My soon to be Workstation, Opinions on Specs needed!

[Smokey]

Need it for CAD, image and video editing.

What do you guys think? I'm thinking about doing a dual CPU Xeon option, but the cost doesn't seem worth it.

[TK!]

why dont you just buy the latest imac.. for less.

[Kenjo]

why dont you just buy the latest imac.. for less.

apple hands down for video/design editing

[HCCA]

Ditch the i7-970 cpu and x58 board and go with a Sandy Bridge core i7-2600K cpu and a mid range P67 board. Should be less than the cost of that i7 cpu together plus it's more updated.

The monitor a bit pricey though, sure it have better brands cheaper somewhere.

[packwood]

add a sold state drive for the os also

[ruffneck_12]

SSD for the OS like packwood said

dunno much bout the Quadro GPUs but wont it be better to run 2 GTX 460s dual SLI?
saw it for $144US on new egg

[shaq090]

first of all it depends on what u wanna use the work station for exactly...is it mild auto cad or heavy auto cad 24/7 ....and really??? 24GB???? u could manage on 12GB...but it all depends on what u wanna do.....and remember ur current suggestions show that u cant play any type of vid games on it...so if u think u gonna sweat a black ops now and then on this u gonna be pissed...

[shaq090]

Ditch the i7-970 cpu and x58 board and go with a Sandy Bridge core i7-2600K cpu and a mid range P67 board. Should be less than the cost of that i7 cpu together plus it's more updated.

The monitor a bit pricey though, sure it have better brands cheaper somewhere.

yup...and i would suggest a acer monitor.... they have a supreme contrast ratio and a higher nit value on their brightness

[rmlmv]

add a solid state drive for the os also

I concur. Your harddrives will be a bottleneck.
But If cheaper, than SSD, do raid 5...

Or my personal preference. Stripe 3 or more drives (raid 0)
and have one separate for backups.

[Duane 3NE 2NR]

Ditch the i7-970 cpu and x58 board and go with a Sandy Bridge core i7-2600K cpu and a mid range P67 board. Should be less than the cost of that i7 cpu together plus it's more updated.

The monitor a bit pricey though, sure it have better brands cheaper somewhere.

this

WRT to that apple claim: bleh - its the same hardware and software (unless you plan to use iMovie or Final Cut Pro) - just a different OS

[Smokey]

Ditch the i7-970 cpu and x58 board and go with a Sandy Bridge core i7-2600K cpu and a mid range P67 board. Should be less than the cost of that i7 cpu together plus it's more updated.

The monitor a bit pricey though, sure it have better brands cheaper somewhere.

this

WRT to that apple claim: bleh - its the same hardware and software (unless you plan to use iMovie or Final Cut Pro) - just a different OS

Going with the i7-970 for the six cores, i know the 2600 is almost equally fast in most apps and basically half the price, but in Cinebench the 970 is roughly 22% faster....It really was a tough choice, and I may decide just wait until Intel releases some 6 or 8 core Ivy Bridge CPUs....Don't need the rig urgently at the moment.

I probably should have said it but I already own the Apple 27" Cinema display, just added it in to show the complete rig.

As for the SSD, why haven't you all noticed the 240GB Vertex 3 Boot drive in there? I'm using that together with two 2TB harddrives in RAID 1 (mirrored).

Also, as for the MAC fans, I have am an Apple fan, but not a blind one.

I do create most of my content on a Macbook Pro anyway, I just need a workstation to work more quickly when I have those large ass files and the occasional rendering to do (note the Quadro professional card versus a gaming card).

The major apps are available for Windows and OSX...I don't know why people overhype macs for content creation. Yes Aperture and Final Cut Pro are excellent mac only software, but that's it. Everything else is available for both OSs and most times the Windows version is better/faster.

first of all it depends on what u wanna use the work station for exactly...is it mild auto cad or heavy auto cad 24/7 ....and really??? 24GB???? u could manage on 12GB...but it all depends on what u wanna do.....and remember ur current suggestions show that u cant play any type of vid games on it...so if u think u gonna sweat a black ops now and then on this u gonna be pissed...

Will be needing it render sometimes for hours at times.

And 24GBs may seem like overkill, but large RAW files and video editing eat away at RAM. Plus RAM is so cheap, I may as well go all out.

[shaq090]

Ditch the i7-970 cpu and x58 board and go with a Sandy Bridge core i7-2600K cpu and a mid range P67 board. Should be less than the cost of that i7 cpu together plus it's more updated.

