Build High Performace Rig

[killjoy69]

Hey everyone!
So basically I am going to build a new computer and I need advices and opinions.
I want a boosted computer for gaming and run multiple applications.
But...my main goal is a computer for multimedia, mainly 3d animation (XSI..)I will start 3D Animation and all that stuff, so I want a computer that will run smoothly.


Budget Range: 2000-3500


APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: 1-2 months

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Animation/Rendering,Multimedia/Editing,Gaming,Surfing...

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Keyboard,mouse,monitor,speakers

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: ...

PARTS PREFERENCES: Asus,nVidia,Intel

OVERCLOCKING: Maybe
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Maybe SLI

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1280x1024

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I'm pretty good with computers,but its the first time I'm gonna build one and need advices on better choices and on hardware compatibility. I need someone to guide me for the better choice so my computer will run properly without problems



Basically this is what I have in mind

Draft

Motherboard: Definitely an Asus,not sure which one
P6T6 WS Revolution,P6T WS Professional....
CPU: I7 950 / Xeon 3500 series ?
Video Card:nVidia GTX 295 / nVidia Quadro FX 3800 (most probably a quadro)
RAM:8-12 Gb
PSU: Antec/Corsaire

Tell me what you think and give me advices!
I want quality products and willing to spend some extra money to get the best choice...
I also want to be able to update the computer

Thanks!

 

[Outlander_04]

I think you should buy a bigger high resolution monitor

 

[hunter315]

Definitely, a higher res monitor. Are your animation and rendering capable of offloading some of the work to the GPU? If not then dont bother with the work station card and just get a GTX275, if they can then get the work station card.

Get the i7 920, the 950 isnt worth the price premium, just get a good cooler and OC it a bit. For animation, if you use 64 bit programs, get 12GB of ram you will notice a difference, if not 6 will suffice.

If you choose not to upgrade your monitor 90% of that graphics horsepower will go to waste, a GTX260 can max most things at that resolution.

 

[Yoosty]

Would go for either of these 1366 CPU's, price will be lower and you can OC easily without raising the CPU Voltage to be on par with the 950.
Intel Xeon W3520 Bloomfield 2.66GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 $312.99 Free Shipping*
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117213

Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 $279.99 Free Shipping*
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202

Since it will be a month or 2, before your build, you should spec out what parts you would like, i.e. Case, HDD's or SSD's, DVD Burner or Blu-Ray. Also how much ram you want, since the Core i7 uses Triple Channel Ram (3 stick kits), your choices are 6gb kit (3x2gb) x 2 for 12gb.

On your Case choice, make sure it has great Airflow since the Core i7 runs a bit hotter then the 775 socket CPU. Here are some you should take a look at.
Antec Twelve Hundred Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case $159.99
(great Airflow)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129043

COOLER MASTER HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP $139.99
(another great Airflow)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160

Corsair Obsidian Series 800D CC800DW $279.99 Free Shipping* (Release Date:09/10/2009 )
(has alot of unique featues, plus grear Airflow, I will be getting this for my Core i7 Build of Feb 2009)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139001

http://www.corsair.com/products/800d/default.aspx

Another important part is your CPU HSF Cooler, check these out.
XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler - Retail $44.98 Free Shipping*
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029

Scythe MUGEN-2 $36.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185093

Review of the Scythe MUGEN-2
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coolers/display/core-i7-coolers-roundup_18.html

CoGage True Spirit Heatpipe CPU Cooler with 120mm PWM Silent Fan for Intel LGA1366 $37.95
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=450&products_id=26022

One of the latest Reviews on 1366 CPU HSF Coolers'.
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2009/07/23/intel_core_i7_heatsink_roundup_q309/5

If you decide on the CoGage True SPirit, I would advise you to get this CPU Cooler Mounting Bracket.
Thermalright LGA1366 Bolt-Thru-Kit Retail BOX Bolt-thru Board Mounting kit $9.95
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=173&products_id=24667

If you want one of the Best CPU HSF Cooler for the Core i7 then I would suggest this one, but it is more expensive.
Thermalright Ultra120 eXtreme-1366 RT Premium Heatpipe Cooler for Intel LGA1366 $74.95
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=450&products_id=24727

Also would suggest this Thermal Compound, has little or no curing time and easy to apply.
Noctua NT-H1 Thermal Compound - Retail $9.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608008

Here are a few Monitors that I suggest you check out.
SAMSUNG 2343BWX High Glossy Black 23" 5ms 16:9 Widescreen $209.99 ($189.99 after $20.00 Mail-In Rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001317

ASUS VW266H Black 25.5" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen $279.99 ($249.99 after $30.00 Mail-In Rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236047

SAMSUNG F2380 Black 23" 8ms(GTG) Widescreen CPVA panel LCD Monitor $329.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001332

Right now I would stay with this HHD over an SSD, mainly because of the price. But that is up to you if you decide you want to go SSD's, but would still get this HDD as a Storage or Back-up drive.
Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache $94.99 Free Shipping*
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284

I would go for 2 sets of 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) either Cas7 or Cas8. Right now prices have spiked , so I would check back weekly until you are ready to order your parts. Since they will drop on the polular Brands (OCZ and Corsair).

