Any computer building gurus?

So I need to build a machine to process a bunch of concurrent VMs efficiently. Here's what I've been suggested so far:

Processor: $424.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117269
Motherboard: $329.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813182333
RAM: $546.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820239276
SSD x2: $237.98 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820239049
Power Supply: $69.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341017

I'll need the computer to host between 16-24 VM containers that'll run a variety of software concurrently. The drives just need to be fast, there are no large amounts of data being written just many concurrent processes.

Any advice? I'll also need help fleshing out the rest of it (good computer case recommendations, whatever else I'm missing like a DVD drive, etc) and any advice you guys have would be appreciated. If possible I'd also like to have the machine be as upgradeable as possible so if there are better alternatives than what I have let me know.

For CPUs, you 'll get an excellent idea by visiting this benchmark site: http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Xeon+E5-2620+@+2.00GHz&id=1214 (link points to your processor)

You should get RAID hardware.

The Xeon E5 - 1620 CPU looks better than 2620. Has more clock speed, and a higher score in benchmark tests.

You'll need a good Virtualization platform... the best one out there is VMware ESXi but the free version has a memory limit of 32GB.
You could go with Microsoft's Hyper-V, though. Its free and easy to use with smaller footprint than other platforms like Xen.

Citrix Xen is good too but it is not that stable.

All I know is that you should go for a AMD chip. The price to performance ratio can't be beat.

That setup looks great. XEON's kick ass. Are you planning to raid the drives? I have had great success with Samsung SSD's. The controller is excellent.

For your case - find something large with a lot of airflow - Especially with an AMD. They are great just run real hot.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112304 - I have this case.
Grab Any DVD drive for $20
Also get 2 SCYTHE 120mm fans - One intake one exhaust. Don't add too many fans, creating heat pockets will slow your system down.
If you are rendering video get a kick ass video card NVIDIA GTX6 series.
Otherwise you look great!

Thanks a bunch for the advice, I don't plan to raid the drives (at least not yet - we'll see once I get the machine built) as I figure I can safely manage it by just separated VMs on to separate drives without effort. I'm gonna pick up that case too as the reviews seem excellent and that it's roomy and cool (the case I have on my main computer runs ridiculously hot - between 80-95 under high usage).

The machine isn't for video editing or anything like that so the built in GPU should perform nicely. This machine is basically going to be a very fat steak that I'll chop up into as many small cubes as possible.

Your idea is flawed. Consider this, you're trying to take technology to its limits. Build one box to host a ridiculous amount of high capacity VMs. What happens when the box dies? All your VMs are down.

You would be money ahead and have a better system to build two boxes (at least) that aren't dependent on each other. If one box goes down half your VMs are still running.

Why aren't you using dedis for your project? Datacenters are dirt cheap these days and reliable. Say you get this project done with one or two expensive boxes and the power goes out or the Internet goes down, you're SOL and your whole system is down. If you have dedis in a datacenter you minimize risk.

Just something to consider. I wouldn't build one box but, at least, build two (use $100 boards, $200 processors) and have a bit of redundancy. Use a KVM switch if you want to save on monitors.

You're way overspending on boards and processors. The performance gain / price is incredibly low and you'll see those chips half that price a year from now. Step down on chips/boards and double up on boxes and you'll have a better network.

JMHO

Any recommendations on smaller boxes? The hardest part for me isn't the financing, it's figuring out the correct setup. I didn't realize the processor/motherboard were all that high end.