Finally buying my system. Last minute check please?

[zsutton]

What are you planning on using this new pc for??2d, 3d? What apps will you primarily be using?

[Stream13]

I'll be using it for heavy modeling in Maya (I specialize in environments for film & TV), Photoshop/Illustrator/InDesign, After Effects, Premier, AutoCAD, Corel painter, etc.

I'll mostly be using it for 3D, but some 2D as well.

[zsutton]

suggestions:If you are gonna lay down that kind of cash mabye look into an SLI video card setup...

Plus dont buy xp media...find a friend mabye that goes to college? they sell xp pro in college bookstores for less than 20 bucks!!

I prefer corsair xms memory too but kingston is cool...pretty much a personal preference..

60$ where do you live i'll do it for $40 lol

[Stream13]

I would prefer the corsair as well, but the kit that I want: Corsair 2GB XMS2-5400 TWIN2X Dual Channel DDR2 Kit (2 x 1GB), isn't available through the place I'm buying (though I could ask if they could order it in). (EDIT: Actually it is available but it's $35 more)

Based on reviews the corsair was slightly beter than the kingston for overclocking but the kingston was still pretty good. Not sure if it'll make too much of a difference either way since I probably wont overclock that much.

Hah they actually have $40 option...I was just being lazy as the $60 version includes operating system install. I could actually do it myself and save $20 bucks :) <G> Though, since I'm in Canada your $40 is really $60 :) j/k (it's only $47CAD)

[zsutton]

def look into getting xp pro for a cheaper price. i dont't know about canada but pretty much every college bookstore in US sells it to students for like $20..you DON'T have to be a student to use it. So thats pretty cool.........................................................

doing heavy modeling in maya too..have you looked into SLI?

[Stream13]

I asked about SLI in the original post I did about a computer system http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=434661

and here's a quote from Lots answering my question:

"The Video card you should try and get a Geforce 7900GTO, as its cheaper and faster than the 7950GT (the GTO is an underclocked 7900GTX).

You will not need to put your video card with another (for SLI) as this has no benifit to most 3D apps. It really only becomes useful in video games. And then only in some games, not all."

I'll look into the University bookstores etc and see if I can find a cheaper version of windows.

[zsutton]

cool..Good luck with your new system and enjoy it....i'm still waiting for money to fall out of the sky so i can buy a new pc..im currently without one..i have to make do by using my pc at work and friends pc

[Stream13]

Mine fell out of the sky in the form of a Christmas/Birthday gift from my boyfriend. Pretty awesome gift if you ask me :)

Thanks for the input & recommendations. Goodluck with your modeling!

[zsutton]

hmm cool do you have a link to any current works?

[Stream13]

Unfortunatly nothing current, I haven't had a comp for awhile so I'm just getting back into the swing of things. I worked on a Children's Christmas special that's aired every year since it was finished in 2002 (lol the animation is horrible and the characters aren't the best, but some of the environments that a few of my friends and I worked on aren't too shabby). You can find me/it on IMDB under Elfkins First Christmas. There arn't any pictures up though. Other than that I've done some work locally but nothing I'd want to post really. I'm doing a new portfolio and hoping to make it to Siggraph this year.

What about you? Anywhere to check out your stuff?

[zsutton]

Same here i haven't had a pc in a while but I used to be heavy into 3D..And im just starting to get back in cg but I figured i should start at the 'beginning' again

Right now i wanna focus on design and 2d art to build the essential skills first

lol so at the current moment i kinda 'suck'.....

http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?f=130&t=452355

http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?f=130&t=451931&page=2

http://forums.cgsociety.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=56300

[Pixaloop]

Your thoughts on a new system are very similar to what I would have bought....or shall I say will be buying in the Spring or Summer....with a few minor exceptions.


