3930k based build - no frills, running statistical analysis apps

[computer_idiot]

Hello-

I'm in the process of selecting components for a new build and was hoping to get some input on a few choices...any critiques or other opinions are welcome as well. The machine is used for running financial applications that benefit greatly from multi-threading (thus the 3930k). I won't even surf the web with this machine, so my only priorities are stability, more stability, and then speed...won't be OC'ing. Below is what I've picked so far and some questions...prices include shipping. Again, greatly appreciate any input:

Case:
-CoolerMaster 690 II ($70)
http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Computer-Case-RC-692-KKN2/dp/B00336EM0W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1328630597&sr=8-1

MOBO:
-Intel DX79TO ($188)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813121552

CPU:
-i7 3930k ($600?)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116492
...assuming it becomes available some time this century...if it gets backed up much further, i may go with a 3820 and then swap it out once the price of the 3930 comes down a bit...would really like to avoid that though

Cooler:
-Corsair H70 Core w/two Noctua NF-P12s ($118)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005QUQP8U/ref=oh_o03_s00_i00_details
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000YSONMO/ref=oh_o02_s00_i00_details

RAM:
-G.SKILL Ripjaws 16GB (4x4GB) 240-pin DDR3 1600 ($88)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231315

Optical Drive:
-LG 22X Super-Multi DVD Burner ($16)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136240

Hard Drive:
-Crucial M4 64GB SSD ($90)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Crucial-Technology-M4-64-GB-Internal-2-5-CT064M4SSD2-SSD-Solid-State-Drive-/230739235449#vi-content
...will likely bring over a WD 640GB from my current machine at some point, but for now this should be sufficient

Video Card:
-I run my machines in Windows "Adjust for best performance" mode and don't care about graphics at all (will be using a monitor that is 5 - 10 years old...if it will work). So I'm looking for cheap (but stable) recommendations...my only concern would be if a low end card could somehow bottleneck the other parts of the system...to my knowledge that's not a valid concern, but I'm also not a hardware expert so very much appreciate input / recs here.

Power Supply:
-Once the video card is settled, I'll need to figure out my power requirements. Could also use some input here on brands/models known for their reliability.

Already have an extra keyboard/mouse on hand, so I think that's it...if I'm doing anything else silly, please let me know about it.

 

[Why_Me]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133386 $49.99
PNY VCGGT5201XPB GeForce GT 520 (Fermi) 1GB 64-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Low Profile Ready Video Card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371033 $45.99
Antec EarthWatts Green EA-380D Green 380W Continuous power ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

 

[computer_idiot]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133386 $49.99
PNY VCGGT5201XPB GeForce GT 520 (Fermi) 1GB 64-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Low Profile Ready Video Card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371033 $45.99
Antec EarthWatts Green EA-380D Green 380W Continuous power ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

Thanks Why_Me. That card looks just right to me.

I apologize for not mentioning this earlier but as I looked over a power supply calculator I realized that I'd like to keep the option open of adding a few pieces of hardware down the line...specifically that would include 8 RAM sticks (instead of 4), multiple RAID configured mechanical drives, and possibly a NIC. In light of that, how much power would you recommend? 600W?

 

[striker410]

Hi! Welcome to the forums.

Unusual request, this. One we can take care of though. Let's get to work!
-I might swap the 3930k for an i7-2600. The 3930k is an enthusiast level chip, one designed to be overclocked (hence the K nomenclature) to the limits. Here Tom's does an excellent breakdown of the performance gap: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/core-i7-3930k-3820-test-benchmark,3090-14.html You're looking at 15% more performance for 100% more. If you have the budget then it might be worth it. Weigh the performance and the cost, decide what you want to do.
-Not sure what apps you are using but you might not need 16GB of ram.
-Why the air cooler? If you don't plan on overclocking, you could use stock cooling. It would be noisy but it'd get the job done. If you just want silence there are cheaper options available.
-Power supply. Since we are going for reliable, I would look at Seasonic, Antec, Corsair or Enermax. Here's a cheap yet very reliable option: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371033
-For a video card, really anything will do. Something like this will let you do dual monitors in the future, while still keeping the price very low: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131338 really though if you go with Sandy Bridge, you could use onboard.

Hope that helps ya out Cheers!

 

[Why_Me]

Hi! Welcome to the forums.

Unusual request, this. One we can take care of though. Let's get to work!
-I might swap the 3930k for an i7-2600. The 3930k is an enthusiast level chip, one designed to be overclocked (hence the K nomenclature) to the limits. Here Tom's does an excellent breakdown of the performance gap: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/core-i7-3930k-3820-test-benchmark,3090-14.html You're looking at 15% more performance for 100% more. If you have the budget then it might be worth it. Weigh the performance and the cost, decide what you want to do.
-Not sure what apps you are using but you might not need 16GB of ram.
-Why the air cooler? If you don't plan on overclocking, you could use stock cooling. It would be noisy but it'd get the job done. If you just want silence there are cheaper options available.
-Power supply. Since we are going for reliable, I would look at Seasonic, Antec, Corsair or Enermax. Here's a cheap yet very reliable option: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371033
-For a video card, really anything will do. Something like this will let you do dual monitors in the future, while still keeping the price very low: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131338 really though if you go with Sandy Bridge, you could use onboard.

