Development/Gaming PC

[InfiniteLurker]

I've got the itch to build a new machine, and since I've been out of the loop on the hardware side for some time I'm looking for some help. I threw a 7970 in my main machine when they came out, which serves me fine on the gaming side for my 30". I would like to go with 32GB of RAM, and I want Visual Studio builds and applications to open as fast as possible. I was thinking of going RAID 0 with whatever the current leading SSDs are. I have a NAS for large data storage needs so no spinning platters are needed. Noise is also important - the less the better, but it doesn't need to be silent.


1. What YOUR PC will be used for. Development, gaming, and running some virtual machines from time to time.

2. What YOUR budget is. $1000 to $2000, but performance is more important.

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from. USA

5. Do YOU have a brand preference. I typically stick to Intel

6. DO YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are. I'll be moving my 7970 from my old machine, and using my current monitors, keyboard and mouse.

7. DO YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds. No I will not overclock

8. What resolution, not monitor size, will you be using? 2560x1600

9. WHEN do you plan to build it? Early January, but would like to order the parts this weekend. I do have a Microcenter in town, but typically order from Newegg.

X. Do you need to purchase any software to go with the system, such as Windows or Blu Ray playback software? No

 

[Sleepingforest]

Microcenter has the best deals, obviously. Pick up an i7-3770K and a Z77 motherboard there (any Asrock, Asus, or Gigabyte around $100 should do). Examples of good motherboards: Asrock Extreme3, Asus P8Z77V-LK, and the Gigabyte GA-Z77-DS3H.

From there:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($80.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Essentials 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($124.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial M4 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($199.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial M4 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($199.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card ($424.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($24.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Subtotal: $1385.90
(Not including tax or shipping)

Plus about $280 for buying the CPU and mobo from Microcenter (If they're still running the $100 off a 3770k and $50 off a mobo combo).

 

[DaveSimmons]

I'd go with a lower wattage PSU like a Seasonic X650 80plus gold for $100, which is still more power than you'll need.

 

[InfiniteLurker]

Thanks for the suggestions.

Would I get better performance with a raid card, and are those the fastest ssds?

 

[DSF]

This Corsair HX650 is $20 cheaper after rebate and promo code. It's also made by Seasonic and is 80-plus gold.

I don't think the extra power is a bad thing, as with that size monitor you may want to leave your options open for a dual-GPU setup.

I haven't seen much evidence that RAID0 improves real-world performance for SSDs, but I could be wrong. I just haven't seen a site showing benchies to that effect yet. If this is development that's work-related, RAID0 is also going to raise the probability of a drive failure.

 

[InfiniteLurker]

Another question: I was considering going with a dual processor setup, so I could dedicate more power to multiple virtual machines at the same time. Would I be losing anything going that way vs. the setup suggested above?

Or would I be better off with a Intel Core i7-3930K?

 

[mfenn]

Another question: I was considering going with a dual processor setup, so I could dedicate more power to multiple virtual machines at the same time. Would I be losing anything going that way vs. the setup suggested above?

Or would I be better off with a Intel Core i7-3930K?

So we need to back up a bit to figure out what the bottleneck really is. First, make sure that you are doing parallel builds. Read this Stack Overflow thread to enable them. If you're only doing a single-threaded build, no amount of extra CPU cores is going to help you.

Once you've done that, open up the Resource Monitor while you run a build. Pay attention to both the Processor and Disk tabs (you may need to run the build more than once while you're focused on the different tabs). If your processors are maxed out but your disk queue length is short, then you need more CPU. If the opposite is true, then you need more IOPS (ie. more SSDs).

If neither is high, then a single SSD will help overall system responsiveness (if you don't already have one), but you mostly have a software problem.

 

[InfiniteLurker]

That is great information - thanks. I'm not really trying to solve a specific bottleneck, I just want the best performance possible for as many situation as possible. Compiling, opening large solutions, working with large files, virtual machines with large vhd's. With the amount of time I spend working on this machine, if spending a few extra hundred bucks yields a small but noticeable difference, I'm fine with it.

