OUR IDEAL DESKTOP SPECIFICATION.
Core Component Details
CPU – Intel Core i7-4770K
Similar to our previous Haswell based workstation build, our
gaming workstation this month will be powered by Intel’s latest and greatest
Haswell based Intel Core i7 4770K processor. It’s currently Intel’s flagship
Haswell processor and has plenty of performance for not only playing the latest
games, but also rendering photos and videos as well.
The Intel Core i7 4770K’s default clock speed clocks in at
3.5GHz with the capability of turboing up to 3.9GHz right out of the box.
Additionally, unlike the Intel Core i5 series, the Intel Core i7 series is
Hyper Threading enabled, which means it’ll be a 4 core, 8 thread processor.
Since many workstation applications such as Adobe Premiere, Adobe Photoshop,
Sony Vegas, etc. can take advantage of multiple threads, the 4 additional
virtual threads will allow the i7 series processors to perform up to ~30%
faster than the i5 series processors in these applications. Additionally, since
we’ll be going with a K series processor with an unlocked multiplier and we’re
going with the powerful Corsair H100i CPU cooler, those feeling adventurous will also have the
option of overclocking the CPU for additional performance.
Motherboard – ASUS Z87-Deluxe
With our gaming workstation build this month, our main goal
was to put together a system that was fast, reliable, and had plenty of upgrade
potential down the line, so for our motherboard, we selected the ASUS
Z87-Deluxe.
Based off the Intel’s latest Z87 platform, the ASUS
Z87-Deluxe is a premium grade consumer level motherboard in ASUS’s lineup
carrying a ton of features for the price. Starting with the power delivery
system on the board, we’re going to get a powerful 16+2 DIGI+ digital power
delivery system, which ensures stable, clean power to both the CPU and the
memory for that rock solid stability.
In terms of expansion, we’ve got support up to 32GB of dual
channel memory, PCIe 3.0 based graphics, 6x6Gb/s Intel controlled SATA ports
and an extra 4x6Gb/s ASMedia controlled SATA ports for a whopping 10 SATA 6Gb/s
ports for additional storage options. Additionally, ASUS didn’t skimp on the
connectivity options here as well offering Wi-Fi 802.11 AC, Bluetooth 4.0, dual
gigabit ethernet, and six USB 3.0 ports via the rear I/O. With a best in class
software suite, easy to use UEFI BIOS, and a rock solid reputation, the ASUS
Z87-Deluxe is the perfect board for our build.
Memory – 16GB Corsair Dominator Platinum DDR3 1600MHz (2x8GB)
Typically our go to memory is the Corsair Vengeance 1600MHz Low Profile memory, but for our high end build today, we’ll be going
with something a tad bit… flashier, so our choice for this month’s build is the
Corsair Dominator Platinum 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 1600MHz kit. While the Vengeance
Low Profile kit would still be a good choice here, I really wanted to get a kit
that not only looked phenomenal, but also has its internal components
handpicked for top notch performance and reliability. With the Dominator
Platinums, that’s exactly what you get.
Case – Corsair Graphite Series 600T
Corsair’s Graphite Series 600T probably doesn’t need an
introduction by now. Despite the fact that it’s one of the older cases on the
market, it’s still one of the most beautifully designed and most advanced cases
available today. With a fully dust filtered interior, full sized sidepanel
window, USB 3.0 support, eight expansion slots, and plenty of cooling
available, it’s without a doubt my pick for our build this month.
Since it’s also been requested that I include a couple
additional case suggestions in addition to the featured case, those not
interested in the Corsair Graphite Series 600T may also check out the Corsair Obsidian 650D, NZXT Phantom 630, or NZXT H630. Those looking for
larger cases for additional expansion may check out the CM Storm Stryker, NZXT Phantom 820, or the Corsair Obsidian
900D.
GPU – EVGA GeForce GTX 780 SuperClocked /w ACX Cooler
Since we’ve got quite a decent budget here at $2,500, we
definitely wanted to go all out with the graphics card which is why we’ve
chosen the new EVGA GeForce GTX780 SuperClocked 3GB with EVGA’s ACX Cooler.
Despite the strangely long naming scheme, this is EVGA’s custom version of
Nvidia’s GTX 780, which has been outfitted with EVGA’s ACX cooler and
overclocked from the factory for good measure. This will give us plenty of
power to drive all the latest games at the highest quality settings.
Be aware that EVGA also sells an EVGA GeForce GTX 780 SuperClocked 3GB with the Nvidia reference cooler rather than EVGA’s custom
ACX cooler for the same price. Those looking to put the graphics card in
multi-GPU configurations may find that the Nvidia reference cooler may provide
better thermal performance when multiple GPUs are stacked together; however,
the ACX cooler will provide better performance when used by itself.
While the GTX 780 does offer gobs and gobs of performance,
it does come at quite a steep price, so those looking to stay under a $2,000
budget yet still want the ability to play pretty much every game on the market
at the highest possible settings can go ahead and pick up the AMD based Sapphire HD 7970 OC or the
Nvidia GeForce GTX 780′s little brother, the GeForce
GTX 770 instead. Both of these cards offer much
better price to performance ratios and will still easily drive almost any game
on the market today at resolutions of 1920×1200 or under at maximum settings.
On a separate note, those looking to use the system
primarily for video rendering or 3D modeling work and know that the performance
of these applications can be accelerated with CUDA processing, I’d definitely
suggest going with either the Nvidia GTX 770 or GTX 780. Unfortunately, only
Nvidia graphics cards support CUDA technology as it’s a proprietary Nvidia
technology. Those more serious about work rather than play can also opt for
workstation class graphics cards such as the Nvidia
Quadro K4000 or the Nvidia Quadro K5000. While
these graphic cards tend to perform slower than gaming graphics cards in games,
some professional graphics or video editing applications will only support
professional grade graphics. Be sure to check with your software vendor if
you’re unsure.
Storage – Samsung 840 Pro 256GB SSD + Western Digital Caviar Black 3TB HDD
No high end gaming or workstation PC is complete without a
high end SSD as well, so for our build today, we’ve also picked the Samsung 840
Pro 256GB SSD to power our storage needs. Since its introduction late last
year, the Samsung 840 Pro series SSDs have been the favorite SSD here at Custom
PC Review. With performance figures up to 540MB/s reads and 520MB/s writes, the
Samsung 840 Pro is capable of completely saturating any motherboard’s SATA
6Gb/s interface. Along with blazing fast sequential performance, it’s also among
the fastest SSDs on the market in 4K small file size transfers as well, making
any application feel fast and snappy.
Of course, a high end gaming workstation is going to need
more than 256GB of storage space and while we’d prefer upgrading to the 512GB Samsung 840 Pro, it
unfortunately will run us $450+, which will make this build significantly
overbudget. This is why we’ve also included the Western Digital Caviar Black
3TB traditional hard drive as well. The Caviar Black series hard drives from
Western Digital has been regarded as the fastest 7,200 RPM hard drive on the
market making it a perfect storage drive for storing additional games,
pictures, and videos that don’t fit onto the SSD. By installing Windows along
with any application files onto the superfast SSD and any media files onto the
hard drive, we’ll be able to make full use of the SSD where it performs best
yet still have plenty of fast and cheap storage for our storage needs.
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