Difference Between a workstation and Gaming PC

Workstations for things like3D Modeling, video editing/rendering and other related things require more CPU power and more RAM then a gaming rig. The additional CPU power and RAM will often be lost on games and you won't see an increase in the quality of your game play until the games advance far enough to need those extra resources.

A workstation as you call it will benefit more from the X79 platform and the 3930 and 3960 I7 extreme CPUs and 16GB or more of RAM. Games do not require either of those things, with the exception being a rig that requires x3 SLI for large resolution and or multi-monitor gaming.

It's that resolution that determines what hardware you need for gaming. For a 1920x1080 single monitor a set up x2 570 SLI, with a 2600K i7 and 8GB of RAM will crush almost any game you can throw at it. Not all games even support multicore CPUs correctly and even less will even use the hyper-threading. The 2600k is still better then the 2500k though since Windows does use that HT but you don't need a 6+6 core CPU for your daily use (web/e-mail) or gaming.

If you need a work station, build a work station. So long as you are using the correct GPU(s) the work station will do very well playing games but something like an ODE2 or even 3 will not necessarily work well as a work station.


Edited by jmaster299 - 08 Dec 2011 at 11:33am

Glad to see that you got some great advice.

yea i've thought about it a bit. i think if i spend the 2000, it'll have to be a gaming pc. I'll probably have this thing in my living room hooked up to my lcd then. I'm looking to run at 1920x1080. Since this is the case will the ODE 2 work for me then? if not, i'll try and put together a system and post it on here before making a final decision. i'll take as much advice as i can. jmaster, you've been very helpful.

Just to add, workstation is basically for powerusers, they use different kind of ram, normally you see quadro gpus in there which are very expensive and work horses but not great for gaming.

if you are a poweruser that has nees more for cpu then gpus like me, then you can have best of both worlds, you get the x79 platform with 6 core cpu and then for gpus you get what you need for gaming, for res under 1900 x 1200 you don't need sli, for 1900 x 1200 sli 570 is the sweet spot, for higher then 2560 x 1600 sli 570 2.5GB with option to go tri sli.

for your budget, what you can do is get a system that has one 570 but can do sli:

Here you go Ticket# 629576 --- $2,099 (To see this build click here)

Copy of Specifications:
Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Cooler Master 942 HAF X
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i7 2600K 3.40GHz (Unlocked CPU for Extreme Overclocking) (Quad Core)
Motherboard: ASUS P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3 (Intel Z68 Chipset) (Features Intel Quick Sync Technology)
System Memory: 8GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested)
Power Supply: 1050W Corsair Pro Silver 1050HX (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible)
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (500GB Western Digital Caviar (7200 RPM) (16MB Cache) (Model: Blue Edition)
Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks
Optical Drive 1: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 24x / CD-Writer 48x)
Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card: 1x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 1.2GB (Includes PhysX Technology) (EVGA Edition)
Add-on Card: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 2: Corsair A70 Dual 120mm Fans High Performance Cooler
H20 Tube Color:- Not Applicable, I do not have a FrostChill or Sub-Zero LCS Cooling System Selected
Chassis Airflow: Standard Factory Chassis Fans
Internal Lighting: - No Thanks
Enhancements: - No Thanks
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Noise Reduction: - No Thanks
LaserMark: - No Thanks
Boost Processor: Stage 1: Overclock CPU 4.0GHz to 4.4GHz
Boost Video Card: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s)
Boost Memory: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory
Boost OS: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-Bit Edition)
Recovery Tools: Windows Recovery Toolkit (Bundled with Windows 7 CD)
Virus Protection: - No Thanks
Office: - No Thanks
Game: - No Thanks
Display: - No Thanks
Surge Shield: - No Thanks
Speakers: - No Thanks
Keyboard: - No Thanks
Mouse: - No Thanks
External Storage: - No Thanks
Exclusive T-Shirt: - No Thanks
Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 5-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: Life-time Expert Customer Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty

Ask DS specifically for this fan to be added to the top, so you endup with 4 x 200mm fans:

haf 200mm non led fan

Ask for vcore lower then 1.4 for your oc.

you add ssd and another 570 later to complete the system.

the res jm299 pretty much covered for you.

Yes you are right but there are very few games, that need sli for 570, most games don't.

either way that is whay I always recommend a system that has one gpu but supports 2, so either way you are covered.

I have not had a chance to play bf3 myself yet so I can't speak for its performance.

do you notice it when you hit 30fps in bf3 or is it a split second thing that not really noticeable?

DST, I agree with going with 1 GPU for now and SLI later due to the budget issues, it's what I had to do myself. I was merely pointing that SLI is still needed for some games even when the resolution is less then 1920x1080.

Again BF3 no too bad with High settings. I don't stay below 30fps for very long but it can happen several times during a big/fast fire fight. It's Arkham City that is giving me the most issues. All my other games like Portal 2 and TF2 I can max out and never drop below 60fps in V-sync.

For bf3 and 1900 x 1200 res and max settings you need sli 570 right off the bat.

if you want to see what folk are getting in bf3 and their cards look here, I asked people to post their settings and fps and res, you get a good idea of what you need to do what.

@jm299, lot of people don't care too much about the physx, like you said it comes down to wanting to spend $350 extra to have the physx on or not, most don't have it on. btw can you checkout the mentioned thread and tell me if you are getting the same results others are, I'm beginning to think something is not right, unless I'm missing something.

Edited by DST4ME - 09 Dec 2011 at 3:47am