Hardware advice on HTPC workstation beast for designer

[DsignYs]

Hi,
as a former Windows specialist turned web & graphics designer/developer, I like building my own powerful Windows PC (uh-huh, no Mac), for running Photoshop/ InDesign/ Illustrator, coding & pre-compilation tools, as well as browsers with dozens of tabs and addons, etc.

My current home-built PC has never been a great succes in the thee years I’ve been using it, mainly due to heat control problems. I've had it “under control” for the last 2 years (after replacing the thermal paste the daily blue screens have dissipated), but the system has always remained a bit dodgy (system freezes for minutes sometimes, or even a blue screen every now and then) even though I disabled every overclock setting I could find (and there are a lot on my current Asus Maximus VI motherboard 🙂 ). Never thought I would have to learn how to underclock!

This is costing me precious time I could be working for my clients, so I decided it is time for a new system. Here’s my situation:

Current setup
- Case: OrigenAE S16V (HTPC) with stock 80mm and 92mm case fans.
- MB: Asus Maximus VI Gene (microATX, 1150)
- CPU: Intel Core i7 4770K
- CPU cooler: Zalman CNPS7X
- RAM: 4x 8GB Crucial Ballistics Tactical DDR3 1333MHz
- PSU: BeQuiet! 580w 80+ gold
- GPU: Sapphire HD7750 1GB DDR5
- SSD: Samsung 840 Pro 256GB Sata 600
- HDD: 2x WD RedPro 4GB Sata 600
- Monitor: Asus PQ328A (max resolution 3840x2140)
- OS: Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
- Adobe Creative crap (the latest, complementary bugs included)


Ideas for replacement:
- MB: Asus x99M WS (microATX, 2011-v3)
- CPU: Intel Core i7 6800k
- CPU cooler: Noctua NH-L12. This seems to be the best performing cooler under 130mm height, including closed-circuit hydro coolers.
- RAM: 4x 8GB Kingston HyperX Predator DDR4 2400MHz
- GPU: EVGA GTX1050 TI 4GB SSC Gaming ACX3.0 (low profile)
- Case, PSU, SSD, HDD and monitor will not be replaced unless absolutely necessary (like the PSU coming up short).
- Fans: Noctua NF a9 & a8 to replace the stock case fans


There are a couple of factors I need/want to keep in mind:
- CPU cooler and GPU cannot be higher than 130mm. The current CPU cooler is 134mm high and has made scratches on the case’s cover.
- The case will take mini ITX, but in my opinion, these do not offer enough to create the system I’m looking for.
- The case will take ATX, but the extra space consumed would make keeping the system cool enough even harder. Also, the extra’s on an ATX board (like 8 instead of 4 RAM slots) are overkill in my case.
- I do not want to replace the case. It looks fantastic and sits nicely on my desk with the monitor on top.
- GPU’s purpose is to get the best out of my monitor (occasional movie) and the Adobe software (which is why I selected an nVidia card instead of an AMD this time). I never use the PC to play games.
- I am not switching to Mac. I’ve got one to test stuff on, but have yet to find a compelling reason to thwart Bill.

My goal is to create a beast of a workstation that will run circles around the ridiculously demanding Adobe software, yet keep cool, (fairly) quiet, and if at all possible, is low on power consumption. From all the reviews I’ve been reading the past weeks, I notice that performance, power consumption and noise levels are often included, but not always in combination with temperatures.

Because the current system has never lived up to my expectations (first time building in a confined HTPC case instead of a big tower I kept bumping my knees against) I would really like your opinion on the parts I’ve selected. Are they the best suited for my purpose (high on performance, low on temperature, power consumption and noise)? I have a fairly good budget. What I’ve selected so far will cost around €1300, but if serious improvements cost a bit more that’s no problem. Time lost due to an underperforming or unstable system costs more.

Thank you for your help!!

 

[bambiboom]

DsignYs,

The specification for the new system has some good features, especially the move from LGA1150 to LGA2011-3. The i7-6800K has a Passmark average CPU Mark of 13576 and the very important Single Thread Mark is 2045. the X99 is a great platform that seems to attain higher than average CPU results and has a special affinity to M.2 drives.

However, in my view the weak link in the change is trying to maintain the very small form factor case for a workstation: the small format motherboard is crowded, giving too tight clearance between the CPU cooler and RAM slots, the RAM slots will be limited to 4, and most importantly, there is no room for a good complement of PCIe expansion slots. Your system should have 8 RAM slots and space for two full-sized GPU's.

This focus on expansion is not intended to be simply contrary to your idea that such characteristics are unnecessary, but based on a long experience with workstations running out of steam as the programmes became demanding and file sizes gigantic. In 1994, a typical AutoCad 10 for DOS drawing was under 100K and today I have Sketchup models that are 160MB+ and barely run on a 4GHz 6-core Xeon and Quadro K4200 4GB. I am editing twenty photos at a time that are 200-300MB.

