First Build, for statistical computing - Advice?

[shambert_enterprises]

I need a fast desktop for work purposes, and I'm hoping to save some cash and learn a bit by building it myself.

A few things:

1. Gaming is of minimal/no concern
2. I'll be running linux (ubuntu)
3. For my job I run a lot of parallelized statistical software
4. Shooting for around 750$

I have most of the parts picked out, but I haven't decided yet on a graphics card or power supply. I would almost certainly be happy with integrated graphics but my current mobo/cpu don't have them.

APEX SK-393-C ATX Mid Tower Case (20$ newegg)

Seagate Barracuda 1TB (135$ newegg)

MSI 22x Internal DVDRW (comes with the HD)

ACER S200LAbd 20 inch LED monitor (100$ newegg)

MSI 870A-G54 (FX) AM3+ AMD 870 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard (90$)

Patriot G Series DDR3 1333 (2x4GB) (37$ newegg)

AMD FX-8120 Zambezi 3.1Ghz 8-core (200$)

That puts me at 586$ before the power supply/graphics card.

Any advice really appreciated!

 

[sosofm]

GPU : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161395 90$
PSU : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171060 55$

 

[g-unit1111]

MSI 870A-G54 (FX) AM3+ AMD 870 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard (90$)

Patriot G Series DDR3 1333 (2x4GB) (37$ newegg)

AMD FX-8120 Zambezi 3.1Ghz 8-core (200$)

First off ditch the Zambezi (due to BIOS install issues which AMD still hasn't cleaned up yet despite complaints) and don't get that motherboard - I had one and it died on me after three days. Patriot RAM is decent but there's far better vendors out there. Also spend a little bit more on the case.

Try this:

Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119227
Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271
CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115074
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314

 

[ebola28]

I prefer this PSU, little bit more expensive, but more reliable than CM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371035 $70

 

[SpadeM]

Since gaming isn't relevant (running on ubuntu) then go for something cheap like a HD 6450 or something similar that is sufficient for desktop/multiple monitor support. As for the power supply, definitely go for Seasonic, Antec, FPS, Corsair ... FPS Aurum 400W is a nice start for 80 bucks or something similar Seasonic 430W.

 

[shambert_enterprises]

I'll definitely want hyperthreading if I get an intel processor so I can go up to eight "cores" using my parallelized software. Any more details on the BIOS issues with Zambezi?

 

[g-unit1111]

I'll definitely want hyperthreading if I get an intel processor so I can go up to eight "cores" using my parallelized software. Any more details on the BIOS issues with Zambezi?

Zambezi/FX/whatever won't work with older motherboards due to the fact that anything 970 and below (even some 990FX) won't recognize them out of the box with older BIOS. You have to have an older CPU and flash the BIOS to the latest version, then install the new one. It's a huge pain and AMD should have addressed this before releasing the chip, not after.