CPU no Overclocking

[sefan86]

Hi. I don't know how to safely overclock a CPU (and don't really have the time to learn). Which would you say is the best <300 usd processor, considering the fact that I won't OC it?
It will be used mainly for MATLAB (some codes with several loops, I'm an economist, I do not excel at programming), no gaming or photo-editing whatsoever.
Thanks!

 

[lehtv]

Intel Xeon E3-1245 V2 $278. Equivalent to i7-3770. If you have a discrete graphics card, E3-1230 V2 is an even better deal. Many consumer B75 and H77 boards officially support Xeons.

 

[sefan86]

Thank you very much! A couple of more questions:
1. What would be a good motherboard for Intel Xeon E3-1245 V2?
2. Do I need to purchase at least a low-end graphics card with it? If yes, what would you recommend given the fact that I will not play games or edit video?

 

[ShintaiDK]

1245v2 got integrated P4000 graphics.

But considering the possible problem finding a board that supports it. I would buy a H77 board+i7 3770K or i5 3570K depending on how many threads your MATLAB supports. Both got HD4000 graphics.

 

[Ken g6]

No worries. the ASRock B75 Pro3 board supports all the Xeons mentioned here.

But it sounds like you're building toward a complete rebuild. Could you answer [thread=80121]some questions[/thread] if you are?

 

[lehtv]

All Asrock 7-series boards officially support Xeons. I'd recommend the H77 Pro4/MVP, that way you're not limited to one 6gb/s port. Not a big deal but slightly more future resistant.

I haven't really checked the CPU support lists of other brands. I'd expect many of them to offically list Xeon support as well, and even the ones that don't, it should work fine.

 

[mfenn]

Whether or not hyperthreading will actually help you or hurt you depends on the nature of the Matlab code that you're running. Does it spend most of its time doing basic operations on large matrices (multiply, find eigenvalues, etc.) or is the logic custom? Does it use parfor or any other parallelization feature in the code itself or is it relying parallelization that's buried inside the Matlab functions?

 

[sefan86]

Thanks for all the replies. My codes include basic operations, although I may want to learn how to use the parallelization feature in the near future. I'm coming to the US in two weeks and I will buy a pc ASAP. Answering your questions:

1. Basic operations, watching movies/netflix, using MATLAB and STATA

2. I'm willing to spend 600-800 (without monitor) but I wouldn't mind spending a bit more, if it is worth it.

3. USA

4. None, I heard Intel is better suited for programs such as MATLAB, but I'm no expert so I'm open to suggestions.

5. I have none!

7. Default speeds.

8. I don't know nor care too much about screen resolution. I would like to spend 100-200 usd in a lcd monitor (20-24'' ideally).

9. In two weeks, when I arrive to the US.

10. Yes, Windows 7 (OEM I guess?)

 

[krnmastersgt]

I threw together a parts list but then it struck me, you said you're coming to the US, so which country are you coming from? Are you moving here or just here on a short trip and wish to get the computer parts and take them back with you?

 

[sefan86]

Im coming to the US from Argentina for five years to pursue my graduate studies.

 

[Ken g6]

OK, here's my build for you:

CPU: Xeon E3-1245 V2 $278
Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-B75M-D3H $75 (Yes, it's compatible with the processor.)
RAM: Mushkin 2x8GB DDR3-1333 $80
GPU: N/A $0
SSD: N/A $0
HDD: WD 1TB $90
DVD: Lite-On $18
PSU: CORSAIR Builder Series CX430 V2 $25 AR
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 $40 (Thought I'd get you a micro-ATX mobo and case to save space.)
Monitor: Asus 23” IPS $190
Total: $796

Next, you should investigate options for buying Windows as a student. If you can get Win7Pro for a reasonable price, you might want another 16GB of RAM. If not, consider getting whichever SSD is in Mfenn's thread when you get here.

 

[sefan86]

Thank you!

 

[mfenn]

Im coming to the US from Argentina for five years to pursue my graduate studies.

Depending on the university you will be studying at, you should also have access to high performance computing systems for when you need to run larger problems.

OK, here's my build for you:

CPU: Xeon E3-1245 V2 $278
Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-B75M-D3H $75 (Yes, it's compatible with the processor.)
RAM: Mushkin 2x8GB DDR3-1333 $80
GPU: N/A $0
SSD: N/A $0
HDD: WD 1TB $90
DVD: Lite-On $18
PSU: CORSAIR Builder Series CX430 V2 $25 AR
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 $40 (Thought I'd get you a micro-ATX mobo and case to save space.)
Monitor: Asus 23” IPS $190
Total: $796

Next, you should investigate options for buying Windows as a student. If you can get Win7Pro for a reasonable price, you might want another 16GB of RAM. If not, consider getting whichever SSD is in Mfenn's thread when you get here.

:thumbsup:

 

[sefan86]

I do have access to them, actually... Maybe this is an overkill? I planned to buy a cheap and light 11.6'' notebook and a high performance desktop, but maybe this is too much... Truth be told, my current pc is an amd athlon 64 3000 so I really can't grasp the difference in processor speed of today's computers.

 

[mfenn]

Well, it's useful to have a competent machine available for prototyping and doing quick runs, but no it doesn't make too much sense to try to build a beast of a PC if you have access to the true big iron. For a development machine, I would say that dropping the CPU down to an i3 2120 and grabbing an SSD like a Crucial M4 128GB would result in a better overall machine.

Also, since it doesn't seem like you game, you could save some money on the OS license and install Linux on the machine to get familiar with it. That's almost certainly (like 99% likely) what your university's HPC resources will be running.

 

[sefan86]

Sounds like good advice! What case, psu, ram and mobo should I buy with it?
Thanks

 

[sefan86]

BTW, this is the first computer I'll build so I would really appreciate a not-too-difficult case (I read a review here saying the fractal design core 1000 is somewhat difficult)

 

[mfenn]

Sounds like good advice! What case, psu, ram and mobo should I buy with it?
Thanks

Sorry, I meant to say to buy the rest of the parts the Ken suggested except for the CPU and SSD change.

As for the case, I personally think that the Core 1000 is fine, a lot of Dustin's difficulty seemed to stem from the small size relative to his big components. If you'd feel more comfortable working in a larger enclosure however, I can also recommend the NZXT Source 210 Elite.

 

[sefan86]

Thanks again, both of you!
One last question, you say in your mid-range sticky post:
- The trick to using the Newegg gift cards is to place one order for the items with gift cards, wait until they email you the code (usually after the charge your CC), then place another order using the gift card codes.

Is there any particular order that is more convenient in general to make the most of the gift codes?

 

[mfenn]

No, not really, just buy the parts with the gift cards first and wait for the gift cards to show up in your inbox, then buy the rest. In this case, that means order the monitor first.