Engineering Build for Work

[burr4392]

I'm in need of some advice for a computer I'm going to build for work shortly. It's a little different from normal builds in that its focus is not gaming, but a powerful, reliable and stable platform for engineering design work. The budget is $2000-$2500, with another $500 for a good automatic NAS storage solution. The software that will be used requires a beast of a machine and REQUIRES dual 1920x1080 monitors (electronics, FPGA, DSP, and PCB design software).

A few of my preferences are:
16GB Ram minimum
120GD SDD minimum

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.
Video and picture editing(small amounts 25gb max), PCB design and simulation, FPGA simulation, DSP simulation, 3d design, standard word processing and power point wrangling. Examples of software used are: Altium Designer, Solidworks, Google Sketchup, Adobe (all), various IDEs, etc. Hardcore electronics design is the main use of the computer, so stability, reliability and power are the goals here.

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread

$2000-$2500, Additional $500 for an automated NAS backup is allowed. Windows License will be required. All other software is already purchased.

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

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc.
I'm a fan boy of reliability for this machine. Data reliability and stability are key requirements, along with power of course.

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
Optional - 2 21.5" ASUS 1920x1080 monitors (bigger would be nice if they fit in the budget). A 550 watt power supply is also available.

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.
A few, been several years since the last time I've built my own, and I have not stayed up to date on the technology.

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
Default.

8. What resolution YOU plan on gaming with.
Dual 1920x1080 monitors are REQUIRED by the software we will be using.

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?
March Timeframe

10. Don't ask for a build configuration critique or rating if you are thin skinned.

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[Ken g6]

Last things first:

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?
March Timeframe

So, ask in the February-March timeframe.

Sandy Bridge-E is an option for this build; but I haven't seen a benchmark that really puts it over the top price/performance-wise, compared to a 2600k or equivalent Xeon. Supposedly, Ivy Bridge will come out in early April, too.

For video cards, looks like you want nVIDIA Quadro. (Unless the Solidworks requirements are wrong and gaming cards work, but I kinda doubt that.) Solidworks appears to be the limiting factor; any card that works with it should be fine on everything else.

Low end: Quadro 600.
Mid-range: Quadro 2000.
High end: Quadro 4000.

But then again Kepler should be out Real Soon Now.

How much hard drive space are you looking for?

 

[fastamdman]

Push your build off an extra month and go with the newest IB with there newest chipset.

 

[Zap]

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?
March Timeframe

Ask about a week before you actually need to place the order. If you are flexible with when you need the system, you may want to keep Ivy Bridge in mind since by then it will be close to release.

Between now and then, find out what graphics card will be best for your software for your software such as Solidworks. Also, think about how much RAM you realistically may want to have because that may impact the platform you end up with. Everything else will be pretty basic.

 

[burr4392]

The Quadro series does offer maximum performance, however, any gaming grade video card will work just fine for all of the Solidworks work that we will be doing.

I would rather avoid using any fresh released hardware for this build. My experience has been that stability issues are often undiscovered until after launch and take months (if not much more) to fix. Stability and reliability is a much bigger driver in this design than power.

A 1 TB drive should suffice for now. HD space can always be added later, and hopefully cheaper, once the plants in Thailand are back up.

 

[fastamdman]

I highly recommend going with IB then burr4392. Stability and Power will both be there.

 

[burr4392]

That i7 3770 does look very nice....

Got a good board suggestion to mate up with it? I've had bad experience with new board releases myself, so something with a little history would be good. Granted a firmware update may be required which may impact reliability for a time.

 

[fastamdman]

IB chips are already working on z68 motherboards. If you don't want to grab the new z77's I would go with any decent mid range to higher end range asus board.

 

[mfenn]

I would rather avoid using any fresh released hardware for this build. My experience has been that stability issues are often undiscovered until after launch and take months (if not much more) to fix. Stability and reliability is a much bigger driver in this design than power.

Don't build your own system then. By March, Dell and HP will have validated SNB-E for their Precision and Z-series workstation lines (respectively) and those are going to give you your best reliability and stability. Not to mention that you buy those with a support contract so that when something breaks the day before a big deadline, you don't have to mess with troubleshooting. You just call Dell or HP and they fix it.

 

[burr4392]

Don't build your own system then. By March, Dell and HP will have validated SNB-E for their Precision and Z-series workstation lines (respectively) and those are going to give you your best reliability and stability. Not to mention that you buy those with a support contract so that when something breaks the day before a big deadline, you don't have to mess with troubleshooting. You just call Dell or HP and they fix it.

