Got full part's list ready. Looking for advice/criticism

[RainStryke]

The new Corsair H110i GT is what i'd recommend getting for your CPU cooler. But only if you can fit a dual 140mm fan radiator in your case. Only thing that can compete with it is the Kraken X60.

If you go with a X99 motherboard, make sure to pair it with a set of quad channel memory. Definitely get a 4X4GB kit rather than a 2X8GB kit like others have mentioned.

Also, as others have mentioned, Z97 is for gaming. X99 is for enthusiast overclocking... You don't really get an edge over gamers with X99. For the price you have to pay for a X99 board, you could have a Z97 board packed with all kinds of premium features.

I would actually recommend getting a HX750 over a AX760i.

If you go with the GTX 970, just be aware of the 3.5GB issue first. If you have not bought it yet, make sure you know what you are getting.
http://www.pcper.com/news/Graphics-Cards/NVIDIA-Responds-GTX-970-35GB-Memory-Issue

 

[kt401]

Can you give us a little more detail at the tasks that you plan to virtualize?

Apache web server. Haven't decided on the CMS yet but Joomla and Drupal look appealing. A mail server is likely as well (perhaps on a different VM). This wont be public/production based - mostly used between family. The most CPU intensive one will be the Plex media server I plan on running. If the FreeNAS box can't handle 1-2 sources transcoding simultaneously, I'll likely have to run it off this machine which I'm sure will have no problem doing it. Of course it'd be nice to have this going while still being able to play a round of Starcraft 2 or CS: GO.

That stuff aside, I'm still fairly new to my IT career and want to expand my knowledge. I install, experiment with and build on a lot of different distros and systems and leave a lot of it running in the background.

 

[RainStryke]

There's nothing wrong with Crucial memory. It works the same as any other RAM at the given specs. As a subsidiary of the three surviving DRAM makers, they get their hands on the top bins as well.



The L1 and L2 cache runs at the core clock frequency, and the L3 runs at the uncore clock frequency.

That being said, I haven't seen any benchmarks that correlate increased L3 clock rate with higher performance. Not saying they aren't out there, but I haven't seen any.

To add onto that... Crucial is Micron's consumer sales... Crucial is straight from the source. Since Micron is the one that makes the RAM chips lol

 

[schmuckley]

To add onto that... lol

..but all the best RAM is Hynix.
LOL
I be a PMing mfenn right about now..

 

[schmuckley]

I stated earlier that the small form factor is very important. The PC will be moved around a lot. I'm well aware that that there are better priced and better performing boards outside of the mATX form factor. The board you recommended is Extended ATX which requires a full tower cases. No bueno.

I also stated earlier that I have a FreeNAS box on my home network for storage. I don't want or need a platter drive in this computer. 1TB of incredibly fast storage will allow me to install all the applications and games I want, while allowing my VM's to really stretch their legs.

What's wrong with Crucial memory? You stated that they haven't been good for a while but I haven't read any bad reviews. They are cheaper than the Mushkin memory you recommended.

I've never heard of overclocking the CPU cache. What are the benefits of doing this?

Hynix proves better in benchmarks.

Directly higher throughput.

 

[mfenn]

Apache web server. Haven't decided on the CMS yet but Joomla and Drupal look appealing. A mail server is likely as well (perhaps on a different VM). This wont be public/production based - mostly used between family. The most CPU intensive one will be the Plex media server I plan on running. If the FreeNAS box can't handle 1-2 sources transcoding simultaneously, I'll likely have to run it off this machine which I'm sure will have no problem doing it. Of course it'd be nice to have this going while still being able to play a round of Starcraft 2 or CS: GO.

That stuff aside, I'm still fairly new to my IT career and want to expand my knowledge. I install, experiment with and build on a lot of different distros and systems and leave a lot of it running in the background.

A lightly-loaded web and mail server doesn't need a bunch of CPU cores to work, and lab environments typically spend 99% of their time sitting idle, using very few resources. Also, I think I should mention that "VM workstation" and "overclocking" don't usually go hand in hand. Though if there aren't stability requirements, then it may not be a big deal.

With X99 and your use case, you're paying a big premium but not using the resources that you're paying the premium for.

 

[Termie]

^ I don't think schmuckley is entirely sober right now.

That may be, but please don't antagonize him.

mfenn
General Hardware Moderator

 

[kt401]

A lightly-loaded web and mail server doesn't need a bunch of CPU cores to work, and lab environments typically spend 99% of their time sitting idle, using very few resources. Also, I think I should mention that "VM workstation" and "overclocking" don't usually go hand in hand. Though if there aren't stability requirements, then it may not be a big deal.

With X99 and your use case, you're paying a big premium but not using the resources that you're paying the premium for.

No, there aren't stability requirements. This is more of a fun project but I do not want to have to shut down the VMs while I game. I guess I figured having a hex-core would serve better than a quad core. This current setup is roughly $200 more than a Z97 build ($100 premium for board, $50 premium for CPU and RAM). Do you think that's worth it?

 

[mfenn]

No, there aren't stability requirements. This is more of a fun project but I do not want to have to shut down the VMs while I game. I guess I figured having a hex-core would serve better than a quad core. This current setup is roughly $200 more than a Z97 build ($100 premium for board, $50 premium for CPU and RAM). Do you think that's worth it?

VMs that are sitting there doing nothing (such as the one you describe) only consume memory, they don't use CPU resources any more than any other idle process (Skype, Dropbox sync, etc.). So the hex-core isn't getting you any benefit there.

Only you can be the judge of "worth it", but from a utility per dollar perspective, it is not. You can do the same things with a Z97, only without paying the premium for RAM expandability and cores which you aren't using.

 

[RainStryke]

..but all the best RAM is Hynix.
LOL
I be a PMing mfenn right about now..

Any sources to that claim? From what i've read as of recent, Samsung seems to be a pretty big contender as well.

 

[schmuckley]

Any sources to that claim? From what i've read as of recent, Samsung seems to be a pretty big contender as well.

I cannot divulge my sources However..just look @ the top scores on HWbot..all Hynix.
Samsung has been stellar in the past..with ddr3..
Do you know anything about the new Samsung stuff?

 

[schmuckley]

Something like this would would un-limit your choice of motherboards, Mr. kt401, sir:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...A&gclsrc=aw.ds

In reality there are really only 2-3 x99 options if you want full potential.

 

[kt401]

Thank you everyone. This has been pretty enlightening.

 

[RainStryke]

I cannot divulge my sources However..just look @ the top scores on HWbot..all Hynix.
Samsung has been stellar in the past..with ddr3..
Do you know anything about the new Samsung stuff?

Isnt that with LN2 cooling?