For my work I use a lot of data. When trying to work with this data this is generally speaking loaded into the RAM. I want to upgrade my current 64GB RAM desktop as it simply does not cut it anymore. This means I will have to upgrade to DDR4 or to a server set up in either DDR3 or 4. As such a switch is costly to begin with (as it involves switching out processors and the motherboard it seems like I might as well go big. Upgrading to 128 GB seems like a temporary fix.
I was thinking of upgrading to a 512 GB DDR4-2133 set up. This would mean that I have to switch from a regular desktop setup to a server setup as no regular motherboard supports this kind of RAM (to my knowledge).
As this would be the first server I ever build I was wondering if there are certain things I need to be aware of. What are main differences compared to building a desktop ? Can I do without for instance a GPU ? Are the cases for servers significantly different in fan set ups or way I can interface with them ? Does a motherboard supporting 2 CPU's and 16 RAM slots require me to fill both CPU's to be able to use the full RAM ?
I was thinking about using:
ASUS Z10PE-D16 WS, socket 2011-3 x1
Corsair ValueSelect 16 GB DDR4-2133 x16
Intel® Xeon E5-1620 v3, 3,5 GHz (3,6 GHz Turbo Boost) socket 2011-3 x2
Samsung 950 Pro, 512 GB SSD x1
Toshiba MD Series, 6 TB HDD (SATA 600, PX3013E-1HR0) x1
PSU probably 850 Watts x1
Watercooling CPU x2
Case fans x?
Server case x1
Apart from the above mentioned questions: Any recommendations as to replace parts by cheaper, but performance wise similar products ? Anything I am missing that I will definitely need ?