Okay, it's time to build a SB machine. It will replace one Q9650 and two Q6600s.

I am looking for suggestions on the components. Cost is not an issue, but I don't want to pay for flash, or features I will never use. This will be a dedicated cruncher. Here is what I am looking for:

  • CPU: I7-2600K, $315
  • CPU heatsink: I may OC it mildly. But nothing extravagant. Less noise is a good thing.
  • MoBo: No sure what the future of the socket is, but I would like to future-proof this as much as possible. And I don't want the chipset to be the bottleneck. Also, It needs to fit two BIG GPUs. And I want it to support at least 32gb. I will be running it with 2gb/thread at first, and 8 DIMM slots would be better than 4, but not essential.
  • DIMMs: Again, not planning on doing much OC. I will start with at least 16gb. I think there is no point in using less than 4gb DIMMs right now. I want to make sure I am not slowing things down by not using all the channels. But it will depend on the MoBo.
  • SSD: I want it to be as fast as possible, without paying stupid money for the most cutting edge technology. Size should be large enough for a Win7 install, plus a VM or two, plus a dual boot install of Linux. So what is that? 125gb? 250gb? No idea.
  • Case: I don't have a problem spending money here. Again, I want to make sure it is future proof. Nice and roomy. Maybe even room for 3 or 4 big GPUs. Less noise is a good thing.
  • PSU: Efficiency is a big deal here. And it needs to be able to drive two BIG GPUs, so at least 4x of the 6+2 power connectors.
  • GPU: Don't worry about those for now. At first I will be re-using a 5870.
  • DVD: Don't worry about that either. I don't buy them for dedicated crunchers any more. I bought an external USB DVD drive, which I use on any of the crunchers as needed.