Needing a new workstation, looking for recommendations

[cycosis]

My old tower is slowly dying (7 years old) and Ive been cleared for an upgrade.

It will be used for mainly website maintenance and some basic graphic design via photoshop.

I currently have two 24" monitors running which is very helpful for productivity, but ive also heard good things about single ultra wide curved screens too.

I just dont overly have a clue about computers/hardware necessities.

Any recommendations would be helpful. (Trying to keep it under $3k)

[revelations]

For that budget, you could go to mem ex or a local IT guy and ask them to put together a really nice rig w/4k monitor. Curved screens look nice but dont work for all people.

[Mitsu3000gt]

I would wait for Skylake-X (August) and/or to see what Ryzen (March) does to Intel pricing but if you need a workstation right now this is pretty much exactly what I would get:

https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/ChxLjc

Adjustments would be made depending on whether or not you played games, and depending on whether or not the graphics design processes you use are multi-threaded or if they just benefit from maximum GHz.

That PC may be overkill though depending on your definition of "basic" graphics design. You could take $500 or so off that if you are a light user and you'd probably never tell the difference.

Example of cheaper build:

https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/2RbnwV

[msommers]

Is August when the latest tech is released, with hopefully this year's tech going on sale?

[ExtraSlow]

I don't know if I'm thinking wrong, but for your use, two monitors would be better than a huge widescreen, since you can have each one dedicated to a specific task. That's how I use my computer anyway.

And yeah, for that price you can have a very kickass setup. And considering your needs don't sound too extreme, you could probably spend less and still be very happy.


Shit, something like this would be outstanding, and even with full 4 year IPR warranty, it's under your price:
V_BT3000I Business PC w/ Core i7-6800K, 16GB DDR4-2400, 256GB SSD + 1TB HDD, DVD+/-RW, Quadro K620, Windows 10 Pro (http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX65312)

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by msommers
Is August when the latest tech is released, with hopefully this year's tech going on sale?

August will be the announcement of Skylake-X at Gamescom. Kaby-X will probably come at the same time but the Kaby stuff will still be limited to 4 cores.

As for price - Haswell-E stuff is still exactly the same price as Broadwell-E, so it doesn't appear the older tech gets much of a discount.

If anything I think Ryzen will force Intel's prices down - early benchmarks look promising and they are 1/2 - 1/3 the price.

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by ExtraSlow

Shit, something like this would be outstanding, and even with full 4 year IPR warranty, it's under your price:
V_BT3000I Business PC w/ Core i7-6800K, 16GB DDR4-2400, 256GB SSD + 1TB HDD, DVD+/-RW, Quadro K620, Windows 10 Pro (http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX65312)

That PC looks overpriced to me. The same if not slightly better build on PCPartpicker comes in at ~$1780, which Memex themselves would beat by 10% of the difference:

https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/Pg7DM8

Some other criticisms:
- Crappy generic PSU (One area you don't want to cheap out on)
- Generic case without sound deadening
- Build has dual channel RAM configuration but the platform supports quad channel
- Budget SSD with TLC NAND
- There is no need for an optical drive
- There is no need for W10 Pro over Home in most cases
- Crappy generic Intel CPU cooler

[The_Penguin]

Agree with revelations. Memex or someone to do something custom.
From what you said of your needs, you don't need anything fancy, no super latest/greatest gamer high-end graphics card required.
Definitely do 2 monitors, or even 3, very convenient.

[Xtrema]

2x 24" 1080p > 1x 34" 2K screen from a productivity perspective.

I just love my 34" curve because of aesthetic and cleaner desk in my office.

Ryzen is promising with 8 core performance for the price of 4 core of Intel at the same price point. So if you do any video work, it has way better bang for the $. The only problem I see with Ryzen/AM4 combo is that it will never have any thunberbolt option. You will be stuck with USB 3.x.


Originally posted by msommers
Is August when the latest tech is released, with hopefully this year's tech going on sale?