Hope that helps ya out Cheers!

The LGA2011 cpu's don't come with a cooler, you have to purchase your own and they recommend pseudo water cooling for them.

 

[striker410]

The LGA2011 cpu's don't come with a cooler, you have to purchase your own and they recommend pseudo water cooling for them.

Ah, my bad. And it's an H70, not A70. Derp. Good catch.

 

[Why_Me]

Thanks Why_Me. That card looks just right to me.

I apologize for not mentioning this earlier but as I looked over a power supply calculator I realized that I'd like to keep the option open of adding a few pieces of hardware down the line...specifically that would include 8 RAM sticks (instead of 4), multiple RAID configured mechanical drives, and possibly a NIC. In light of that, how much power would you recommend? 600W?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151093 <----- It's modular and it's a Seasonic. You can add H/D's up the kazoo with this and have plenty of juice to spare...that and it's on sale atm.

 

[computer_idiot]

Hi! Welcome to the forums.

Unusual request, this. One we can take care of though. Let's get to work!
-I might swap the 3930k for an i7-2600. The 3930k is an enthusiast level chip, one designed to be overclocked (hence the K nomenclature) to the limits. Here Tom's does an excellent breakdown of the performance gap: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/core-i7-3930k-3820-test-benchmark,3090-14.html You're looking at 15% more performance for 100% more. If you have the budget then it might be worth it. Weigh the performance and the cost, decide what you want to do.
-Not sure what apps you are using but you might not need 16GB of ram.
-Why the air cooler? If you don't plan on overclocking, you could use stock cooling. It would be noisy but it'd get the job done. If you just want silence there are cheaper options available.
-Power supply. Since we are going for reliable, I would look at Seasonic, Antec, Corsair or Enermax. Here's a cheap yet very reliable option: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371033
-For a video card, really anything will do. Something like this will let you do dual monitors in the future, while still keeping the price very low: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131338 really though if you go with Sandy Bridge, you could use onboard.

Hope that helps ya out Cheers!

Hey Striker...thanks for that...glad I can bring in some variety.

I hear what you're saying about the CPU...thing is that the sole purpose of this machine is to run one application and it benefits almost linearly from additional cores (obviously a bit of an exaggeration, but if anything will see improvement going from 8 to 12 total cores...this is it). So I think if I splurge anywhere on this build, extra cores is/are the place to do it (although I'm happy to be corrected if there is something I'm failing to see).

You're right that 8GB would probably be sufficient, but if the app has to access the hard disk it's very bad...so I figured that I'd play it safe for an extra 30 bucks or so.

Yes, silence is what I'm after. My current machine has a FRIO in it and it sounds like I'm sitting on the runway at JFK. Am I overlooking cheaper options that will be just as quiet and have similar performance?

Two recommendations for that power supply...must be solid. Did you catch my add'l comment to Why_Me on whether 380W would be enough for additional hardware? My only concern with that one.

Onboard graphics...can't imagine that's real popular around here, ha...but it would be fine for me. Unfortunately, I don't think it's an option if I stick with the 3930.

 

[computer_idiot]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151093 <----- It's modular and it's a Seasonic. You can add H/D's up the kazoo with this and have plenty of juice to spare...that and it's on sale atm.

Looks good thanks...always like a sale too. Not sure why I put a 600W supply in my last 'no frills' build with an i7 950...someone must have scared me into it.

 

[vitornob]

Awesome machine you want there sir!
If you won't be overclocking, I would recommend another CPU Cooler, the Noctua NH-C14, it's a beast, and it's quiet
Probably quieter than your H70

 

[computer_idiot]

Awesome machine you want there sir!
If you won't be overclocking, I would recommend another CPU Cooler, the Noctua NH-C14, it's a beast, and it's quiet
Probably quieter than your H70

Thank you...just checked out the Noctua website, that thing is quiet...good deal cheaper too. I think I'll just miss clearing my RAM though in dual fan mode (have the same problem with my FRIO)...haven't been able to find the dual fan mode clearance number specifically, but high clearance mode is 65mm and the fans are 25mm wide, so I'm guessing 40mm is best case. I believe the Ripjaws need 41mm. Will look into it more to get exact specs...thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Why_Me]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233197 <----- $6 more, but if clearance becomes an issue it might be worth looking into.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233198 <----- same set but in blue

 

[computer_idiot]

Thanks guys for all your help. I think I'm going to stick with liquid just in case I decide to repurpose this machine and OC once I upgrade.

As long as no one sees any issues, I think it's time to give my credit card a workout...and then begin the torturous wait for 3930s to arrive...

Thanks again.

 

[computer_idiot]

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