1. Operating System: Win Xp Pro
2. Video Card: GeForce 6800GS
3. Intel Core™2 Duo Processor E6350 w/ 4MB Cache (Allendale will be eliminated before the end of Q1 2007. 2 new types of processors will be released: E6350 and E6450 wich are essentially the same as EXX00 but with 4MB cache)


Congrats! :thumbsup:

[Stream13]

Looks pretty good pixeloop! Thanks for posting what you're going to buy...gives me soem ideas about doing a bit more research etc.

zsutton: Good threads, I like the idea behind your characters & I've always loved penguins!

[gorosh]

Stream13, that configuration is cool, although I'd change few things.

Change that Kingston ram to either Super Talent CL4 800MHz or Super Talent CL4 800MHz. If you can't find that memory, you could buy something like Kingmax 800MHz, and if not that, some Corsair would do (although I wouldn't recommend one of those "OC" or "Performance" rams - it's really expensive, and you only get minor performance gains. If you can find Super Talent CL5 or CL4 that would be great choice - it has very nice performance, plus it's good for overclockoing too.

That Enermax 500W is ok PSU, but for that money you could get Corsair HX 520, which isabsolutely excellent PSU (it's manufactured by Seasonic), plus it's modular, so you can dettach cable not currently in use. If not that Seasonic S12 500W would be great choice too.

Maybe get some better fans - something like Noctua are Papst.

I'd also recommend some other cooler, you can get better coolers than that Zalman. Take either Artic Freezer 7 Pro or Scythe Ninja. BTW. if you're not planning to overclock you don't need after market cooler, stock Intel cooler will be just fine (although I think it would be a shame not to OC E6600 - it overclocks very nicely, you can get nice OC even without changing voltages).

Like others said - get Windows XP Pro.

Everything else is great.

[gorosh]

I forgot to add - don't buy that display. That model uses TN panel, and has 6-bit color (it comes to 16.2 million by dithering). I wouldn't recommend 22" models, I havent seen nice one yet. Depending on your budget, take either 20", 20" widescreen, 23" widescreen or 24" widescreen.

I would recommend following models, see which one suits you more:

20" NEC 2090UXi
20" NEC 2070NX
20" HP LP2065

20" NEC 20WGX2 (widescreen)

23" Philips 230WP7NS


All those displays use S-IPS panels, have great viewing angles, quality color reproduction (especially NEC 2090UXi - lot of professional photographers use it) etc. NEC 2090UXi would be my favorite, 23" Philips next. If you can somehow get one of those two, great. If not, those other displays are also very nice, you won't go wrong with either one of them. 20" models have 1600x1200 resolution, 20" widescreen 1680x1050, and 23" 1920x1200.

If your budget is too slim for one of these displays, IMHO it's better to cut a bit on the graphic card (since you'll probably upgrade it anyway) and use that money for better display. Display will probably be only component you'll transfer to your next rig, and besides it's only component you're in direct contact all of the time you spend on computer. Not to mention that you're into graphics, and ho quality display is a must.

[Stream13]

Gorosh!

Absolutly great advice! Thankyou very much. I've always been a great "user" but untill the last few months I've never really thought too much into what's in my system other than "does it run fast?". Getting all the advice from you guys and doing my own research has been very enlightening. I really appreciate the monitor suggestions as well, since the computer is being bought for me, I can afford to spend a bit more on getting a quality monitor.

I had to buy my graphics card from a different source than where I'm buying the rest of the setup, so it's already in transit (though good advice on cutting back on that component for someone else who might look at getting a similar system on a budget)

I'll look into the other options you've given me, see if the store I'm buying at can order in anything they don't have listed and then repost a final configration etc.

Thanks again for the advice. Have a great weekend!

