building new system: opinions?

[Nate Owens]

This system I am assembling is based on other components used by modelers I consider highly qualified. I am far from knowledgable about the correct marriage of components, but this seems correct to me.

A question:
What sort of hard drives would best match the other components in this system?

The System so far:
C283-1854 :: CoolerMaster Real Power Pro 650-Watt Power Supply - SLI,
SATA-Ready, 120mm Fan, Active PFC

H231-7244 :: HIS Radeon HD 2600 Pro Video Card - iSilence III, 512MB DDR2,
PCI Express, CrossFire Ready, Dual DVI, HDTV, HDMI Support, Video Card

K24-5416 :: Kingston HyperX 1024MB PC6400 DDR2 800MHz LL Memory = 4 Gigs

A455-2364 :: Asus Maximus Formula Special Edition Motherboard - 45nm
Support, Intel X38, Socket 775, ATX, Audio, CrossFire Ready, PCI Express 2.0
Dual Gigabit LAN, S/PDIF, USB 2.0, Firewire, Serial ATA, RAID

CP2-DUO-Q6600 :: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Processor HH80562PH0568M -
2.40GHz, 8MB Cache, 1066MHz FSB, Kentsfield, Quad-Core, OEM, Socket
775, Processor

C283-1170 :: CoolerMaster Cosmos 1000 ATX Full-Tower Case

Thanks.

[Wася]

I think, this Godzilla has not too much brain (RAM) for such a big heart (CPU). When things will come to swapping out it will need something very fast for swap file. Not even 7200 rpm. WD Raptor or something like that should be a good marriage.

[Pete Exxtreme]

Your need more memory, i would say 4Gb. Otherwise i've just received my new PC with the same Cosmos case you've chosen which is really good and silent, while it has 4 fans inside by default Beware it's quite a huge sized and a heavy weighted one (iron made) ....

[Nate Owens]

Thanks...

Yes... 4 Gigs of Ram
I failed to add to the list that I have selected 4 gigs of that ram.
--- I will edit the post to correct that.

I will see what/where I can get info on the raptor drives you mention.

Building this Godzilla for the future
This is a major quantum leap for my system upgrade. I am holding off on going to a 64bit system for a while until 64 bit levels out and it gets better/safer at handling my must have apps - some may work, but I can't get into an iffy situation. I also don't want to get involved in a dual boot setup (32 bit/64 bit).

Moving apps to the new beast?
One thing I dread on moving to another system is that it seems I must reinstall my apps. .... there are a bunch of them, most have been downloaded upgrades for many generations.
Is there a way to just transfer the apps to the new system... with the registery and all that goop without the agony of re-installing them? - - (I must have my Hexagon - hope it will like this graphics card.)

I am putting this one together with an eye to the future - I don't do this every day.
(Thanks to Vimmy on the French side of the forums, who tempted me with a system that makes me drool )

I greatly appreciate your input... as I've said before, polyloop rocks.

[Wася]

WD = Western Digital. Never had problems with it.
Raptor = 10000 rpm

Nate, you favourite tool is Zbrush. I thought it utilizes 64-bit. More Ctrl+D. Am I wrong?

[Pete Exxtreme]

Personnally for a better OPen GL support i would go for a Nvidia chipset based video card instead of an ATI chipset based one...well this is at least the move i've made

[rickei]

Originally Posted by Nate Owens

Thanks...


Moving apps to the new beast?
One thing I dread on moving to another system is that it seems I must reinstall my apps. .... there are a bunch of them, most have been downloaded upgrades for many generations.
Is there a way to just transfer the apps to the new system... with the registery and all that goop without the agony of re-installing them? - - (I must have my Hexagon - hope it will like this graphics card.)

Thats always a problem. like you said, most apps nowadays are sold as a downloadable product.

Remember that Zbrush is registered to your machine...not to you, so you will have to transfer your license to the new computer. PITA

[Nate Owens]

Originally Posted by Wася

WD = Western Digital. Never had problems with it.
Raptor = 10000 rpm

Nate, you favourite tool is Zbrush. I thought it utilizes 64-bit. More Ctrl+D. Am I wrong?

Thank you - -
You're right... but I have tools I must work with (that daily bread thing)

So... I need to research these and others to see if they like 64bit, and whether I should go for xp64 or Vista... more homework - Some of these I don't want to upgrade, I prefer the older versions. I wonder too about installation issues (if any) with the 64bit

• ZBrush 3.1 = Good with 64bit
• Rhino 4 = Good with 64bit
• PhotoShop 7 = ??
• Hexagon 2.2 = ??
• Carrara 6 = ??
• Flash 5 = ??
• Open Office.org = ??
• Vegas Platinum studio = ??
• Sound Forge = ??

@ Pete - -

Personnally for a better OPen GL support i would go for a Nvidia chipset based video card instead of an ATI chipset based one...

