I have to build a PC for 3D animation and CAD at work. I have 2 config, one with PCIe and DDR2 memory and the other with AGP8x and DDR memory. Which one would you use?
Config 1:
CPU: Intel P4 530 [3.00Ghz] *Retail* S775 -FSB800- 1Mb
Mainboard: Intel D915PBLL [S775]
Memory: Kingston 1024Mb DDR2 [533] KVR533D2N4/1G
Video card: ATI FireGL V7100 256Mb *RB* PCI Express
Hard Drive: Western Digital Raptor 74Gb S-ATA [10K]
Monitor: Viewsonic G220F 21in .21dp 2048x1536@75Hz [FLAT]
Config 2:
CPU: Intel P4 3.00EGhz [FSB800] *Retail* 1Mb
Mainboard: Asus P4C800-DX (5PCI) i875P [S478]
Memory: Kingston 2048Mb DDR [400] *Dual* KVR
Video card: Wildcat Realizm 100 256MB GDDR3 2xDVI
Hard drive: Western Digital Raptor 74Gb S-ATA [10K]
Monitor: Viewsonic G220F 21in .21dp 2048x1536@75Hz [FLAT]
While it's easy to say use config 1 because it uses the latest technology, being PCI Express and DDR2, which also gives you a good upgrade path, I feel you'll benefit more from Config 2. Right now, there's no performance benefit from PCI Express. DDR2 is actually a hinderance, as the latency is terrible. You'll also benefit with the 2gig of ram rather than the 1gig of DDR2.
I myself would go for an opteron system if I was doing 3d animation and cad work but...
Out of those 2 I would definatly go with Config 2. You will benifit from the extra ram. I think that wildcat will serve you well too.
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