Journey to (16C / 32HT) cores and beyond - aka dual E5-2670 build

Hi guys,

After narrowing down on a few different design considerations in some other threads and reading through other people's similar builds I am ready to put together my own build and would appreciate some advice / critique. I have seen a couple of people say good things about the natex kits. It also appears to be one of the cheapest and easiest way to get an e-atax dual socket mobo to AUS.

Purpose / Usage

- Plex

- Transmission

- Couch Potato

- Sick Rage

- NAS Duties (above + file sharing etc.)

-- Virtualised win 10 environment for wife

-- Virtualised win 10 development machine / gaming

Shopping

Case:

-  https://www.pccasegear.com/products/23956/corsair-carbide-air-540-high-airflow-atx-cube-case ($185) OR

- https://www.pccasegear.com/products/30397/thermaltake-core-x9-e-atx-cube-chassis ($235)

Motherboard / CPU: http://www.natex.us/product-p/s2600cp-cpu-kit.htm (~$550AUD delivered)

Heatsinks: ??

(Question: Are the passive heatsinks you can get from natex with good case airflow and fans enough since you can't overclock xeons or are 3rd party heatsink / fans still required?) I was hoping to not have to spend $200 on i4 noctua coolers if I don't have too.

RAM: ??

Second sound card: ??

Already Own

Power Supply:1kw modular Cougar power supply

Parity: 4 TB HGST

Array: 4 TB HGST

Video Cards: 2 x R9 280x

Cache: 500GB 840 evo, 250 GB OCZ Agility (version 3 I think can't remember)

Sound Cards: I have one pcie xonar dg laying around. not sure what I'll do for the other one. Maybe usb?

Does this look like a reasonable build? What do people recommend for some cheap ECC ram. 32 or 64GB and heatsinks?

 

Shopping

 

Case:

 

-  https://www.pccasegear.com/products/23956/corsair-carbide-air-540-high-airflow-atx-cube-case ($185) OR

- https://www.pccasegear.com/products/30397/thermaltake-core-x9-e-atx-cube-chassis ($235)

 

Motherboard / CPU: http://www.natex.us/product-p/s2600cp-cpu-kit.htm (~$550AUD delivered)

 

Heatsinks: ??

(Question: Are the passive heatsinks you can get from natex with good case airflow and fans enough since you can't overclock xeons or are 3rd party heatsink / fans still required?) I was hoping to not have to spend $200 on i4 noctua coolers if I don't have too.

 

RAM: ??

Second sound card: ??

 

Already Own

 

Power Supply:1kw modular Cougar power supply

Parity: 4 TB HGST

Array: 4 TB HGST

Video Cards: 2 x R9 280x

Cache: 500GB 840 evo, 250 GB OCZ Agility (version 3 I think can't remember)

Sound Cards: I have one pcie xonar dg laying around. not sure what I'll do for the other one. Maybe usb?

 

Does this look like a reasonable build? What do people recommend for some cheap ECC ram. 32 or 64GB and heatsinks?

A couple of notes. 

1.)  You may have a hard time getting all of your equipment in an Air 540.  It's possible to do but it may require a bit of customization. The board takes up more space than one thinks. 

2.)  It seems easier to buy the Natex config with the memory as well.  I believe others have tried to price it out separately and unless you find a screaming deal you're better off getting it in a package.

http://www.natex.us/product-p/intel-s2600cp2j-128gb-nanya.htm

3.) Heatsinks from Natex won't be enough to run it with any load for too long.  You can pickup whichever 2011 cooler you think works.  I ran mine for a while on Hyper 212 coolers and they worked well.  You'll also have to experiment with the cooling options built in to the system as it can be somewhat picky when you don't run it in one of the Intel P4000 cases.

The Core X9 is super heavy.

A couple of notes. 

 

1.)  You may have a hard time getting all of your equipment in an Air 540.  It's possible to do but it may require a bit of customization. The board takes up more space than one thinks. 

The case says it fits E-ATX so it should fit. The Thermaltake definitely has A LOT more room but honestly, I think it's just going to be too big. It's a massive case and upon further review, larger than I expected. Although I love all the options it brings.

2.)  It seems easier to buy the Natex config with the memory as well.  I believe others have tried to price it out separately and unless you find a screaming deal you're better off getting it in a package.

http://www.natex.us/product-p/intel-s2600cp2j-128gb-nanya.htm

Ok fair enough ram in the package might be easier. I thought I may have been able to source some on ebay cheaper given I'm paying an exchange rate on that ram from natex. I noticed the dimms are slightly different in the different packages. Is there much difference in speed etc. that I would actually notice? I'm leaning towards the 64GB package just to shave the cost down a bit as it's in USD and I still have a lot of other things to buy.

