Getting a new computer soon.....

[Zairyn Arsyn]

i'm going to be ordering a new computer from avadirect.com soon - for mainly for TG2 rendering/modeling/gaming
my configuration so far-

case
ANTEC Performance One P193
PSU
ANTEC Quattro 1000w
Cpu
intel i7-950 3.06GHz, or maybe a intel 6core i7-970
Mobo
Asus P6TD Deluxe
Cpu Cooler
ZALMAN CNPS10X Quiet CPU Cooler
Ram
CORSAIR 6GB (3 x 2GB) XMS3 PC3-10666 DDR3 1333MHz, might get 12gigs
GPU
Evga Geforce GTX 460 EE, 763MHz, 1Gb
HD's
KINGSTON 64GB SSD
WESTERN DIGITAL 1TB Caviar Green
Optical Drive
LITE-ON iHAS124
Sound card
Sound Blaster® Audigy SE

thoughts?

theres one thing i'm slightly confused about though, intel states that their i7 LGA1366 platform uses 1066mhz ddr3, and yet most memory modules have higher speeds than that, i'm guessing this is either with or without tweaking.

[neuspadrin]

Basically the spec says it looks for memory running 1066mhz, and by default the ram you receive will most likely also be running at 1066 unless you go in and manually bump them up to whatever they/your motherboard support. Its just a lot easier for them to make ram that runs above the spec's speed, so they do it. I bumped mine up to a higher speed, but not their speed they are technically rated to go to.  Figured a good mix was fine.

Looks good though to me, I suggest the ram upgrade though. I'm assuming you will put 64bit on this machine, which once TG2 becomes fully 64bit you will definitely benefit from that. My i7 (4 cores -- so 8 due to hyper threading) runs out of my ram currently on some scenes at high detail when I try to use all the cores with a subdiv cache set to the recommended for 8 cores. This is mainly due to the fact TG2 still gets hit by the 32bit limitations for memory really (~4gigs will fully go to TG2 if you have enough extra). Once TG2 goes 64 then it can access much more RAM, and allow you to give bigger caches etc. So the more memory the better.


I do see that your motherboard supports 6 slots of ram though.  So if you want to save on money for now go for the 3x2gb, then hold off a year or so wait for new terragen updates and prices of ram to drop some, then buy another set of 3x2gb.

[Henry Blewer]

I have been looking at machines, factory builds, that have 1300 MHz or 1600 MHz mobos and ram. AMD Phenom II 4 cores are running between $670 and $900 with 6 to 8 GB of ram. i7's $1400 to $1800.
These have been CyberpowerPC, Hewett Packard, SystemMax, and Dell systems. 

[Zairyn Arsyn]

i will going with win7 x64, should have said that before.

avadirect builds, tests, benchmarks, and and burns in their computers they build, if there is any problems or issues with the build they contact you.
i dont think there should be much problems on my side if its prebuilt.

i bought my last computer from them, and haven't had any issues or problems hardware wise.

[Njen]

When I did research a few months ago for my new computer, I found that for SSD's, that OCZ were the best, and the second best were Intel, which is what I ended up getting (X25-m)

For HHD, don't get the Caviar Green series, they have a higher failure rate. You only need to spend a few more dollars to get a Caviar Black series HHD, which have much better performance and longevity.

As for the CPU, I bought an i7 960, keeping in line with my mantra when buying hardware: go for the second best. It is a third of the cost of the 970 for a good kick in performance.

I hope this helps.

[Zairyn Arsyn]

thanks for the advice & suggestions, i will change my configuration.

[Tangled-Universe]

Maybe 64GB is rather small for a SSD main drive.
I'm running win 7 64-bit and have a couple of dozen pieces of software installed and it already uses around 80GB if I'm correct.
Nevertheless, a SSD for your OS is a fantastic choice

I think your timing for buying is pretty good, as prices for RAM are dropping at the moment.
It's definitely worth investing more money in RAM. 12 GB is quite future-proof for the next couple of years.
If you're short on money for that much RAM and are not that much into gaming you could consider a more modest graphics card.

I don't know how much your PSU costs, but for a system like this 1000W seems a bit of overkill to me.
A 650-700W is really more than enough. For example, I've read an i7 920 with a GTX480 runs easily on a 550W quality PSU.
If you plan to add a secondary graphics card and other components then 1000W is a reasonable choice.

For all else I envy you I want a new render machine too!

