rate this performance rig - sticky questions now answered

[Torn Mind]

The PCI-E controller is on the CPU, so simply using an Ivy Bridge CPU should get you PCI-E 3.0.

http://www.techpowerup.com/164479/I...e-quot-Processors-Start-Shipping-in-June.html

http://www.anandtech.com/print/5856

 

[crashtech]

Being hung up on ECC is going to cost you money, period.

ASUS P8B-X

 

[Turbonium]

Being hung up on ECC is going to cost you money, period.

ASUS P8B-X

Yup, I know.

Btw I found that board already a little while ago, but thanks.

The I/O ports on it (or lack thereof) are hilarious.

 

[crashtech]

So how much are you willing to spend on a mobo, now that you know what you are in for?

 

[Turbonium]

Honestly, up to around 200 bucks, give or take. I'm going to be keeping this PC for like 5 years, probably more (my Pentium 4 system lasted me a decade), so I don't mind spending a bit more up front.

 

[Sleepingforest]

Maybe a Supermicro board? This one has PCIe 3.0 and support for Xeon V2 and ECC RAM for $190.

 

[Turbonium]

Thoughts?: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...SUS%20P8C%20WS

 

[crashtech]

$200 is pretty entry-level for a server/workstation board. If you find a feature-rich board for this money, I might get one, too.

 

[Sleepingforest]

I don't think it offers much over this $200 board (still has PCIe 3.0, Intel ethernet, and ECC support).

 

[crashtech]

Thoughts?: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...SUS%20P8C%20WS

Don't know how I missed this. It looks a nice workstation board, a bit more than $200, though.

 

[mfenn]

I don't think it offers much over this $200 board (still has PCIe 3.0, Intel ethernet, and ECC support).

Audio, USB 3.0, and IEEE 1394 are a couple of things that come to mind. I don't think the SM board is really appropriate for a workstation.

 

[mfenn]

Have you read this thread?

Check out the second half of my post on it here.

Let me know if you have anything to say about the situation. Some users on this forum actually feel very strongly about ECC memory.

The thing about ECC is that you have to have it everywhere in the data path for it to do you any good.

To expand on your "pixel changed in image editing" example, since most modern editing programs do at least some of the image composition on the GPU, you would need to get you would also need to get a Quadro or FirePro GPU that has ECC memory. You'd also need to get SAS drives so that you can benefit from SCSI DIF.

I'm not trying to discourage you, I'm just saying that a data-integrity solution that provides true end-to-end protection involves quite a few different parts.

 

[Sleepingforest]

He's not looking for a workstation though, he just wants an extra secure computer for normal uses. Though USB 3.0, sound, and Firewire are pretty convincing.

 

[mfenn]

He's not looking for a workstation though, he just wants an extra secure computer for normal uses. Though USB 3.0, sound, and Firewire are pretty convincing.

Sorry, I was in work mode. By "workstation," I meant "anything that's not a server".