Which would run Maya better, help with custom computer

[RiKToR]

Yes Dual Core is worth it. AMD are just as good for Maya, only 3ds max has some Intel optimization and AMD still does better in my case. Quadros are really the same card as their Geforce equivalent, whats prizes is the quadro drivers. OpenGL performance doubles (nearly) then there Geforce counter part, but in contrast games FPS goes down about 10 -15%. However if you are buying an old generation Quadro card because of the quadro name it may be better to buy a newer gen geforce, they are quite expensive. If you cant buy more than a Quadro FX 3000 on the desktop end you are better off with a 6xxx or 7xxx series GPU on the Geforce. My opinion of course. It's obvious you are looking a 7xxx series GF, go for that one.

OpenGL 2.0 I am not sure windows supports OpenGL 2, I think the only use you may get out of that is on linux.

[thomaspecht]

as for affordable quadros, you can get those from sellers on ebay. a while back i payed like 360 euros for an FX4000. new card, mind you. came straight out of hong kong and apparently was part of some over-production (not sure about the correct english term ;) ) for IBM.

downside is - only DOA guarantee. however in my experience quadros come with quality parts, including the fans, so it might be worth taking the risk i you want one. it makes sense for using max and apparently avoids some artisan-related display glitches in maya, not sure if it's worth in your case.

as for cpu's: shouldn't matter. overall go with quality parts, especially for motherboard, power supply and (!!) RAM. that should take care of most common PC problems.

[MadMax]

Okay, I'm shopping for parts for a new PC, and I have these questions...

For a processor, I hear AMD is preferable for games, but would it be better than Intel for 3D apps like Maya?

Are dual-core processors worth it? I could get an AMD X2 3800 for a little more than just a single AMD 3800.


Amazing I still see this misconception after all this time.

AMD is great for games, AMD is also great for people in content creation. AMD fairly spanks Intel at almost all 3D applications. Especially Maya.

And yeah, dual core is great.

[Buddy3D]

When scrubbing through the timeline, what helps with real-time playback more, the processor or the video card?

Which of these setups should I get...

Athlon-64 X2 4400 and GeForce 7900 GT 256

Athlon-64 X2 3800 and GeForce 7900 GTX 512

Thanks

[newman]

When scrubbing through the timeline, what helps with real-time playback more, the processor or the video card?

Which of these setups should I get...

Athlon-64 X2 4400 and GeForce 7900 GT 256

Athlon-64 X2 3800 and GeForce 7900 GTX 512

Thanks

If you're more into games then the 3800 with the GTX. If you'll be using it mainly for work then the 4400 with the GT (which is still a great card and will work with new games at pretty high settings..) If you don't have a dedicated card designed for video editing then the CPU will carry most of the workload.

[Buddy3D]

Also, is a socket AM2 system worth it? It'll cost me about 80 bucks more.

[MadMax]

Also, is a socket AM2 system worth it? It'll cost me about 80 bucks more.

yes, it is most definitely worth it.

[validusername]

Also, is a socket AM2 system worth it? It'll cost me about 80 bucks more.
No, 939 performs about equally and is cheaper.

Most people don´t upgrade that often and its very likely that both platforms will be obsolete when you upgrade next.

I heard the same thing when people were considering to buy 3400+ socket 754 or 3500+ socket 939. The 939 was considered to be the future and the 754 obsolete, but now you are being told that both are obsolete and the 939 investment would not have paid off. Yea, and Nforce4 chipset wasn´t available then...

The fact is that there is always someting new around the corner and since AMD2 isn´t offering any performance benefits, it´s not worth it. In fact, its never worth it to spend more now, just to "save" you money in the future.

So a good rule of thumb is to buy what gives you the best performance for the money now and save the difference for you future upgrade. Next year we will probably have 4 core processors and maybe ddr3 ram since it is available in the graphics cards today.

[MadMax]

No, 939 performs about equally and is cheaper.



Just for example, there is a 5.00 difference between the X2 4400+ for socket 939 and AM2.

The difference between the 3800+ X2's is only 4.00

The difference between quality PC3200 2gb memory and 2gb of 667 DDR2 memory for AM2 is 10.00 at Newegg.

With socket 939 being an end of life product, it's almost pointless to buy one. Any smart money is going to go AM2.

Motherboards are all over the place in cost, anywhere from 75.00 to around 225.00 for either AM2 or 939. AM2 can use up to 8gn opf ram, 939 boards can only reliably handle 2gb.

Revision G cores will be out long before K8L, and those are 65nm and AMD will be ramping up higher clock speeds with those. They have already stated as such.

THERE WILL BE NO NEW socket 939 PARTS however, so if you buy a 939 now, you will not be able to buy a new CPU in a few months and upgrade, no new core, no higher clock speeds. Instead of swapping out a CPU, your next upgrade will be new ram, new CPU, new everything...ALL over again. AS Vaslidusername said, you probably are not going to be upgrading your full system again for awhile, then wouldn't you want to buy one NOW that can accept future CPU's and still be up to date over having to buy a whole new system again?

[motoxpress]

When scrubbing through the timeline, what helps with real-time playback more, the processor or the video card?

