Student Architecture Workstation £1000 (~$1500)

a.grieveson@gma

a.grieveson@gma

a.grieveson@gma

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A new build for an Architecture student with 3 years of study remaining. Replacing an ageing MacBook Pro. Aiming to be as silent as possible.

Budget Range: Around £1000 (~$1500)

System Usage: Autodesk Revit and AutoCAD, Creative Suite 6 (Mainly Photoshop and Illustrator), 3ds Max (rendering with Vray), Sketchup. No gaming.

Monitors: 2560 x 1440 (Dell U2711) and 1920x1080 (Samsung BX2340)

Currently thinking:

-i7 3770K

-Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H

-AMD FirePro V4900

-Plextor M3 128GB SSD

-Seagate 3TB Barracuda HDD (7200RPM 64MB)

-Corsair 16GB (4x4GB) DDR3 1600Mhz Vengeance "low Profile"

-Samsung SH-S222AB 22x DVD±RW DL

-Silverstone Raven 3

-Noctua NH-D14

-600W Silverstone Strider PSU

This is a new build from scratch and nothing is set in stone, I am open to any suggestions.
 
Yup looks good.

The Corsair Obsidian 550D is a very quiet case, looks great and has loads of space.

Can't say much about the graphical side.

I am correct to assume :

V5800 -> HD5850?
V7800 -> HD7850?
V7900 -> HD7950?
 
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olivier renault said:
Yup looks good.

The Corsair Obsidian 550D is a very quiet case, looks great and has loads of space.

Can't say much about the graphical side.

I am correct to assume :

V5800 -> HD5850?
V7800 -> HD7850?
V7900 -> HD7950?
Click to expand...

Yes, the are consumer cards with equivalent chips to the workstation card, though I do not know what the exact matches are. A few years ago, you used to be able to instal the workstation firmware on a consumer card and have a cheap fully functional workstation card, but nowadays you can't do this (workstation cards have slightly different hardware configurations I think). For the work I will be using this system for, the improved performance of a workstation card far outweighs the extra cost.
 
Whats actually the difference? I thought the main advantage of a workstation card was the better support you get? I didn't realise the actual hardware was different.
 
Klo said:
Whats actually the difference? I thought the main advantage of a workstation card was the better support you get? I didn't realise the actual hardware was different.
Click to expand...

The level of support you receive with a workstation card is much higher, they are designed for professionals who expect any faults with drivers etc. to be fixed within a matter of days rather than the months it can take for consumer cards. The main difference though, is the drivers provided with the cards. They are optimised for professional software over gaming. One of the most obvious examples of this is the way that they render scenes. If a game makes a mistake with rendering a single frame it is not so much of a problem but in professional use it is. So the workstation cards are more optimised for accuracy rather than speed. This is just one example.

The fact that the main difference between the two types of card is the firmware leads many people to think that you can just flash the workstation firmware onto a consumer card and save a few £100 by doing so. This used to be possible, but in the last few years the professional cards have started to have a few hardware optimisations as well. This is nothing major, the GPU chips are still comparable to consumer ones, but enough that they're drivers won't work properly on consumer cards.
 
so... erm....

YOUR BASKET
2 x Intel Xeon E5-2687W 3.10GHz (Socket 2011) - Retail £1499.99 (2)
1 x EVGA SR-X Dual Socket (Socket 2011) Motherboard £559.99
1 x Lian Li PC-V2120X Aluminium Full Tower Case - All Black £367.99
4 x Corsair Dominator PLATINUM 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-21300C10 2666MHz Dual Channel Kit with DHX Pro Connector (CMD16GX3M4A2666C10) £349.99 (1)
1 x XFX 1250W Black Edition Pro '80+ Gold' Certified Modular Power Supply £234.98
Total : £5,580.61 (includes shipping : £14.75).



I would have selected the Asus Z9PE-WS, but it's not stocked at OcUK. Shame, otherwise it would have made a decent basis for workstation rig.
 
olivier renault said:
so... erm....

YOUR BASKET
2 x Intel Xeon E5-2687W 3.10GHz (Socket 2011) - Retail £1499.99 (2)
1 x EVGA SR-X Dual Socket (Socket 2011) Motherboard £559.99
1 x Lian Li PC-V2120X Aluminium Full Tower Case - All Black £367.99
4 x Corsair Dominator PLATINUM 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-21300C10 2666MHz Dual Channel Kit with DHX Pro Connector (CMD16GX3M4A2666C10) £349.99 (1)
1 x XFX 1250W Black Edition Pro '80+ Gold' Certified Modular Power Supply £234.98
Total : £5,580.61 (includes shipping : £14.75).



