Budget 51-70k Workstation PC - Web Development & Coding + Desktop Processing

H

handsomeabhi

Disciple
Greetings,

I need your help to build a workstation for myself. The usage will be for web design (Photoshop, illustrator, Dreamweaver etc.) and web development in LAMP (Linux Apache MySQL PHP) and open source. Besides this, a lot of emailing (Outlook 2013) and surfing at the same time. Some video encoding whenever required (preparing presentation videos and intros for my clients).

NO GAMING FOR SURE. When I update to a new PC may be after 3-4 years I may use this PC for Gaming.

My planned budget is about 50K - 70K. But frankly there are no budget restrictions as I want to make sure I spend only on the right & required hardware and not on unnecessary hardware components.

I am looking to build a PC which lasts for at least 3-4 years from now.

So here comes the template:

1. What is your budget?
  • 50K-70K (NO BUDGET RESTRICTIONS. WANT TO BUY THE RIGHT & REQUIRED HARDWARE.)
2. What is your existing hardware configuration (component name - component brand and model)
  • CPU - Intel Core i7 920 - D0 Stepping - Bloomfiled
  • Motherboard - Asus Rampage II Extreme
  • GPU - EVGA e-GeForce GTX 275 Superclocked Edition 896MB 448-bit DDR3
  • RAM - OCZ Platinum 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
  • Monitor - AOC F22 22" LCD
  • SMPS - CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V
  • HDD - WDC WD5000AAKS-22TMA0 (500 GB) X 2 + WDC WD5000AACS-00G8B1 (500 GB)
  • ODD - ASUS DRW-1814BLT ATA Device
  • Sound Card - Creative SupremeFX X-Fi (Bundled with Motherboard)
  • Cabinet - Cooler Master 690 (RC-690)
  • Keyboard - Logitech K340
  • Mouse - Logitech Performance MX M950 Darkfiled Laser Tracking
  • I WON'T BE USING THIS PC AS MY WORKSTATION AND PLANNING TO ASSEMBLE A NEW WORKSTATION FROM SCRATCH.
3. Which hardware will you be keeping (component name - component brand and model)
  • NONE (BUILD FROM SCRATCH)
4. Which hardware component are you looking to buy (component name). If you have already decided on a configuration then please mention the (component brand and model) as well, this will help us in fine tuning your requirement.
5. Is this going to be your final configuration or you would be adding/upgrading a component in near future. If yes then please mention when and which component.
  • No upgrade for the next 12 months at least. Only if needed.
  • Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO Cooler in the next 3-6 months may be.
  • Will add a GPU if needed for application requirements.
7. Would you consider buying a second hand hardware from the TE market
  • No
8. What is your intended use for this PC/hardware
  • Web Design (photoshop, illustrator, dreamweaver)
  • Web Development (LAMP & other opensource)
  • Browsing
  • Desktop Processing
9. Do you have any brand preference or dislike? Please name them and the reason for your preference/dislike.
  • Been using Intel from very start. Was thinking of going for FX 8250 but now the new Haswell i7-4770K looks good.
  • Asus for motherboard but open to Asrock, MSI, Intel.
10. If you will be playing games then which type of games will you be playing?
  • No Gaming
11. What is your preferred monitor resolution for gaming and normal usage
  • Open to suggestions. But would prefer 22"+ monitor.
  • Something which is comfortable on the eyes for long hours of work.
  • Dual monitor setup for more screen real estate (optional)
12. Are you looking to overclock?
  • No (may be in the future)
  • Own a i7-920 with Rampage II Extreme for 4+ years now but have never overclocked.
13. Which operating system do you intend to use with this configuration?
  • Windows 7 64 bit
  • Linux (rarely)
Had initially planned to go ahead with i7-3770K build. But with Haswell finally out now would go ahead with i7-4770K only even though if it costs me on a higher side. I am very sure that a jump from i7-920 to i7-4770K will be noticeable.

I am very confused with the motherboard selection. I won't be doing SLI in any case and hence want to spend the right amount (not too much) for the motherboard. Confused between the above listed motherboards. Here is an extensive comparison of 33 motherboards for your reference.

Have decided to buy a IPS monitor this time. Want to buy the Dell S2340L which has some good reviews. Though open to other IPS models from LG as Dell has a glossy screen and hence the usual reflection issues.

I hope I have provided enough inputs on my requirement. So guys please provide me with the best workstation config.

Looking forward for your valuable inputs.

Best Regards.

@ALPHA17 , @terence_fdes and other members help me build my powerful workstation :) .
 
handsomeabhi said:
Nobody here to help me in my build :wideyed:
Click to expand...

First of all I'll appreciate how elaborately you have explained your requirement. For your motherboard selection; Haswell motherboards from all brands are not available in India at present. On flipkart, just Asus, ASRock and MSI Haswell mobos are available. Other brands like Gigabyte and Biostar will be making their Z87 motherboards available in India soon.
 