3.) Heatsinks from Natex won't be enough to run it with any load for too long.  You can pickup whichever 2011 cooler you think works.  I ran mine for a while on Hyper 212 coolers and they worked well.  You'll also have to experiment with the cooling options built in to the system as it can be somewhat picky when you don't run it in one of the Intel P4000 cases.

I had a feeling the natex heatsinks wouldn't be enough. I'll have to have a look around for some cheap but decent 2011 heatsink/fans then. I have a pretty good noctua on my current 2600k but I don't know where the LGA attachment is for it. If anyone has any suggests on 2011 heatsink/fan combos I'd still love to hear them!

You'll also have to experiment with the cooling options built in to the system as it can be somewhat picky when you don't run it in one of the Intel P4000 cases.

Can you elaborate on this a bit? Not sure what you mean by this.

Thanks for the feedback so far cranch.

The Core X9 is super heavy.

I looked at some youtube reviews of this case and didn't really realise just how big this case is. I love the flexibility of options it provides but unless you are building a pretty big water cooling kit it seems like a lot of space, features and modularity that I may just never use.

Whilst the corsair carbide might be a little squeezy, overall it is the best option I have found so far to house e-atx.

Let us know how you go with getting it across the water! Will definitely be ordering the same thing dependent on your experience. 

Let us know how you go with getting it across the water! Will definitely be ordering the same thing dependent on your experience. 

Happily! I wish there was somewhere local I could get as good a deal. It's a little bit worrying having to ship it 'across the water' as you put it. Fingers crossed everything just works first time

I've spent quite a bit of time on airflow to try and avoid additional cpu cooling.  I was able to get around 67C with no load and about 75C with load.  As a result, I decided to add 2 Noctua U9dx i4's.  Based on others experience with the S2600CP and dual 2670's, I'm expecting to drop closer to 40C.  I'm waiting for them to arrive but I got 2 from Newegg for about $120 delivered.  Seemed like a no brainer to add the additional cooling considering how cheap I got the Natex combo.

Does anyone see any issues with running this natex combo with the following pcie cards / setup? Getting close to finalising my order

Natex kit:  http://www.natex.us/product-p/s2600cp-cpu-kit.htm $305USD + $99USD delivery = ~$536AUD

Memory: (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Hynix-64GB-8x8GB-PC3-12800R-DDR3-1600Mhz-240-PIN-CL11-Registered-REG-ECC-Memory-/231793796803?hash=item35f7fca6c3:g:wsUAAOSwZ1lWfPw~) $186

Note: I was going to get the 128GB natex kit but it is currently out of stock and due to having to pay for exchange rate and expensive shipping it works out cheaper to just get the memory myslf off ebay.

Heatsink / Fans: ??

vm1

- ASUS R9 280x CU II Top edition- already have

- xonar dgx (https://www.pccasegear.com/products/21183/asus-xonar-dgx) $49

- 4 port usb 3 expansion card (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/4-Port-USB-3-0-PCI-E-Card-HUB-PCI-Express-Panel-Expansion-Adapter-for-Vista-Win7-/311432519376?hash=item4882d31ed0:g:tEUAAOSwGYVXDGQp) $10

vm 2

- ASUS R9 280x CU II Top edition- already have

- xonar dgx (https://www.pccasegear.com/products/21183/asus-xonar-dgx) $49

- 4 port usb 3 expansion card (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/4-Port-USB-3-0-PCI-E-Card-HUB-PCI-Express-Panel-Expansion-Adapter-for-Vista-Win7-/311432519376?hash=item4882d31ed0:g:tEUAAOSwGYVXDGQp) $10

I am still trying to find a sufficient cooling solution ($50 or less per heatsink / fan). Normally I'm all for high end Noctua coolers on my i7 systems but since there won't be any ocerlocking and these chips are only 115w I feel like it is a bit overkil. Plus those Nocuta i4's are over $100 each here in Australia.

cpu cooling: Coolermaster hyper TX3's (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Cooler-Master-Hyper-TX3-EVO-CPU-Cooler-RR-TX3E-28PK-R1-/231560600411?hash=item35ea165b5b:g:XwkAAOSwhwdVUyj8#shpCntId) $41

Notes: Normally I'm a big fan of higher end Noctua's and closed loop corsair water cooling but for the TDP of these processors and the inability to overclock it just seems like overkill for 115w cpus. I did want to replace the passive heatsinks though so I think these coolermasters should be sufficient. I have plenty of other components still to buy so saving a few dollars on the cooling, yet still making sure it is adequate is worthwhile I think.

cpu cooling: Coolermaster hyper TX3's (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Cooler-Master-Hyper-TX3-EVO-CPU-Cooler-RR-TX3E-28PK-R1-/231560600411?hash=item35ea165b5b:g:XwkAAOSwhwdVUyj8#shpCntId) $41

 

Notes: Normally I'm a big fan of higher end Noctua's and closed loop corsair water cooling but for the TDP of these processors and the inability to overclock it just seems like overkill for 115w cpus. I did want to replace the passive heatsinks though so I think these coolermasters should be sufficient. I have plenty of other components still to buy so saving a few dollars on the cooling, yet still making sure it is adequate is worthwhile I think.

