posterdesigner :
Dear Forum,
It is almost time to build a new workstation. I'm on a dual core with only 4gigs of ram and it is almost killing me.
I would like to build a system with between 8 to 12 cores.
Motherboard must be M-ATX to fit in my nice aluminum Lian Li case.
Some CPU options:
i7 5960 $1000+
Cons: I won't feel as bad A only having 8 cores
Xeon E5 2690 $1500+
Cons: I think these E5's would work well for me, but Isn't this processor a couple years old? It doesn't sit well with me buying technology that had a release date in 2011.
Am I correct on this?
Pros: I believe this processor will drop right in a MATX motherboard like this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157545
Xeon E7 4820 $1500+
Cons: I don't think there are any M-ATX workstation boards for the E7 (am I right?), and sub $1500 E7's all have low clock speeds of under 2ghz.
Pros: It is a brand new CPU.
What should I select that is high clock speed and around 10 cores, and has a M-ATX motherboard available for a workstation?
Thanks for your advice
posterdesigner,
To optimize a workstation, more about the use is necessary. The CPU is one starting point, but the starting point of choosing the best CPU is to know more about the use.While you have listed the number of cores as a priority, in most visualization uses, there is a balance between clock speed and core/ thread count. The size and complexity of the project is important too as this helps in consideration of the disk and video subsystems. The budget is important too as all the parts should be in balance in terms of performance and scaled to use. If you are considering $1,500 CPU's, I would say a proportional budget could be about $6,000 -$9,000.
Other comments: I would not think the kind of system in this realm would work in a M-ATX case- as very nice as Lian Li are. You need a big open case for a possibly dual Xeon E5- E5-2600- series are designed for dual CPU use. It's a false economy to make a used case a condition. If you have a dual Xeon system, it will will need a big, airy and possibly full tower case.with room for a lot of drives. The Xeon E7's are amazing devices, designed to work in 4 or 8 CPU systems with up to 4TB of RAM, but the boards can cost $2,500, you can spend nearly $7,000 for a fast E7-8000-series- you can be spending $20,000-60,000 pretty quickly and these are really all living in the server realm- not workstations.
If an 8 -core is sufficient, I think the best cost / performance workstation CPU;s are the Xeon E5-1600 series. A good combination of core count, and clock speed is the E5-1660 v3. A solution for your system- a least start the conversations might be:
BambiBoom PixelCannon Calcumatharific iWork TurboBlast ExtremeSignaure SuperModel 9600 ®©$$™®£™©™_ 4.14.15
1. CPU: Intel Xeon E5-1660 v3 Eight-Core Haswell Processor 3.0 . 3.5GHz 0GT/s 20MB LGA 2011-v3 CPU, OEM > $1,070
____
http://ark.intel.com/products/82766/Intel-Xeon-Processor-E5-1660-v3-20M-Cache-3_00-GHz
____
http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=E5-1660V3
2. CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO CPU Fan > $32.
3. Supermicro X10SRA-F-O LGA2011/ Intel C612/ DDR4/ SATA3&USB3.0/ A&2GbE/ ATX Server Motherboard > $310
____
http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=MB-X10SRA
4. RAM: 32GB (4) Samsung DDR4-2133 8GB/1Gx72 ECC Server Memory > about $420
____ Check Supermicro compatible tested
5 GPU - for 3D: PNY Quadro K4200 VCQK4200-PB 4GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 Workstation Video Card > $789
____
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133558&cm_re=k4200-_-14-133-558-_-Product
6. Drive Samsung 850 Pro Series 512GB 2.5 inch SATA3 Solid State Drive, Retail (3D V-NAND)> $350 (OS, Applications / Working files
____
http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=MZ-7KE512B
7. Drive 2: WD SE WD2000F9YZ 2TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Enterprise Hard Drive> $130 (Files, Backup, System Image) (RAID 1)
8. Drive 2: WD SE WD2000F9YZ 2TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Enterprise Hard Drive> $130 (Files, Backup, System Image) (RAID 1)
____http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822236522&cm_re=wd_se_2tb-_-22-236-522-_-Product
9. PSU: SeaSonic X-850 ; SS-850KM3 ACTIVE PFC F3 850W 80 Plus Gold ATX12V/EPS12V Power Supply > $146
10. Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE 24X SATA DVD±RW Internal Drive w/o Software (Black) SH-224DB $17.99
11. Case: LIAN LI PC-A75X No Power Supply ATX Full Tower Case (Black) CA-A75$179.99
12. Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit w/ SP1 (1-Pack, DVD), OEM MSFQC04649 $138.99
________________________________________________________
TOTAL = $ 3,717
Another approach that could yield an amazing combination of cores and speed would be to buy one of these:
Dell-Precision-T7610-E5-2687-V2-3-4ghz-32gb-4tb-SATA-240gb-SSD-K5000-Vid > $2.750
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Precision-T7610-E5-2687-V2-3-4ghz-32gb-4tb-SATA-240gb-SSD-K5000-Vid-/231454215601?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35e3bf0db1&nma=true&si=dmxPEVx%252B%252BrbDgalSBtBQmFH8Zpg%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557
> a completed listing for a Dell Precision T7610 with the fantastic E5-2687W v2 which is 8-core @ 3.4 /4.0GHz- $2,200 new- and if you need it you can another one. And the news gets even better, that system has a Quadro K5000- $2,000 new, 32GB of RAM, a 1300W Power supply, and best of all, you don't have to order, assemble configure, and test.
