Can’t really write a blog on performance computing when my only computer is a dated ultrabook.

So I built my first computer ever today, and I was totally blown away by how easy it was (with some invaluable guidance from a friend). The system was running Ubuntu within four hours of FedEx dropping the parts off. No headaches, just forgot to plug in the CPU power cable.

Normally I would try to grab an off the shelf system, however I specifically wanted an Intel processor with a top of the line integrated GPU. My gut tells me that integrated graphics are getting powerful enough to open up some interesting solutions for embedded HPC applications, so of course I want to look at them. With Intel will supposedly only offering desktop/server GTe4 Iris Pro on the Xeons (which haven’t come out yet), I opted to fall back onto a Broadwell i7-5775c, hopefully saving on costs. And not to mention time, since who knows if/when the Skylake e3-1500’s will arrive.

But good luck finding an off the shelf system with an i7-5775c. And rightfully so - I imagine most folks in the market for a high end desktop processor is likely in the market for a high end discrete GPU, defeating the point of an integrated GPU. So building a computer it was. And it was a great experience.

Specifications:

  • CPU - i7-5775c w/ Iris Pro 6200 GTe3
  • Motherboard - ASRock Z9 Extreme 6
  • RAM - G.SKILL Ripjaws DDR3 1600 32 GB
  • SSD - Samsung 850 Pro 512 GB
  • Supply - EVGA 220-G2-0850-XR 80 Plus Gold 800 W
  • Chassis - Corsair Carbide Series Air 540 (many thanks to my friend for suggesting this, great for cable management)

I’ll have money to get discrete GPUs later. The Iris Pro will keep me more than entertained in the mean time. At least it better.

Just a note, big thanks to Phoronix for getting an i7-5775c working on a similar build and sharing his troubles and solutions.