If I had a larger budget, I would definitely consider this route. I have been very pleased with Dell machines and support in the past. Unfortunately, a +$1000 premium is just not in the budget.

 

[mfenn]

If I had a larger budget, I would definitely consider this route. I have been very pleased with Dell machines and support in the past. Unfortunately, a +$1000 premium is just not in the budget.

Says who? I just now configured a Precision T1600 with a Xeon E3-1245 (basically the Xeon version of the i5 2500), 16GB of RAM, Quadro 2000, 500GB HDD, two 23" monitors, Windows 7 Pro, and a 3-year warranty for $2473.

 

[burr4392]

Says who? I just now configured a Precision T1600 with a Xeon E3-1245 (basically the Xeon version of the i5 2500), 16GB of RAM, Quadro 2000, 500GB HDD, two 23" monitors, Windows 7 Pro, and a 3-year warranty for $2473.

I just priced one out. Main differences I see are CPU, SSD, 24GB Ram, and 1TB secondary drive.

I am quite willing to accept the small drop in reliability by building it myself. However, the newest cutting edge components often have stability issues which I do want to avoid. If it has a good track record for 3-6 months, it is just fine.

Edit: Also the majority of the work will be with Altium Designer which works better on gaming cards. Go figure. Just wondering, but any thoughts on installing both a workstation and gaming card?

 

[mfenn]

I just priced one out. Main differences I see are CPU, SSD, 24GB Ram, and 1TB secondary drive.

Difference in relation to what and for what price? I haven't seen another build posted.

I am quite willing to accept the small drop in reliability by building it myself. However, the newest cutting edge components often have stability issues which I do want to avoid. If it has a good track record for 3-6 months, it is just fine.

You need to make up your mind, you just said, "Stability and reliability is a much bigger driver in this design than power." And no, newer technology isn't inherently less reliable than older technology, there's plenty of busted old stuff out there.

Edit: Also the majority of the work will be with Altium Designer which works better on gaming cards. Go figure. Just wondering, but any thoughts on installing both a workstation and gaming card?

Won't work very well due to driver conflicts. Also, software is just as important (maybe more important) than hardware in terms of reliability. You will want to get a supported, validated software loadout and not mess with any home-grown hacks. Basically, if you have to ask "will this work?", then you should not do it.

 

[burr4392]

Difference in relation to what? I haven't seen another build posted.

You are correct. However, SSD was a minimum requirement and I was making a comparison between the cost of building your own and buying a prebuilt with a warranty.

You need to make up your mind, you just said, "Stability and reliability is a much bigger driver in this design than power." And no, newer technology isn't inherently less reliable than older technology, there's plenty of busted old stuff out there.

Having asked for build advice, I have already accepted that level of reliability hit. I do wish to minimize it, however. I wish to maximize the power without sacrificing reliability to power while staying within the budget. I hope this makes thing clearer for you.

I do agree that just because a component has just been release does not mean it will have any reliability or stability issues. However, with a track record you can attempt to avoid the components that have proven to be less reliable (personal experience with buying just released hardware).

Won't work very well due to driver conflicts. Also, software is just as important (maybe more important) than hardware in terms of reliability. You will want to get a supported, validated software loadout and not mess with any home-grown hacks. Basically, if you have to ask "will this work?", then you should not do it.

I was wondering out loud rather than asking if it would work. I have no intention of installing a workstation and a gaming card - both for cost and, as you said, driver conflicts are entirely too probable.

 

[mfenn]

You are correct. However, SSD was a minimum requirement and I was making a comparison between the cost of building your own and buying a prebuilt with a warranty.

Still not seeing any specific numbers and configs for comparison, that's all I'm asking for here. You obviously have something specifc in mind, so why make us play 20 questions?

Having asked for build advice, I have already accepted that level of reliability hit. I do wish to minimize it, however. I wish to maximize the power without sacrificing reliability to power while staying within the budget. I hope this makes thing clearer for you.

I do agree that just because a component has just been release does not mean it will have any reliability or stability issues. However, with a track record you can attempt to avoid the components that have proven to be less reliable (personal experience with buying just released hardware).

And I'm saying that since you are using this system for work which presumably means that your livelihood depends on it at least to some degree and that you've repeatedly emphasized stability and reliability, that the decision to build it yourself is foolhardy.