Build for work/office - virtualization

Got a shopping cart of parts that you want opinions on? Get advice from members on your planned or existing system (or upgrade).

Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee

Post Reply
swift
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Dec 29, 2014 8:17 am

Build for work/office - virtualization

Post by swift » Mon Dec 29, 2014 8:33 am

Hi guys,

I'm looking to build a system for use for work/home office purposes - learning middleware technologies primarily Oracle Stack - databases, application servers etc so will be running several VMs mix of Linux and some Windows.

After much reading and reading and more reading, I'd like to get some advice (and sanity check) on the following build. This may be a system I may leave on for long periods of the day or may run 24/7 - may have 1 VM acting as a NAS so would like to be low power/efficient as well:

Case: BitFenix Ghost (ATX case) (I like the top hot swap HDD/SDD)
Mobo: Asrock Z97 Extreme 4 (ATX)
CPU: Intel i7-4790S (65W) or i7-4790T (45W)
RAM: Corsair Vengeance Pro 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Storage 1: Samsung 840 EVO 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Storage 2: Western Digital Red 4TB 3.5" 5900RPM Internal Hard Drive
PSU: be quiet! 400W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply

I'm not sure whether I need any extra cooling e.g. cpu cooling or otherwise.
The on-board graphics is more than adequate for my needs.

Any input appreciated. I would like to get the build right as this will probably last me the next 5yrs or so and trying to avoid any post-doh moments. :)
(Main reason going for the Asrock is they are one of the few that support VT-d - allows hardware to be passed directly to a VM - which may come in useful, as I/O is one of the main bottlenecks in Virtualization).

Thanks,
Swift.

CA_Steve
Moderator
Posts: 7650
Joined: Thu Oct 06, 2005 4:36 am
Location: St. Louis, MO

Re: Build for work/office - virtualization

Post by CA_Steve » Mon Dec 29, 2014 1:57 pm

Welcome to SPCR.

The Ghost is a nice case. It has decent ventilation, but will run a little louder than some of the current favorites. Take a look at the Fractal R5. Both are reviewed here. It doesn't have a hot swap for the drive, but really, just use the Asrock's back panel eSATA port.

All of the Haswell i7's (from std to K to S to T) use the same core voltage vs frequency profile. So, up to the point where the S part (or T part) is maxed out on frequency) it shares the same core voltage as the standard parts. So, idle and low load power is the SAME across all the parts. The std and K parts provide extra oomph if you need it. If you were to cram the i7 in a small form factor or go passive design, then the S and T part provide a benefit in that they restrict the max power used and heat generation. Otherwise, get the std parts.

The stock i7 cooler is crap. Spend $45 and get a Scythe Kotetsu (also reviewed here).

RAM: No benefit to the tall heatspreader RAM and generally, it just gets in the way of the CPU cooler.

swift
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Dec 29, 2014 8:17 am

Re: Build for work/office - virtualization

Post by swift » Tue Dec 30, 2014 4:25 am

Hi,

Thx for the quick reply.

Point well made re the i7-S,T etc, if they all use the same power when idling, then I guess the question is whether I wish to max out the power at 65W or 84W.

I'm not looking to over-clock, so that the stock cpu cooler would be more than sufficient?
take your point about the RAM heat-spreaders, will get cheaper low latency RAM.

I've had a hard time deciding on which case to get -I've prob spent the most time on this! :x
Fractal does seem the firm favourite every where you read - the R5 is quite more expensive than the R4.
I don't think the asrock extreme 4 has an e-sata port, but will give the fractal another look.

do you think the 400w PSU is adequate? given that PSU's are most efficient at 20-80% of load.
I'll probably do the odd bit of family video-editing which I think the i7 should be capable of handling rather than get a graphics card.

Thanks,
Swift.

cerbie
Posts: 46
Joined: Sat Dec 28, 2013 3:21 pm

Re: Build for work/office - virtualization

Post by cerbie » Tue Dec 30, 2014 6:45 am

swift wrote:Point well made re the i7-S,T etc, if they all use the same power when idling, then I guess the question is whether I wish to max out the power at 65W or 84W.
Or higher, if you like. I run my 80W CPU with a 100W max, because it doesn't seem to hurt anything for it to use a bit more than spec when stress-testing.

Get the i7-4790K, and you can can make those choices as you see fit. As a user willing to spend time on it, there's no upside to the S or T CPUs. You will have the following useful options:
Long duration power limit: basically, TDP
Long duration maintained: how long between bursts of activity over that
Short duration power limit: short-term max power (I think it's 100W stock, but that may be off)
Short duration maintained: how long until it drops back to using the long-term power limit
I've had a hard time deciding on which case to get -I've prob spent the most time on this! :x
Fractal does seem the firm favourite every where you read - the R5 is quite more expensive than the R4.
I don't think the asrock extreme 4 has an e-sata port, but will give the fractal another look.
All motherboards have eSATA ports, if you can spare an expansion slot. By '08 or '09, basically all SATA ports were eSATA compatible. Get a bracket, and you're good to go.

But, if you do not need to directly access the external disc from a VM (the case where eSATA is basically your only option), a nice USB dock would perform just fine, and could be placed anywhere. You can also get eSATA docks, but be careful about the bridge, with >2TB HDDs, in case they aren't just passing the SATA signal along, if they are USB/eSATA ones.
do you think the 400w PSU is adequate?
For a PC that will doubtfully ever pull 150W? I think so.
Last edited by cerbie on Tue Dec 30, 2014 7:27 am, edited 1 time in total.

xan_user
*Lifetime Patron*
Posts: 2269
Joined: Sun May 21, 2006 9:09 am
Location: Northern California.

Re: Build for work/office - virtualization

Post by xan_user » Tue Dec 30, 2014 7:22 am

All motherboards have eSATA ports, if you can spare an expansion slot. By '08 or '08, basically all SATA ports were eSATA compatible. Get a bracket, and you're good to go.
with a little modding its easy to add an esata port without using up a slot. unscrew the esata from the bracket and you only need to create a small opening on the case. I like to use the mesh thats is often above the I/O backpane, as its easy to snip a few sections of mesh for the esata port opening.

CA_Steve
Moderator
Posts: 7650
Joined: Thu Oct 06, 2005 4:36 am
Location: St. Louis, MO

Re: Build for work/office - virtualization

Post by CA_Steve » Tue Dec 30, 2014 9:12 am

eSATA: Take a look at the Asrock mobo's back panel list.

And to repeat, the stock cooler is crap. I had thermal throttling while running Prime95 on an i5 at stock speeds...which runs cooler than an i7. Test results are in my build thread.

R4 is cheaper than the R5, but you'd end up replacing the R4's fans..sort of a wash on price...and the price is similar to the Ghost.

Post Reply