Development system

[davemcminoway]

Hi,

I would like some assistance. I'm not a hardware person so would really appreciate some assistance. I would like a machine, either built to order or build myself, for running virtual machines concurrently. It will be used for testing and development as well as streaming media if possible. Ideally would like something with RAID capability, 2 TB drives and at least 12G RAM. Thats as far as my knowledge goes. I want to have an idea of how much I'm looking to spend and what is acceptable. Anything else I may need - UPS, etc.

Also thought about purchasing a NAS to backup my personal files, etc.

Thank you in advance for your help.

Dave

 

[michxymi]

Intel Core i7-2600 Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I72600
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115071

GIGABYTE GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128498

2 x Mushkin Enhanced Silverline 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model 996770
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226095

ASUS ENGT440 DC SL/DI/1GD3 GeForce GT 440 (Fermi) 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121469

Intel 320 Series SSDSA2CW120G3K5 2.5" 120GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167050

Ideally that's the machine for you. It has a 4 Core CPU with Hyperthreading along with 16GB of RAM and SSD for fast response, plus a silent Nvidia GPU for Cuda Cores and better support for other than Windows OS.

865$

 

[AdrianPerry]

16GB 4x4GB Sticks of RAM 1600MHz instead of 1333MHz for the same price:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231429

 

[davemcminoway]

Hi,

I would like some assistance. I'm not a hardware person so would really appreciate some assistance. I would like a machine, either built to order or build myself, for running virtual machines concurrently. It will be used for testing and development as well as streaming media if possible. Ideally would like something with RAID capability, 2 TB drives and at least 12G RAM. Thats as far as my knowledge goes. I want to have an idea of how much I'm looking to spend and what is acceptable. Anything else I may need - UPS, etc.

Also thought about purchasing a NAS to backup my personal files, etc.

Thank you in advance for your help.

Dave

Thank you for your answers. What kind of case and RAID support. I will be using this for SQL Server, MYSQL and Web APP virtual environments. Would also like to stream media content. I noticed I did not mention these in the original post. Any particular NAS you would recommend.

 

[michxymi]

No need to NAS. Get two of these

Western Digital Caviar Black WD2002FAEX 2TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136792

And RAID 1 them. This will give you 2TB space. And you can use your SSD for OS and programs.

 

[AdrianPerry]

EDIT

^^ Ignore post, i thought i had an idea, but i was wrong

 

[michxymi]

Aren't Samsung F4's cheaper and considered better than Caviar Blacks?

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2tb-samsung-hd204ui-spinpoint-f4eg-sata-3gb-s-5400rpm-32mb-cache-89ms-ncq

I can only seem to find a link for them in the UK, not sure if the US stocks 2TB SpinPoints?

Cheaper yes but I don't think they 're better plus I don't want 5400RPM even for storage. The best option is Spinpoint F3 but it's 1TB, and by taking 4 he will need a raid controller

 

[AdrianPerry]

Cheaper yes but I don't think they 're better plus I don't want 5400RPM even for storage. The best option is Spinpoint F3 but it's 1TB, and by taking 4 he will need a raid controller

EDITed before you even replied cos i was wrong I presumed they were 7200RPM when i posted

A z68 motherboard with 4 1TB SpinPoint F3's would work nicely in RAID0+1?

 

[michxymi]

EDITed before you even replied cos i was wrong I presumed they were 7200RPM when i posted

A z68 motherboard with 4 1TB SpinPoint F3's would work nicely in RAID0+1?

Ah sorry didn't see it. With 4 drives (+1 the SSD) wouldn't he need a Raid controller?

 

[AdrianPerry]

Im rather inexperienced with RAID but doesnt the i7 or the z68 motherboard come with the Marvel Controller/JMicron Controller? And this controls the RAID/SATA ports?

EDIT:

From the Gigabyte Motherboard details:
2 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors (SATA3_0, SATA3_1) and 3 x SATA 3Gb/s connectors (SATA2_2~SATA2_4) support for SATA RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, and RAID 10
2 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors (GSATA3_5, GSATA3_6) support for SATA RAID 0 and RAID 1

^^ That would suggest RAID 10 is do-able (RAID 10 requring 4HDD's minimum)

 

[michxymi]

Nice one! He can go for 4 Spinpoint F3s then!

 

[AdrianPerry]

Nice one! He can go for 4 Spinpoint F3s then!

Dont take my word for it xD Thats just how i interpreted it.

 

[davemcminoway]

Hi,

I would like some assistance. I'm not a hardware person so would really appreciate some assistance. I would like a machine, either built to order or build myself, for running virtual machines concurrently. It will be used for testing and development as well as streaming media if possible. Ideally would like something with RAID capability, 2 TB drives and at least 12G RAM. Thats as far as my knowledge goes. I want to have an idea of how much I'm looking to spend and what is acceptable. Anything else I may need - UPS, etc.

Also thought about purchasing a NAS to backup my personal files, etc.

Thank you in advance for your help.

Dave

Guys thanks for all your help. I'm sorry I didn't reply sooner. I am probably going to pick and choose my hardware from Tiger Direct (dont have much time) . I at least know what to look for.

 

[davemcminoway]

Best answer selected by davemcminoway.