Brooke

EDIT: ok, so far I've been able to revise to the following components:

Arctic cooling freezer 7 pro CPU cooler for P4/775 (39.95)
Corsair 2GB XMS2-5400 TWIN 2x Dual channel DR2 Kit (2x1GB) (329.95)
Corsair HX520W (still have to confirm if they can order/how much $ but probably not far off of the first one I spec'd $129.95)

I'm looking into different case fans (the first brand doesn't seem to have any 92mm fans sold seprate from heatsinks, so I'm looking into the papst fans-ugh their website is horrible to search) If I can't get those, here are my available brand options:

Panaflo Ultra quiet fan 92mm high or medium flo choices
startech 1800 ultra quiet TX3
startech 2200 case fan with 4 pin power connector
startech 2600 rpm high flow case fan tx3
vantec stealth (as spec'd in original post)
vantech thermoflow temp controlled case fan 92mm

Not too many to choose from at the store I'm buying through

[Stream13]

Intel Core™2 Duo Processor E6600 2.4GHz w/ 4MB Cache ($379.95)
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro CPU Cooler for P4/775 ($39.95)
Asus P5W DH Deluxe w/ DualDDR2 800, 7.1 Audio, Dual GB Lan, 1394, Crossfire Dual PCI-E x16 ($259.95)
Corsair 2GB XMS2-5400 TWIN 2X Dual Channel DDR2 Kit (2x1GB) (329.95)
Antec Solo Quiet Mini Tower Case ATX Silver Black 4X5.25 4X3.5INT No PS ($99.95)
Seagate 320GB Barracuda 7200.9 SATA II w/ NCQ, 16MB Cache ($114.95)
eVGA E-GeForce 7900 GTO 650MHZ PCI-E 512MB 256BIT 1.32GHZ Dual DVI-I HDTV-Out ($343.43)
VANTEC ThermoFlow Temperature Controlled Case Fan, 92mm ($19.99x2) ($39.98)
Corsair HX520W (CMPSU-520HX) ($140.00)
LG Super Multi DVD Writer 18x18x8 DVD +/-RW Dual-Layer, Black (OEM) (Previously purchased)
Onboard 8-Channel 7.1 Audio
Onboard Dual 100/1000 Gigabit Lan
Microsoft Windows XP Pro w/SP2B, Vista Upgrade Coupon, OEM ($159.95)

I couldn't order either of the case fan brands Gorosh recommended, so I ended up with the Vantec ThermalFlow's.


I've yet to decide on a monitor but I'm leaning towards the 20" NEC 20WMGX2 (widescreen) which is the North American version of the 20" NEC 20WGX2 (widescreen) that Gorosh recommended. I have a relative who works for Best Buy and can get the monitor for cost+10% so it should be quite a bit cheaper than the retail value of $649.99 CAD.


I'll post a final cost after I pay for it tonight.


Thanks again for all your help!


Brooke

[lots]

Personally I'd get a Zalman or maybe a Scythe Ninja (its freakin huge). Plus, the Scythe Ninja plus a low powered 120mm fan can produce cool operation and low noise, which is pretty ideal in some situations.

Granted if you OC, higher RPM fans are more suited...

Another take to over clocking the CPU, is to undervolt it so it runs at lower temperatures. Ideally, if the thing can OC well, it should undervolt well too. Running at stock but at a fraction of the temperatures may be worth something if you want quiet, cool operation of your system.

You also seem to be missing a PSU from your list there. What brand/unit are you getting? I'd recommend something from Seasonic. The 380 - 450W versions should be more than enough.

You'll like the case, its made of pretty sound absorbant material :) The only problem you might have with the thing is it weighs a ton. It's basically made of solid steel and a composite sound absorbing material lining the inside. Fully loaded the case is a beast to lug around... Mine probably weighs half as much as me (not really hard to do honestly..).

[Stream13]

Hey Lots,

Thanks for the comments. I ended up going with the freezer 7 (bought everything tonight) If it ends up not working out I may take your advice and "upgrade" to a zalman etc.

The PSU I end up going with was the Corsair HX520W.

Total price ended up being: $2054 (without monitor/keyboard/mouse/I already had a dvd burner as well)

haha I look forward to losing a couple of pounds lugging the case around ;)

Cheers!

Brooke

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