Workstation build

[ggadrian]

I'm putting together a workstation for a friend that is going to use the following software:

-Maya
-Blender
-Nuke
-Photoshop
-After Effects
-ZBrush
-Sony Vegas
-3D Max
-Lightworks
-SolidWorks

Some software is nvidia only so I have to go with a Quadro card, altough I think that FirePro's are a lot more powerful in every price point.

The budget is 1550€ and those are the selected parts:

-Intel Xeon E3-1245v3 (it costs about the same as an i7 4770 and the Xeon brand looks cool in a workstation)
-Asrock B85M-Pro4 (yes, I know, really budget MoBo, but I needed to cut costs somewhere and this one has everything he needs)
-32GB Crucial Ballistix Sport 1866 CL10 DDR3 RAM (4x8GB)
-Crucial M500 240GB
-WD Blue 1TB
-PNY Quadro K4000 3GB GDDR5
-Fractal Design Define Mini (he sleeps besides the computer, so a "quiet" case is a plus)
-Corsair CX430

Some people is going to freak out because of the 430W PSU, but the CPU has a 84W TDP and the GPU I think is aroud 80W, so it should suffice and get better efficienci than a bigger PSU, and the electricity is really expensive, so lower price and better efficiency is a plus.

We're going to order the parts tomorrow, so please tell me if there is any problem with this build.

 

[DSF]

Just FYI, TDP is not a measure of how much power the components draw from the PSU.

Is this PC to be used for work/school for this friend? If so, are you going to be expected to provide tech support? That's a difficult situation. It's going to be a bummer for you both if something breaks and you have trouble isolating and fixing the issue when clients are waiting for their products or class assignments are due.

 

[ggadrian]

Just FYI, TDP is not a measure of how much power the components draw from the PSU.

Is this PC to be used for work/school for this friend? If so, are you going to be expected to provide tech support? That's a difficult situation. It's going to be a bummer for you both if something breaks and you have trouble isolating and fixing the issue when clients are waiting for their products or class assignments are due.

I'm not providing tech support, but at least here an OEM system would not provide on-site or fast tech support for that price point, so there's little difference between an OEM system or a custom build. Also, except for the GPU all the parts are fairly cheap, so if there's something really urgent he can always repair it for 100-300€ without having to wait for the guaranty replacement.

Yes, I know that TDP is not actual power draw, but do you think that this setup is going to pull more than 350W at full load? The closest think I've built is an i5 3330P with an HD7770 and the same PSU and it's been running like a charm for months.

 

[Ken g6]

Power shouldn't be a problem here. If you're trying to save money, since you already selected a GPU for this system, an IGP-free E3-1240v3 or E3-1230v3 would work too. Otherwise I don't see any issues.

 

[ggadrian]

Power shouldn't be a problem here. If you're trying to save money, since you already selected a GPU for this system, an IGP-free E3-1240v3 or E3-1230v3 would work too. Otherwise I don't see any issues.

Strange as it sounds I can get the E3-1245v3 cheaper than the E3-1240v3, and the E3-1230v3 is just slightly cheaper and slightly less powerful, but as I'm already doubting if not going LGA2011 is a poor choice I don't feel compable dropping any processor speed.

 

[mfenn]

Yes, I know that TDP is not actual power draw, but do you think that this setup is going to pull more than 350W at full load? The closest think I've built is an i5 3330P with an HD7770 and the same PSU and it's been running like a charm for months.

TDP is Thermal Design Power, which is an estimate of how much cooling OEMs should spec for. Since computer chips are basically resistive heaters, heat is very close to input power.

But anyway, the point being that TDP is a worst case, you won't come close to the TDP in normal usage. A CX430 is more than enough for that machine.

Your build looks OK to me, but I wouldn't pay extra for the 1866 MHz RAM. Grab DDR3 1600 if it's available. I initially thought the same thing as Ken about the CPU, but you've let us know that it is paradoxically cheaper than the non-IGP version.

 

[ggadrian]

TDP is Thermal Design Power, which is an estimate of how much cooling OEMs should spec for. Since computer chips are basically resistive heaters, heat is very close to input power.

But anyway, the point being that TDP is a worst case, you won't come close to the TDP in normal usage. A CX430 is more than enough for that machine.

