$2000 Workstation with a side of gaming

[mr-fish]

Approximate Purchase Date: preferably by this weekend (06/02-06/03)

Budget Range: ~$2000USD

System Usage from Most to Least Important: work, videogames

Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: (in order of preference) Amazon, Newegg, Tigerdirect

Country: US

Parts Preferences: Intel, Nvidia

Overclocking: Most likely, depending on stability

SLI or Crossfire: Possibly in the future

Monitor Resolution: 2560 x 1440 Resolution, although will most likely add a 2nd 2560x1440 in the next few months.

Additional Comments: The ideal look of a PC for me would be Voodoo Omen, so I am striving for clean+simplistic look inside and out.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Initial Build:

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($349.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100 92.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($99.99 @ CompUSA)
Motherboard: Asus SABERTOOTH Z77 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($229.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($116.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($115.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Hard Drive: Samsung 830 Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($249.99 @ B&H)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($419.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Silverstone FT02B ATX Mid Tower Case ($229.00 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair 750W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($134.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1964.91
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)

Although now that I have actually researched a bit, I have to say I am even more up in the air about a processor/motherboard combo. The 2700k seems to perform nearly just as well as the 3770k, with more stability for overclocking. Also while an X79/i7-3930 configuration would seem to be the best for a workstation, I haven't really seen much in the way of benchmarks for 3D rendering/After Effects work that lead me to believe it would make it worth the $300+(depending on MB) increase in pricetag.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[bavman]

What kind of work would this work station be doing?

 

[hellfire24]

Initial Build:

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($349.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100 92.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($99.99 @ CompUSA)
Motherboard: Asus SABERTOOTH Z77 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($229.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($116.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($115.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Hard Drive: Samsung 830 Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($249.99 @ B&H)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($419.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Silverstone FT02B ATX Mid Tower Case ($229.00 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair 750W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($134.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1964.91
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

you made some pretty good selection.only change i would suggest is the cooler.you pay 100 bucks and still get performance of a high end(cheaper)air cooler and issues too.recently i saw one more problem-
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/forum2.php?config=tomshardwareus.inc&cat=29&post=276036&page=1&p=1&sondage=0&owntopic=1&trash=0&trash_post=0&print=0&numreponse=0&quote_only=0&new=0&nojs=0
better go with a good aircooler, i would suggest cooler master hyper 612 PWM,it's as big as D14 but cools really well-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103106&Tpk=hyper%20612
By the way,that's some really fine looking case :lol:
other things are great and one more thing,if you are building a rig mainly for professional works and some gaming then you *might* wanna take a look at x79 platform-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGA_2011
supports a lot of ram,pci e lanes and other stuff.

 

[bigcyco1]

i wouldn't get that case i would get http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119225 or http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133191 i also highly recommend this cooler http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608018#top it's a straight beast and silent

 

[hellfire24]

i wouldn't get that case i would get http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119225 or http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133191

Fortress is better than both IMO,looks better,cools better,low noise,better build quality,better cable managment and overall 9/10 from me.any good reason to get to HAF X or chaser over fortress?

 

[Guest]

Although now that I have actually researched a bit, I have to say I am even more up in the air about a processor/motherboard combo. The 2700k seems to perform nearly just as well as the 3770k, with more stability for overclocking. Also while an X79/i7-3930 configuration would seem to be the best for a workstation, I haven't really seen much in the way of benchmarks for 3D rendering/After Effects work that lead me to believe it would make it worth the $300+(depending on MB) increase in pricetag.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

your absolutely right, a i7-3770K even gives a 3960X a run for the money.

i give ya something to think about if you care to . . you do not have to have a 750 watt PSU for that set up
a i7 3770K hits 147 watts max
http://static.techspot.com/articles-info/523/bench/Power.png
a 670 maxes at 167 watts
http://tpucdn.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_GTX_670/images/power_maximum.gif

thats 314 watts then throw in 10 for the HD and over compansate 10 for the SSD and 8 each for chipset and RAM. thats 350 watts on the 12 volt rail or 30 amps.

Corsair Professional Series 650-Watt $116.99
+12V@52A
is plenty even if you decide to go SLI later with another 670.

but thats me being picky, great build

 

[bigcyco1]

Fortress is better than both IMO,looks better,cools better,low noise,better build quality,better cable managment and overall 9/10 from me.any good reason to get to HAF X or chaser over fortress?

Your opinion mine is different the case he picked is only a mid tower and overpriced imo

 

[hellfire24]

i give ya something to think about if you care to . . you do not have to have a 750 watt PSU for that set up
a i7 3770K hits 147 watts max
http://static.techspot.com/articles-info/523/bench/Power.png
a 670 maxes at 167 watts
http://tpucdn.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_GTX_670/images/power_maximum.gif

thats 314 watts then throw in 10 for the HD and over compansate 10 for the SSD and 8 each for chipset and RAM. thats 350 watts on the 12 volt rail or 30 amps.