Cheers,
Martin

[Zairyn Arsyn]

hmmm..
the PSU is $149

seems like different people have different opinions on PSU wattage requirements
a friend of mine said he wouldn't go below 1000w (or should i) on a PSU

i believe the computer i have now has a 550w PSU
never had any problems with the PSU

i would have bought a new computer sooner, but now, i feel its time for a new one, i mean my birthday is coming up in like 10 days!

anyone else have any thoughts on this??

[neuspadrin]

With a PSU you only need what your computer actually requires.  An above average spec computer like yours probably only needs 700W or so to be safely ready for anything.  1000W+ is only for if you plan on having Crossfire or SLI'd graphics cards, etc.

But don't skimp out on the price of the PSU, it is a pretty vital part of the computer and its failure could cause you trouble.  I'd say a decently rated/priced 700W would probably do you good, and save you from the excess of the 1000W one.

[reck]

Hi just so you know now might not be a good time to build (or buy) a new PC. Sandy bridge, the new cpu from intel, is due out in only a few weeks time, although general availability may take longer. If you wait for a little longer you could get a nice fast sandy bridge cpu for about the same money or purchase an i7 cpu at a cheaper price.

[neuspadrin]

Hi just so you know now might not be a good time to build (or buy) a new PC. Sandy bridge, the new cpu from intel, is due out in only a few weeks time, although general availability may take longer. If you wait for a little longer you could get a nice fast sandy bridge cpu for about the same money or purchase an i7 cpu at a cheaper price.

True sandy bridge is supposed to be early next year. Has some bonuses to it as mentioned, or you can wait for the older versions to price drop.

But, with computer buying there always is "just wait, xyz is JUST AROUND THE CORNER" which would have you waiting indefinitely for the next big thing. If you need a new computer now, just go ahead and buy as planned.  But, if you do have the time to wait, it probably would be nice to wait until sandy bridge releases and grab one of those.

[reck]

It's true the next big thing is always only a few months away. Buy now and 6 months later something new is out. But SB is out after Christmas, we are not talking months and months here.

[Oshyan]

Yeah, I'm with Reck here and was going to suggest the same thing. Sandy Bridge is *close*. It's worth it to at least see what initial availability and pricing are. Judging by the specs of this machine, especially if a 6 core CPU is in consideration, I don't think SB will be out of your price range.

- Oshyan

[Njen]

Maybe 64GB is rather small for a SSD main drive.
I'm running win 7 64-bit and have a couple of dozen pieces of software installed and it already uses around 80GB if I'm correct.
Nevertheless, a SSD for your OS is a fantastic choice

As far as drive setups go, by far the safest and easiest configuration is to do something like this (note this is geared towards a Windows environment, more specifically Win7):

C drive - 15 to 20 gb - OS only
D drive - 30 to 50 gb - Installed Programs
E drive to whatever - App data and everything else.

So after you install Win7, find the registry key that deals with default installation location (for Win7 you have to change a few keys as it's more complicated this time). Change the location from "C:\Program Files" to "D:\Program Files" and do the same thing for the 32 bit directory too.

On your E (or whatever you choose) drive, make a directory and call it something like "AppData". The goal of this directory is to make sure that as many programs as you can configure limit their use to the C drive, which is trying to remain a strictly OS only drive. For example, move your Terragen temp directory here, and your Firefox and Thunderbird profiles, etc.

Finally, never save any user created files if you can help it on the C or D drives.

The reason for this setup is quite simple: if for any reason your OS dies or bugs out badly, you don't have to lose everything if you need to format the partition that has the OS. With the user installed programs in a separate location (D), you can be sure about which programs you installed, and which ones are the original OS programs (there will still be a few left over in the original C drive).

To summarise, quite simply, try to never mix these types of data on the same drive:
* OS
* User installed Programs
* User created files and documents

Also, this way if you have an SSD and a HDD, then you can allocate the SSD to the OS and Program Files drives which help speed up your computer, while leaving the HDD to work with everything else. This is a setup that was taught to me by quite a few talented sys admins, and has never failed me to recover as quick as possible when things go wrong.

[Zairyn Arsyn]

Sandy Bridge info i found-
http://resources.vr-zone.com/newvr/image.php?m=540&s=http://resources.vr-zone.com//uploads/10377/price.png

prices seem the about the same, so i'll wait, i'm quite patient.


I think I'll go with Njen's suggested HD setup, seems like a good idea, some of those higher capacity SSD's are a bit pricey for my budget.