I am configuring a new computer and have a few questions about my choices before I order. I'd appreciate any suggestions.
My primary need for speed is image processing, particularly raw conversion with Nikon Capture and other raw converters and editing with Photoshop CS2. I want the system to be both quiet and fast. I think that an E6700 running 3.6 MHz would meet my needs. I think that quad core would not offer noticeable advantage for my applications, but maximizing memory will. I will run Windows XP, probably for at least two years before considering Vista.
On average, I doubt I would actually use the full power of the machine as much as an hour a day. Even then, need for full power will be intermittent. E.g., I may want to apply a filter to one image, which would take a few seconds (no more than a minute). The rest of the time, I won't use the full capacity of the CPU.
The configuration I am looking at is this:
o Antec P180B case
o SeaSonic S12 Energy Plus SS-650HT PSU
o Asus P5W DH Deluxe or P5B Deluxe (no WiFi)
o E6700 or Xeon 3070
o Tuniq Tower 120 or Scythe Infinity or Thermalright Ultra-120 with Nexus 120mm fan (will use Arctic Silver 5 on HSF)
o 4 GB PC6400 (DDR2-800) RAM, Cas4
o 150 GB Raptor as boot drive, 320 GB Seagate 7200.10 as scratch and work drive, two Samsung 400 GB drives in RAID 0 for data
o Floppy drive, 18x DVD RW (both IDE)
o Gigabyte GV-NX76T256D-RH GeForce 7600GT 256MB fanless video card
My questions:
1) Is this configuration likely to be stable at 3.6 with air cooling? Am I expecting too much from any of the components?
2) With the 6700's 10x multiplier, I would need a clock speed of 360, so at 1:1 that would be a DDR2 speed of 720. Am I correct in concluding that means there would be no advantage in using memory faster than DDR2-800, and that DDR2-800 memory would be operating well within specs with this plan?
3) With any of these HSFs and using their default fan, will I get sufficient airflow over the RAM, VRMs, NB and SB, and other motherboard comnponents, or will I need additional ventilation?
4) Is the Xeon likely to run cooler or hotter than the E6700? Is either a clearly better candidate for this application?
5) For this use, would the P5B or P5W be best? They are close enough in price that cost is not a concern.
6) Given my goals of "quiet" and "fast," is there any obvious improvements to make to this configuration?
Thanks.
Guy
My primary need for speed is image processing, particularly raw conversion with Nikon Capture and other raw converters and editing with Photoshop CS2. I want the system to be both quiet and fast. I think that an E6700 running 3.6 MHz would meet my needs. I think that quad core would not offer noticeable advantage for my applications, but maximizing memory will. I will run Windows XP, probably for at least two years before considering Vista.
On average, I doubt I would actually use the full power of the machine as much as an hour a day. Even then, need for full power will be intermittent. E.g., I may want to apply a filter to one image, which would take a few seconds (no more than a minute). The rest of the time, I won't use the full capacity of the CPU.
The configuration I am looking at is this:
o Antec P180B case
o SeaSonic S12 Energy Plus SS-650HT PSU
o Asus P5W DH Deluxe or P5B Deluxe (no WiFi)
o E6700 or Xeon 3070
o Tuniq Tower 120 or Scythe Infinity or Thermalright Ultra-120 with Nexus 120mm fan (will use Arctic Silver 5 on HSF)
o 4 GB PC6400 (DDR2-800) RAM, Cas4
o 150 GB Raptor as boot drive, 320 GB Seagate 7200.10 as scratch and work drive, two Samsung 400 GB drives in RAID 0 for data
o Floppy drive, 18x DVD RW (both IDE)
o Gigabyte GV-NX76T256D-RH GeForce 7600GT 256MB fanless video card
My questions:
1) Is this configuration likely to be stable at 3.6 with air cooling? Am I expecting too much from any of the components?
2) With the 6700's 10x multiplier, I would need a clock speed of 360, so at 1:1 that would be a DDR2 speed of 720. Am I correct in concluding that means there would be no advantage in using memory faster than DDR2-800, and that DDR2-800 memory would be operating well within specs with this plan?
3) With any of these HSFs and using their default fan, will I get sufficient airflow over the RAM, VRMs, NB and SB, and other motherboard comnponents, or will I need additional ventilation?
4) Is the Xeon likely to run cooler or hotter than the E6700? Is either a clearly better candidate for this application?
5) For this use, would the P5B or P5W be best? They are close enough in price that cost is not a concern.
6) Given my goals of "quiet" and "fast," is there any obvious improvements to make to this configuration?
Thanks.
Guy
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