Will leave the rest of others to help you out and to your good judgment. Please keep us updated on your Build.

Forgot to post on your Mobo choices.
ASUS P6T6 WS Revolution LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard $349.99
(has no, floppy, IDE, 1366 Firewire or PCI slot on mobo if that is a concen for you.)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131358

ASUS P6T6 WS Revolution Review you should check out.
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2008/12/29/asus_p6t6_ws_revolution/

Video Reviews'
http://www.viddler.com/explore/HardOCP/videos/28/
http://www.viddler.com/explore/HardOCP/videos/30/
http://www.viddler.com/explore/HardOCP/videos/31/

ASUS P6T WS PRO LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Core i7 / Xeon Intel Motherboard - Retail $289.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131357

There is only the Basic preview of the ASUS P6T WS Proffesional, so here is the skinny on it. It comes with2 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (at x16 / x16 mode), 1 x PCIe x1, 1 x PCI 2.2 and 2 x PCI-X . It has LSI Agere FW3227 controller supports 2 x 1394a ports and no Legacy support for Floppy and IDE drives. Most of what I posted here you can get from Asus site at link below.
http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=W8KQxy9yuW1KK0Vp

 

[Griffolion]

Wouldn't advise the thermalright HSF, Dark Knight gives the best price-performance ratio, its also easy to mount.

Sack the Noctua paste as well and go for reliable Arctic Silver 5.

My advice is to get an estimate on how much power draw your prospective rig will take and then get a PSU capable of double that draw. PSU's work most efficiently on 50% load and will give you a massively better life-span and reliability to your PSU.

Since you seem to be doing a lot of rendering and other design based work, i'd get a few 1tb HD's and put them in RAID 1 for backup purposes. If you're really looking to burn cash, get a small SSD and put your OS on that for boot up speed.

I advise Corsair over OCZ but thats just me.

The only difference between mainstream GT-200 cards and the Quadro cards is the Quadro GPU chips are designed to run for longer on full load while the GT-200 GPU chips are only designed to run on full load in short bursts (3 hours), this is because manufacturers think us gamers stay on for max 3 hours a night ¬_¬.

But anyway, you'll see barely any difference in Quadro or GT-200 performance apart from Quadro may have one or two more specialised features.

Stick with the Antec 902, very solid, reliable case.

 

[killjoy69]

Wow Thanks guys, appreciate it, You're very helpful!

To start with..
Yeah i didnt pay attention to the screen res,definitely going to get a 24'' with high res.

As of CPU, I was thinking but now I'm convinced that an I7 920 will be the best deal (will leave the xeon for another time)

CPU:I7 920 (will deal with the OC once I have the computer)

Next thing,for the case I was looking between Antec and CoolerMaster, I've decide to go with CoolerMaster HAF 932, It's from the best ones and is as good as Antec, I just prefer it for the looks.

Case: CoolerMaster HAF 932


For the video card, I'm kinda lost. Very tempted with a Quadro, sine it can deliver better performance in rendering\animation and all that stuff (still didn't found anything saying "exactly" that the Quadro takes the rendering work on itself or in part... )But finally I decided that I don't really need a workstation card for now . (although it would be awesome!)
Basically now I'll try to stick with a GTX.
GTX285 or GTX275 SLI > any suggestions on whats better and can bring best performance

For the mobo I'm still thinking and looking around.
I'm not sure what will be best. I want something fully equipped.12 Gb ram and maybe +. SLI\CrossFire. Raid, Firewire optional...
I also want a mobo good for OC.
Another issue is the DDR3. What are your opinions on 12gb. Since I7 920 runs at 1333, to boost till 12gb Ram, I have to get DDR3 1600mhz and OC the CPU. I'm looking on the net and forums for info, since I never done that, so I would like to hear your opinions and suggestions, also any article with good info are more than welcome.

