New Desktop/Workstation

[T_Minus]

I couldn't resist the crazy good deal on the 1080 GTX TI a couple weeks back, and now kind of wishing I held out for the 11GB version since I do game at 2560x1600 but oh-well this will be a nice card/improvement over the 980 TI.

This is going to be a workstation/desktop replacement for my current build which will go in my other office and continue living on I MIGHT sell the mobo/cpu/ram and replace with lower power but we'll see

Current Setup
- MSI Sli+ Mobo
- Intel E5-1620 V3
- 16GB DDR4
- Samsung 950 256GB NVME
- Misc. SSD for Storage/Games/Etc.

New Setup
- i7-7700K (Thanks @Patrick !)
- Motherboard (Unsure) looking at--> MSI Z270 SLI PLUS LGA 1151 Intel Z270 ATX Motherboards - Intel - Newegg.com
- 16GB DDR4 (unsure of brand/model)
- 400GB Intel 750 NVME (own)
- Misc. SSD for Storage/Games/Etc. (own)


Questions/Opinions Wanted
- What do you guys think about my motherboard selection? I want a motherboard with INTEL NIC, and NVME capacity. I like their 'higher end' board but at $100 more for a u.2 port that's a bit much for me. I'm not stuck on MSI brand either. I mainly need to handle 1x video card and 1x PCIE NIC (10G/40G) and 1 NVME, ideally 2 NVME for future expansion.

- RAM? What do you guys suggest? I haven't looked at consumer/desktop RAM in over 2 years.

I really have no interest in over clocking RAM or CPU so having the ability to do so is nice but I don't want to spend $200+ on a board that's simply 'good' at OCing... now if the board is generally more stable, sure that may be worth it Looking for quality components, etc, as I usually replace my desktop/workstation every 2 to 2.5 years.

If anyone is interested in my current setup (mobo/cpu/ram) and wants to trade for an i7 let me know

 

[PigLover]

I think you'll struggle to find a MB for the 7700K that can handle all of the IO you've spec'd gracefully. That chip is limited to 16 total lanes of PCIe from the chip (you can get more from the IOP or even a PCIe switch, but that is an indirect interconnect).

You'll want x8 for the 10Gbe card, x4 for the NVMe and x16 for the 1080i - oops - that totals 28. Too many... You can get by with x8 on the 1080i without noticeable degradation. But that's still x20 - too many.

Frankly it might be better to keep the E5-1620 and x99 MB. The CPU is clocked lower - but it has 4-way memory interleave (vs 2) and a larger cache. Plus its over-clockable. And it has 40 lanes of native PCIe to feed your 1080i and other peripherals.

Whatever MB you choose, pay close attention to how the PCIe slots are generated. Review the block diagram for the board and make sure you know how they are getting 30ish lanes of PCIe from a chip that only has 16 native lanes.

 

[nthu9280]

Don't know the price diff between Z170 and Z270 boards. I just won a SM for parts only Z170 MB looks brand new waiting for a CPU so I check my luck

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

 

[T_Minus]

I think you'll struggle to find a MB for the 7700K that can handle all of the IO you've spec'd gracefully. That chip is limited to 16 total lanes of PCIe from the chip (you can get more from the IOP or even a PCIe switch, but that is an indirect interconnect).

You'll want x8 for the 10Gbe card, x4 for the NVMe and x16 for the 1080i - oops - that totals 28. Too many... You can get by with x8 on the 1080i without noticeable degradation. But that's still x20 - too many.

Frankly it might be better to keep the E5-1620 and x99 MB. The CPU is clocked lower - but it has 4-way memory interleave (vs 2) and a larger cache. Plus its over-clockable. And it has 40 lanes of native PCIe to feed your 1080i and other peripherals.

Whatever MB you choose, pay close attention to how the PCIe slots are generated. Review the block diagram for the board and make sure you know how they are getting 30ish lanes of PCIe from a chip that only has 16 native lanes.

Thanks!
Good point, I'll keep this thing w/out the 10G NIC then not too big of a deal

 

[TLN]

@T_Minus, get a E5 v3 CPU. Unlock "all core turbo" and voila. My 2618L works at 3.3 Ghz with all 8 cores and 2683v3 works at 3.0/18 cores. Not high-freq chip as 7700k, but pretty descent performance too. And you can use existing x99 mobo too. COmes with all the pcie lanes you need.

 

[Mirabis]

@T_Minus, get a E5 v3 CPU. Unlock "all core turbo" and voila. My 2618L works at 3.3 Ghz with all 8 cores and 2683v3 works at 3.0/18 cores. Not high-freq chip as 7700k, but pretty descent performance too. And you can use existing x99 mobo too. COmes with all the pcie lanes you need.

First time I heard of it.. might be something for my 2x E5-2650v3 Plex Server hmmm <3

 

[msvirtualguy]

I'm not sure what your use case is here? My guess is you won't be doing anything that requires more cores hence the 7700k...in that case, great choice still the fastest in single threaded performance.