All signs points to a Ryzen/AM4 release in March and if the leaked 8 core processor benchmark and price is any indicator, it will disrupt the market for multithread work loads (not necessary gaming).

The problem with intel processor is that 1/2 the space is given to a Intel GPU that nobody serious about their rig will use anyway. AMD decided to give you 4 more processing core out that space.

[jacky4566]

More critics for ExtraSlow haha.
You will want a real cooler. Intel coolers have very poor performance. The noise alone would drive me crazy but I also have a water cooled rig with only 2x200mm.

I also assume you have some software to take advantage of the Quadro? Otherwise its really a waste.

PSU. do the math and you'll find that a platinum PSU will save you money several times its worth. assuming the machine is pulling 300+watts for several hours a day.

Who uses a dvd drive these days?

[Xtrema]

Originally posted by jacky4566
More critics for ExtraSlow haha.
You will want a real cooler. Intel coolers have very poor performance. The noise alone would drive me crazy but I also have a water cooled rig with only 2x200mm.

I also assume you have some software to take advantage of the Quadro? Otherwise its really a waste.

PSU. do the math and you'll find that a platinum PSU will save you money several times its worth. assuming the machine is pulling 300+watts for several hours a day.

Who uses a dvd drive these days?

Yeah, if you are building a rig, invest in PSU. If you hate fan noise, look for one that is fanless at your normal load. Skip the DVD drive and Quadro. Quadro has a very limited set of scenario where it is superior than GeForce.

[pheoxs]

Originally posted by Xtrema
2x 24" 1080p > 1x 34" 2K screen from a productivity perspective.

I just love my 34" curve because of aesthetic and cleaner desk in my office.

Ryzen is promising with 8 core performance for the price of 4 core of Intel at the same price point. So if you do any video work, it has way better bang for the $. The only problem I see with Ryzen/AM4 combo is that it will never have any thunberbolt option. You will be stuck with USB 3.x.



All signs points to a Ryzen/AM4 release in March and if the leaked 8 core processor benchmark and price is any indicator, it will disrupt the market for multithread work loads (not necessary gaming).

The problem with intel processor is that 1/2 the space is given to a Intel GPU that nobody serious about their rig will use anyway. AMD decided to give you 4 more processing core out that space.

The problem with waiting is you're always waiting. This gen comes out, then the die shrink, then the next, etc.

The fact he's running a 7 year old rig tells me that a 10% peformance bump isn't going to be relevant especially if its all just web/graphic design.

[Xtrema]

Originally posted by pheoxs


The problem with waiting is you're always waiting. This gen comes out, then the die shrink, then the next, etc.

The fact he's running a 7 year old rig tells me that a 10% peformance but it going to be irrelevant especially if its all just web/graphic design.

Well we are talking about 2-3 weeks here, not months unless AMD slips again.

It's basically like buying current gen iPhone in Aug.

That said, Intel CPUs has been steadily dropping in price to counter incoming Ryzen line up.

[pheoxs]

Originally posted by Xtrema


Well we are talking about 2-3 weeks here, not months unless AMD slips again.

It's basically like buying current gen iPhone in Aug.

That said, Intel CPUs has been steadily dropping in price to counter incoming Ryzen line up.

Thats fair, I missed the March note in your post and can't argue with that.

That being said AMD benchmarks always seem to be a let down compared to how ground breaking they hype to be I feel.

[ExtraSlow]

Originally posted by ExtraSlow

Originally posted by Mitsu3000gt

That PC looks overpriced to me. The same if not slightly better build on PCPartpicker comes in at ~$1780, which Memex themselves would beat by 10% of the difference:

https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/Pg7DM8

Some other criticisms:
- Crappy generic PSU (One area you don't want to cheap out on)
- Generic case without sound deadening
- Build has dual channel RAM configuration but the platform supports quad channel
- Budget SSD with TLC NAND
- There is no need for an optical drive
- There is no need for W10 Pro over Home in most cases
- Crappy generic Intel CPU cooler
Originally posted by jacky4566
More critics for ExtraSlow haha.
You will want a real cooler. Intel coolers have very poor performance. The noise alone would drive me crazy but I also have a water cooled rig with only 2x200mm.

