I suspect my PC has a strange little fault causing data corruption, so I'd like to pick some components to build myself a decent workstation. My main concern is reliability, ideally with ECC memory and a processor that supports it, which could be a Xeon. If an i7 and a really good quality motherboard without ECC is considered workstation grade that's fine too. I'm happy buying lightweight core components (CPU, RAM, motherboard) from newegg as it seems MUCH cheaper than NZ for high end stuff, but I'll get the heavier stuff (case, PSU) or stuff priced reasonably in NZ locally.
It'll be a general use machine - media server, internet, email, but with some fairly high volume photo processing thrown in - though my i7 2660 CPU is fast enough for my 12megapixel cameras, but it crawls a bit with 36MP images. Four cores is probably enough, just to keep costs down. I don't play games at all, so any built in video capability would be fine, or the cheapest nVidia 1GB card (Photoshop uses OpenGL). It needs to have at least 6 SATA ports, ideally 8-10. 16GB of RAM is enough, ECC if possible.
I have plenty of hard drives. I may want a new case and power supply, just because my current case (Cooler Master Silencio 550) is a bit small. A have a good quality 550W PSU but wouldn't mind a modular one - plus I want to make sure it's not a power issue causing problems for my PC.
Max budget: $2000, lower preferred as I have to get this past my wife, who does think a reliable PC and data integrity are important.
Some ideas, based on almost random selection:
- Xeon E3-1231v3 Haswell 3.4GHz LGA 1150. Link. Looks a little faster than my 2600K, US$250, $450 in NZ. Are there any faster processors that aren't too much more expensive?
- SuperMicro motherboard - link to a random one here as I haven't done the research yet. US$250, just enough SATA ports.
- RAM - no idea at this stage, would need to read compatibility lists.
- nVidia 720 video card. Link. Aiming for the lowest or second lowest model in the latest generation.
Alternately (if it's considered good enough) a modern i7, a reliable server grade motherboard like Intel or similar if they still make them, or SuperMicro?