Can Someone Review My Build?

[errantspark]

Truthfully I don't think you need the 8800, I think if you are looking to just do CG I think you would be fine with a 7600 or an x1600. Also if you want to run more than two monitors I think you need to SLI/Crossfire so keep that in mind.

As for HDD configuration, this is purely speculative seeing as how I dont have experience with this but I think I would go with the Matrix RAID because honestly if you have a harddrive spinning at 10,000 rpm I think that would shorten it's lifespan. Also Matrix RAID gives you more flexibility at a lower cost. Just my 2 cents, I'm by no means an expert on this topic.

[han3d]

The parts I've decided on are:

OS: Windows XP 64bit
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 2.66GHz (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115042)
Motherboard: Asus Rampage Formula with X48 chipset (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131284)
Ram: 8gb DDR2 (two 2 x 2gb sticks), either 800 or 1066, either Corsair XMS2 or G.Skill (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010170147%201052315794%201052108080&page=3&bop=And&CompareItemList=N82E16820231166%2CN82E16820145184%2CN82E16820231122)
Video Card: XFX Geforce 8800 GT with 512mb memory (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150252)
Audio Card: undecided
Hard Drives: undecided, need suggestions
Power Supply: either SeaSonic S12 650W (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151028) or Corsair 550W (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139004)
Case: Lian Li PC-60BPLUSII (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112100)

So any comments or suggestions? I suppose I would be fine with a Q6600 and an X38 motherboard but I'm not a big overclocker and would rather take the faster Q9450.

And for the ram, is 1066 worth it over 800? I don't overclock as I've said before, so which would be better to get? Would getting two 4gb sticks be better than two 2 x 2gb sticks?

And lastly, can you suggest a hard drive configuration? I would like a dedicated drive(s) for the OS and two drives for data (one being a duplicate of the other). Should I go with a Raptor for the system drive and two large Seagates in Raid 1? Or should I get two large Seagates and use Intel Matrix raid to get raid 0 and 1 without any Raptors?

you dont need that expensive motherboard even gigabyte ep-ga35-d3sr is very fine
q6600 is really good you can easily overclock q9450 much more expensive
1066 ram only matters a bit if you highly overclock in most case 5-10 percent so dont buy high speed ddr2 800-1066 is enough buy more ram instead 2x2gb ram fine later you might add 4 gb more
quadro cards has 2 monitor output with supporting high resolution
personally I like samsung more 2 500 gb or 2 750 gb is good for raid
creative audigy or x-fi is good for sound card
enermax modu82+ also very good power supply
for case you might also look antec cases

[Simon]

Truthfully I don't think you need the 8800, I think if you are looking to just do CG I think you would be fine with a 7600 or an x1600. Also if you want to run more than two monitors I think you need to SLI/Crossfire so keep that in mind.

As for HDD configuration, this is purely speculative seeing as how I dont have experience with this but I think I would go with the Matrix RAID because honestly if you have a harddrive spinning at 10,000 rpm I think that would shorten it's lifespan. Also Matrix RAID gives you more flexibility at a lower cost. Just my 2 cents, I'm by no means an expert on this topic.

Ok what?

You do not need crossfire or sli for a duel moniter setup! Most cards, if not all... have duel high res dvi output.

10,000 rpm hardisks are built to server specifications and so are often MORE reliable. I would recommend them if you cant be assed with raid. However if you can, I'd definitely have a raid setup, but don't use the onboard controller, they are crap at the best of times.

The 7600 is outdated now. A 8600 would be a much better card as it would have direct x ten support, which since he wants to play games is probably a must, and a 8800 is a good choice too.

[Shadowder]

Hi Mike, I was looking over your request for help in component review for your application. I see a number of areas that you can improve on. I have found a site on YouTube that is offering an Ask a Teck questions for just such questions. See EZ Build PC on YouTube for the information. They have been a great help for myself.First off, sorry if there are too many posts like this. I just want to be sure that the components I've selected will work well together and will work well for my needs. I am sure they can help.

So I'm building a new pc for mostly 3d animation in Maya. I will also be using Photoshop, After Effects, Premiere, and other similar software. I'm not looking for a pro workstation or a server. I just need a home "gamer" pc that will run Maya scenes really well for several years down the road. I just need a good, powerful, stable, and relatively future proof computer. I don't plan on doing any heavy overclocking (I don't even know how really), but I might try a slight cpu overclock. I'd like to stay within $1200-1500 for the components in the tower (excluding monitor and other peripherals).

The parts I've decided on are:

OS: Windows XP 64bit
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 2.66GHz (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115042)
Motherboard: Asus Rampage Formula with X48 chipset (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131284)
Ram: 8gb DDR2 (two 2 x 2gb sticks), either 800 or 1066, either Corsair XMS2 or G.Skill (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010170147%201052315794%201052108080&page=3&bop=And&CompareItemList=N82E16820231166%2CN82E16820145184%2CN82E16820231122)
Video Card: XFX Geforce 8800 GT with 512mb memory (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150252)
Audio Card: undecided
Hard Drives: undecided, need suggestions
Power Supply: either SeaSonic S12 650W (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151028) or Corsair 550W (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139004)
Case: Lian Li PC-60BPLUSII (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112100)

So any comments or suggestions? I suppose I would be fine with a Q6600 and an X38 motherboard but I'm not a big overclocker and would rather take the faster Q9450.

How does the video card sound? I was going to get a GeForce 7 originally due to driver and Maya compatibility issues but those are getting harder to find.

And for the ram, is 1066 worth it over 800? I don't overclock as I've said before, so which would be better to get? Would getting two 4gb sticks be better than two 2 x 2gb sticks?

And lastly, can you suggest a hard drive configuration? I would like a dedicated drive(s) for the OS and two drives for data (one being a duplicate of the other). Should I go with a Raptor for the system drive and two large Seagates in Raid 1? Or should I get two large Seagates and use Intel Matrix raid to get raid 0 and 1 without any Raptors?


Sorry if that's too many questions. I want to be sure before I buy and I trust your guys' experience with building computers for CG. Thanks for any help.

[damage inc]

Thanks everyone for the feedback.

Simon, if I don't use the motherboard's onboard raid controller, which do I use. I know nothing about raid. And sorry for the confusion, but I won't be needing this computer for games. I play the very occasional game but this build is for animation and other school work. I was just meaning that I need a more "home gamer" type computer and not a full out pro CG workstation.

han3d, it sounds like you'[re saying don't buy the faster ddr2 800, and get more 1066 instead. Isn't 1066 faster, and a bit more expensive? I may not be reading your post correctly.

[Simon]

Thanks everyone for the feedback.

Simon, if I don't use the motherboard's onboard raid controller, which do I use. I know nothing about raid. And sorry for the confusion, but I won't be needing this computer for games. I play the very occasional game but this build is for animation and other school work. I was just meaning that I need a more "home gamer" type computer and not a full out pro CG workstation.

han3d, it sounds like you'[re saying don't buy the faster ddr2 800, and get more 1066 instead. Isn't 1066 faster, and a bit more expensive? I may not be reading your post correctly.

Onboard controllers are often added as an extra on the motherboards, they often are a bit crappy to save on cash. I guess one in the £60 - £100 price range would be a good starting point. Cant say I know much about them myself. Usually just go on review sites and poke around.

Yeah sorry I guess I misunderstood you before. But id really go for a 8600 or 8800. I have a couple and I havnt had any driver instabilities. The drivers are very mature now.

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