Hi, love the site. This is my first post. I have built all of my computers but have not built anything since 03. My current computer is a p4 2.8, 512 dual rambus, ati 9700 etc.. anyway, I am looking to build a compter that will aid me in video rendering times and be able to handle editing some hd video. I plan to purchase a blue ray burner at some point in the next 8 mos. or so. So my big question is Which board and cpu. I currently have a 2.13 hp xw 4400 workstation that I use with Avid Express Pro, adobe after effects, boris red and adobe photoshop. I have read core 2 duo is better for rendering. Can anyone let me know if that is true. And reccomend one? I am going to use this computer as a "render Farm" and hope to increase time wasted rendering. I am planning on installing 2 or 4 500 gb sata drives. 2 gb memory, dvd drive, undecided on a graphics card is the nvidia 8800 overkill. I am not a gamer. ALthough I may grab maddens or nhl 2008..nothing big. any help would be appreciated, I hope this wasnt too scattered.
Your best bet would be a quad core. In areas such as rendering and video editing quads dominate over dual cores. Especially if the program that is used is multitreaded. Intel's Q6600 can be found for as low as 280 dollars.
Indeed, by a reasonably powerful but inexpensive graphics card like an X1950 Pro, and go with a Quad core CPU.
thanks guys. So a graphics card like the nvidia 8600 is not needed, and the 8800 for sure. I would also like to have something that gives me options down the line. Can you guys recommend a board to go with the quad core and a power supply. and finally, There is a cooler master case that is a full tower that I love, I will find it and post the link, easy access to all the 3.25 drives and that is what I will be putting in and taking out. Are hot swappable drive bays universal? Can I install them in any case? any info is super appreciated.
so to start. This cpu. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...ryType=0&Pagesize=10&SelectedRating=-1&Page=2 howbout this case, I am looking for something that can efficiently handle 4 sata drives. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021 Can you guys recommend a board, memory and a power supply. I am thinking this power supply should do it. I have always had good luck with antec. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371001
Depends what you mean by 'efficiently'. If the 900 is still the same as when I bought it, you'll swear your head off trying to get the drives into the front bays. Hot-swappable the drives certainlt aren't. Whilst you can pull those bays out, the fans need molex connectors, and since theyre attached to the drive bays, the bays aren't hot swappable either, since hot swapping molexes is a very bad idea. (and no, those drive bays will only ever fit the 900 or the upcoming 1200 case) The 900 is a good case for cooling, and with a bit of tweaking can run very quiet indeed, but if you're after hotswappable drives, look elsewhere, something like a Coolermaster Stacker perhaps? As for the board, the Gigabyte P35-DS3L seems quite a good one of late. On the power supply, although Antec units like the truepower trio are quite good, this one will work. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139001&Tpk=corsair+520W It's better and it's cheaper. Don't be put off by the lower wattage, Most people very rarely use over 520W for their PC. I certainly don't, and look at my signature.
This case is far superior to the antec 900. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112116 You will not be disappointed.
The cooling in that case looks far less powerful than the 900, so high speed fans will be needed. I'm not fooled by marketing spiel about where the fans are placed and all this, it's a standard layout but with only a pair of 80mm fans at the top and rear, rather than the 120 and 200 that the 900 has. I'm sure it's well built, but from a cooling standpoint, it's not exactly my number 1 pick.
I was just hoping the tower could handle 4 internal sata drives. My HPxw4400 I use to edit with is out of commission right now because the power supply just died, it was new in june. I just installed two 500 gb internal sata drives to go with the existing drives. I am not sure it is related. So As long as I can get them in there and keep them cool that is all that matters I guess. So anymore reccomendations on boards, I am trying to get a price together, and memory too. I do like that cpu that was reccommended and the antec 900. I do like nvidia cards also.
no, it's probably directly related. Installing my two 250GB Caviars is what killed my cheap Qtec power supply two years ago.
I figured that, but they insisted it wasnt and they are sending me a new power supply. I am worried about the same thing happening in the next few days. That is a 460 watt delta power supply that hp puts in their towers.....they told me they would not be responsible if I put in a bigger supply, so now I am leery of that. It really stinks because I need the interior space because of some stuff I am working on.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145176 is that the right memory. About that motherboard, it does not have a firewire in and no raid card. I could put those in, but is there one comparable that has that. Also with just one eide does that mean it will need sata optical drives? that is cool if it does, have never installed them but I assume it is the same as a hard drive.
Not if you use S-ATA hard drives. It just means you can't use IDE for both. That memory is indeed the stuff I was recommending. As for firewire, it seems absent on a lot of boards, but for RAID, definitely buy a separate PCI card. Hardware RAID is way superior to integrated software RAID.
Hi, just built a new system recently, so hope this helps you: Antec sonataIII Earthwatts 500 Gigabyte GA- P35 DS3P Intel Q6600 GEIL 800Mhz 4-4-4-12 2gigs Scythe Mugen ( the new infinity)961grams and 161mm tall, 120mm fan, side mounted. Sapphire HD 2400 ( I would imagine your looking for something other than this card). 2 seagate barracudas 500gigs SATAII running in RAID 0. My old pc's are still in the Athlon XP era where stretching 2.6 / 2.8 gigs from the proc was pretty dam good in its day, but alas, as I started some home studio projects then the old pc's were showing their age. So am gonna say that moving to my new system was certainly different, to say the least. In a word WWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWW. Like yourself, ah done a lot of research, and after counting the money for the build, ah decided to buy the above components. Gygabyte seem to be new players in the overclocking freindly market, but dont go for anything below the DS3P as there is not so much scope for voltage control( and will certainly hinder a stable overclock)Above the DS3P I have read that the extra money is for more SATA channels, more accessories and more cooling on the chip-set, that apparently doesn't work that good. The proc is bloody amazing, but a word of caution is if your software can use all cores and look in forums from your software to see if it really does use all cores. Cause if theres bugs and there promising to have it sorted in the next 6 months or so then the price of the Quad will have dropped again. Remember this model was for sale at over a thousand dollars at the start of this year. I wonder why!!! Anyway I have it running @3Ghz at the mo and all is very stable, maybe ahl nudge it up a little if I need more power, but ah dont think even Scotty would need more power to beam anyone up with this proc. The scythe mugen cooler was a bit fiddly to fit but keeps the temps down to 28 @ idle, mid to late 40's during stress test. The case came with 1 120mm fan and I bought another 120. So front of case has a blower in-line with the side-mounted cpu fan and a 120mm exhaust at the rear. The memory was also a bit fiddly to hit the low timings, M/board set the voltage @1.8 turns out the ram needed at least 2.1 to run low timings. So having a M/board that can provide more scope for voltage adjustment is a must, even if your not planning on overclocking. Ahl skip the GPU. The case is quiet'ish. But for home studio's theres not many case's that can't be heard with a condensor microphone, so all mic'd tracks are done in another room. For all the hardware I have 500watts is just enough, but for you with 4 HD's and a meaty GPU then I would say you need more meat and veg in your PSU than me
Thanks guys so If I have this correct I will go this setup so far... cpu http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...ryType=0&Pagesize=10&SelectedRating=-1&Page=2 this case. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021 this power supply http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139001&Tpk=corsair+520W this motherboard http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128059&Tpk=Gigabyte+P35-DS3L this memory http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145176 I am undecided on the graphics card. so any more reccomendations? I am going to install xp or xp pro....and use 4 sata drives and most likely sata opticals. Please let me know how this looks so far.
Wow, Antec must be raking it in off those 900 cases. I've seen a good dozen guys from this forum go with them, at least! As for the graphics card, I like these http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102075 Very high performance for the money
