BestConfigs - High-End Workstation

[jpishgar]

It's time to vote on your favorite build for this category!

Please see below for a list of the choices available.


SADAMS04's "Get er done" Workstation Build
Processor: Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I72600K - $315

Motherboard: ASUS P8P67 PRO (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard - $180

RAM: 2 x G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 CL7 1.5v Desktop Memory for 16GB - $82 / $164

Graphics Card: PNY VCQ5000-PB Quadro 5000 2.5GB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Workstation Video Card - $1780

Boot Hard Drive: 2 x OCZ Vertex 3 V3LT-25SAT3-240G.oem 2.5" 240GB SATA III - OEM - $500/ $1000

Storage Hard Drive: 2 x SAMSUNG EcoGreen F4 HD204UI 2TB 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - $80 / $160

Case: Antec Nine Hundred Two V3 Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Gaming Case - $120

Power Supply: Antec EarthWatts EA750 750W Continuous Power ATX12V version 2.3 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC - $90

Cooling: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler - $30

Blu-Ray Burner: LG Black 12X BD-R 2X BD-RE 16X DVD+R 12X DVD-RAM 10X BD-ROM 4MB Cache SATA Super Multi WH12LS30 LightScribe Support - $85

Total Price: $3924


JD's Video Whisperer

Processor: Intel Core i7-990X Extreme Edition Gulftown 3.46GHz 6 x 256KB L2 Cache 12MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Six-Core Processor BX80613I7990X $999.99

Motherboard: ASUS P6X58-E WS LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard $299.99

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 12GB (3 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Memory Model F3-10666CL7T-12GBRH $134.99

Graphics Card: PNY VCQ5000-PB Quadro 5000 Graphics Card - 2.50 GB $1629.99

OS/APPS (Boot) Drive (SSD): OCZ Vertex 3 VTX3-25SAT3-120G 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) $269.99

Scratch (Work)Hard Drives Raid 0: 2 x Western Digital 500 GB RE4 SATA 3 Gb/s 7200 RPM 64 MB Cache Bulk/OEM Enterprise Hard Drive - WD5003ABYX $76.92/$153.84

Secondary Storage Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda Green ST1500DL003 1.5TB 5900 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive $64.99

Case: Fractal Design Define XL Black ATX Full Tower Silent PC Computer Case $139.99

Power Supply: SeaSonic X Series X650 Gold ((SS-650KM Active PFC F3)) 650W ATX12V V2.3 SLI/CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply $139.99

Cooling: Noctua NH-C12P SE14 CPU Fan $67.07

Blu-Ray Burner: LG Black 12X BD-R 2X BD-RE 16X DVD+R 12X DVD-RAM 10X BD-ROM 4MB Cache SATA WH12LS30 LightScribe - OEM $84.99

Total Price: $3985.82


Kay's Number Cruncher
Processor x2: Intel Xeon E5645 Westmere-EP 2.4GHz $1179.98
12-Real Cores/24 Threads

Motherboard: SUPERMICRO MBD-X8DAH+-O Dual LGA 1366 $449.99

RAM x2: Kingston 12GB (3 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM ECC Registered $439.98

Graphics Card: Onboard - Assuming this is going to be a number cruncher, the onboard would suffice

SSD For boot: OCZ RevoDrive X2 PCI-E 220GB $549.99

SSD for Apps: OCZ Agility 3 120GB $239.99

Hard Drive for data: x3 in RAID 5
SAMSUNG EcoGreen F4 HD204UI 2TB $239.97

Case: LIAN LI PC-V2120B Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower $399.99

Power Supply: CORSAIR Professional Series AX1200 1200W $279.99

Cooling x2: Intel BXSTS100A Active heat sink $$69.98

DVD Burner: ASUS DVD $20.99

Total Price: $3870.85

 

[lp231]

The cheapest one is also the one who knows what is a high-end "workstation". The other 2, pffff......

 

[aUser_96]

SSD's in a workstation? One of the major concerns with a workstation should be reliability. From everything ive read id be scared to put these into that environment. Though my vertex 2 has never given me any problems.

 

[titan078]

+1000

Why one drive for the OS and one drive for the apps? I can understand a scratch disk, but shouldnt your apps be on the boot disk? Edumacate a noob!

 

[hmp_goose]

Mostly for JD's: Don't get the physical Scratch drive, though. Put the money into more memory and set up a RAM drive.

 

[flyordie]

No nvidia tesla ?

 

[palladin9479]

SSD's in a workstation? One of the major concerns with a workstation should be reliability. From everything ive read id be scared to put these into that environment. Though my vertex 2 has never given me any problems.

Look at what the SSD's are being used for, Boot and high speed App. The valuable "Data" is being stored on spinning disks that are in a RAID5 configuration.

Also I think the 120GB "APP" disk is just a scratch area for work in progress. The Revodrive X2 would smoke that Agility 3, so I'm guessing she's designing in so that OS / Applications are stored on the RevoDrive but using the Agility 3 as a temp working area until the product is finished and copied to the RAID5 Array for storage.

The only hitch is that the target of the workstation wasn't mentioned. Kay's is obviously the superior design except that it can't do any CAD / CAM or design work. Possibly look into inserting a low to moderate end OpenGL card if that function is required.

 

[cknobman]

Forgive me if I am wrong but arent a lot of workstations used in graphic design????

Does that not make Kay's blow a big one?

I vote for SADAMS04 build since it seems to be well rounded. JD's lost it when $999 was blown on the proc especially since its the outdated architecture (an no just because it has 2 more cores on it does not justify the price).

 

[aUser_96]

I understand what the SSD's are being used for, but if you are using this in an actual work environment, you cant have it go down for even part of a day or it will cost your business a lot of money. From what i read about these new ssds, specifically the ones using the the SandForce SF 2000 controllers, is that while they are incredibly fast, and i would definitely put one in a personal build, they just are refined enough to have all the problems worked out. Just take a read though of some of the reviews on newegg. It scared me out of doing it on a workstation i set up for a co-worker last week.

I wish i had more faith in SSD's because they are incredibly fast, but in my mind with a workstation, its all about finding the right combination of performance and reliability. And I'd rather not spend my workday re configuring an OS/CAD/Network Settings instead of making money.

If i am missing something please let me know.

 

[dalauder]

This really should have more parameters. It should be "workstation number crunching" and "workstation graphic design".

Either way, the only "workstation" computer--Kay's wins.

 

[jpishgar]

This topic has been desticky in top of the forum by Jpishgar