Need help with E3-1230 V2 build for ESXi whitebox

[LeetViet]

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.
ESXi 5 whitebox for learning, and watching movies/web browsing.

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread
$800-$1000

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
Canada.
Vendors most likely:
www.canadacomputers.com
www.newegg.ca
www.ncix.com

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 am pretty much set on the E3-1230 V2 CPU because I want to play with VT-d. I just need to make sure the motherboard supports it, in as small as a form factor as I can get away with.

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
No

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

8. What resolution will you be using?
2560x1440 on a Dell U2711

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?
In the next two weeks.

 

[mfenn]

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.
ESXi 5 whitebox for learning, and watching movies/web browsing.

8. What resolution will you be using?
2560x1440 on a Dell U2711

The blue and red statements are conflicting with each other. ESXi itself has no display output beyond a very simple text mode interface. You have to interact with it using the vSphere client from another computer. Even then, the VM console doesn't have very good graphics performance at all.

 

[Viper GTS]

The blue and red statements are conflicting with each other. ESXi itself has no display output beyond a very simple text mode interface. You have to interact with it using the vSphere client from another computer. Even then, the VM console doesn't have very good graphics performance at all.

I'm thinking he's going to use VT-d to pass through a PCI-e video card into a VM for use for those functions.

I doubt that will be a satisfactory experience though.

IMO the proper way to do this is two machines. You're going to need two machines anyway to manage your newly created 'desktop use' VM.

Build a desktop or buy a laptop for your watching/surfing. Build an ESXi machine for nothing but ESXi.

Viper GTS

 

[mfenn]

I'm thinking he's going to use VT-d to pass through a PCI-e video card into a VM for use for those functions.

I doubt that will be a satisfactory experience though.

IMO the proper way to do this is two machines. You're going to need two machines anyway to manage your newly created 'desktop use' VM.

Build a desktop or buy a laptop for your watching/surfing. Build an ESXi machine for nothing but ESXi.

Viper GTS

Agree completely.

 

[Viper GTS]

The other potential solution here if you want to play with ESXi for educational purposes is to build a desktop with as much RAM as you can afford and then virtualize ESXi on Workstation. You can do a full VCP lab running multiple ESXi hosts, vCenter, and iSCSI + NFS datastores all on VMs.

If you're after the education but only have the budget for one machine that will accomplish both.

Viper GTS

 

[LeetViet]

The other potential solution here if you want to play with ESXi for educational purposes is to build a desktop with as much RAM as you can afford and then virtualize ESXi on Workstation. You can do a full VCP lab running multiple ESXi hosts, vCenter, and iSCSI + NFS datastores all on VMs.

If you're after the education but only have the budget for one machine that will accomplish both.

Viper GTS

Should I just go for a regular i3 from Dell and load it with RAM then?

But yes, I was hoping to use one VM for Windows for light usage as a desktop.

 

[mfenn]

Should I just go for a regular i3 from Dell and load it with RAM then?

For which, the whitebox or the control machine?

But yes, I was hoping to use one VM for Windows for light usage as a desktop.

While you can theoretically do this, it doesn't make very much sense. The UIX won't be nearly as good as it would be on a native desktop. Since you need a control machine anyway...

 

[LeetViet]

I'm thinking I may have to forego an ESXi whitebox for now, and settle for just a desktop running VMWare Workstation.

Right now I'm considering:
i5-3450 $199.99
Intel BOXDQ77MK $139.99
CORSAIR XMS3 16GB (4 x 4GB) $89.99 (CMX16GX3M4A1333C9)
Corsair Neutron Series GTX 120GB SSD $139.99 (CSSD-N120GBGTX-BK)
Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache $89.99 (ST1000DM003)
Sapphire 7850 $199.99
Antec Sonata 4 w/620W PSU $169.99 <--- should I opt for a lower end Antec case and buy a separate PSU?

Total: $1030
- Wanted USB 3 and IGP support, but no overclocking.
- I can do with an i3-2105, but would the HD 3000 be a bottleneck for Source games at 2560x1440?

Thoughts?

 

[mfenn]

I'm thinking I may have to forego an ESXi whitebox for now, and settle for just a desktop running VMWare Workstation.

Right now I'm considering:
i5-3450 $199.99
Intel BOXDQ77MK $139.99
CORSAIR XMS3 16GB (4 x 4GB) $89.99 (CMX16GX3M4A1333C9)
Corsair Neutron Series GTX 120GB SSD $139.99 (CSSD-N120GBGTX-BK)
Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache $89.99 (ST1000DM003)
Sapphire 7850 $199.99
Antec Sonata 4 w/620W PSU $169.99 <--- should I opt for a lower end Antec case and buy a separate PSU?

Total: $1030
- Wanted USB 3 and IGP support, but no overclocking.
- I can do with an i3-2105, but would the HD 3000 be a bottleneck for Source games at 2560x1440?

Thoughts?

You can do a lot better for the money. Check out this build. It has overclocking support but is already a hell of a lot cheaper than what you've put together. You can easily trade the 7950 3GB to a 7850 2GB and use the difference to pick up this 2x8GB kit of RAM.

 

[LeetViet]

I saw that thread mfenn, but I am not looking to overclock.

 

[mfenn]

I saw that thread mfenn, but I am not looking to overclock.

Obviously you don't have to overclock the machine. I was trying to point out that you'd picked out some parts that are bad value for the money when you can get a system with a equal or better part in every category and still come in at a lower price point. To make it explicit:

i5 3450 + GA-H77M-D3H $278
Kingston DDR3 1600 16GB $75
Sapphire 7850 2GB $200 AR
Crucial M4 128GB $110
Hitachi 7K1000.D $90
Lite-ON DVD Burner $18
Corsair CX500 $50 AR
NZXT Source 210 Elite $50
Total: $871 AR