£1750 Architecture/gaming rig need opinions

toankun,

In my view, the current best cost / performance platform for a workstation is a LGA2011-3 on an X99 motherboard, The LGA2011-3 seems the best choice as the memory bandwidth is doubled and you can start with a six core CPU and later change to an 18-core if necessary. With LGA1151, the limit is four cores. If you're using CPU-based rendering, which has much higher image quality, as many cores as possible is an advantage. Rendering is one of the limited number of applications that can use every core.

A Quadro GPU is important in the case of Autodesk, Adobe, and Dessualt (Solidworks , Catia) visualization applications. It would be a dinstinct pleasure ot be able to use a GTX, but some workstation visualization programmes will almost not run on a GTX/ Revit is almsot a fundamental in architectural offices today and here is a list of the recommended GPU's:

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/syscert?siteID=123112&id=18844534&results=1&stype=graphic&product_group=2&release=2016&os=8192&manuf=all&opt=1

> which are all Quadros and Firepros. I tried to run Revit on a Quadro K600 (1GB) and it was marginal.

With this is mind, here is an earlier idea for a system that should have good performance for the cost for your uses.

BambiBoom PixelCannon Cadamodarendergrapharific iWork TurboBlast ExtremeSignature SuperModel 8000 ®©$$™®£™©™_ 8.16.15 / 11.19.15

1. CPU: Intel Core i7 5820K Socket 2011-3 Unlocked Processor (X99) Haswell-E Retail
BX80648I75820K - Intel Core i7 5820K Unlocked, S 2011-3, Haswell-E, 6 Core, 3.3GHz Clock, 3.6GHz Turbo, 15MB, 28 Lane, 140W, CPU, Retail > £308.60

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/intel-core-i7-5820k-unlocked-s-2011-3-haswell-e-6-core-33ghz-clock-36ghz-turbo-15mb-28-lane-140w-cpu

2. Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO CPU cooler > $31. (£26.05 Scan.UK)

3. Motherboard: ASRock X99 Extreme4 LGA 2011-v3 Intel X99 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard > $240 (£188.39 Scan.UK))
____ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157543&cm_re=asrock_x99_extreme_4-_-13-157-543-_-Product

4. Crucial 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM ECC DDR4 2133 (PC4-17000) Server Memory Model CT2K8G4RFS4213 > $244 (£139 Scan.UK)
____ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148839&cm_re=Crucial_16GB_%282_x_8GB%29_288-Pin_DDR4_SDRAM_ECC_DDR4_2133_%28PC4-17000%29_Server_Memory-_-20-148-839-_-Product
____ Crucial 8GB DDR4 2133 MHz Server RAM Module CT8G4WFD8213
CT8G4WFD8213 - 8GB Crucial DDR4 Server Memory, PC4-17000 (2133), 288 Pins, ECC, Unbuffered, CAS 15, 1.2V

5. GPU: PNY VCQK2200-PB Quadro K2200 4GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Workstation Video Card > $459 (£378.26 Scan.UK)
____ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133559&cm_re=quadro_k2200-_-14-133-559-_-Product

6. 256GB Samsung SM951, M.2 (22x80) PCIe 3.0 (x4) NVMe SSD, MLC NAND, Read 2150MB/s, Write 1260MB/s, 300k/100k IOPS > £117

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/256gb-samsung-sm951-m2-%2822x80%29-pcie-30-%28x4%29-nvme-ssd-mlc-nand-read-2150mb-s-write-1260mb-s-300k-100k

7. 3TB Western Digital WD30EZRZ WD Blue, 3.5" HDD, SATA III - 6Gb/s, 5400 RPM, 64MB Cache > (Files, Backup, System Image) > £77.51

____ http://www.scan.co.uk/products/3tb-western-digital-wd30ezrz-wd-blue-35-hdd-sata-iii-6gb-s-5400-rpm-64mb-cache

8. CORSAIR HX Series HX750 750W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI CrossFire 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply New 4th Gen CPU Certified Haswell Ready> $130 £119.70 (Scan.UK)

9. Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE 24X SATA DVD±RW Internal Drive w/o Software (Black) SH-224DB $17.99

10 . Corsair Obsidian 750D Large Tower Case Black with Side Window No PSU > £124.50 Scan UK)
____ http://www.scan.co.uk/products/corsair-obsidian-750d-black-full-tower-case-aluminium-steel-with-side-window-3x140mm-fans-usb-30-e-a

11. Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit w/ SP1 (1-Pack, DVD), OEM MSFQC04649 > $138.99 (£119.70 Scan U.K)

12. Monitor :Acer K242HQKbmjdp 60Hz 23.6" Monitor – £245.99

________________________________________________________

TOTAL = £1691

A. . The Quadro K2200 (4GB) GPU would not be brilliant at games, but if you're doing Part 2, there won't be any time for games anyway! Perhaps Sim City,... I have had very good with recent, used Quadros- I had eight of them in the last ten years and even the used 2004 FX 580 has never failed. You might consider a used K4200 and this is worth stretching the budget. It's 256-bit and the 3D performance by the way is a bit better than GTX 750ti, so there is some gaming potential.