@techguise thank you for the appreciation. My main concern is that I have only used Asus motherboards till date. Haswell being new, there are mortarboards from MSI & Asrock as well. Since I want to spend the least amount on the motherboard, need help from you guys. Asrock Z87 Extreme4 does not seem to be as popular as the Z77 Extreme4. For now I am leaning towards the entry level MSI Z87-G43 as it is good in overclocking with performance similar to Asus & other high priced motherboards(as mentioned in the motherboards review).


techguise said:
First of all I'll appreciate how elaborately you have explained your requirement. For your motherboard selection; Haswell motherboards from all brands are not available in India at present. On flipkart, just Asus, ASRock and MSI Haswell mobos are available. Other brands like Gigabyte and Biostar will be making their Z87 motherboards available in India soon.
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Being a developer, I think you can identify the bottleneck in performance of your current system. Do you see processor cores (one or more) pegged at nearly 100% for long periods when you are developing / compiling? See the processor usage that is not I/O related.

I can see how 6 GB RAM is not enough for your usage. And lack of SSD might be hurting a lot, even simple browsing is helped a lot by SSD, compilation should be boosted tremendously. But processor / motherboard upgrade might not help, seeing that the newer instructions introduced are not universally used yet. It might help, especially if processor is bottleneck, but I am not 100% sure of that without seeing CPU usage. You can check for instructions introduced in Sandy Bridge / Ivy Bridge / Haswell and see if your software will use them. I suspect a build toolset for better utilizing multiple cores might help more than a better CPU.

If I were you, I would buy 8GB G.Skill RipJawsX DDR3 1600 MHz and a nice SSD (I might go for Samsung 840 Pro Series 128 GB as it is likely to have better service in India, but not sure of Plextor). This is not a wasted buy as it needs to be a part of your next build anyway. It has some problems of RAM not being perfectly aligned and lack of SATA 6Gbps, but these issues might not matter and can be analyzed. But if after this performance is seriously improved, rest of upgrade can be put off. Depends on your analysis of system load, though.

Processor upgrades are typically overrated, so just cautioning.
 
@amitkher

Thank you for your suggestions. So you are suggesting me to keep the current configuration and add in an SSD and new RAM sticks from G.Skill...well I have already thought of this earlier. However my current motherboard Rampage II Extreme does not have native SSD support. So I will have to get a new motherboard for socket 1366 or other reverse compatible socket. I have already decided to do this and upgrade my current PC with an SSD and use it as a home PC.

But still I will be going ahead and building a new i7 4770K PC for my office use as I see a huge performance difference as compared to i7 920 - released Q4'2008.

I want to have more computing and multitasking power for my current workstation needs.

P.S. If anyone owns an i7 920 and the current generation i7 3770K, please do provide your valuable feedback on the performance gains :) .

amitkher said:
Being a developer, I think you can identify the bottleneck in performance of your current system. Do you see processor cores (one or more) pegged at nearly 100% for long periods when you are developing / compiling? See the processor usage that is not I/O related.

I can see how 6 GB RAM is not enough for your usage. And lack of SSD might be hurting a lot, even simple browsing is helped a lot by SSD, compilation should be boosted tremendously. But processor / motherboard upgrade might not help, seeing that the newer instructions introduced are not universally used yet. It might help, especially if processor is bottleneck, but I am not 100% sure of that without seeing CPU usage. You can check for instructions introduced in Sandy Bridge / Ivy Bridge / Haswell and see if your software will use them. I suspect a build toolset for better utilizing multiple cores might help more than a better CPU.

If I were you, I would buy 8GB G.Skill RipJawsX DDR3 1600 MHz and a nice SSD (I might go for Samsung 840 Pro Series 128 GB as it is likely to have better service in India, but not sure of Plextor). This is not a wasted buy as it needs to be a part of your next build anyway. It has some problems of RAM not being perfectly aligned and lack of SATA 6Gbps, but these issues might not matter and can be analyzed. But if after this performance is seriously improved, rest of upgrade can be put off. Depends on your analysis of system load, though.

Processor upgrades are typically overrated, so just cautioning.
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MSI yes or no in India is a real question, there is no distri / dealer willing to put out a real word saying weather they have closed their operations in India or not. People who had brought previously are finding a hard time doing RMA. MSI no more lists the Indian site on their global support site, so is a hit or a miss situation. Its your call!
 
handsomeabhi said:
However my current motherboard Rampage II Extreme does not have native SSD support. So I will have to get a new motherboard for socket 1366 or other reverse compatible socket. .
Click to expand...
There is no such thing as native SSD support. I am using an SSD with a motherboard 4 years older than Rampage II Extreme. When my motherboard was manufactured, the word SSD hadn't been invented. It has SATA 2 ports, like yours, and SSD gives a huge benefit still. Definitely worth a go, especially as you don't want to analyze your CPU usage.

handsomeabhi said:
as I see a huge performance difference as compared to i7 920 - released Q4'2008.
Click to expand...
Statement is short of technical details, so can't judge. You have timing analysis for popularly used applications / activities? Sometimes a feeling of speed originates from new install of (sometimes new) operating systems, so do make sure it is not that.
 
