New ASUS Z9PE-D8 WS build

[zeigerpuppy]

Hi,
I am nailing down the parts for a new build, interested in any suggestions as to compatability/sanity of parts!
Firstly, the build will be a workstation for scientific computing and general tasks, the plan is to
build it up as a single processor machine initially and wait for processor costs to come down before going
full 2x8core Xeon at a later date

prices are in $AU.
mobo: ASUS Z9PE-D8 WS Dual LGA 2011 mobo $550
CPU: Xeon E5 1660 3.3GHz 6core $1260
case: lian Li PC-V750 $379
PSU: Silverstone ST1000-G-EVO $229
RAM: Kingston 8GB, 1600MHz DDR3, ECC x4 $398
Cooler: Corsair H80i $139
SSD: Intel 240GB, 520 Series $265
Graphics: EVGA GTX 680 Classified $ already have

Total: $3220

The price looks pretty good and should be compatible (apart from sound which I'll
test and get an extra sound card if necessary)

What do you think?

 

[zeigerpuppy]

another processor option is the
Xeon E5 2640 2.5GHz 8core $ 955

this would allow putting another one of these later rather than having to sell the 1660

 

[skaker]

another processor option is the
Xeon E5 2640 2.5GHz 8core $ 955

this would allow putting another one of these later rather than having to sell the 1660

That's a 6 core chip, 2650 is lowest 8 core.

Intel follows a fairly set formula for it's xeon lines. You pay ~$1000 extra for dual processor support, ~$3000 extra for quad processor support (for equal frequency/cache, etc). So the best choice for you depends on what your upgrade timeframe is. Dollar for dollar the 1660 will be significantly faster than a single E5-2650. Even after you upgrade, unless your application can take advantage of 12+cores, the 1660 would still probably be superior. So it depends on how much you're willing to spend now (i.e. getting a single E5-2687w), vs. how much you think you'll get selling the 1660 at a later date (not sure how resale will be...see next paragraph).

Another option, if you don't need ECC is to start with a 3930K. Half the price of the 1660, and significantly faster (since you can overclock the 3930 on that board). Unless you need ECC, you can still use the same memory when/if you go to a dual processor set up.

And most importantly, do you need OSX? What do you mean when you say 'scientific computing'. I work with a lot of people that do 'scientific computing' and there's nothing I know of that requires OSX. I'm not claiming to know it all, but my impression has been the primary reason to accept OSX's performance penalty (for any LGA2011 set up) is for video processing and DAW (due to OSX specific software). Unless there is something OSX specific, you'll get significantly more performance using some flavor of linux.

 

[zeigerpuppy]

Thanks for the advice,

I managed to find a pair of 2680s second hand for the great price of $1440.
So no need to skimp on processors any more.
I think I'll go 4 x 16Gb sticks of RAM.

As far as the scientific computing, I agree that Linux is usually better but I have some specific drivers for DA/AD that are Mac only and stimulus presentation with psychtoolbox is still more reliable with OS X, although apparently mountain lion is not so good.
I'll probably run 10.7.5 for that reason, hoping that there's no problems with the GTX 680.

 

[skaker]

Thanks for the advice,

I managed to find a pair of 2680s second hand for the great price of $1440.
So no need to skimp on processors any more.
I think I'll go 4 x 16Gb sticks of RAM.

As far as the scientific computing, I agree that Linux is usually better but I have some specific drivers for DA/AD that are Mac only and stimulus presentation with psychtoolbox is still more reliable with OS X, although apparently mountain lion is not so good.
I'll probably run 10.7.5 for that reason, hoping that there's no problems with the GTX 680.

8x8 would be better, SB-E has quad channel memory interface, so need 4 sticks per CPU for best performance. I'll take your word for it on the apps, but I've never had trouble with psychtoolbox and linux (that computer runs on CentOS).

 

[zeigerpuppy]

Thanks again for the suggestions,

I went with 8x8GB Kingston ECC RAM (good eBay deal)
Now just waiting on the motherboard as a new batch needs to come in.

Should be building in about 10 days, will post a build report when done.
I guess Mountain Lion is the way to go for better processor support,
but otherwise I'd be happy with Lion feature-wise.

I'll probably try the clone and upgrade path, by putting the new SSD in my current machine,
upgrading to ML and then using multibeast.
Unless there's a compelling reason to install ML from scratch?

