Advice on a $1000 Jack of All Trades build

apk24

Reputable
Aug 6, 2015
420
0
4,960
This is my first build and first time posting to the forum, I apologize for any mistakes.

Approximate Purchase Date: over the course of the next two weeks

Budget Range: 1100 USD including taxes and shipping, would prefer to be under 1k

Use Case
It will be on 24/7
needs to survive transport in carry-on twice a year
CAD
office computing
some number crunching
media server
web server
light gaming
needs to last for 4-5 yrs

I already have monitor

OS: Win Server 2012 r2 (Own a copy trough university)

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg, Amazon, Adorama, mostly any large US retailer

Location: California, USA

Parts Preferences: would prefer Nvidia GPU for CUDA programming

Overclocking: Maybe (currently no plans, therefore going with locked Xeon)

SLI or Crossfire: No, I dont think I will need that kind of graphics performance

Your Monitor Resolution: 1080p, 100Hz

Additional Comments: It's running in my dorm 24/7 so would prefer a quieter build. However, it must stay working through the next 4-5 years so reliability is first priority.

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: My previous desktop was a 4yr old laptop with a broken screen, so I do kind of need to upgrade to be able to number crunch and CAD

Parts that I have selected so far:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1246 V3 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($289.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Arctic Cooling Alpine 11 Plus Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler ($12.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($111.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($94.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Intel 520 Series Cherryville 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (Purchased For $0.00)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($87.67 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card ($194.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Thermaltake Core V1 Mini ITX Tower Case ($34.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: Cooler Master VSM 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Case Fan: Aerocool Silent Master 200B 76.0 CFM 200mm Fan ($21.99 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: SilenX EFX-08-15B 32.0 CFM 80mm Fan ($9.99 @ Newegg)
Case Fan: SilenX EFX-08-15B 32.0 CFM 80mm Fan ($9.99 @ Newegg)
Other: Windows Server 2012 R2 (Purchased For $0.00)
Total: $939.56
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-06 13:56 EDT-0400
 

Rhezner

Admirable
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/zpxZmG
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/zpxZmG/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($237.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Zalman CNPS5X Performa CPU Cooler ($11.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M-ITX/AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($66.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($44.49 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($80.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card ($313.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair 380T Mini ITX Tower Case ($104.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec Neo Eco 620W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $901.41
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-06 14:51 EDT-0400

This is a very portable build that will game and do cuda programming VERY well.

the 1231 v3 and the 1246 vs are basically the exact same thing physically but the 1231 v3 is .1 ghz lower clocked, thats not worth the money

you also don't need more fans for this,

Any questions/concerns?
 

logainofhades

Titan
Moderator
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($237.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Zalman CNPS8900 Quiet CPU Cooler ($31.76 @ Mwave)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M-ITX/AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($83.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Mushkin ECO2 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($77.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($80.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card ($343.49 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 130 Mini ITX Tower Case ($39.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($73.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $970.09
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-06 15:07 EDT-0400
 

apk24

Reputable
Aug 6, 2015
420
0
4,960
Thank you both so much for your recommendations

I switched out the 1246 for a 1231, and I switched the case to the elite 130. I also went for the fully modular psu.

I want to step down to the asrock h97m-itx but i need the two lan ports of the ga-z97.(I was gonna get the ga-h97 but its only 2 dollars less)

atm the gtx 970 pushes me over budget so i let the 960 stay.

current plan looks like this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($252.29 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Zalman CNPS8900 Quiet CPU Cooler ($32.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($111.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($94.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Intel 520 Series Cherryville 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (Purchased For $0.00)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($87.67 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card ($194.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 130 Mini ITX Tower Case ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Other: Windows Server 2012 R2 (Purchased For $0.00)
Total: $889.89
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-06 16:48 EDT-0400

once again, thanks so much for your input
 

logainofhades

Titan
Moderator
Not sure how a GTX 970 is over budget. You did say your max was 1100. GTX 970 only puts you just a little over $1k.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($237.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Zalman CNPS8900 Quiet CPU Cooler ($31.76 @ Mwave)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($119.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($94.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Intel 520 Series Cherryville 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (Purchased For $0.00)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($80.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($329.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 130 Mini ITX Tower Case ($39.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($73.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Other: Windows Server 2012 R2 (Purchased For $0.00)
Total: $1009.69
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-06 17:34 EDT-0400

 

apk24

Reputable
Aug 6, 2015
420
0
4,960


1100 including all taxes and shipping. 1009 is after rebates, tax is charged on prerebate price, and that will cause overall cost to go over 1100. Since I'm in CA, even online purchases get almost 9% tax