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Attention Mid-Range System Builders - Updated 08/01/2015

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First off, this thread is just for discussing mfenn's mid-range build - for other queries make a new thread.

Do you need ECC RAM? If so you need a Supermicro X79 workstation board and a Xeon E5-1600 or E5-2600 series CPU. If not, any consumer X79 board with 8 DIMM slots will do, plus an i7-3820 or better. i5's are out since they're for LGA1155 which doesn't support more than 32GB of RAM.

As for the video card, what are inputs do your monitors have?
 
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Thanks for your response- I don't need ECC, so I'll take a look at the X79. The most common input I have is DVI. I would in fact prefer all DVIs, but some miniDPs are also acceptable. HDMI is my least preferred.
 
OK. This'll do the trick: MSI 7770 $125 AR. DVI + HDMI + dual mini-DP. As far as I know, only the first two monitors can be connected with DVI and HDMI, the rest have to be Displayport for Eyefinity to work.

If you didn't know, HDMI signal is identical to DVI.
 
Thanks, this is perfect! I didn't know HDMI was identical to DVI. I had some problems with HDMI outputting beyond 1080p on my U3011 (perhaps I have a non 1.4 version cable)
 
Firstly, I don't think U3011 supports 2560x1600 over HDMI, only via DVI and DP. Are all your monitors U3011's? If not, what monitors do you have exactly?

Also, HDMI signal is identical to DVI (can be converted using a passive adapter) but the bandwidth isn't necessarily the same. DVI comes in single link and dual link, and only the latter has the full pin arrangement to support 2560 wide resolutions. Dual link connectors on both ends and a dual link cable are required. HDMI 1.3 and later support 2560 wide but it may not work when using an adapter and it may depend on the monitor.
 
Thanks lehtv for your time btw. I have 2 2009FPs with my U3011, but yes I think you're right, the U3011 handicapped the HDMI.

I also took a look at prices between the X79 and the Z77?? and it appears that I am going to be paying a premium to have those 8 dimm slots. In terms of timing of purchase I can hold off for a few months or even til the end of 2013 if you think something in the horizon may come, for example Ivy Bridge E?
 
You have three monitors then? It seems the 2009FP's only have DVI and VGA so it'd be ideal to have a card with 2x DVI + Displayport for the U3011. That way you wouldn't need a HDMI->DVI adapter or a HDMI-DVI cable for one of the 2009FP's. Sapphire 7770 Vapor-X has 2x DVI, 1x DP (not mini) and an additional HDMI for backup or a fourth monitor.

Yeah, 8 DIMM slots are going to cost you some extra, but X79 boards are more expensive than Z77 to begin with, even the ones with only 4 DIMM slots. That's just because it's an enthusiast platform. I would get Asrock X79 Extreme6, i7-3820 and Corsair XMS 64GB 1333MHz.

Ivy Bridge-E is going to take at least another 6 months and I wouldn't expect any price drops in LGA2011 prices in the near future.
 
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Paul Ma said:
I also took a look at prices between the X79 and the Z77?? and it appears that I am going to be paying a premium to have those 8 dimm slots. In terms of timing of purchase I can hold off for a few months or even til the end of 2013 if you think something in the horizon may come, for example Ivy Bridge E?
Click to expand...

You're going to be paying a premium for 8 DIMM slots well into the forseeable future. It is not likely that Intel's future mainstream/performance sockets (ie. 1155 descendents) are going to support more than 4 DIMM slots. You will always have to buy the more expensive enthusiast/server socket if you go with Intel. And Intel is pretty much the only way to go until AMD gets its act together again.

Market segmentation!
 
New build up. I did the usual SSD, PSU, case shuffle. Since the 2TB drive is only $10 more than the 1TB, I decided to throw that in as well. Obviously you could grab the 1TB to save the money.
 
New build. There are no really good SSD deals at Newegg today, so I put in the Corsair Neutron 128GB for $120. It's a LAMD controller, which is pretty decent, I'm just sad that it is $120. Everything is is the usual price shuffling.
 
New build, just the normal shuffling. This is not a great week for deals, SSD and RAM pricing continues to be tough and not 7000 series GPUs are starting to dry up.
 
If I built this computer (1/20/13 update) and played games on a monitor that has 2560x1600, what kind of performance can we get with this set up? Games such as Max Payne 3, Battlefield 3, Assassins Creed 3, Call of Duty, Bioshock, Far Cry 3, etc. Thanks!
 
You can run any game on 2560x1600 with a single 7970, it just depends on how low settings you're willing to play with. Typically demanding games will require low-medium for 60fps

If you haven't bought the monitor yet though, then reconsider. I would much rather pay less for a 2560x1440 monitor and get a dual GPU setup or upgrade some other parts in the rig like the cooler, the motherboard, the PSU, bigger SSD...
 
The only 27" 1440p IPS monitors that are less expensive, that I know of:

Asus PB278Q $648 - no idea how good this, but Asus generally is pretty good. According to specs, the response time is 5ms versus HP's 14ms. But take it with a grain of salt.

Auria EQ276W $400 - more likely dead pixels, no height adjustment or other 'frills', generally just cheaper quality

Overlord Tempest X270 $370-530 - all three out of stock. The X270OC can reportedly overclock pretty well to 110-120Hz
 
lehtv said:
You can run any game on 2560x1600 with a single 7970, it just depends on how low settings you're willing to play with. Typically demanding games will require low-medium for 60fps

If you haven't bought the monitor yet though, then reconsider. I would much rather pay less for a 2560x1440 monitor and get a dual GPU setup or upgrade some other parts in the rig like the cooler, the motherboard, the PSU, bigger SSD...
Click to expand...

Agree. The rig will give you great performance in 1920-wide resolutions (pretty much max everything out), and will handle 2560-wide resolutions decently well, but you really need dual GPUs to max everything at 2560.
 
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