 

[Thinkcat]

How is it going with the build?

 

[zeigerpuppy]

Sorry I didn't update the build log!
Mostly, I have been commenting here: http://www.tonymacx86.com/user-buil...2-thr-z9pe-d8-ws-12tb-geekbench-28-000-a.html

The build went great. It's the world's 3rd fastest machine running OSX as far as geekbench is concerned!

The E5 2680s are great, I haven't bothered to try getting turbo boost working (which should be possible using the latest Mavericks builds, http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/295055-asus-z9pe-ws-d8-mavericks-working-1091/ ). In fact, I am still running Lion as it worked better with my graphics card (Quadro 3700FX, CUDA and dual monitors at 120Hz working great). I was hoping to put a 4GB GTX 680 in there but never quite got that working, so it went in my home machine. There's a good amount of help out there but some of it is also experimentation (graphics card sometimes works in different PCI slots for instance)

The computer is used as a scientific workstation.
I found audio tricky to get working right and ended up using a USB adapter, everything else works perfectly, 100% stable.

There are a number of different bios versions for this machine, I ended up using an older one than most people (0703) as it was stable for me.

I can't speak more highly about the Lian Li case, easy to work in, flexible and really solid.
I went for a Corsair power supply.
The only hardware issue I have had is with the H80i coolers. They have a manufacturing fault that results in the LEDs failing and I have never been able to control them properly via USB. They do cool well but are a really poorly designed product. I have persisted and replaced them with warranty units but they have the same faults. To be honest, air cooling would be just fine on this rig anyway but water will be useful when I upgrade to Turbo boost.

This machine is faster and more flexible than the newest Mac Pro and has plenty of head room left (new processor generation can be fitted). It's my best and most stable build to date, definitely recommend this motherboard (as long as you're willing to experiment a bit with BIOS).

 

[brock2621]

Sorry I didn't update the build log!
Mostly, I have been commenting here: http://www.tonymacx86.com/user-buil...2-thr-z9pe-d8-ws-12tb-geekbench-28-000-a.html

The build went great. It's the world's 3rd fastest machine running OSX as far as geekbench is concerned!

The E5 2680s are great, I haven't bothered to try getting turbo boost working (which should be possible using the latest Mavericks builds, http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/295055-asus-z9pe-ws-d8-mavericks-working-1091/ ). In fact, I am still running Lion as it worked better with my graphics card (Quadro 3700FX, CUDA and dual monitors at 120Hz working great). I was hoping to put a 4GB GTX 680 in there but never quite got that working, so it went in my home machine. There's a good amount of help out there but some of it is also experimentation (graphics card sometimes works in different PCI slots for instance)

The computer is used as a scientific workstation.
I found audio tricky to get working right and ended up using a USB adapter, everything else works perfectly, 100% stable.

There are a number of different bios versions for this machine, I ended up using an older one than most people (0703) as it was stable for me.

I can't speak more highly about the Lian Li case, easy to work in, flexible and really solid.
I went for a Corsair power supply.
The only hardware issue I have had is with the H80i coolers. They have a manufacturing fault that results in the LEDs failing and I have never been able to control them properly via USB. They do cool well but are a really poorly designed product. I have persisted and replaced them with warranty units but they have the same faults. To be honest, air cooling would be just fine on this rig anyway but water will be useful when I upgrade to Turbo boost.

This machine is faster and more flexible than the newest Mac Pro and has plenty of head room left (new processor generation can be fitted). It's my best and most stable build to date, definitely recommend this motherboard (as long as you're willing to experiment a bit with BIOS).

Hey Hey!

I'm right in the middle of a Hackintosh build and am in over my head I think. I've got the asus z9pe-d8 ws along with a TITAN and 2x 2687w's and I can't get Mavericks to install. I'm totally new to this and would love to get some help or insight into how you got yours up and running. Maybe a guide, or facetime/skype call? Basically I'm freezing at the Apple logo when trying to run Unibeast Mavericks installer off thumbdrive. I've used -v -f -x etc. and it seems to be freezing on "PCI Configuration" if I have the BIOS set to "offboard," and if I have it set to onboard it freezes on "Waiting for boot device."

ANY/ALL help would be so very much appreciated. I'm very eager to get this very expensive paperweight up and running at the moment. haha

Thanks again,

Brock