I also assume you have some software to take advantage of the Quadro? Otherwise its really a waste.

PSU. do the math and you'll find that a platinum PSU will save you money several times its worth. assuming the machine is pulling 300+watts for several hours a day.

Who uses a dvd drive these days?
Originally posted by Xtrema


Yeah, if you are building a rig, invest in PSU. If you hate fan noise, look for one that is fanless at your normal load. Skip the DVD drive and Quadro. Quadro has a very limited set of scenario where it is superior than GeForce.
Hahahaha, you guys played right into my hands. I picked that one at random from the memex website and I knew the OCD IT dudes on here wouldn't be able to help themselves from picking it apart in specific detail.

Thus, now that OP has really great recommendations, and I did zero research.

https://thelinguistgamer.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/dancepuppetsdancegeoffrey.gif

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by Xtrema
The problem with intel processor is that 1/2 the space is given to a Intel GPU that nobody serious about their rig will use anyway. AMD decided to give you 4 more processing core out that space.

The Intel "E"xtreme processors, specifically the ones being compared to the Ryzen family in all the leaked benchmarks, do not have on board GPUs.


Originally posted by Xtrema


That said, Intel CPUs has been steadily dropping in price to counter incoming Ryzen line up.

Where are you seeing this? Haswell and Broadwell Extreme cpu's are still the same prices everywhere. $20 off here and there but most are the same price.

[cycosis]

Thx for your input :D

[killramos]

Does your "workstation" really need much power at all? If you are only just moving away from a 7 year old rig how much power could you possibly need?

Your usage scenario doesn't really sound that hardcore to me and honestly something cheap off the shelf will probably do you just fine as opposed to these guys on here who are suggesting more of a hobbyist custom rig.

Is your 3k budget supposed to include new monitor(s)? Cause otherwise I think you are making a mountain out of a molehill and going to end up with a white elephant you will never fully take advantage of.

This reminds me of my modelling workstation at work that the boss bought with dual Xeon's totaling 12 cores, 128 GB of ram, etc but then we only paid for single threaded software licenses :rofl:

[pheoxs]

Originally posted by killramos
Does your "workstation" really need much power at all? If you are only just moving away from a 7 year old rig how much power could you possibly need?

Your usage scenario doesn't really sound that hardcore to me and honestly something cheap off the shelf will probably do you just fine as opposed to these guys on here who are suggesting more of a hobbyist custom rig.

Is your 3k budget supposed to include new monitor(s)? Cause otherwise I think you are making a mountain out of a molehill and going to end up with a white elephant you will never fully take advantage of.

This reminds me of my modelling workstation at work that the boss bought with dual Xeon's totaling 12 cores, 128 GB of ram, etc but then we only paid for single threaded software licenses :rofl:

Yeah, though if he has the budget there's no reason to not future proof. The 'cleared for an upgrade' sounds like work approved it so its better to make something beastly within the budget than to spend half and expect to upgrade sooner (which probably wouldnt be the case).

I'd probably just have memory express build a I7-7700k / 32gb ram / 1070 GTX rig in this case. You could even add a Samsung 850 Pro 1TB drive within that budget for plenty of fast space, or a smaller drive at a 2-4tb harddrive as media storage but I assume they have some kind of network storage.

Like this:
i.imgur.com/NhIo8Ta.jpg

[killramos]

I was under the impression he owned his own business

[pheoxs]

Originally posted by killramos
I was under the impression he owned his own business

Ah, thats a bit nicer and more flexible then. I'd spend a bit less and upgrade every 3-4 years then.

