooling. I heard the "BeQuiet Dark Rock 3" is nice, but I'm open to another fan or liquid cooling.

memory: I initially thought ECC memory would be nice, but since this is a lab machine, and not production, it's not really needed.

windows 7 professional 64 bit. I just have never liked the interface on Windows 8.

i7Baby · Jun 17, 2015

Which version ? http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1003661

64bit x86 cpu, 2gb ram, NIC, sata drive - nothing at all really

So - X99 I gather. As above, you certainly don't need 64gb ram.

Try -

CPU: Intel Core i7-5930K 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($557.64 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H110i GT 113.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock X99 Extreme6 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard ($239.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws 4 series 64GB (8 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($589.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 750D ATX Full Tower Case ($129.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: XFX XTR 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($115.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Asus BC-12B1ST/BLK/B/AS Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($52.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 OEM (64-bit) ($132.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1939.46

What do you want to cut back on? I'd suggest halving the ram at least.

rcald2000 · Jun 17, 2015

VMware version: ESX 5.5.0; I know that 6.0 is already out.
Because I run everything off one computer, I use VMware Workstation to virtual the ESX servers and then run the VM's inside of them. I call it "inception". Just for a basic lab, I need 16 GB minimum, just to run three "virtualized" ESXi servers. That way I can practice setting them up for Vmotion, HA, DRS, etc.

64 GB of ram: The reason that I need that much is for installing and running VMware VCops. The minimum physical memory requirement is 48 GB.

Power supply: I already own a EVGA 1300 watt G2. I'm so annoyed that my Dell only has two 6 pin connectors, I overcompensated on the wattage of the EVGA G2.

Optical drive: Nice catch, forgot that I needed one of those. Blu-Ray Reader even more awesome.

price cut back: Actually I've already eliminated the power supply, since I already have one. Honestly I think this is looking very good. Honestly never thought I'd get above a 4790K, although I do think that I read that CPU only supports 32 GB. If that's true then it wouldn't fit my needs. I'm not mad at having a 6 core 40 lane processor. <drool>

i7Baby · Jun 17, 2015

Just for a basic lab, I need 16 GB minimum, just to run three "virtualized" ESXi servers. - where are you getting this from? - link?

i7 4790k doesn't suport 40 pcie lanes. only x99 does and then only 5930k or 5960k

OK, now try -

CPU: Intel Core i7-5930K 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($557.64 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H110i GT 113.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock X99 Extreme6 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard ($239.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 750D ATX Full Tower Case ($129.99 @ Micro Center)
Optical Drive: Asus BC-12B1ST/BLK/B/AS Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($52.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 OEM (64-bit) ($132.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1373.47

You're now cooking!

i7Baby · Jun 17, 2015

See http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vcops-enterprise5-install-guide.pdf

You must install vCenter Operations Enterprise Server on a 64‐bit machine that meets specific hardware requirements.
System Requirements 2
Table 2-1.
Operating System Version Service Pack
Windows Server 2003 64‐bit SP2 or later
Windows Server 2008 64‐bit N/A
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 64‐bit N/A
Hardware
Component One Million Metrics Two Million Metrics Six Million Metrics
CPU 4CPU 8CPU 32CPU
Memory 14GB 28GB 72GB
Disk Storage 1.5TB
FSBD: 1.5TB
Database: 100GB
3TB
FSDB: 2.8TB
Database: 200GB
8.8TB
FSDB: 8.4TB
Database: 400GB
Disk I/0 for Analytics
VM
2,000 IOPS 4,000 IOPS 12,000 IOPS

So the above should be fine for "One Million Metrics"

Vahe Bro A · Jun 17, 2015

if i where you i would save up $300 and get all of these.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231799 RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157535 motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117403 CPU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181035 CPU cooler
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160 Case

Grand Total: $1,808.92 with $50 rebate. so i would save up another $300 and not get anything els

rcald2000 · Jun 17, 2015

i7, do you use VMware at work or home?

CBT Nuggets - VMware vSphere 5.5 VCP5-DCV
https://www.cbtnuggets.com/it-training/vmware-vsphere-5-5-vcp5-dcv

* You can sign up for the one week free trial if you're interested.

i7Baby · Jun 17, 2015

Why such an expensive motherboard?

Vahe Bro A · Jun 17, 2015

because it's a really good motherboard. and it can run 4 GPU's at x16

i7Baby · Jun 17, 2015

x16 isn't needed. In fact I don't even know why the OP needs 40 pcie lanes - ?

Vahe Bro A · Jun 17, 2015

just in case he decides to do some Video editing and rendering

Vahe Bro A · Jun 17, 2015

he can render video's on one screen/ do his VMware ESX lab on another screen and he can play BF4 on another screen

i7Baby · Jun 17, 2015

rcald2000 :

I've never had use for it. But thanks anyway.

i7Baby · Jun 17, 2015

Vahe Bro A :

And he needs 64 pcie lanes to do that?

Vahe Bro A · Jun 17, 2015

x16 mean's your graphics card are working at full throttle. so when you SLI and you get x8 x8 the graphics cards are working half the speed of x16 x16

Vahe Bro A · Jun 17, 2015

if he buy's my build he will not need another computer for more then 10 years

rcald2000 · Jun 17, 2015

i7 and Vahe Bro, I thank you both for all your input. I'm leaving this thread open and hopefully more people with contribute their opinion. The idea of having 64 GB to play with is amazing. I'll just sell something around my place to cover the slightly additional cost.

Vahe Bro A · Jun 17, 2015

rcald2000 :

yah xD . my next build is going to be that CPU and motherboard. and when i read that you already have a 1300W power supply i said this would be perfect for you if you even decide to do SLI or crossfire.

Build for $1,500 gaming and VMware virtualization lab

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