The monitor a bit pricey though, sure it have better brands cheaper somewhere.

this

WRT to that apple claim: bleh - its the same hardware and software (unless you plan to use iMovie or Final Cut Pro) - just a different OS

Going with the i7-970 for the six cores, i know the 2600 is almost equally fast in most apps and basically half the price, but in Cinebench the 970 is roughly 22% faster....It really was a tough choice, and I may decide just wait until Intel releases some 6 or 8 core Ivy Bridge CPUs....Don't need the rig urgently at the moment.

I probably should have said it but I already own the Apple 27" Cinema display, just added it in to show the complete rig.

As for the SSD, why haven't you all noticed the 240GB Vertex 3 Boot drive in there? I'm using that together with two 2TB harddrives in RAID 1 (mirrored).

Also, as for the MAC fans, I have am an Apple fan, but not a blind one.

I do create most of my content on a Macbook Pro anyway, I just need a workstation to work more quickly when I have those large ass files and the occasional rendering to do (note the Quadro professional card versus a gaming card).

The major apps are available for Windows and OSX...I don't know why people overhype macs for content creation. Yes Aperture and Final Cut Pro are excellent mac only software, but that's it. Everything else is available for both OSs and most times the Windows version is better/faster.

first of all it depends on what u wanna use the work station for exactly...is it mild auto cad or heavy auto cad 24/7 ....and really??? 24GB???? u could manage on 12GB...but it all depends on what u wanna do.....and remember ur current suggestions show that u cant play any type of vid games on it...so if u think u gonna sweat a black ops now and then on this u gonna be pissed...

Will be needing it render sometimes for hours at times.

And 24GBs may seem like overkill, but large RAW files and video editing eat away at RAM. Plus RAM is so cheap, I may as well go all out.

then go with a hd 6990 or a gtx 580 and the quadro cards and the firebird card (i think thats the brand for amd) dont render....i would suggest amd tho, because the the manager has options for video encoding and stuff

[mediahouse]

ditch the 27" monitor googletnt givin away a frree 15" if you post on he forums

[Duane 3NE 2NR]

If you're using Premiere Pro CS5 for video editing then a GTX 460 at a fraction of the cost offers CUDA acceleration that will speed up video editing instead of springing for an expensive quadro

IMO if you can wait then hold off on LGA 2011

Dunno about autoCAD but very few apps can make use of 6 and 8 cores.

[Rahtid]

autocad? why use that? that is so 'kindergarten' grade.

Mac is the way bro,

[Duane 3NE 2NR]

Mac OS is great but a Mac uses the exact same hardware as a PC nowadays and the apps are the same -

[rfari]

autocad? why use that? that is so 'kindergarten' grade.

Mac is the way bro,

autocad? kindergarten grade? i doh understand.

[shaq090]

Mac OS is great but a Mac uses the exact same hardware as a PC nowadays and the apps are the same -

and i believe u need a certified mac tech to do repairs to a mac computer....compared to the PC where u can even do it urself ?

[HCCA]

Mac OS is great but a Mac uses the exact same hardware as a PC nowadays and the apps are the same -

and i believe u need a certified mac tech to do repairs to a mac computer....compared to the PC where u can even do it urself ?

So what the two ah allyuh saying is Mac buyers just buying the system for the OS and apps and d brand name then?

I always wondered what made a mac much better over a pc eh, had ah opportunity to use ah macbook but i didn't have time to take advantage of it. Saw some resources online where u can emulate MacOS on a pc so i'll experience it like dat.

[Smokey]

Mac OS is great but a Mac uses the exact same hardware as a PC nowadays and the apps are the same -

and i believe u need a certified mac tech to do repairs to a mac computer....compared to the PC where u can even do it urself ?

So what the two ah allyuh saying is Mac buyers just buying the system for the OS and apps and d brand name then?

I always wondered what made a mac much better over a pc eh, had ah opportunity to use ah macbook but i didn't have time to take advantage of it. Saw some resources online where u can emulate MacOS on a pc so i'll experience it like dat.

MAC is just the OS....and OSX is great, Lion is going to be great as well. But like many people know, very fews good apps are Mac exclusive. And there's always an alternate Windows version that is comparable or better anyway.

For this type of machine, the equivalent Mac will cost at least 3 times more. Why waste that money? And yes I use my MBP a lot, hell I'm using it right now But, like I said, the apps are available on both Operating Systems negating the advantage of the Mac.

Go with apple for Laptops, Tablets and Phones...for workstation style computing, you're going to get ripped off by going with Apple.

Beside deciding if the wait on Ivy Bridge, I'm totally confused if the go with a Gaming Card or a Quadro. Both have advantages here.....