Well, I was going back and forth on that one.
I've had both, currently with ATI Radeon X1600, no problems with that one, but I may go with Nivida... thanks, Pete.

@ Rickei...
Ouch... why do they have to make it so complicated... it seems it would be to the advantage of the software folks and the OS peeps if upgrading was easier to do.

[Wася]

Originally Posted by Nate Owens

• PhotoShop 7 = ??
• ...

Oh, I see now...

[Nate Owens]

One other thing that makes going to 64bit an issue is hardware compatibility.
So, I think for now, I stick to 32 bit... max out the ram (which I hear is 4 gigs), go multiple processor (hence the quad core) and faster cpu...

In other words making the best of what I have (software and hardware wise) with an eye to future upgrades, but not all at one bite.

[gksl4]

A dual boot configuration with winXP-32 and xp64 or vista64 for a more smooth transition? Maybe is to much cause of double installations but you can have both worlds either 32 bit or 64.

[Nate Owens]

Hmmm...

Well, I may end up with two computers for a while.
A 64-bit system
A 32-bit system

Then, in the future, migrate what I can to the 64-bit as I upgrade hardware and software - the goal being to end up all 64-bit. Bit-by-bit-by-bit....

[tonytrout]

You are a brave man Nate Owens. I salute you

My 32 XP system is pretty stable right now and Im not sure what performance boost you get going 64bit (and do you need it?) Questions like Vista/XP compatibility worrys and license transfer hassles and so on, and where are the relevant upgrades and will you have to spend on new 64 bit software also dont inspire me. So Im very keen to hear how you get on.

It would be good if anew system improved the quality of work, but deep down inside we know this is a function of the artist and the machine while nicer to use will not be the case.

The only thing thats really tempting right now is the possibility of 8 rendering cores and can we get boards with two fast quad core AMD penom processors or even the pro processors. In the meantime a nice dell 30" monitor seems like a better investment imho.

So I wait to hear how your upgrade progresses and the pitfalls you encounter as there is high interest in this for many people

[Nate Owens]

Things I'm hearing from some tech people that I have talked with regarding going up to 64 bit OS....
A: That XP64 pro (as opposed to Vista) is the way to go.
B: That most software released within the recent past will offer 64-bit drivers, thus supposedly will function under 64bit.
C: ZBrush offers a relatively pain-free method of moving to a new computer system.

QUESTIONS:

• Will Carrara 6pro run under Windows XP64 pro?
• Will Hexagon 2.2 run under Windows XP64 pro?
• Will either access the extra ram available with the 64bit OS?

These might be idiot's questions, but consider the source
Thanks for your patience and very kind assistance... maybe it will be beneficial to others interested in this subject

@ tonytrout -
I've never been able to blame my tools for my poor workmanship, but I can do it much faster and easier with a computer than I could with a pencil.... Like a fella I knew who had this sign hanging over his desk...

"I might be slow, but my work is poor"

When I start maxing out ZBrush....
And... when Carrara gags and crawls...
yep, I think more ram and faster processor (plus Quad) would be beneficial.
and in general... there's never enough ram and never enough processor muscle... as long as I don't have to put gas in my computer...
Time (and particularly computer technology) keeps slippin', slippin' into the future"
-- apologies to the Steve Miller Band - -

[tonytrout]

"I might be slow, but my work is poor"

Maybe I should get one of those too.

I hear the same about XP64 being the way to go. My architect daughter bought a powerful new laptop with vista ultimate and couldnt get her autocad programme to run, bummer. The questions you ask about ram usage in x64 also I would like to know

[bwtr]

My son is one of the Windows """"", has worked with all the up dates /tests/demos/betas of stuff (I get to use his hand me downs of his--"monthlY" computer programmes/computer boxes upgrades---oh my! etc.)

With good ram, .a "reasonable" 3D card, "simple?" XP Pro takes a lot of beating--STILL!

[Nate Owens]

.... yeesssss ....
and what does the son have to say about xp64??

[Wася]

Originally Posted by Nate Owens

• Will Carrara 6pro run under Windows XP64 pro?
• Will Hexagon 2.2 run under Windows XP64 pro?
• Will either access the extra ram available with the 64bit OS?

1) yes (6.0.3 is better)
2) yes
3) no, they are pure 32-bit apps
4) never install XP Pro 64 to the same partition as XP 32 (I heard Vista had no such problems, but I can not state this for sure, because I still have not tested Vista)
5) as I said before, I'm not sure XP 64 will utilize quad-core CPU (Vista definetely will)

[Wesgraphics]

Thought Nate could use some good software to help with his new PC.

It's a de-crapifier - freeware. heh

http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/fil...scription.html

Evidently, and in the words of the author, it gets rid of "crapware" that comes with new PC's.

[gksl4]

My poor opinion is that software is not following hardware progress. Only a few games can benefit and rendering programs from multi-core processors. I wait to see a benchmark test between 32 and 64 bit versions of 3d Max 2008.