[cycosis]

Originally posted by killramos
I was under the impression he owned his own business

Part owner ;)

[ExtraSlow]

Originally posted by cycosis


Part owner ;)
https://www.westjet.com/assets/wj-web/images/en/about-us/owners-care/owners-westjetter-3-en.jpg

[cycosis]

:rofl:

[cycosis]

So I went into memex and this is what a dude drafted up based on the same description I gave you guys:

Intel core i7 7700k 4.2 Ghz, $469.99
Asus PRIME motherboard, $229.99
Corsair 16 GB DDR4, $152.99
Samsung 500 GB solid state HD, $239.99
Asus Wireless N Adapter card, $39.99
Corsair Power Supply, $134.99
MSI GTX1060 6G GeForce, $399.99
Tower, $99.99
Cooler Master, $42.99
Windows 10, $129.99
Asus 27" Widescreen LED LCD x 2, $589.98
Labour, $75

Comes out to about $3200 all in before keyboard and mouse.

Anything in there that seems too much/not enough? Maybe the GFX card is a bit much?

[pheoxs]

Originally posted by cycosis
So I went into memex and this is what a dude drafted up based on the same description I gave you guys:

Intel core i7 7700k 4.2 Ghz, $469.99
Asus PRIME motherboard, $229.99
Corsair 16 GB DDR4, $152.99
Samsung 500 GB solid state HD, $239.99
Asus Wireless N Adapter card, $39.99
Corsair Power Supply, $134.99
MSI GTX1060 6G GeForce, $399.99
Tower, $99.99
Cooler Master, $42.99
Windows 10, $129.99
Asus 27" Widescreen LED LCD x 2, $589.98
Labour, $75

Comes out to about $3200 all in before keyboard and mouse.

Anything in there that seems too much/not enough? Maybe the GFX card is a bit much?

Overall looks pretty good.

I'd suggest swapping the GPU for this one, mainly because the one below is cheaper and faster

http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX63115

[killramos]

I would personally spend half as much each on the CPU and GPU as a start. Also do you really need a WLAN card?

Dual 27's sounds a bit excessive to me but that's really up to you on if you think you need them.

[ExtraSlow]

Buy the memex IPR warranty.

Still think that system is overkill for your needs. Could always do 1/2 the RAM and allow yourself to just install another stick in a year or two. Or go down a processor level to something in like the i5 7600. Doubt you'll notice the difference in performance, and much cheaper.

[pheoxs]

Originally posted by ExtraSlow
Buy the memex IPR warranty.

Still think that system is overkill for your needs. Could always do 1/2 the RAM and allow yourself to just install another stick in a year or two. Or go down a processor level to something in like the i5 7600. Doubt you'll notice the difference in performance, and much cheaper.

The ram is one thing I think is actually appropriate. Photoshop uses a lot of memory as you get into more complicated things and having multiple projects open.

Otherwise yeah the rest is likely overkill but the cost savings in a 100$ cheaper processor over 5+ year lifespan is pretty minimal for something you utilize daily.

[Mitsu3000gt]

This system is better and cheaper:

https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/v4mkRG

Keep your current monitors unless you really don't like them - $1200 of new monitors probably isn't going to be good value overall, but up to you.

Don't buy IPR on any EVGA components. The fine print of IPR is that it is not at all instant, and it's up to THEIR discretion what they replace the part with, so they might give you a worse part (many stories of this happening). EVGA's warranty is legendary - no hassle service and super fast replacement shipping. 10 years warranty on PSU, and 3 years on most graphics cards. You could IPR the mobo, but really the chances of that failing are pretty low. IPR on the SSD is up to you, when the data is gone you probably don't care much anyway. No need to pay for IPR on things like the case either.

[suntan]

Get a proper M.2 SSD.

[killramos]

How I am picturing Cycosis's website maintenance and light photoshop use computer after beyond is done with it:

https://maingearzone-maingear1.netdna-ssl.com/assets/images/rzr1.png

[mazdavirgin]

I would buy something far far cheaper and just replace it more often. Probably something from dell or another box computer maker. You're going to get something here that's overkill that will be out of date in a years time anyways. Might as well go cheaper and replace more often, better bang for your buck. You also don't need graphics cards of that caliber for Photoshop. Photoshop doesn't really benefit as much as people think from GPU's the GPU found on that intel core is probably adequate. If you were doing heavy 3D stuff or working with CAD it would be a different thing...