I'm trying to choose an Asus: P6T,P6t Deluxe,P6T WS Pro, P6T WS Revolution...kinda lost. I would also like it to be 24Gb (1800,2000..)Ram so it can last longer and I can update it!?

I7 and 12Gb Ram,Article:
http://www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,674770/Core-i7-with-12-GiByte-DDR3-RAM-tested-benefits-for-GTA-4/Reviews/

Will check later the CPU coolers,thanks for the links
The RAID option for backup was good, didn't think about that

 

[hunter315]

Get a GTX275, the GTX285 isnt worth it when it is just a slightly overclocked GTX275 and costs far more than it should for the slight performance gain.

Are your animation programs 64 bit? If not you wont get them to use more than 2GB of ram each. As long as you dont get the P6T SE you get SLI and Crossfire support along with RAID and firewire, those two come standard on every motherboard these days.

 

[Yoosty]

Sack the Noctua paste as well and go for reliable Arctic Silver 5.

The Arctic Silver 5 Application Instructions (up to 200-hours recommended curing time) before temps stabalize.

Check out Review on 80-way Thermal Interface Material Performance Test
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=150&Itemid=62&limit=1&limitstart=12

 

[killjoy69]

Hunter,
I plan on running 64bit Windows, and yes some of them can run on 64 bit..

For the video card you suggest 275GTX, do you think it's better if I put it into a sli with another 275 to get a boost, I would really love some powerful graphics!



Griffolion> Thx for the link!

 

[hunter315]

If they are 64 bit then you will get a benefit from using more than 6GB of RAM.

For most people a single GTX275 is fine, it will play most things on high with no AA or AF which is all most people use, just get 1 for now, its easy to upgrade in the future if you decide you do want more graphics power.

 

[killjoy69]

Yeah that's a good idea, I think that for now I'll stick with one GTX 275. I checked some on here http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=gtx+275&x=0&y=0
There are many of them, and a lot are OC, I guess if i take one that's OC a bit it would be even better,but If i do so, when I want to put them in SLI do they have to be exactly the same? As in two of them overclocked at the same level...?



And yeah, any opinions on mobo's people?

 

[hunter315]

The rule with SLI and crossfire is that the cards get slowed down to the lowest common denominator, if you get an EVGA FTW edition GTX275 and a Superclocked GTX275 and put them in sli they will both only run as fast as the superclocked one. But a single stock GTX275 should be sufficient, sometimes they choose the better chips in the overclocked ones, sometimes you can get a better OC out of the stock ones.

Of the ones listed there i would go for the first XFX one or the first EVGA one, the XFX one because of the warranty and the slight overclock, the EVGA because of the nice MIR,

 

[killjoy69]

Alright, I see
Thanks for the tip man

 

[obsidian86]

The rule with SLI and crossfire is that the cards get slowed down to the lowest common denominator, if you get an EVGA FTW edition GTX275 and a Superclocked GTX275 and put them in sli they will both only run as fast as the superclocked one. But a single stock GTX275 should be sufficient, sometimes they choose the better chips in the overclocked ones, sometimes you can get a better OC out of the stock ones.

Of the ones listed there i would go for the first XFX one or the first EVGA one, the XFX one because of the warranty and the slight overclock, the EVGA because of the nice MIR,

that doesn apply to crossfire

 

[hunter315]

care to actually include some details as to what part i got wrong rather than just posting a useless answer?

 

[obsidian86]

crossfire isn't limited by the slower clocked card but rather work as a combined average

 

[proanimate]

Everyone has gotten off his original question - 3DS Max and Maya don't support SLI or CrossFire, so clockspeeds don't really matter. He didn't ask about gaming, he asked about animation.

To the original poster. Get the Quadro. Many tests have shown, that even softmodded GTX cards offer only 50% of the performance of a Quadro in professional apps.

If you're truly serious, ask yourself this: Does anyone at Pixar/Dreamworks/ILM etc. use a soft-modded gaming card? The answer is unequivocally "No".

You want to be a pro? Use pro hardware.

 

[flatom]

Everyone has gotten off his original question - 3DS Max and Maya don't support SLI or CrossFire, so clockspeeds don't really matter. He didn't ask about gaming, he asked about animation.

To the original poster. Get the Quadro. Many tests have shown, that even softmodded GTX cards offer only 50% of the performance of a Quadro in professional apps.

If you're truly serious, ask yourself this: Does anyone at Pixar/Dreamworks/ILM etc. use a soft-modded gaming card? The answer is unequivocally "No".

You want to be a pro? Use pro hardware.

He got it right.