Constructing a workstation

[antonvlks]

Hello

I want to construct a workstation for electromagnetic simulation numeric.
For this end I am willing to spend about 7-8 K dollars.
Can you help me choose the right part for the computer?
What is needed is a lot of RAM (the more the better), a strong CPU, a fast and big R-Disk, and a GPU that can support large 3d models (it is not part of the calculation, but essential for the work).

Anton

 

[GhislainG]

Why not buy a system like the HP XW8600 WorkstatIon with 128 GB of memory?

 

[antonvlks]

I am looking for a computer built upon i7 proccesor.
But the problem is that I am not finding large RAMs compatible with its motherboards.
Is it the case? should I use the older generation proccesors?

 

[cdenny1]

i7 Dual processors arent out yet, and with a budget of 7-8k you should visit boxxtech.com

LG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model GH22NS30 - OEM
$24.99

COOLER MASTER COSMOS 1010 ESA RC-1010-KSN1-GP Black/ Silver Aluminum / Steel ATX Full Tower Computer
$259.99

2x Fujitsu MBA3300 MBA3147RC 147GB 15000 RPM Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) Hard Drive - OEM
$379.98

4x Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
$479.96

PC Power & Cooling T12W 1200W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
$549.99

ASUS DSEB-D16/SAS Dual LGA 771 Intel 5400 SSI EEB 3.61 Server Motherboard - Retail
$529.99

ATI 100-505554 FirePro V8700 1GB GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 Workstation Video Card - Retail
$1,129.99

8x Kingston 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR2 FB-DIMM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) ECC Fully Buffered Dual Channel Kit Server
$1,703.92

Pioneer Black 8X Blu-Ray DVD Burner w/ Software SATA Model BDR-203BKS - Retail
$199.99

Intel Xeon E5420 Harpertown 2.5GHz LGA 771 80W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80574E5420A - Retail
$655.98


Subtotal: $5,914.78

Set the fujisitsu sas hdd in raid 1, and set the 4 cavair black in raid 10 so you have 147gb of storage for os/apps, and 2tb of storage for data, all being continuously backed up. I added a blu-ray and a dvd burner incase you could use it (two is always better than one). This is 8 cores with 64gb of ram; with the best gpu out on the market (does your program use opengl 2.0 or direct3d?). This is under budget, but at the same time is a very very capable machine. Did you need monitors?


-Chris

 

[GhislainG]

I am looking for a computer built upon i7 proccesor.
But the problem is that I am not finding large RAMs compatible with its motherboards.
Is it the case? should I use the older generation proccesors?

You could wait for Xeon 5500 server motherboards to be released. How much memory do you really need? If 24 GB is enough, then you could buy an i7 motherboard along with memory that's certified to work with all 6 slots filled. While 128 GB of FBDIMM isn't an issue, 24 GB of DDR3 might not be as stable as you'd like. If I was going to spend that much money, I'd go with a server motherboard and FBDIMM. The benefits of workstations like the HP XW8600 is that they're well engineered, fast and relatively quiet. If interested, you should read this review: http://www.justechn.com/2008/10/03/review-hp-xw8600-workstation.

 

[antonvlks]

The specs seems great.
I have only 2 questions:

1. I checked about the motherboard, and it says it has problems with multi core processors (It recognizes only 1 or 2 cores), and for it to work I have to Reset the BIOS to default settings. Should I take the chance with it? because I cant find any other dual Xeon motherboards with 16 RAM slots.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131251

2. Maybe I should get more cooling for the computer? It seems It will heat up a lot.

Thanks for the help
Anton