I didn't see where LGA 2011 was specifically supported. HST, I'm not well versed on cross compatibility with other socket types. Otherwise, the specs look adequate.

cpu cooling: Coolermaster hyper TX3's (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Cooler-Master-Hyper-TX3-EVO-CPU-Cooler-RR-TX3E-28PK-R1-/231560600411?hash=item35ea165b5b:g:XwkAAOSwhwdVUyj8#shpCntId) $41

 

Notes: Normally I'm a big fan of higher end Noctua's and closed loop corsair water cooling but for the TDP of these processors and the inability to overclock it just seems like overkill for 115w cpus. I did want to replace the passive heatsinks though so I think these coolermasters should be sufficient. I have plenty of other components still to buy so saving a few dollars on the cooling, yet still making sure it is adequate is worthwhile I think.

 

I didn't see where LGA 2011 was specifically supported. HST, I'm not well versed on cross compatibility with other socket types. Otherwise, the specs look adequate.

You're absolutely right betaman. Sigh, I was thinking of one of my other systems which is 1155. Obviously I'm getting tired. Back to searching for a similarly priced cooler for lga 2011.

Edit:

-  The T4 looks to be very similar and is about~$25 more for two of them (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Cooler-Master-Hyper-T4-Universal-CPU-Cooler-Intel-LGA-2011-1366-1155-AMD-FM2-AM3-/222074518065?hash=item33b4ac3a31:g:OAYAAMXQsoNRicZk)

- Hyper 103 (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Coolermaster-Hyper-103-CPU-Fan-1150-1151-1155-1156-1366-2011-AMD-Cooler-Master/291248312148?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20140106155344%26meid%3Db8a5657a771b4269be6330e05ce225f7%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D6%26mehot%3Dpp%26sd%3D222074518065) This uses a 90mm fan and will thus be noiser

- Deepcool Gammaxx S40 (http://www.lmc.com.au/products/CPU/Deepcool/582482/Deepcool_Gammaxx_S40_CPU_Cooler_with_4_Heatpipes,_120mm_PWM)

I'll keep searching in case there are any better options.

I ended up ordering two used Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO's for $56AUD including delivery to Austraia (http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Hyper-212-RR-212E-20PK-R2/dp/B005O65JXI?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_act_title_1&smid=A25241C6EWMUO7)

I figured there can't be too much to go wrong with a second hand heatsink and fan (I have plenty of fans anyway). But for $12usd each it's exceptionally good value cooling.

Ended up biting the bullet and ordering the same thing over the weekend  . You received yours yet? Which memory did you end up purchasing?

Ended up biting the bullet and ordering the same thing over the weekend  . You received yours yet? Which memory did you end up purchasing?

I did. But as I noted above, I ordered second hand ones thinking it'd be fairly safe. Sure enough the heatsinks look in mint condition and the fans brand new. I was not aware however, that they did not include the mounting accessories >__<

I have been unable to track down replacement mounting accessories. The only place that sells them does not ship outside the U.S.

- http://www.cmstore-usa.com/hyper-212-plus-evo-accessories-kit/

I found the lga 2011 retension bracket but this does not include the back plate and stand offs

- http://www.mwave.com.au/product/cooler-master-intel-lga2011-retention-bracket-aa17565#detailTabs=tabOverview

-----------------------------------------

Update: I have been in contact with cooler master EU live chat and they said they should be getting stock of the retention kits sometime this week. Two of those will set me back about 10 (~$15aud). The person I spoke with said to mention there name and they would throw in free backplates which was pretty good. He estimated shipping at about 7 euros so all up I'm probably looking at about $25. I'm quite happy with that outcome if they get stock this week. Just hope it doesn't take too long to arrive here down under.

Ended up biting the bullet and ordering the same thing over the weekend  . You received yours yet? Which memory did you end up purchasing?

 

I did. But as I noted above, I ordered second hand ones thinking it'd be fairly safe. Sure enough the heatsinks look in mint condition and the fans brand new. I was not aware however, that they did not include the mounting accessories >__<

 

I have been unable to track down replacement mounting accessories. The only place that sells them does not ship outside the U.S.

 

- http://www.cmstore-usa.com/hyper-212-plus-evo-accessories-kit/

 

I found the lga 2011 retension bracket but this does not include the back plate and stand offs

 

- http://www.mwave.com.au/product/cooler-master-intel-lga2011-retention-bracket-aa17565#detailTabs=tabOverview

 

-----------------------------------------

 

Update: I have been in contact with cooler master EU live chat and they said they should be getting stock of the retention kits sometime this week. Two of those will set me back about 10 (~$15aud). The person I spoke with said to mention there name and they would throw in free backplates which was pretty good. He estimated shipping at about 7 euros so all up I'm probably looking at about $25. I'm quite happy with that outcome if they get stock this week. Just hope it doesn't take too long to arrive here down under.