As for RAM I always, and I mean always go Corsair, can't go wrong. I always go Corsair for PS/RAM/Cooling (Water AIO), haven't been let down yet (knock on wood). I like the Vengeance or Dominator Platinum. Vengence you can get LED and RGB now if that's something that tickle's your fancy. I'm also an Asus Fan when it come to MB. Can't go wrong with the Asus ROG Maximus Formula or if you want a true workstation board the Asus Z270-WS.

I'm with Piglover here, though X99 is a better overall platform, IMHO i'm actually building a workstation based on that now as x299 is far from me with the limited PCIe lanes unless you pay $1k just for CPU, I can go with a 5930k or a 6850k overclock and get the gaming and workstation performance I need. X99 is still a viable platform.

 

[TLN]

First time I heard of it.. might be something for my 2x E5-2650v3 Plex Server hmmm <3

Yup. Google it, you will like the results (+25%)

As for RAM I always, and I mean always go Corsair, can't go wrong. I always go Corsair for PS/RAM/Cooling (Water AIO), haven't been let down yet (knock on wood). I like the Vengeance or Dominator Platinum. Vengence you can get LED and RGB now if that's something that tickle's your fancy. I'm also an Asus Fan when it come to MB. Can't go wrong with the Asus ROG Maximus Formula or if you want a true workstation board the Asus Z270-WS.

I'm with Piglover here, though X99 is a better overall platform, IMHO i'm actually building a workstation based on that now as x299 is far from me with the limited PCIe lanes unless you pay $1k just for CPU, I can go with a 5930k or a 6850k overclock and get the gaming and workstation performance I need. X99 is still a viable platform.

For $1k you can get a Dual xeon mobo and pair of v3 CPUs with total of 40+ threads. It may not be as fast as X299 in games but fors homelab/ML/etc will easily blow modern rigs. You'll get 7x PCIe (16/8x) lanes and 8/16 DDR slots.

 

[msvirtualguy]

Yup. Google it, you will like the results (+25%)



For $1k you can get a Dual xeon mobo and pair of v3 CPUs with total of 40+ threads. It may not be as fast as X299 in games but fors homelab/ML/etc will easily blow modern rigs. You'll get 7x PCIe (16/8x) lanes and 8/16 DDR slots.

Depends on the use case? I just bought an Asus Strix x99, 5930k, 32GB DDR4 3200 Corsair Platinum for less than $700. Full PCIe lanes, great overclock and enough cores for my use case. I'm in the middle here, I need enough single thread performance for 4k gaming and multicore for some video editing and to run a separate Linux dev workstation vm. Perfect for what I need and the OP already has X99..which is Piglover's point.

 

[T_Minus]

My 1620 v3 will remain as well this is for other office location.

If I replace 1620 v3 it will likely be with > power system.

 

[T_Minus]

MSI SLI+ on the way, 16GB Corsair RAM on the way.

I have a new in box Hyper 212 EVO RR-212E-20PK-R2 HSF, but on my box it doesn't show 1151... does anyone know if they now include different brackets for 1151 or will the ones in the old/existing box I have work? (The item on amazon, etc show 1151 working)

 

[RyC]

MSI SLI+ on the way, 16GB Corsair RAM on the way.

I have a new in box Hyper 212 EVO RR-212E-20PK-R2 HSF, but on my box it doesn't show 1151... does anyone know if they now include different brackets for 1151 or will the ones in the old/existing box I have work? (The item on amazon, etc show 1151 working)

I've got that same cooler on my 1151 computer at work and I'm almost positive it will work with the 1150/older brackets if you've got them

 

[T_Minus]

Thanks! We'll find out soon

 

[Peanuthead]

1151 is the same as 1150, so you should be good to go. Using the same cooler on my x99 system. CPU maxed out on all threads and I am not able to hear the cooler.

 

[T_Minus]

Thanks @Peanuthead looking forward to getting this thing built!

 

[msvirtualguy]

Please post the build..looking forward to it!

 

[T_Minus]

Here we go! I didn't plan the colors and they all pretty much matched perfectly for a black and white build, amazing considering some of the parts were on the shelf even!





EVGA 650 G2 80+ Gold -- Debating about yanking a SeaSonic Platinum from a old 4U chassis... we'll see


Even the new GPU was black and white


How do you guys like this custom 2.5" Intel 750 NVME Mount? Drilled 1 hole, enlarged the slot and worked perfectly.
Drive cage removed, and now has direct air flow!



The motherboard matches too! Woah black and white.




Check out those colors! Amazing, and I don't even care to match colors it just occurred like that.


I only wish I didn't need to use this massive case for 0 3.5" drives, 1 NVME and 1 SSD, LOL!!

I just downloaded the latest Windows 10 ISO, so time to burn that to a USB stick and install Windows

 

[rubylaser]

That NVMe mount is... creative

 

[msvirtualguy]

Looking good! Love the white and black theme.

 

[T_Minus]

That NVMe mount is... creative

I was going to bend and drill a piece of AL but saw the bracket and went hmmm, sure enough fit perfectly and color matched as well, ha ha!