That and the SSD. Get a smaller SSD for the primary hard drive and use a secondary cheaper normal ass platter drive for your bulk storage. SSD's tend to fail catastrophically and you're better off keeping most of your work/backups on a normal drive.

[kenny]

Light photoshop and basic web dev, I say just skip out on the video card altogether and save $400. Spend it on storage instead. Also consider dropping to the 7600K processor and save another $140. It's not going to make that big of a difference.

[msommers]

I dunno. About 7 years ago I built a pretty stout system and I still use it. No problem. Upgrades like GPU and ram for Lightroom and Photoshop (and occasional games). Quality stuff lasts longer too, imo.

[cycosis]

Originally posted by killramos
How I am picturing Cycosis's website maintenance and light photoshop use computer after beyond is done with it:

https://maingearzone-maingear1.netdna-ssl.com/assets/images/rzr1.png

This is exactly what I'm picturing haha I dont need this.......

[killramos]

Go buy an 800 dollar dell tower and be done with it.

[pheoxs]

Originally posted by mazdavirgin
I would buy something far far cheaper and just replace it more often. Probably something from dell or another box computer maker. You're going to get something here that's overkill that will be out of date in a years time anyways. Might as well go cheaper and replace more often, better bang for your buck. You also don't need graphics cards of that caliber for Photoshop. Photoshop doesn't really benefit as much as people think from GPU's the GPU found on that intel core is probably adequate. If you were doing heavy 3D stuff or working with CAD it would be a different thing...

That and the SSD. Get a smaller SSD for the primary hard drive and use a secondary cheaper normal ass platter drive for your bulk storage. SSD's tend to fail catastrophically and you're better off keeping most of your work/backups on a normal drive.

I disagree. a 7700k will not be out of date next year or even in 3-4 years. We've hit a point of diminishing returns with processors. The generation over generation gap is shrinking rapidly.

The top end 4th gen i7 4790k hit a whopping 11,184 passmark score. The latest 7th gen processor, the 7700k gets 12,500.

Now the 4770k came out in 2014, 3 years later and a mere 10% gain. The main difference is in power efficiency with the smaller dies.

[mazdavirgin]

Originally posted by pheoxs
I disagree. a 7700k will not be out of date next year or even in 3-4 years. We've hit a point of diminishing returns with processors. The generation over generation gap is shrinking rapidly.

This completly ignores that it's not really the CPU's that are improving at the moment. It's the other stuff that is where we are seeing the real gains. Compare the amount of ram in a graphics card from 3-4 years ago or the amount of system ram/ram speed? Same thing goes with the SSD's etc... Sure if you look at just the CPU it's not moving all the much but take into account the rest of the system I just can't see how you can beat buying a new pc every 3-4 years at 800-1000$ from dell if you're mostly a business user.


Originally posted by killramos
Go buy an 800 dollar dell tower and be done with it.

Exactly this...

[Boat]

Haha my thoughts exactly killa

[Mitsu3000gt]

Here is a much more modest build with no vid card if you want, all for $1000, but if you keep these 7 years I wouldn't go that cheap...

https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/ppb2Z8

[cycosis]

^ wouldnt i need a vid card for multi display?

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by cycosis
^ wouldnt i need a vid card for multi display?

Depends what outputs were on the mobo and what cpu - someone earlier suggested you get a really cheap system so that's what I built for you to see. Personally I would not forego the video card.

Here is the same system with a cheap video card:

https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/fh74wV

And here's the same system with an i7, better RAM, and better CPU cooler:

https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/mjnpWX

For the $200 price difference it is a no-brainer IMHO.

[mazdavirgin]

Originally posted by cycosis
^ wouldnt i need a vid card for multi display?

The i7 has built in support for multiple displays. You do have to pick a motherboard with multiple video outputs though or get a additional dongle that acts as another video ouput.

http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/graphics-drivers/000005556.html