When you say "timeline" are you reffering to a video editor or Maya's timeline? In a video editor, the video card will not affect the scrubbing too much (On the Mac it does some as all of the UI elements are OpenGL accelerated). Clearly in Maya it will be more affected but I think you will find that both the CPU and the GPU will be important factors.

In your case, I would go for more CPU over GPU as the 7900GT is plenty of horsepower for most any game and setting and the CPU will contribute to shorter rendering times - that measn more time to game right? <grin>

-gl

[validusername]

Just for example, there is a 5.00 difference between the X2 4400+ for socket 939 and AM2.

The difference between the 3800+ X2's is only 4.00

The difference between quality PC3200 2gb memory and 2gb of 667 DDR2 memory for AM2 is 10.00 at Newegg.

With socket 939 being an end of life product, it's almost pointless to buy one. Any smart money is going to go AM2.

Motherboards are all over the place in cost, anywhere from 75.00 to around 225.00 for either AM2 or 939. AM2 can use up to 8gn opf ram, 939 boards can only reliably handle 2gb.

Revision G cores will be out long before K8L, and those are 65nm and AMD will be ramping up higher clock speeds with those. They have already stated as such.

THERE WILL BE NO NEW socket 939 PARTS however, so if you buy a 939 now, you will not be able to buy a new CPU in a few months and upgrade, no new core, no higher clock speeds. Instead of swapping out a CPU, your next upgrade will be new ram, new CPU, new everything...ALL over again. AS Vaslidusername said, you probably are not going to be upgrading your full system again for awhile, then wouldn't you want to buy one NOW that can accept future CPU's and still be up to date over having to buy a whole new system again?

Yes you are right, the price difference seems only to be in the lower end of the line, e.g. mainly on dual 3800, at least in Germany. And the mobos are also cheaper, but if the difference is small or none, the AMD2 is of course better.

I would like to ask if you could fill all the ram slots on AMD2 without getting a performance hit? I have never understood why the manufacturers have had slots that could not be used unless getting a big performance hit.

[MadMax]

I would like to ask if you could fill all the ram slots on AMD2 without getting a performance hit? I have never understood why the manufacturers have had slots that could not be used unless getting a big performance hit.


There wasn't a performance hit on 939 with 4 sockets filled. There were some chipset/bios issues that made it difficult for some people to be able to fill all 4 slots with ram. At least with Asus, there were mixed issues with putting 4gb on the A8N-SLI premium. Some people could, some people could not.

The AM2 has a revamped memory controller, and using 8 gb is supposedly not an issue. Unfortunately I do not have 8gb to try it out yet.

[Buddy3D]

AS Vaslidusername said, you probably are not going to be upgrading your full system again for awhile, then wouldn't you want to buy one NOW that can accept future CPU's and still be up to date over having to buy a whole new system again?

Good point, I'll go with a socket AM2.

Thanks everyone for your help, but I have another problem...

I was thinking about getting my system from either ABS.com or iBuyPower.com. I know, I've heard numerous people say that building it yourself is the way to go. To be honest, I'm a little hesitant to do it myself, as it would be my FIRST build. Should I just save myself the hassle and get it from one of those two websites, or should I suck it up and do it myself? Is it really that hard? Also, the MAIN reason I'm even considering doing it myself is because BOTH of the websites don't have the brandnames of the video cards and memory, and I'd like to know exactly what's in my case. Plus, I'd be settling on the case and motherboard, and if I'm gonna spend this much money, I don't wanna settle.

Thanks guys

[MadMax]

How about Monarchcomputer.com?

they will assemble and TEST the components for you in advance.

[Valkyrien]

You won't be able to get an AM2 processor from them until at least the end of June, unfortunately. But they do have far and away the best price, so the wait is worth it, at least it is to me! Rather frustrating having everything set to go expect the processor though ;)

[Buddy3D]

But they do have far and away the best price

Monarch? I configured basically the same system at MonarchComputers and iBuyPower, and the Monarch system was like $150 more.

Simple question... IF I can get the parts I want for cheaper than a system at any website, should I just build it myself? Is it that hard?

again thanks

[tecton3d]

Simple question... IF I can get the parts I want for cheaper than a system at any website, should I just build it myself?

depends... You have to ask yourself several questions (for me it primarily comes down to support issues): do you want (or need) the support offered by vendors? If not, then you can definitely forgoe spending the overhead in cost for that support.

If, when something breaks, do you want someone else to worry about it (or at least fix it)... buy from a trusted vendor known for taking care of thier people. If you don't mind spending a little more time looking for a remedy when something turns up ... build it.

Is it that hard?

no ~ there is tons of info out there... It's not much more than a recipe of components that relate to the different families of processors provided by AMD and Intel.

hope this helps : )

[Valkyrien]

Monarch? I configured basically the same system at MonarchComputers and iBuyPower, and the Monarch system was like $150 more.

Simple question... IF I can get the parts I want for cheaper than a system at any website, should I just build it myself? Is it that hard?

again thanks

I was talking about the processor--I got everything else from Newegg :)

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