B. The RAM is used in 8GB modules to be able to add more later.

Cheers,

BambiBoom,

formerly Architectural Association

1. HP z420 (2015) > Xeon E5-1660 v2 six-core @ 3.7 / 4.0GHz > 32GB DDR3 ECC 1866 RAM > Quadro K4200 (4GB) > Intel 730 480GB (9SSDSC2BP480G4R5) > Western Digital Black WD1003FZEX 1TB> M-Audio 192 sound card > 600W PSU> Logitech z2300 > Linksys AE3000 USB WiFi > 2X Dell Ultrasharp U2715H (2560 X 1440) > Windows 7 Professional 64 >
[ Passmark Rating = 5064 > CPU= 13989 / 2D= 819 / 3D= 4596 / Mem= 2772 / Disk= 4555] [Cinebench R15 > CPU = 1014 OpenGL= 126.59 FPS] 7.8.15

2. Dell Precision T5500 (2011) > Xeon X5680 six-core @ 3.33 / 3.6GHz, 24GB DDR3 ECC 1333 > Quadro K2200 (4GB ) > Samsung 840 250GB / WD RE4 Enterprise 1TB > M-Audio 192 sound card 875W PSU > Logitech z313> Linksys WMP600N PCI WiFi > Windows 7 Professional 64> HP 2711x (1920 X 1080)
[ Passmark system rating = 3490 / CPU = 9178 / 2D= 685 / 3D= 3566 / Mem= 1865 / Disk= 2122] [Cinebench 15 > CPU = 772 OpenGL= 99.72 FPS] 7.8.15

Network: Netgear GS108-400NAS Gigabit Ethernet

Why get a OEM grey market unsupported SM951 when the faster supported NVMe 950 Pro has been released?

KingDingDong,

The Samsung 950 is really amazingly good- and £156, but since posting I realized I left off the £245.99
monitor, so the whole idea has gone off at a total £1992- anyway.

The link to the Samsung is Scan U.K- retail., what do you mean by "OEM grey market unsupported"

Cheers,

BambiBoom

@ toankun
Your picks are great for a gaming rig, preferably with a bit bigger PSU.

BambiBoom gave a really (really) great response, and if you are doing heavy CAD work, I´d also suggest something similar with a nvidia quadro /firepro gpu.

you would be better off going with a build like this.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (£196.12 @ More Computers)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£65.72 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance Pro 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2400 Memory (£66.93 @ Dabs)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£59.99 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Western Digital Blue 3TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive (£74.99 @ Ebuyer)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 390X 8GB Video Card (£339.95 @ More Computers)
Case: Fractal Design Define R5 w/Window (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case (£83.90 @ CCL Computers)
Power Supply: SeaSonic G 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (£74.99 @ Amazon UK)
Monitor: Acer K242HQKbmjdp 60Hz 23.6" Monitor (£245.99 @ Aria PC)
Total: £1208.58
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-19 14:50 GMT+0000

Samsung did not intend for the 951 to be a retail consumer product. There is no manufacturer warranty or support for the consumer. It was intended for OEM builds. Samsung isn't Apple and they don't go around the world policing retail outlets and they do like to make money. Part of the delay for the 950 release was aledgedly driver and support issues. The 951 can be a real pain to install the OS on and boot properly.

My source for all of this was some threads on this board back in September and the toms October 22 950 review. I bought one anyway but haven't installed it yet, wanted to get everthing else in my build ironed out first and have some fun with it. May try and tackle it on Turkey Day.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/samsung-950-pro-ssd,4313.html

KingDingDong,

Good to know. I had head about problems with the earlier PCIe drives in getting them to be recognized as boot drives. Appreantly, past some unnamed generations obsolete, motherboards may or may not recognize solid state drives. I have a Dell Precision T5500 that arrived with a PERC 6/i (LSI 9211) RAID controller and the Samsung 840 produced lower benchmarks scores than the Seagate Chettack 15K 146GB on there before. I bought a PERC H310 that I hope to install with better results.

I've had vague ambition to add a PCIe to M.2 adapter card to either the Precision T5500 or the HP z420., but can't find much information on the prospect of them working. Have you come across these?

Thanks!

Cheers,

BambiBoom

Back to the earlier mention of quadro. The bad thing about quadros is that they do not game well, and this system will double up as a gaming rig.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor (£306.90 @ More Computers)
CPU Cooler: Phanteks PH-TC14PE_BK 78.1 CFM CPU Cooler (£72.95 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: MSI X99A Raider ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard (£172.28 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory (£85.17 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Samsung 950 PRO 512GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive (£261.25 @ Dabs)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£50.34 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Superclocked+ ACX 2.0+ Video Card (£519.94 @ More Computers)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro M ATX Mid Tower Case (£50.54 @ Aria PC)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 1050W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (£122.66 @ CCL Computers)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-118CB/BEBE DVD/CD Drive (£8.75 @ Amazon UK)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) (£72.30 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £1723.08
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-19 17:38 GMT+0000

BambiBoom: sorry can't help you there.

if you are working on nothing but 2D stuff then yes a faster single core will be more important than just more cores, when I first looked at this post I thought you were talking 3D rendering which means that the 5820k would come out way ahead, but now you've said its only 2d it would be best to go for the 6700k in my mind, and yes I would if it was me go for the GTX rather than a Quadro, these cards definatly have their place on the market but I think for you personally the GTX will work better.