Your build looks OK to me, but I wouldn't pay extra for the 1866 MHz RAM. Grab DDR3 1600 if it's available. I initially thought the same thing as Ken about the CPU, but you've let us know that it is paradoxically cheaper than the non-IGP version.

I never pay extra for faster RAM, it just happens that this 1866 kit is even cheaper than 1333 RAM, just as the CPU. I don't know why that happens, it's kind of stupid, but it happens really often.

 

[ggadrian]

I've assembled the parts and I'm pretty happy with the result, but:

-Under sustained load the CPU reaches 82-84ºC (the case is pretty week ventilated with a 120 and 140 intake fans and a 120 exhaust, everything else is really cool inside the case). I'm going to change the TIM with Noctua NT-H1 that I have at home to see if I can lower the temps a couple of degrees.

-I use the BIOS to control de fan speed, and I can keep them spinning low when the CPU is cool, so the sistem is silent, but the fan speed fluctuates under load. Does this have a fix? I'd like the fans to works at the speed I told them to work, I think that it would lower the temps a couple of extra degrees.

 

[lehtv]

-Under sustained load the CPU reaches 82-84ºC (the case is pretty week ventilated with a 120 and 140 intake fans and a 120 exhaust, everything else is really cool inside the case). I'm going to change the TIM with Noctua NT-H1 that I have at home to see if I can lower the temps a couple of degrees.

What's the sustained load from, prime95 or some other program?

-I use the BIOS to control de fan speed, and I can keep them spinning low when the CPU is cool, so the sistem is silent, but the fan speed fluctuates under load. Does this have a fix? I'd like the fans to works at the speed I told them to work, I think that it would lower the temps a couple of extra degrees.

What fan profile do you have set in the BIOS, and again how are you loading the CPU?

If you want a substantial improvement in load noise, you'll need an aftermarket cooler

 

[ggadrian]

What's the sustained load from, prime95 or some other program?



What fan profile do you have set in the BIOS, and again how are you loading the CPU?

If you want a substantial improvement in load noise, you'll need an aftermarket cooler

Noise is not a problem, the system is pretty quiet.

I've changed the TIM and after one hour of prime95 it stays below 80ºC. I ran SPECwpc and the peak CPU temp was 79ºC, wich is pretty good given that this is the kind of workload that's going to be run on this computer.

But then I've tried LinX and... well, after one minute the CPU was at 98ºC. How worried should I be? Is this an unrealistic workload? Or does this computer have overheating problems?

 

[mfenn]

LinX is basically designed to heat the CPU as high as it can possibly go, and no it's not a very realistic workload. That being said, 98C is pretty hot.

Like lehtv mentioned, there is a tradeoff between fan speed (i.e. noise) and temperature. If you go into the BIOS and set a more aggressive fan profile (e.g. lower temperature target), then you'll hear the fans ramp up sooner, but the system will stay cooler.

 

[ggadrian]

LinX is basically designed to heat the CPU as high as it can possibly go, and no it's not a very realistic workload. That being said, 98C is pretty hot.

Like lehtv mentioned, there is a tradeoff between fan speed (i.e. noise) and temperature. If you go into the BIOS and set a more aggressive fan profile (e.g. lower temperature target), then you'll hear the fans ramp up sooner, but the system will stay cooler.

Well, after undervolting the CPU I can run LinX without throttling, although the CPU sits at 93-94ºC during the test.

I think that using the stock cooler that's as good as I'll get.

Tomorrow I'm handing the computer to it's owner and I'll advise him to upgrade the CPU cooler as soon as he can, since the summer is really hot here (35-40ºC ambient temp) and the CPU will provably overheat.

Appart from that, Im really happy with the build, it's pretty silent, looks nice, is snappy to use and pretty powerful; I'm sure the owner will be pleased.

 

[lehtv]

Tomorrow I'm handing the computer to it's owner and I'll advise him to upgrade the CPU cooler as soon as he can, since the summer is really hot here (35-40ºC ambient temp) and the CPU will provably overheat.

Whoah, 35-40C indoors? I'd probably spend my money on a one way ticket to Iceland and a workstation laptop 😀