There are alternatives that are quite a bit less expensive with anther couple of generations older technology. This is not painful either- you get a lot of cores and a high clock speed.
I bought a Dell Preicison T5500 for $190 including shipping:
Dell Precision T5500 (2011) (
Original): Xeon E5620 quad core @ 2.4 / 2.6 GHz > 6GB DDR3 ECC Reg 1333 > Quadro FX 580 (512MB) > Dell PERC 6/i SAS /SATA controller > Seagate Cheetah 15K 146GB > Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
[ Passmark system rating =
1479 / CPU = 4067 / 2D= 520 / 3D= 311 / Mem= 1473 / Disk= 1208]
-and with an expenditure of under $700:
Dell Precision T5500 (2011)(
Revised) > Xeon X5680 six -core @ 3.33 / 3.6GHz, 24GB DDR3 ECC 1333 > Quadro 4000 (2GB ) > Samsung 840 250GB / WD RE4 Enterprise 1TB > M-Audio 192 sound card > Linksys WMP600N PCI WiFi > Windows 7 Professional 64> HP 2711x (1920 X 1080)
[ Passmark system rating =
3339 / CPU = 9347 / 2D= 684 / 3D= 2030 / Mem= 1871 / Disk= 2234]
And for another $350-400 a 2nd X5680 may be added for a 12 core /24 thread system running at 3.6GHz on the first two cores of each CPU. there's an X5690 too, which is 3.47 / 3.73GHz- a completely contemporary sped. I've purchased but not yet installed a PERC H310 RAID controller ($60) that make the disk system into 6GB/s. So, the only aspect that is a but old -fashioned is the 1333 RAM. However, I've done large renderings with VRay on the T550 and the time can't be more than a minute different from an HP z420 with a Xeon E5-1660 v2 at 3.7 / 4.0 GHz, 1866 RAM, and an extremely fast Intel 730 enterprise drive. Without timing them, I would say they feel they're working about the same speed. Yes obsolete technology, but the top of obsolete technology can be better than medium-level current. With a hot-rodded T7500, you'd have 12 cores/ 24 threads at high clock speeds, a budget for a very good modern GPU for the price of a 4-core Xeon E3 system with an entry or mid level workstation GPU..
There are a coupe of places to start.
Cheers,
BambiBoom
HP z420 (2015) > Xeon E5-1660 v2 six-core @ 3.7 /4.0GHz > 16GB DDR3 ECC 1866 RAM > Quadro K2200 (4GB) > Intel 730 480GB (9SSDSC2BP480G4R5) > Western Digital Black WD1003FZEX 1TB> M-Audio 192 sound card > Logitech z2300 > Linksys AE3000 USB WiFi > 2X Dell Ultrasharp U2715H (2560 X 1440) > Windows 7 Professional 64 >
[ Passmark Rating = 4918 > CPU= 13941 / 2D= 823 / 3D=3464 / Mem= 2669 / Disk= 4764]
Pending upgrade: HP /LSI 9212-4i PCIe SAS /SATA HBA RAID controller, 2X Seagate Constellation ES.3 1TB (RAID 1)