[shaq090]

Mac OS is great but a Mac uses the exact same hardware as a PC nowadays and the apps are the same -

and i believe u need a certified mac tech to do repairs to a mac computer....compared to the PC where u can even do it urself ?

So what the two ah allyuh saying is Mac buyers just buying the system for the OS and apps and d brand name then?

I always wondered what made a mac much better over a pc eh, had ah opportunity to use ah macbook but i didn't have time to take advantage of it. Saw some resources online where u can emulate MacOS on a pc so i'll experience it like dat.

MAC is just the OS....and OSX is great, Lion is going to be great as well. But like many people know, very fews good apps are Mac exclusive. And there's always an alternate Windows version that is comparable or better anyway.

For this type of machine, the equivalent Mac will cost at least 3 times more. Why waste that money? And yes I use my MBP a lot, hell I'm using it right now But, like I said, the apps are available on both Operating Systems negating the advantage of the Mac.

Go with apple for Laptops, Tablets and Phones...for workstation style computing, you're going to get ripped off by going with Apple.

Beside deciding if the wait on Ivy Bridge, I'm totally confused if the go with a Gaming Card or a Quadro. Both have advantages here.....

unless u buy a really good rendering card....especially the nvidia brand cuz the fermi is a close architecture to the quadro cards...so buy 2 580 and done...u can even google or youtube auto cad on a gtx 580, gtx 580 sli and even a hd 6990
......cuz believe me.....it go be rell sour if the quadro card limits u to poor video rendering and also the lack of ability to play a vid game once in a while...or even stream a 1080p vid horribly( which i dought it will)

[ooooohjhonny]

D next thing to consider is whether d software written to use all six cores.

Some software still written to use only 2 cores as we found out with some dental software. SO even quad core processors didnt make a difference.

[Sinister_Audio]

whats the cost comparison of quad gtx460s to the quadro WS cards? 4gb of ddr5 ( "gaming" memory ) could stand any chance against HD rendering on a WS card? <asking cause i don't know>

used a system with 24gb DDR3 1600 ram, and a SIMPLE 512 WS card under a 2.8 QC and it worked FINE!

also used a system with 8gb ddr3 1333 and twin 5770s in crossfire and worked just as fine, just the 512 WS card and the 24GB ram complimented eachother quite nicely... so im now wondering for cost purposes, each 5770 is 100USD, 4 would be NICE! ram is cheap, just to get a board to take 6 sticks of ram, and 4 cards now

[M_2NR]

i still waiting years now to hear a proper answer as to whether one should go quadro or gaming gpu.

that said.

sinister, quad 460's not possible. In sli that is. only dual remember?

[Duane 3NE 2NR]

^ I was going Quadro with my Sandy Bridge build for video editing, however you can hack your Adobe preferences to let it see the GTX 460 etc to see it as a CUDA card(Which it is) and use it for video processing. Now I can edit and scrub HD 1080p video on the fly in real time without having to spend big money on a Quadro. That's why I got the GTX 460 SSC 1024Mb. And I havent even played a single game yet on this system, though I know it will pretty well.

Mac OS is great but a Mac uses the exact same hardware as a PC nowadays and the apps are the same -

and i believe u need a certified mac tech to do repairs to a mac computer....compared to the PC where u can even do it urself ?

So what the two ah allyuh saying is Mac buyers just buying the system for the OS and apps and d brand name then?

I always wondered what made a mac much better over a pc eh, had ah opportunity to use ah macbook but i didn't have time to take advantage of it. Saw some resources online where u can emulate MacOS on a pc so i'll experience it like dat.

the mac OS is superior to that of Windows in that there are far less crashes, far less viruses.

however there is far less software for it.
Eg you cant just go on download.com and get an application to convert files for free for Mac from some open source 3rd party developer

some PC games you can't get for Mac
You can run Windows on a Mac, but its emulated and then what's the point?

[Cjruckus]

didnt you post this same topic last time you built a computer?
Seriously, everyone is goin to debate for nothing because your mind has already been made up on this stuff.

[R. Mutt]

unless u buy a really good rendering card....especially the nvidia brand cuz the fermi is a close architecture to the quadro cards...so buy 2 580 and done...u can even google or youtube auto cad on a gtx 580, gtx 580 sli and even a hd 6990
......cuz believe me.....it go be rell sour if the quadro card limits u to poor video rendering and also the lack of ability to play a vid game once in a while...or even stream a 1080p vid horribly( which i dought it will)

I kind of agree with this. My first workstation I built 5 or 6 years ago ran dual Xeons and an NVidia Quadro FX3400. I used the workstation for 3D work in Maya and Mental Ray as well as 2D work: Premiere Pro, Photoshop, Shake, After Effects. I couldn't play games with the Nvidia and eventually the card began to glitch in Maya too. There was little support from Nvidia and the driver updates didn't resolve anything. These cards are designed to be used for 3D software but the real focus is CAD more than Autodesk Maya, Max, C4D and Softimage. Maybe you'll have better luck than me but I won't trust the Quadro series again..especially with the amount you pay Nivida should really be offering better support for that line. Imo, You're better off going with a really good GeForce or ATi Radeon series card or dual card setup.