FYI, the Noctua u9dxi4 fits perfectly.  I just installed mine and took my CPU temps from 68/74 to 39/41 (cpu1/cpu2).  Very easy to install and included all the necessary hardware to mount.

Ended up biting the bullet and ordering the same thing over the weekend  . You received yours yet? Which memory did you end up purchasing?

 

I did. But as I noted above, I ordered second hand ones thinking it'd be fairly safe. Sure enough the heatsinks look in mint condition and the fans brand new. I was not aware however, that they did not include the mounting accessories >__<

 

I have been unable to track down replacement mounting accessories. The only place that sells them does not ship outside the U.S.

 

- http://www.cmstore-usa.com/hyper-212-plus-evo-accessories-kit/

 

I found the lga 2011 retension bracket but this does not include the back plate and stand offs

 

- http://www.mwave.com.au/product/cooler-master-intel-lga2011-retention-bracket-aa17565#detailTabs=tabOverview

 

-----------------------------------------

 

Update: I have been in contact with cooler master EU live chat and they said they should be getting stock of the retention kits sometime this week. Two of those will set me back about 10 (~$15aud). The person I spoke with said to mention there name and they would throw in free backplates which was pretty good. He estimated shipping at about 7 euros so all up I'm probably looking at about $25. I'm quite happy with that outcome if they get stock this week. Just hope it doesn't take too long to arrive here down under.

 

FYI, the Noctua u9dxi4 fits perfectly.  I just installed mine and took my CPU temps from 68/74 to 39/41 (cpu1/cpu2).  Very easy to install and included all the necessary hardware to mount.

Got any photos betaman?

Got any photos betaman?

Unfortunately I didn't take any.  The u9dxi4 takes up just about the same real-estate as the copper heatsinks (projected area) but obviously are much taller.  Is there anything in particular you're concerned about?  Next time I have the case open I could try and take a pic.

Looking to buy a similar build. What type of gaming performance are you getting compared to bare metal? How many cores and how much ram are you giving your "gaming" VM? Any insight would be huge. Thanks.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Looking to buy a similar build. What type of gaming performance are you getting compared to bare metal? How many cores and how much ram are you giving your "gaming" VM? Any insight would be huge. Thanks.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Will certainly do a big update when I get that far. I have finally gotten all the parts in and am currently trying to test getting one cpu working with some ram and a spare video card. Getting 3 short beeps and no display.

Looking to buy a similar build. What type of gaming performance are you getting compared to bare metal? How many cores and how much ram are you giving your "gaming" VM? Any insight would be huge. Thanks.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Im running a 14 core 2690v4 as in my sig below. I give my gaming vm 6 cores (12 threads) and all my games play great. I give my gaming vm 16 gigs. I "isocpu" the 6 cores from unraid then pin the them to the vm for better performance and also pin the vm emulation tasks onto cores not passed through to the vm.

Before this build i ran an i7 6700 and i notice no difference in gaming whatso ever dispite the lower clock speed of my cpu.

Im running a 14 core 2690v4 as in my sig below.

Ahem...that's a very expensive cpu. Is it a lower clocked ES? In any case looks awesome!

yes its a lower clocked es at  2400mhz base  all core turbo 3000mhz  single core turbo 3200mhz So I overclock the bclk to 105 giving an extra 5% extra speed  so get 2,520mhz base  3,150mhz all core turbo, and 3360mhz single core

yes its a lower clocked es at  2400mhz base  all core turbo 3000mhz  single core turbo 3200mhz So I overclock the bclk to 105 giving an extra 5% extra speed  so get 2,520mhz base  3,150mhz all core turbo, and 3360mhz single core

Sounds good Gridrunner. I'm interested to see myself how my dual 2670 goes in gaming. I think it will be ok for DX12 / vulkan games that are better multi-threaded but may not be so good in older DX11 games. I think the e5-2670 (2.6Ghz stock / 3.3Ghz turbo) will maintain 3ghz all cores. I plan on putting up some benchmarks of my system once I have it all setup for anybody else that is interested.

yes i think your chip will be fine for games. My new rig replaced one i had based on an i7 6700 and i notice no difference in playing my games whatso ever. Games i been playing are crysis 3, wolfenstein oldblood, zombie army trilogy, dragons age inquisition, xcom 2, metro last light and soma. I also stream these games from the vm to my shield tv in the bedroom using moonlight (as that works better for me than nvidea offical app!) and games play fine there too.

My 3d mark score is around the same at 10,400 on fire strike using a gtx 970.