Very-high-end workstation build

[Ticky]

I've been asked to price out a very high-end workstation for work. This machine will be used for data analysis. Our constraint is that we need to be able to invert very, very large matrices. Basically, this involves taking data from memory, doing a small number of floating point ops, and sending it back, over and over again.

Our current machine has 64 gigs of RAM, and thats adequate. We're building a second, faster machine, and we're considering 128 gigs for future proofing.

Other than that, we want the fastest possible processing. Single- and multi-threaded performance are both important. On-board video is more than fine.

I'm not sure at this point if a Xeon is a better choice than a Core...

Budget is... dunno. Let's say $4-5k. Less is better, obviously, but we can spend more if there is a real advantage.


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

5. IF YOU have a brand preference.
Nope, other than obviously an Intel processor

6. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
Nope

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

8. What resolution, not monitor size, will you be using?
Really doesn't matter....

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?
A couple months

 

[Silenus]

Ram is no problem. You'll be Xeon definitely and ECC ram. The question is how many cores should you get/can you use. That may not be an easy answer.

At work right now we are building some single socket 8-core setups (E5-2650 v2) on Supermicro X9SRL-F boards. They only have 16GB ram, but 128GB with 8 x 16GB DIMM's would be very straightforward. The thing is...even though technically you can do the higher end 10 core and 12 core workstation CPU's on this board...they get expensive so quickly that you might spend less by going with say a dual socket board and two 6-core or 8-core CPU's.

EDIT: I should clarify that if you are considering over 64GB ram, or more than 6-core, then that definitely means Xeon and ECC ram (which really you should be using anyway). If you were going to stay with 64GB then you could just do an i7-4960X and call it done. Your maxed out for that platform though.

 

[Insomniator]

128GB of ECC ram will be like 2 grand by itself. Then 1500 for an 8c Xeon... this stuff adds up quick.

 

[Silenus]

It does add up. Lets do a sample setup....but bear in mind I don't really know enough about your setup to know how the priorities should be weighted. Assuming you are fine with a relatively basic case and drive setup (you didn't mentioned anything about storage, so I'll assume just a boot/app drive for now), here is an idea for a build:

Common base for all setups:
Rosewill Armor EVO: $90
Seasonic X650 Gold: $140
Samsung 840 EVO 120GB: $83
Sub Total = $313

Single socket 8-Core (2.6Ghz):
Supermicro X9SRL-F: $290 (board choice is flexible, lots of options)
E5-2650 V2: $1300
64GB ECC Registered DDR3L-1333 kits (QTY 2): $1498
Noctua NH-U9DXi4: $60
Sub Total = $3148, +$313 = $3461

Single socket 10-Core (2.5Ghz):
Supermicro X9SRL-F: $290 (board choice is flexible, lots of options)
E5-2670 V2: $1650
64GB ECC Registered DDR3L-1333 kits (QTY 2): $1498
Noctua NH-U9DXi4: $60
Sub Total = $3498, +$313 = $3811

DUAL socket 6-Core (12 CORE, 2.6Ghz):
Supermicro X9DRD: $365 (board choice is flexible, lots of options)
E5-2630 V2(QTY 2): $1300
64GB ECC Registered DDR3L-1333 kits (QTY 2): $1498
Noctua NH-U9DXi4(QTY 2): $120
Sub Total = $3283, +$313 = $3596

So you'll note that in the last example we moved to 12 cores total and it is LESS than the 10 core single socket setup. All these have a full 128GB ram, and are still well under $4000. This leaves you room for going higher on CPU's (dual 8 core or more perhaps), and/or more hard drives ect.

 

[Essence_of_War]

If this is for work, I'd HIGHLY recommend price checking someone like Dell over the phone also. In addition to offering warranty and on-site support (who will support this machine is always a relevant question) they can often offer significant discounts over the phone and that combination could make them a very competitive option.

 

[Gunbuster]

If this is for work, I'd HIGHLY recommend price checking someone like Dell over the phone also. In addition to offering warranty and on-site support (who will support this machine is always a relevant question) they can often offer significant discounts over the phone and that combination could make them a very competitive option.

This, plus look at something you can rackmount. I would want something that expensive locked up, not under someones desk in the office...

 

[Ticky]

It does add up. Lets do a sample setup....but bear in mind I don't really know enough about your setup to know how the priorities should be weighted. Assuming you are fine with a relatively basic case and drive setup (you didn't mentioned anything about storage, so I'll assume just a boot/app drive for now), here is an idea for a build:

Common base for all setups:
Rosewill Armor EVO: $90
Seasonic X650 Gold: $140
Samsung 840 EVO 120GB: $83
Sub Total = $313

Single socket 8-Core (2.6Ghz):
Supermicro X9SRL-F: $290 (board choice is flexible, lots of options)
E5-2650 V2: $1300
64GB ECC Registered DDR3L-1333 kits (QTY 2): $1498
Noctua NH-U9DXi4: $60
Sub Total = $3148, +$313 = $3461

Single socket 10-Core (2.5Ghz):
Supermicro X9SRL-F: $290 (board choice is flexible, lots of options)
E5-2670 V2: $1650
64GB ECC Registered DDR3L-1333 kits (QTY 2): $1498
Noctua NH-U9DXi4: $60
Sub Total = $3498, +$313 = $3811

DUAL socket 6-Core (12 CORE, 2.6Ghz):
Supermicro X9DRD: $365 (board choice is flexible, lots of options)
E5-2630 V2(QTY 2): $1300
64GB ECC Registered DDR3L-1333 kits (QTY 2): $1498
Noctua NH-U9DXi4(QTY 2): $120
Sub Total = $3283, +$313 = $3596

So you'll note that in the last example we moved to 12 cores total and it is LESS than the 10 core single socket setup. All these have a full 128GB ram, and are still well under $4000. This leaves you room for going higher on CPU's (dual 8 core or more perhaps), and/or more hard drives ect.

This is great, thanks. Yes, drives are unimportant, the data will not live locally, except for a scratch copy potentially.

I need to check if some of our licenses will stretch to dual-socket boards... That 8-core looks like it might be a very nice solution.

 

[Ticky]

If this is for work, I'd HIGHLY recommend price checking someone like Dell over the phone also. In addition to offering warranty and on-site support (who will support this machine is always a relevant question) they can often offer significant discounts over the phone and that combination could make them a very competitive option.

We have contract IT... but they are expensive. Letting some random person from Dell touch our PC would be a non-starter, we'd have to yank the drives first.

I will however price check them, just to know.

 

[Ticky]

This, plus look at something you can rackmount. I would want something that expensive locked up, not under someones desk in the office...

Not really a concern, but thanks. Anyone who could touch this machine could do far, far worse than steal it or break it.

 

[bononos]

Not really a concern, but thanks. Anyone who could touch this machine could do far, far worse than steal it or break it.

The data is that important/confidential huh?

 

[MichaelD]

Many privately-held companies, in addition to government entities, have confidential/proprietary information on their systems. Sometimes it's not "one file" that gives away secrets or millions of dollars, but the picture painted by piecing together data from a system or various systems. The best way to keep a secret is to not tell anyone. In this case, don't let anyone outside the trusted circle even sniff the data.

 

[Gunbuster]

We have contract IT... but they are expensive. Letting some random person from Dell touch our PC would be a non-starter, we'd have to yank the drives first.

I will however price check them, just to know.

You don't ever have to let someone from dell touch the machine. For a nominal fee you can even get the warranty option where you don't have to return HDD's if they fail under warranty.