I would have selected the Asus Z9PE-WS, but it's not stocked at OcUK. Shame, otherwise it would have made a decent basis for workstation rig.
Click to expand...

That would be a perfect rig to have... unfortunatly I'm a Student, with a Student sized budget!
 
Updated Specs:

-i7 3770K

-Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H

-Nvidia Quadro FX 4800 (currently bidding on eBay)

-Plextor M3 128GB SSD

-Seagate 3TB Barracuda HDD 7200RPM 64M

-Corsair 16GB 2x8G XMS3 DDR3

-Samsung SH-S222AB 22x DVD±RW DL

-Silverstone Raven 3

-Noctua NH-D14

-750W Silverstone Strider PSU

What do people think?
 
tamzzy said:
i'd change to these imo
YOUR BASKET
1 x Thermalright Silver Arrow SB-E CPU Cooler (Socket LGA 2011/1366/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA775/AM2/AM3/FM1) £69.98
Total : £80.48 (includes shipping : £8.75).



and probably get the m3pro
Click to expand...

olivier renault said:
Might be a problem fitting in the raven3.

The Noctua is well up for the job really.

So yeah, looks good.
Click to expand...

Looks like it should fit. http://www.overclock.net/t/990633/the-official-thermalright-silver-arrow-sb-e-club/490#post_14463446

Though I've read several reviews saying the D14 outperforms the Silver Arrow and it is £15 more expensive than the D14 too. Correct me if I'm wrong.
 
Mate if you are not looking to overclock that 3770K or use IGP check out Intel xeon 1230v2 it would suit you more..

P.S

I think this would be ok for you, a little bit over the budget and you probably gonna need a custom loop to fit all those 690`s and 2 CPU`s, but ocUK basket says it cant take no more expensive stuff.

YOUR BASKET
2 x Intel Xeon E5-2687W 3.10GHz (Socket 2011) - Retail £1499.99 (£2,999.98)
2 x OCZ RevoDrive3 X2 MAX IOPS 480GB PCI-E SSD - (RVD3MIX2-FHPX4-480G) £1399.99 (£2,799.98)
4 x MSI GeForce GTX 690 4096MB PCI-Express Graphics Card £899.99 (£3,599.96)
1 x EVGA SR-X Dual Socket (Socket 2011) Motherboard £559.99
6 x Corsair Dominator PLATINUM 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-21300C10 2666MHz Dual Channel Kit with DHX Pro Connector (CMD16GX3M4A2666C10) £349.99 (£2,099.94)
1 x Lian Li PC-V2120A Aluminium Full Tower Case - Silver £349.98
1 x Antec High Current Pro HCP-1000W '80 Plus Platinum' Modular Power Supply £229.99
Total : £12,660.05 (includes shipping : £16.85).



I mean with 12 cores and 32 threads + 4 gtx690 SLI should cope with metro 2033 on low..

Following from Oliver :D
 
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Lazder said:
Mate if you are not looking to overclock that 3770K or use IGP check out Intel xeon 1230v2 it would suit you more..

P.S

I think this would be ok for you, a little bit over the budget and you probably gonna need a custom loop to fit all those 690`s and 2 CPU`s, but ocUK basket says it cant take no more expensive stuff.

YOUR BASKET
2 x Intel Xeon E5-2687W 3.10GHz (Socket 2011) - Retail £1499.99 (£2,999.98)
2 x OCZ RevoDrive3 X2 MAX IOPS 480GB PCI-E SSD - (RVD3MIX2-FHPX4-480G) £1399.99 (£2,799.98)
4 x MSI GeForce GTX 690 4096MB PCI-Express Graphics Card £899.99 (£3,599.96)
1 x EVGA SR-X Dual Socket (Socket 2011) Motherboard £559.99
6 x Corsair Dominator PLATINUM 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-21300C10 2666MHz Dual Channel Kit with DHX Pro Connector (CMD16GX3M4A2666C10) £349.99 (£2,099.94)
1 x Lian Li PC-V2120A Aluminium Full Tower Case - Silver £349.98
1 x Antec High Current Pro HCP-1000W '80 Plus Platinum' Modular Power Supply £229.99
Total : £12,660.05 (includes shipping : £16.85).