[shaq090]

unless u buy a really good rendering card....especially the nvidia brand cuz the fermi is a close architecture to the quadro cards...so buy 2 580 and done...u can even google or youtube auto cad on a gtx 580, gtx 580 sli and even a hd 6990
......cuz believe me.....it go be rell sour if the quadro card limits u to poor video rendering and also the lack of ability to play a vid game once in a while...or even stream a 1080p vid horribly( which i dought it will)

I kind of agree with this. My first workstation I built 5 or 6 years ago ran dual Xeons and an NVidia Quadro FX3400. I used the workstation for 3D work in Maya and Mental Ray as well as 2D work: Premiere Pro, Photoshop, Shake, After Effects. I couldn't play games with the Nvidia and eventually the card began to glitch in Maya too. There was little support from Nvidia and the driver updates didn't resolve anything. These cards are designed to be used for 3D software but the real focus is CAD more than Autodesk Maya, Max, C4D and Softimage. Maybe you'll have better luck than me but I won't trust the Quadro series again..especially with the amount you pay Nivida should really be offering better support for that line. Imo, You're better off going with a really good GeForce or ATi Radeon series card or dual card setup.

x2

[DJ Q]

Mac OS is great but a Mac uses the exact same hardware as a PC nowadays and the apps are the same -

and i believe u need a certified mac tech to do repairs to a mac computer....compared to the PC where u can even do it urself ?

So what the two ah allyuh saying is Mac buyers just buying the system for the OS and apps and d brand name then?

I always wondered what made a mac much better over a pc eh, had ah opportunity to use ah macbook but i didn't have time to take advantage of it. Saw some resources online where u can emulate MacOS on a pc so i'll experience it like dat.

the mac OS is superior to that of Windows in that there are far less crashes, far less viruses.

however there is far less software for it.
Eg you cant just go on download.com and get an application to convert files for free for Mac from some open source 3rd party developer

some PC games you can't get for Mac
You can run Windows on a Mac, but its emulated and then what's the point?

Mac has less crashes because the software is made for their hardware. It doesn't have to adapt to every Tom, Dick and Harry that decides to make a motherboard. There have been reports of people that use the Logitech G19 Keyboard with Mac experiencing crashes any time the system goes on standby.

Mac also has far less viruses because 99.99999% of the people in the world own a Windows based operating system. That's like writing a program to catch all of the Ferarris in Trinidad vs. trying to catch all the Civics and B14s. Mac's software is just as susceptible to viruses as Windows... It's just that no one cares.

Ask someone with Linux what antivirus they use... Pretty sure they'll ask you what that means.

[VexXx Dogg]

Mac OS is great but a Mac uses the exact same hardware as a PC nowadays and the apps are the same -

and i believe u need a certified mac tech to do repairs to a mac computer....compared to the PC where u can even do it urself ?

So what the two ah allyuh saying is Mac buyers just buying the system for the OS and apps and d brand name then?

I always wondered what made a mac much better over a pc eh, had ah opportunity to use ah macbook but i didn't have time to take advantage of it. Saw some resources online where u can emulate MacOS on a pc so i'll experience it like dat.

the mac OS is superior to that of Windows in that there are far less crashes, far less viruses.

however there is far less software for it.
Eg you cant just go on download.com and get an application to convert files for free for Mac from some open source 3rd party developer

some PC games you can't get for Mac
You can run Windows on a Mac, but its emulated and then what's the point?

Mac has less crashes because the software is made for their hardware. It doesn't have to adapt to every Tom, Dick and Harry that decides to make a motherboard. There have been reports of people that use the Logitech G19 Keyboard with Mac experiencing crashes any time the system goes on standby.

Mac also has far less viruses because 99.99999% of the people in the world own a Windows based operating system. That's like writing a program to catch all of the Ferarris in Trinidad vs. trying to catch all the Civics and B14s. Mac's software is just as susceptible to viruses as Windows... It's just that no one cares.

Ask someone with Linux what antivirus they use... Pretty sure they'll ask you what that means.

LOLwut
Mac and Windoze running on the same hardware.