First Time Builder Willing to Spend 2500 CDN

Hardware Hub Build a PC
1

Hey guys, Nice to finally join Tech Syndicate. Have been a subscriber for a long long time :P Finally thought of joining the community. 

1. Budget & Location

My current residence is in Ontario, Canada so I will be working with CDN currency. I have my target Budget maximum of 2500. 

2. Aim

This is what I plan on doing:

I Will be using it for watching movies, listening to music browsing, etc (general computing). I Will be editing videos (maybe even start a youtube channel) and will be editing music (I want to get into DJ'ing and as well I do help out my father in his media business), as well as some modding for video games using Blender, MAYA, etc. 3D modeling, physics/other simulation (such as FEA, etc), Some Quantum Mechanics, Matlab/Mathematic Algorithms, Programming (both High and Low Level), image/video analysis, research from the web and data crunching on my own (or have the ability to crunch the data) some sensor data (for like personal research, or stuff I plan to do, like making a small UAV) modifying, etc. (though for more complex things I do have access to a supercomputer courtesy of my work and at my school). Some software I have used before: ABAQUS ADAMS ANSYS ASPEN HYSYSC/C++ CES4Femap FORTRAN Gas Turbine 9GESOP LABVIEW LoftsmanLS-DYNA MAPLE MATHCADMathematica MATLAB MSC SOFTWARENastran, Patran,PTC Pro Engineer and Rapid Prototyping ScannerSTK Tecplot I have personally already used STK, Pro-E (now know as Creo) and Autocad 3D.I also want it to able to game at higher resolution with good performance (for fast paced shooters, and STARCITIZEN!!). I am also curious into going for Folding and SETI and any other scientific computation at home when I am not using my computer for work/play. I would also like this build to be "future proof" in the sense that I do not need to make a big upgrade (like a new chipset or something) and be easily up gradable, etc.

*UPDATED: The aim of the system has changed slightly. As of right now I am working with an institution and I will be helping them both in a orbital cleaning project and/or a UAV simulation. So I will be running mostly a lot of analytically software and simulators. Most predominate software that are used by the institution are the same software I have listed on the notes.. In a few months are so I will be doing research on self replicating 3D machines (i.e. 3D printers) and will help in running theoretical calculations and simulations as well. 3D work and CAD are also a given. I will also be doing research and testing and would like my personal computer to be able to handle some complex algorithm and simulations. Everything else regarding to the Aim is listed above as well, no need for me to retype it and force you guys to re-read it. 

3. Monitors

I would love to have a high resolution low input lag monitor. IPS would be nice, but I really don't know. Any input would be nice. I do have a 1080p 60hz 40 inch tv which I plan on using as a secondary monitor for movie watching, etc. 

4. Peripherals

Yes I would need to purchase peripherals, i do not know anything about mechanical switches since I haven't used any. I will be working on my pc alot (alot of typing and clicking) so it would need to be durable. Also which switches are better for shooters?

I like the new mouse from Logitech, i belive its the prodeus G or something. I would love to have that. For monitor I would love anything between 120-144Hz 1440-1600P 16:9 unless 21:9 is better?

5. Why are you upgrading?

I am upgrading because a upgrade is way over due since I only have a 2nd generation i5 with a gtx 330m laptop and my project and research is getting demanding and at the same time I would love to switch over to PC gaming and get into media productivity .


Further Notes: One of the reasons I am making a new post is that well some of the needs changed and the budget changed and well the new Z97 chipset came out recently as well. Now I have the electrical engineering and theoretical know-how's on what these new hardware are capable of but I absolutely have no experience in building or have experience in there real world performance pertaining to benchmarks and such. So I wondering if I should go for the Z97 platform, stay on the X79, wait for the X99 (how soon is it releasing, I need this computer by next month), try Xeon processors (though how is there gaming performance or is the i7 line better due to there unlocked nature?) Also how are the gaming grade ROG boards compared to WS boards? My only grip with WS is color scheme and idk if the ROG onboard audio is anything amazing compared to normal on board audio of a WS board.

 Any help is appreciated :) Thanks in Advance.

2

For casual editing and gaming, an i5 would be plenty or if you really must have 8 cores get an i7 4770k or 8350. Pair them up with a decent overclocking mobo (like z87 or z97 pro or sabertooth 990fx)with many power phases and you're good to go. I wouldn't advise you to spend too much on the cpu side of things. I have used Matlab, Patran, catia, pro-e in college and they ran fine on my core 2 duo laptop. You don't need a lot of power for those software. 

Multiple monitors, SSDs will help your productivity much more in this case than chip power. For the gpu side of things, I'd get an r9 290x or 780ti depending on which one you prefer.

3

Based on how much computational work you have here are my suggestions:

  • For the motherboard, I would wait for X99. The Z97 uses the LGA1150 socket which is not as suitable for computational work than socket LGA2011-13 (which is the socket the X99 chipset uses). You can never future proof a computer, but the X99 chipset will not be upgraded for a very long time relative to the Z97 chipset (look at the time between X79 and X99 for example).
  • For the CPU, definitely look into a Xeon. Unless you plan on doing a lot of overclocking for gaming, there is no need to waste money on an i7 (such as the 5930K or 5960X). Get a high end E3 or even consider an E5 once these processors are released for the X99 platform.
  • Even though a consistent colour scheme is fun, don't sacrifice performance and features if you're spending so much money on a work system. A workstation board is essential for the kind of work you're describing. High stability and reliability is more crucial than a colour matched aesthetic.
  • For a video card, even though they are extremely expensive, a Quadro seems to fit your work requirements. If not, a Titan Black maybe or at least an GTX 880 when they're released should provide enough processing power for computations, 3D modelling, etc.
  • If you're concerned about onboard audio, consider getting a sound card to have dedicated hardware for your signal processing. I appreciate a lot of people on this site shudder at the thought of using a sound card, but personally I'd prefer to have dedicated circuitry processing my audio files than using a software-implemented equaliser.
4

I feel socket 2011 will be Wayy overkill for the type of software he uses. The lab computers that we used had i3s and my laptop with core 2 duo ran them just fine. But it's his money so just saying..

5

For MATLAB and programming, absolutely you can get away with very basic CPUs and still have sufficient performance. But for applications where stability and reliability is required; 3D modelling and simulation; data crunching and computation; etc, I think the 2011 and 2011-13 socket is optimal.

6

Not really. CATIA, Pro-E aren't that demanding. A decent Gpu to prevent stutter and lag during tweaking and rotating models is good enough. Neither are Finite element analysis software like Patran, nastran, ansys. You don't have to have socket 2011 for reliability and stability. Trust me, I have used them on lower systems and they run fine. It's fine by me if he wants to spend his money though. Just saying that socket 1150 or am3+ is good enough.

7

It's more for features like error-correcting memory and support for E5 Xeons which the LGA1150 socket doesn't have. But if it's purely performance than LGA1150 can be better when overclocking is done right.

8

So I got two conflicting replies, anyway yes x97 and AMD are fine but im curious which institution you were at and were you just learning the software because the labs at my institution have high end xeons and run simulations constantly, but alas if your recommendation is to not waste my money on the x79 platform then what is x79 used for? For video editing (which apparently is very intensive to the cpu.)? I have no brand loyalty and if you say I can save money while having the same or better performance then I am quite curious.

 

Thanks for the replies