I mean with 12 cores and 32 threads + 4 gtx690 SLI should cope with metro 2033 on low..

Following from Oliver :D
Click to expand...

I have looked into the Xeon's and would be very happy to use them, but unfortunatly my student budget just does not stretch that far! That quote of yours comes to about 10x the total budget I have available. I would love to be able to afford a workstation like that... maybe once I am qualified.

If anyone can spec me a Xeon rig that would out preform the 3770k (CPU, Motherboard, RAM and any associated cooling) for no more than £500 ($780) then I would be very happy to hear of it. This is the total I have to spend on those components after everything else is added up, I have tried to spec a Xeon to that price but don't think it is possible to do and for it to be better value than the 3770k setup I already have.

I have managed to cut some cost with the GPU I purchased today, a barely used Nvidia Quadro FX 4880 for only £200 ($310) which comes to about 85% of current new retail price. A slight step up from the AMD Firepro v4900 I had specced previously.
 
a.grieveson@gma said:
I have looked into the Xeon's and would be very happy to use them, but unfortunatly my student budget just does not stretch that far! That quote of yours comes to about 10x the total budget I have available. I would love to be able to afford a workstation like that... maybe once I am qualified.

If anyone can spec me a Xeon rig that would out preform the 3770k (CPU, Motherboard, RAM and any associated cooling) for no more than £500 ($780) then I would be very happy to hear of it. This is the total I have to spend on those components after everything else is added up, I have tried to spec a Xeon to that price but don't think it is possible to do and for it to be better value than the 3770k setup I already have.

I have managed to cut some cost with the GPU I purchased today, a barely used Nvidia Quadro FX 4880 for only £200 ($310) which comes to about 85% of current new retail price. A slight step up from the AMD Firepro v4900 I had specced previously.
Click to expand...

mate this is ocUK we dont need dollar prices :D as I said Intel Xeon 1230v2 costs 180 quid, it will not out-perform 3770K its just cheaper and offers similar performance without overclock and IGP.. If you`re not overclocking there is no reason for after market cooler, intel stock heatsink+fan will do it.

So without 3770K and Thermalight cooler but with Intel xeon 1230v2 you will save around 160 quid and still get similar performance unless you are going to overclock that 3770K
 
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Lazder said:
mate this is ocUK we dont need dollar prices :D as I said Intel Xeon 1230v2 costs 180 quid, it will not out-perform 3770K its just cheaper and offers similar performance without overclock and IGP.. If you`re not overclocking there is no reason for after market cooler, intel stock heatsink+fan will do it.
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Haha getting too used to US forums, sorry.

So would the 1230v2 go on the motherboard I have currently specced?

So what would be the price point for a Xeon that would out preform the 3770k?

And how much would I have to pay to get a Dual Xeon setup? I'd be quite interested in having those extra threads available for rendering.
 
a.grieveson@gma said:
Haha getting too used to US forums, sorry.

So would the 1230v2 go on the motherboard I have currently specced?

So what would be the price point for a Xeon that would out preform the 3770k?

And how much would I have to pay to get a Dual Xeon setup? I'd be quite interested in having those extra threads available for rendering.
Click to expand...

1) Yes it should, double check though
2) Around 700
3) It can cost as little as 100 quid for old systems, but really it isnt worth it
4) You dont need a 3rd party CPU cooler unless you`re planning to overclock.

Intel 3930K is really the only next cheapest lvl-up


Are you sure AMD is not more suitable for your needs? Since I heard thats one of places where AMD beats Intel.
 
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Lazder said:
1) Yes it should, double check though
2) Around 700
3) It can cost as little as 100 quid for old systems, but really it isnt worth it
4) You dont need a 3rd party CPU cooler unless you`re planning to overclock.
Click to expand...

So correct me if I'm wrong, but buying the 1230v2 would save me ~£80 but leave me with a CPU I can't over clock (I only plan a small, stable over clock on the 3770k). Would the advantage of the Xeon architecture outweigh that limitation?

I know I don't need the 3rd party cooler temperature wise, the main reason I am going for it is for the reduced noise level it will provide me with over the stock cooler.
 
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