@abracadabra

Was not aware about MSI service availability in India. Read some good reviews for those boards and included in my options. Anyway now will consider only between Asus and Asrock. Thank you for bringing this to my notice.

abracadabra said:
MSI yes or no in India is a real question, there is no distri / dealer willing to put out a real word saying weather they have closed their operations in India or not. People who had brought previously are finding a hard time doing RMA. MSI no more lists the Indian site on their global support site, so is a hit or a miss situation. Its your call!
Click to expand...
 
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@amitkher

I get your point. With the inclusion of SSD there is a whole new experience of using the PC. I have been avoiding SSD as there were lot of posts and reviews in the past which indicated no real value of opting for SSD when compared the price:performance value. However in recent times as more users actually mentioning the awesomeness of using an SSD in their rigs, I have finally decided to go ahead with an SSD this time.

Meanwhile Amit it would be really nice to have your inputs on building a solid build which I can use as my workstation. So if you can:

1. Suggest me an altogether new build from scratch which will greatly work for my workstation needs
2. Suggest me changes in my current i7-920 build to make it much more powerful workstation and have an experience of a new PC build.

Best Regards.


amitkher said:
There is no such thing as native SSD support. I am using an SSD with a motherboard 4 years older than Rampage II Extreme. When my motherboard was manufactured, the word SSD hadn't been invented. It has SATA 2 ports, like yours, and SSD gives a huge benefit still. Definitely worth a go, especially as you don't want to analyze your CPU usage.


Statement is short of technical details, so can't judge. You have timing analysis for popularly used applications / activities? Sometimes a feeling of speed originates from new install of (sometimes new) operating systems, so do make sure it is not that.
Click to expand...
 
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handsomeabhi said:
@amitkher

I get your point. With the inclusion of SSD there is a whole new experience of using the PC. I have been avoiding SSD as there were lot of posts and reviews in the past which indicated no real value of opting for SSD when compared the price:performance value. However in recent times as more users actually mentioning the awesomeness of using an SSD in their rigs, I have finally decided to go ahead with an SSD this time.

Meanwhile Amit it would be really nice to have your inputs on building a solid build which I can use as my workstation. So if you can:

1. Suggest me an altogether new build from scratch which will greatly work for my workstation needs
2. Suggest me changes in my current i7-920 build to make it much more powerful workstation and have an experience of a new PC build.

Best Regards.
Click to expand...
From reading your intended use of the machine, I strongly believe SSD will help you tremendously.

As for your development in Linux requirements, for same budget I recommended this last week (http://www.techenclave.com/communit...o-buy-various-components.150172/#post-1843534). But you have high-end graphics related requirements, which are outside my field. Still non-K processor, and H87 chipset would do you more good than what you propose, as you lose virtualization capabilities with K processor and you don't look like one who would overclock.

With that said, upgrading memory and adding SSD to your i7 920 will make it 95% as good as this one for your intended use. In a blind test, you would be unable to tell one from the other.
 
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Processor - Intel 3.4 GHz LGA1150 4770 i7 4th Generation Processor - Flipkart.com 21.2k

Motherboard - ASRock Z87 Extreme4 Motherboard - Flipkart.com 12.6k

Power Supply - Seasonic G650 650 Watts PSU - Flipkart.com 8.1k

RAM - G.Skill RipjawsX DDR3 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) PC RAM (F3-12800CL10D-16GBXL) - Flipkart.com 9.1k

SSD - Samsung 840 Pro Series 128 GB SSD Internal Hard Drive (MZ-7PD128BW) - Flipkart.com 11k

HDD - Seagate Barracuda 1 TB Desktop Internal Hard Drive (ST31000524AS) - Flipkart.com 4.5k

Keyboard - Logitech K100 Classic PS - Flipkart.com 0.4k

Mouse - HP KY619AA USB 2.0 Optical Mouse - Flipkart.com 0.3k

Speakers - F&D A520 2.1 2.1k

Cabby/Monitor (Your Choice)

TOTALS - 69.3k
 
Your existing machine is pretty okay. I'd do the following:

Replace your 6GB of ram with 3x 8GB sticks - for 24GB of RAM. You can up this to 48 as well if you wish
Get a good SSD - Samsung 840 pro 256 or 512GB is well within your reach.

No point upgrading the entire platform right now. First do these changes. If you are happy you can live with this CPU+Board for now. If not, you can always get a i7 4770 and a Z87 board later.
 
I agree with Chaos. Don't look to upgrade just now.
Get some good RAM, an SSD and since you are into designing, I would strongly suggest you get a better monitor - 24"/27" 1080p/1440p IPS panels. A Dell 2412 is the minimum you should look at. If you can afford a Dell/Asus 27" 1440p, even better. Trust me, you will thank me later for this.

If you still feel the need to upgrade later, instead of the Haswell platform, you could also look at X79. It is older, but the stupid Haswell pricing makes the i7 3820 and an X79 motherboard a more reasonable choice.
There will be a refresh of X79 platform with Ivy Bride - E processors soon which will again bring down the prices for current platform.
 
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