The running out of fizz has meant that for my current project, I had to buy and upgrade an HP z620 to 16 cores/ 32 threads to sit in the corner and run 140X 3180 x 1440 CPU renderings. The extra expenditure now may mean the system is useful two or three years longer and that is less expensive in the long term.

Working In this line of reasoning, I'd suggest the ASUS X99-A II- ATX format motherboard, a very good performer. The Passmark CPU rating for a non-overclocked i7-6800K / Asus X99-A II is 15722 and that compares very favorably to the average for i7-6800K of 13576. The highest mark is 17437 on an ASUS Sabertooth X99 @ 4.2GHz. The highest score on the ASUS X99-M WS is 15183.

Also, M-ATX cases will have a very small air volume, plus be more difficult in which to work. These are not easy to keep very quiet either.

The GPU is important of course and in graphic design design, the amount of video memory is important, perhaps consider a GTX 1060 6GB.

For Example:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6800K 3.4GHz 6-Core Processor (£400.85 @ CCL Computers)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H60 54.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler (£69.99 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: Asus X99-A II ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard (£250.29 @ BT Shop)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory (£60.30 @ Aria PC)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory (£60.30 @ Aria PC)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory (£60.30 @ Aria PC)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory (£60.30 @ Aria PC)
Storage: Samsung 960 Evo 250GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive (£116.04 @ Aria PC)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£109.99 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6GB WINDFORCE OC 6G Video Card (£232.52 @ Ebuyer)
Case: Thermaltake Core X9 Snow Edition ATX Desktop Case (£131.82 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (£136.49 @ Scan.co.uk)
Optical Drive: LG WH14NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer (£56.40 @ Aria PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro Full 32/64-bit (£149.94 @ Ebuyer)
_______________________________________________
Total: £1,895.53

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-02-18 14:02 GMT+0000

Yes, the cost is increased, almost £600 but as your current system has a good specification and could be sold intact, that would fund a good portion of the new system- that is, taking the sales value of the current system + the £1300 upgrade budget, the increase is not horrific. An all-new system means no appreciable down time as work could continue while the new system was being organized. t This system will have high performance, maintaining good temperatures, run quietly, and importantly have the potential to expand to 64GB RAM and two GPU's. That particular desktop case I think is a great design: the motherboard is horizontal which means the hot air rises away from all the motherboard components instead of through them, the configuration is in chambers, there are 6X internal drive bays and the contrasting motherboard to the white case, interesting to look at and as it can be fully disassembled to the frame, it should be very easy to work in. It's not tiny, but the footprint is 38cm /15" wide X 64cm / 25" deep, so it can sit on the desktop next to the monitor(s).

Cheers,

BambiBoom

CAD / 3D Modeling / Graphic Design:

HP z420 (2015) (Rev 3) > Xeon E5-1660 v2 (6-core @ 3.7 / 4.0GHz) / 32GB DDR3 -1866 ECC RAM / Quadro K4200 (4GB) / Samsung SM951 M.2 256GB AHCI + Intel 730 480GB (9SSDSC2BP480G4R5) + Western Digital Black WD1003FZEX 1TB> M-Audio 192 sound card + Logitech z2300 2.1 speakers > 600W PSU> > Windows 7 Professional 64-bit >> 2X Dell Ultrasharp U2715H (2560 X 1440)
[ Passmark Rating = 5581 > CPU= 14046 / 2D= 838 / 3D= 4694 / Mem= 2777 / Disk= 11559] [6.12.16]

Analysis / Simulation / Rendering:

HP z620 (2012) (Rev 3) 2X Xeon E5-2690 (8-core @ 2.9 / 3.8GHz) / 64GB DDR3-1600 ECC reg) / Quadro K2200 (4GB) + Tesla M2090 (6GB) / HP Z Turbo Drive (256GB) + Samsung 850 Evo 250GB + Seagate Constellation ES.3 (1TB) / Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium PCIe sound card + Logitech z313 2.1 speakers / 800W / Windows 7 Professional 64-bit > > HP 2711x (27" 1980 X 1080)
[ Passmark System Rating= 5675 / CPU= 22625 / 2D= 815 / 3D = 3580 / Mem = 2522 / Disk = 12640 ] 9.25.16
[ Cinebench R15: OpenGL= 119.23 fps / CPU = 2209 cb / Single core 130 cb / MP Ratio 16.84x] 10.31.16

(= two solid knee-kickers)

 

[USAFRet]

Unfortunately, I think your main current limiting factor is the case.
Yes, it looks nice. But really, really not built for a power hungry, heat producing system.

The 80 and 92mm case fans are just not up to the job without sounding like a vacuum cleaner.

All that stuff, either your current or new proposed system, would easily run at full power in a larger case.
No underclocking needed.

 

[DsignYs]

@bambiboom, @USAFRet, thanks for your comments, although not what i was hoping to read 🙂. I'm seriously looking at other cases now, trying to find a good desktop case where I can put my monitor on top. So far, the Nanoxia Project S is looking quite good. Do you have an opinion on this case?

 

[USAFRet]

No experience with that case, but it looks nice.
And a bit larger, for hopefully better cooling and airflow.