Hi
 
I am looking into building a new computer. It will be used for 3D modelling, animation and video editing. The budget is around £1000 GBP for the main machine, not including monitors and peripherals.
 
I am interested as a starting point in the Intel Quad Core Q9450 http://www.dabs.com/ProductView.aspx?quicklinx=4YCV . It seems to be the best value in terms of spec:££ ratio. I've been having problems, however, with figuring out which RAM and motherboard to get.  
 
Since the processor has 1333Mhz FSB, I would assume the RAM ought to be 1333MHz also, since there would otherwise be a bottleneck. As far as I can tell, this is only available in DDR3. But I can not find very many products which match this.  
 
I was hoping to get a system which would alow for later  addition of new RAM - so perhaps a motherboard which could take 8Gb over 2 slots, but only buying 4 Gb over 2 slots for now since the RAM seems quite expensive. But I can only find one or two product which would fit this spec in DDR3 PC3-10666, one of them being this: http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Com [...] ctId=30588
 
Also, does anyone know a good website for choosing a motherboard based on different features? They all list things in such different ways. I'm trying to find one which has the 1333MHz FSB capability, which can take the pc3-10666 ram in quantities of 8Gb or more, but it's really difficult to search for these features. I also don't know about the different chipsets available. I always find choosing a motherboard the most difficult part of building a computer.
 
Can anyone advise me with this? Am I missing anyhing important?  
 
What else should I look for in the motherboard?
 
I've got some other questions, but I think I'll leave it at that for now... too long a post Thanks for your help...
 
Liz

You see what overclockers in the Q9450: the sweet spot.
 
No, the FSB is quad-pumped, so:
 
1333 / 4 = 333.25 or just 333Mhz
 
Then:
 
333 x 8 = 2664 or 2.66ghz
 
http://processorfinder.intel.com/d [...] Spec=SLAWR
 
DDR2 is double-rated:
 
333 x 2 = 666 or 666mhz
 
To run the ram & cpu synchronously, you get the Yorkie + 666mhz ram. Ideally, you want some headroom if you're overclocking the cpu. Say 800mhz ram. So:
 
400 x 8 = 3.2ghz overclock on cpu
 
Unless you're an extreme overclocker, don't worry too much about memory & latency. Just pick out a deal on DDR2-800 2X1 GB or more.
 
P35 does up to 1333mhz FSB; X38 1600MHZ FSB; X48 is what X38 should have been. They're about the same.
 
Do you need USB/FIREWARE for video editing?
 
Do you store everything on a hard disk and forget about it or do you back up your data to DVD/tape regularly?
 
Are you going to overclock the pc? And how much?
 
Is noise a big issue?

Hi...  
Sorry, some of what you said went a little over my head... I'm not a hardware specialist.  
 
From what I understand, you are saying that due to it being a quad-core, the ram does not have to match the FSB speed, since it gets divided? So 800Mhz ram would be ok, is that correct? If so, that would be handy due to the cost...
 
And yes, firewire is important, as is usb but that's petty standard now. Gigabit ethernet would be handy. I store alot on hard disk, but also back it up regularly. I plan on having a couple of 500 or 750 Gb drives in raid-0 so it would be good to have raid on the motherboard. I don't plan on overclocking. I don't require a completely silent PC, but would rather not have a rocket either.
 
Thanks for your comments,
 
Liz

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quad_Data_Rate
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Data_Rate

I'm afraid you have to try & digest those if you ever want to overclock.

800mhz ram is a safe bet. You can go higher, but if you don't make use of the higher speed, you're wasting money. If you ask a store to build a pc around the Q9450, they will put 666mhz ram in it cuz you'll only need ram that fast for the cpu to run at stock. Since 800mhz ram is priced much lower now, it is not a bad investment.

Do you want PCI-E 2.0 which is the new standard? If so, X38 chipset is what you should be looking for. X48 is not worth it since it'll be more expensive than X38 for a little better overclockability. Otherwise, P35 chipset is what you need.

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Product [...] uctID=2543
http://www.giga-byte.com.tw/Produc [...] uctID=2736

Do you prefer blink or functionality when it comes to tower cases? Antec 900 & P180/182 or Sonata III with a good power supply.

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Pro [...] &OrderBy=1