Corsair Professional Series 650-Watt $116.99
+12V@52A
is plenty even if you decide to go SLI later with another 670.

but thats me being picky, great build

good point but i would go with a 750w psu for $2k build

 

[bigcyco1]

This is just as good as the H-100 and quieter and cheaper get this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608018#top

 

[bigcyco1]

You'll need different ram though if you get NH-D14 i have this on my other rig http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231456&Tpk=DDR3%091866%094GB%09G.Skill%09F3-14900CL9Q-16GBXL#top with NH-D14

 

[Guest]

good point but i would go with a 750w psu for $2k build

i'd give my lecture on too much wattage is as harmful as not enough but i think you've read it enough on this forum already :lol:
a few dozen times! :lol:
but like i said . .being picky . . .

cheers

 

[hellfire24]

This is just as good as the H-100 and quieter and cheaper get this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608018#top

only cons are-
kinda ugly
huge!

 

[bigcyco1]

only cons are-
kinda ugly
huge!

:lol: true

 

[hellfire24]

Your opinion mine is different the case he picked is only a mid tower and overpriced imo

yeah that's i know it's a personal preference but still i would like to know the reason why you would choose HAF X or chaser over fortress??
share you thought

 

[bigcyco1]

yeah that's i know it's a personal preference but still i would like to know the reason why you would choose HAF X or chaser over fortress??
share you thought

No real reason i guess because i own both the cases i recommended and i love them :lol: there both full towers and cheaper + Great thermal performance + Expandability+ Plenty of options for cable management i never have owned the fortress and for the price i highly doubt it's worth it but i could be wrong.

 

[azeem40]

It is actually 1mm SHORTER than the 212 EVO.

 

[hellfire24]

^D14?

 

[mr-fish]

What kind of work would this work station be doing?

My workflow is currently Cinema 4D, After Effects CS5, and the rest of the CS5 creative suite. That said I am planning to get back into Zbrush in the near future.

you made some pretty good selection.only change i would suggest is the cooler.you pay 100 bucks and still get performance of a high end(cheaper)air cooler and issues too......if you are building a rig mainly for professional works and some gaming then you *might* wanna take a look at x79 platform-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGA_2011
supports a lot of ram,pci e lanes and other stuff.

Thanks, I will look into air-cooling more then!
the X79 seems like a good move with most supporting up to 64gb RAM, but I wouldn't be populating all the slots right away, and the price jump to get a LGA 2011 processor that performs comparably to the 3770k seems a bit high. I am also not sure how fully the programs I am working with would take advantage of that much RAM. Not saying that it may not be a good move, I am just having trouble understanding how much better it would be (it seems to me from benchmarks that on a 12hour render a X79/LGA2011 setup would be a matter of a few minutes faster.)

i wouldn't get that case i would get http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119225 or http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133191 i also highly recommend this cooler http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608018#top it's a straight beast and silent

Thank you, but the aesthetic of the FT02 is my preference. As well I am extremely intrigued by the rotated MB, and as hellfire24 mentioned it has other perks that would lead to a much cleaner build. So this is largely non-negotiable for me. The cooler I will look into though.

your absolutely right, a i7-3770K even gives a 3960X a run for the money......+12V@52A
is plenty even if you decide to go SLI later with another 670.

but thats me being picky, great build

Yeah, this has been my main confusion. The 3930 and 3960X definitely perform better than a 3770K, but again, it seems as if it would only be an improvement of minutes on a 12 hour render. Also, thanks for the heads up on the PSU. I mostly just tossed one in there, but it looks like you saved me the trouble of plugging in everything on thermaltake

 

[azeem40]

Yes. I compared the specs.

 

[bigcyco1]

How big is the silver arrow or NZXT Havik 140 those are both great heat sinks not sure if the OP willing to switch from H-100 but i go with one those any day over H-100

 

[bigcyco1]

My workflow is currently Cinema 4D, After Effects CS5, and the rest of the CS5 creative suite. That said I am planning to get back into Zbrush in the near future.



Thanks, I will look into air-cooling more then!
the X79 seems like a good move with most supporting up to 64gb RAM, but I wouldn't be populating all the slots right away, and the price jump to get a LGA 2011 processor that performs comparably to the 3770k seems a bit high. I am also not sure how fully the programs I am working with would take advantage of that much RAM. Not saying that it may not be a good move, I am just having trouble understanding how much better it would be (it seems to me from benchmarks that on a 12hour render a X79/LGA2011 setup would be a matter of a few minutes faster.)




Thank you, but the aesthetic of the FT02 is my preference. As well I am extremely intrigued by the rotated MB, and as hellfire24 mentioned it has other perks that would lead to a much cleaner build. So this is largely non-negotiable for me. The cooler I will look into though.



Yeah, this has been my main confusion. The 3930 and 3960X definitely perform better than a 3770K, but again, it seems as if it would only be an improvement of minutes on a 12 hour render. Also, thanks for the heads up on the PSU. I mostly just tossed one in there, but it looks like you saved me the trouble of plugging in everything on thermaltake

No problem you have a great build i think you'll be happy with it

 

[mr-fish]

Best answer selected by mr-fish.