I would like to build next month a system for ~1200 not inc. the softs or the 22" screen.
 
My kid with slightly lower budget also need a system , she's an Animation student working also with 3D and Adobe premium pack.
 
 
 
For myself I was thinking of this list:
 
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 (S775) - 2.4GHz 1066MHz 8MB Shared Cache 64bit Box - 3Y Warranty  
Or should I go for Q9300/9450 ???  
Arctic Cooling Freezer AM2 64 PRO  
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L Intel Socket 775 ATX Motherboard and 1394 connect.. [Or other for 45MM? Abit pro???]  
DDR2 3GB[or 4G or DDR3] Dual Channel kit 2X2048MB PC6400 OCZ\G. Skill etc... - Life Time Warranty  
320GB- SATA-II - 7200RPM - 16MB - Western Digital WD2500AAKS - 3Y Warranty  
160GB - SATA-II - 7200RPM - 8MB - Western Digital WD1600JS - for system and programs  
Samsung DVD-RW S203B Sata Black X20  
 Quadro FX1500 256MB 256BIT DDR III - Leadtek Professional 3D Card- 3 Year Warranty.  
do I realy need It or 8600GTor 2600 is OK ?  
Antec Sonata 2 /3 + 450W/550W smartpower PSU - Silent Case ?  
Logitec G5 and keyboard  
 
Thanks a lot for your comments and what will be the changes you think will be needed for the animation ???
 
 
 

The new 45nm quads have additional sse4 instructions that streamline code specifically for rendering/compressing so they might be the way to go for you if you can get them within budget at a similar speed.  Just a thought.

Surely, the 45nm quads are faster than the 65nm counterparts, but is the slight boost in speed in rendering worth the extra $100+? Not to me. Mind you, I'm an overclocker. Look at it this way: you can buy a Q9450 for about $400 or you can pick up TWO Q6600s for about the same price. $179 at frys.com. Yup, Intel will cut the price on 20th. Neither of you are speed zealots. You could probably care less if the rendering took a few minutes more.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/c [...] html#sect0

Arctic Cooling Freezer AM2 64 PRO is for AMD AM2/AM2+ cpus. Swap it out for Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 PRO.

The DS3L doesn't have firewire, but you can throw in a $10 pci card. Or consider the GA-P35-DS4.

Go with DDR2-800MHZ 2X2GB or 1X4GB. You will probably not see the same low price ever. DDR3 is going mainstream in the summer/fall.

I don't know how much the FX1500 costs, but I STRONGLY suggest you look at ebay. I saw the FX1400 sold for about $70 + shipping. Did I say brand new?

Sonata 3 with 550W would be the best bang silent case. You buy separate, you pay more for the same quality.

Thanks a lot.
Is the GA-P35-DS4 or the Abit pro can take adventage of the 45mm ?
[If Ill take the Q9300].
 
Please advise re. the right graphics card , In the lower side of the scale [for video]whould you choose the 8600GT the ATI 2600 OR the 9600 Nvidia ???

Tech-speak, even the old P965 can do 45nm as long as the BIOS supports the cpu. I have yet to see a P35 board that can't do 45nm without a bios update.
 
Ok, you have 2 builds & it's a bit confusing for us used to single build threads.
 
My suggestions is build 2 identical barebones and add the rest for the specific purpose. For the video editing, 8500 would suffice even for high def & light 3D. I would get one with passive cooling - no fan; just heatsink. For the 3D rendering, NVIDIA Quadro FX 1500 would be plenty. Look for it at ebay. Basically, any of the FX line would be fine for 3D.
 
http://www.nvidia.com/object/geforce_family.html
http://www.nvidia.com/page/quadrofx_family.html
 
Barebone pc:
Q6600
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 PRO
GA-P35-DS4
DDR2-800MHZ 2X2GB or 1X4GB
Western Digital WD2500AAKS
Western Digital WD1600JS
Samsung DVD-RW S203B Sata Black X20
Antec Sonata 3
Logitech G5