 

[mfenn]

That is great information - thanks. I'm not really trying to solve a specific bottleneck, I just want the best performance possible for as many situation as possible. Compiling, opening large solutions, working with large files, virtual machines with large vhd's. With the amount of time I spend working on this machine, if spending a few extra hundred bucks yields a small but noticeable difference, I'm fine with it.

Well the thing is that the first 3 items you listed require a different approach from the last two. If you want a generally fast build, Sleepingforest has listed a good set of parts. It's kind of a shot in the dark without knowing your specific bottleneck though.

 

[InfiniteLurker]

OK - So, bringing this thread back from the dead. I held off on upgrading, and am looking at it again now that Haswell is out. I've built my own rigs in the past, but now time is more important, so if I can get a good pre-built machine, I'm leaning that way.

I liked the configuration options at cyberpowerpc.com, and put together the following:

http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/saved/1F7RPJ

Config details:

Case: Thermaltake Level 10GTS Mid Tower Gaming Case w/ EasySwap HDD bays, 2x Front USB 3.0 Ports, & Headset Holder (Black Color)
Extra Case Fan Upgrade: Default case fans
CPU: Intel® Core™ i7-4770K 3.50 GHz 8MB Intel Smart Cache LGA1150 (All Venom OC Certified)
Venom Boost Fast And Efficient Factory Overclocking: Pro OC (Performance Overclock 10% or more)
Cooling Fan: Cooler Master Seidon 120M Liquid Cooling System 120MM Radiator (Single Standard 120MM Fan)
Coolant for Cyberpower Xtreme Hydro Water Cooling Kits: Standard Coolant
Motherboard: [CrossFireX] MSI Z87-G41 PC Mate Intel Z87 Chipset DDR3 ATX Mainboard w/ Military Class 4, OC Genie II, 7.1 HD Audio, GbLAN, HDMI, 2 Gen3 PCIe x16, 2x PCI-e & 2 PCI (Pro OC Certified)
Intel Smart Response Technology: None
Memory: 32GB (8GBx4) DDR3/1600MHz Dual Channel Memory (Corsair or Major Brand)
Video Card: AMD Radeon HD 7750 2GB 16X PCIe 3.0 Video Card (Major Brand Powered by AMD)
Power Supply Upgrade: 750 Watts - Corsair CX750 80 Plus Bronze Power Supply
Hard Drive: 256GB ADATA SP900 SATA-III 6.0Gb/s - 555 MB/s Read & 530 MB/s Write (256GB x 2 (512GB Capacity) Raid 0 Extreme Performance)
Optical Drive: 24X Double Layer Dual Format DVD+-R/+-RW + CD-R/RW Drive (BLACK COLOR)
Sound: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
Network: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network
Extra Thermal Display: None
Bluetooth: None
Flash Media Reader/Writer: INTERNAL 12in1 Flash Media Reader/Writer (BLACK COLOR)
Service: STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT

I chose the cheapest video card option, since I'm going to be putting the 7970 I already have in there. I priced this out as best I could at Newegg, and the price seems pretty good. I'm a bit concerned about some of the bad ratings of cyberpower, although some people I respect have never had a problem with them.




Looking for thoughts/feedback on the build and the company. Thanks!

 

[mfenn]

Cyberpower gave me an error when I clicked on your link. What is your final price?

 

[InfiniteLurker]

The price has gone up a bit since I saved it. Originally it was $1498, and now it's listing $1522.

 

[mfenn]

$1500 is about $200 too expensive for that machine. It should be something like this:

i7 4770K + GA-Z87X-UD3H $430
Kingston DDR3 1600 32GB $194 AP
Use existing GPU $0
Sandisk Extreme II 240GB x2 $450
Lite-ON DVD Burner $15
Rosewill Capstone 650W $72 AP
Corsair 300R $90
Thermalright TS-140 $50
Total: $1301

This is roughly equivalent spec, but with better parts all around. I'd also say that 32GB of RAM and (especially) RAID 0 SSDs are probably unnecessary.

I guess what I'm saying is that Cyberpower is OK, but you have to be OK with them making $200-300 off of you.