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Help needed to build DIY 12 core Windows PC

Asif Limbada

Asif Limbada

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I got tired of waiting for the Mac Pro refresh.

Trying to build a windows based editing PC with 12 cores (No RED Rocket) I want the best possible components. Your suggestions would be helpful.
 
I'm about to build a system with this: http://www.supermicro.com/products/system/4U/7047/SYS-7047A-T.cfm (around $1150) pre-wired, whisper quiet, etc.

You might as well spend a few more bucks and get the 8 core processors, socket 2011 E5 2600's. Since they just came out, they'll maintain the value for a year or more. You can get 4 sticks of 8GB for around $400 or less. That chassis has 8 hot swap drive bays, so if you grab a 6Gbit raid card you can build yourself 24TB raid zero, or 21TB raid 5, or whatever you prefer.

Good luck.
 
Asif Limbada said:
I got tired of waiting for the Mac Pro refresh.

Trying to build a windows based editing PC with 12 cores (No RED Rocket) I want the best possible components. Your suggestions would be helpful.
Click to expand...

Er... Then you're going to be waiting for the PC too if you want the best possible components. HP (or possibly Apple, believe it or not) will be the first to market, of the mainstream workstation vendors, with the new Xeon CPUs. These will ship around mid-April. Apple may ship then, but they also may wait and ship a few months later when the new version of OSX is ready.

Yeah, it seems like we're waiting forever waiting for a new Mac Pro, and we are... But the fact is, Intel hasn't released anything to update to. Or at least not until earlier this month when they finally launched the Sandy Bridge series Xeon-E5 CPUs. They're making their way into the channels now.

If you don't want to gamble on Apple's unknown schedule and guess at their specs, or just want to build a PC, there's a lot of options out there. But as others have pointed out already, SuperMicro makes great stuff. They're almost always my go-to supplier for multi-processor workstation and server motherboards. I'm personally not a fan of their cases, which are decent, but I think there are some better options out there. Although the SuperMicro ones are good and come pre-wired as bare-bones setups and usually have good fans, will save you some time, etc..

Unless you have specific needs that aren't being met with this configuration, the SuperMicro X9DAi motherboard would be my first suggestion. I actually have two of them on order myself -- along with an HP Z820 workstation, which is another option if you want a prebuilt system.

For CPUs, I recommend the new Xeon-E5. Either the 2687 or 2690 models. These are both 8-core models with 20MB L3 cache and 1.6GHz memory bus. The 2690 is 2.9GHz, THE 2687 is slightly faster at 3.1GHz, but consumes a bit more wattage.

Beyond that, it becomes more hazy when trying to recommend other components. As an example, which video card(s) you choose will depend on what software you run most. There are good arguments for picking the new GTX680 (especially the forthcoming 4GB models), but equally compelling arguments for the previous GTX580 w/ 3GB. Or do you need a Quadro? Or can you live without CUDA support, only needing OpenGL and OpenCL... then the new ATI cards look great.
 
Thanks, guys.

SuperMicro are the guys to get the motherboard from. I'll wait for e5 Xeon processors that are coming. My Mac pro 2009 is working just fine, but I do need a powerhouse of PC that has lots of PCI express slots if needed to put extra gpu's for 3D work, davinci (Mac pro solution is 2750usd GPU expander, but still), cheaper hardware etc.

The whole "let's get a PC" reason is that, i don't want to be locked in with Apple hardware.

As for GPU which one is better for 3D work.
 
NewEgg has most of the Xeon-E5 CPUs in stock today. The 2687 are $1899 each and the $2690 are $2099 each. Motherboard selection is lacking still. ASUS and Tyan also have a few nice looking motherboards, but I still prefer the SuperMicro as they consistently have superior build quality and reliability.

If you want more than the 6 PCIe slots you get with the X9DAi motherboard, SuperMicro has a few options there too, but they're larger boards.

Best graphics card for 3D work is dependent somewhat on which software you will be using. Generally speaking, it's going to be the new GTX680 and I would recommend the upcoming FTW edition from EVGA which comes automatically over-clocked and with 4GB of onboard memory. Should ship next month. Some 3D applications can benefit from a few of the extra features of the Quadro cards, but it's somewhat of a toss-up as to whether or not it's truly worth it. With the Quadro models, you pay quite a bit more and you don't gain performance. What you gain is extra precision and a few specific abilities or other hardware features like a Genlock or sync port. More hardware precision for accelerated line and edge drawing, that sort of thing. If you run Scratch, some of the best options for monitoring is still to use a Quadro card with the SDI output option. CAD or 3D applications that will benefit most from the Quadro are XSI, Maya, SolidWorks, Pro/E, Houdini, and a few others. Some others that don't benefit from the Quadro... ZBrush, Lightwave, Modo, Cinema4D... And like I said, with the Quadro you don't gain performance, but precision. Currently the Quadro 6000 is the king of the hill, but for raw performance it falls short of the new GTX680 card and even short of many of the better GTX580 models out there. A new line of Quadro cards are due out this summer.

Pretty much the only software that will use multiple GPUs is Resolve. And with most current systems a GTX580 as your CUDA GPU is sufficient for most workflows. Double up on it if you need that extra punch at times (so now you're operating with 3 GPUs total). Any beyond that is really pushing it because other points in your system will bottleneck before the GPU-accelerated nodes do.
 
Joseph S. said:
I'm about to build a system with this: http://www.supermicro.com/products/system/4U/7047/SYS-7047A-T.cfm (around $1150) pre-wired, whisper quiet, etc.

You might as well spend a few more bucks and get the 8 core processors, socket 2011 E5 2600's. Since they just came out, they'll maintain the value for a year or more. You can get 4 sticks of 8GB for around $400 or less. That chassis has 8 hot swap drive bays, so if you grab a 6Gbit raid card you can build yourself 24TB raid zero, or 21TB raid 5, or whatever you prefer.

Good luck.
Click to expand...

Hi Jospeh,

Which store have found is the cheapest ?
 
I went through supermicro.com, I think i will go with X9DAi a 4U rackmountable chassis/tower SC743TQ-1200B-SQ, probably get a GTX680 card for now.

There are no direct resellers for SuperMicro here in Dubai, any suggestion for a retailer that does international shipping.

Also if is it economical to get previous generation of motherboard and 6 core processors.

Thanks.
 
The supermicro x9dai is a excellent choice motherboard;however, you may also want to check out the EVGA SR-X , which has the 7 PCI-E 3.0
slots. Also on the cpu side the E5 2600 XEON .http://www.evga.com/articles/00668/
 
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That EVGA SR-X board is definitely one of the sickest new boards out (soon I hope). I built a hackintosh with the Nehalem version last year. Awesome board.
 
Cool...but do you guys know a good online store that ships internationally.

Newegg.com - Does APO etc + US Only
TigerDirect.com - Does EU + Americas

I need one that ships to UAE :-(
 
OnLine Retailers for Asif

OnLine Retailers for Asif

Asif, perhaps you might want to check NEQX.COM
I've built both Supermicro and EVGA systems, and find them just as good as Newegg.
 
NEQX.COM looks nice. Thanks for the awesome find!!
 
Went with the Asus Z9PE-D8-WS and the 2687's here and loving it.
 
DJ Meyer, did you get to mess with any hackintosh stuff yet? I have a thread on reduser with a workstation I built, but slow performance with MacOS. Seems to be a lack of chipset drivers.

Congrats on machine. It would be cool to see a Cinebench CPU result if you had a chance. I got 24.5 on the CPU section with a proper windows 7 install.
 
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