New workstation

O

Opus

n00b
Joined
Jul 24, 2008
Messages
5
Hi,
The time as come and I am buying a new PC for my business..... this PC is intended for everithing from 3D product design 3D animation..... tons of rndering.... working with very complicated 3D models etc.... and, yes after business ours i will lock myself in the office and play :D....
Because it is intended for work $$$ wasnt an issue and anyway this machine is intended to earn itself back in no time.... my target is building the best machine to cut max work time - today 75% of my time is wating for the mouse pointer to change back from an hourglassto an arrow - i will do gaming on this machine but it has to be build primarly for 3D design.... this is what i came up with:

MB - ASUS P5N64 WS PRO WiFi LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 790i Ultra SLI ATX Intel
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131321

Graphic card - NVIDIA Quadro FX 5600 - x2 in sli configuration
http://store.nvidia.com/servlet/Con...idia&id=ProductDetailsPage&productID=67049700

RAM - CORSAIR DOMINATOR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2000 (PC3 17066) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - x2 - for 8gb of RAM.
http://www.corsair.com/_datasheets/TW3X2G2133C9DF.pdf

HD (solid state) - OCZ OCZSSD2-1S32G 2.5" 32GB SATA II Internal Solid state disk (SSD) - this drive I inteded for the OS.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227294
HD - Western Digital VelociRaptor WD3000GLFS 300GB 10000 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - x2 in RAID0 configuration.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136260

CPU - Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9770 Yorkfield 3.2GHz 12MB L2 Cache LGA 775 136W Quad-Core Processor.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115051

Power Supply - PC Power & Cooling PPCT1200ESA 1200W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, ULC, CE, TUV, RoHS.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163109

Water Cooling - ZALMAN Reserator XT BK Black Reserator (Reservoir+Radiator+Water Pump) Water Cooling System.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118032

Sound Card - Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Elite Pro 70SB055A00000 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI Interface Sound Card.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102015

Speakers - Logitech Z-5500 505 Watts 5.1 Speaker.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16836121120

Monitor - Dell 3008WFP 30 inch UltraSharp Widescreen Digital Flat Panel
http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&oc=3008WFP

Case - SILVERSTONE ESA Edition TJ10B-WESA Black Aluminum Computer Case
http://www.silverstonetek.com/products/p_contents.php?pno=tj10-esa&area=usa


And thats all..... this machine will cost loads of $$$ this is why im posting here, i want to know if there are any suggestions???, will this configuration be stable??? i did my own research but still this is the first time i am going to build a machine it this level....:confused::confused::confused:

Please advice
O:cool:
 
I would suggest that you try to purchase an actual workstation from a reputable vendor, but since I have no knowledge in that area, I'll nitpick this build.

(For comparison's sake, what is the configuration of your current rig?)

First off, don't even think of getting an Extreme Edition processor (the "X" in the QX9770) -- it's not worth the money. In fact, the Q9450 or the Q9550 would suit your needs just as well for much less. If you're considering the Q9550, you may want to wait a few weeks -- the Q9550 is expected to receive a price drop to around $326 (which is the Q9450's current price point).

If stability is one of your main concerns with this build, you shouldn't overclock anything. But do you really need a water cooling setup? (Are you comfortable with setting it up on your own?)

You should check to see whether the Quadro FX 5600 cards will work with that motherboard, and vice versa. If you don't need all of the additional features that the motherboard offers, you could go with a cheaper 750i or 780i SLI board. There has been many recommendations for the EVGA FTW series boards for their stability with an SLI setup.

Speaking of SLI, you don't need a 1200 watt power supply. You could get away with something like the Corsair TX750, which is rated for SLI.

I have some issues with your hard drive configuration. Right now, I don't think that the SSD drive is worth all of that money, especially due to its dismal storage capacity. Also, you should swap out the VelociRaptor RAID configuration -- if you want, you could keep one of them as an OS drive -- and use the Samsung F1 750GB drives instead. They're as fast as the last-gen Raptors, and they'll be much faster than anything you were using prior.

Onboard sound is good enough nowadays that, for many people, a standalone sound card is unnecessary.
 
10x,
ok i understand, still my first concern is maximizing performance even if it means paying more at this stage. its not that i have to take the best components but i will take them if it means even little more performance.

will the Q9550 will give me same as the QX9770?? if so i will take the Q9550.
About the water cooling again i will take it just if i will get more performance out of the build... setting it up will be ok....

From what i checked the MB is compatible with the quadro FX 5600 in sli configuration and also the PSU is sli ready.... wont 1200w will improve performance (I am new in the area of large PSUs)??

This build is also intended for sound edditing wont the sound card give better sound and work speed?

Again.... saving here money is not my concern... i need MAX perfomance as i can get

Currently im working on Alienware 51m 7700 notebook - 2 years old, it served me well till now and now its time for me to upgrade..... this machine cant serve the business demands anymore :(
O
 
The long story short is that you've gone beyond the point of diminishing returns in terms of both price and performance. Yes, your setup will be one of the fastest around... but in a few months, Intel's new system platform, Nehalem, will arrive -- and it will eventually perform faster than even your setup. So, within a year or two, you may run into the same problem again -- you have a system that runs slower than the even the current low-end machine available.

Water cooling offers no immediate performance benefit -- it just keeps things (comparatively) cooler than air cooling, which really helps if/when you're overclocking (and/or you live in a hot environment). But I've never heard of a dedicated workstation that uses water cooling.

Based on stock speeds, the QX9750 is faster than the Q9550. However, other factors will be in play regarding your system's overall performance -- for example, the amount of RAM, the hard drive speeds, and the programs you'll be using. Coming from your Alienware notebook, the Q9450 and Q9550 would (along with the rest of your build) function much faster in your programs. (To put it another way, the system I've listed in my signature would perform better than your notebook, and it's over a year old.)

If the sound editing is part of your job functions, then you should be looking for a professional, studio-quality sound card, not one of the mainstream consumer models. (Instead of looking at Creative's Sound Blaster X-Fi line, take a look at its E-MU line... or take a look at a company like M-Audio, for example.) Otherwise, you don't really need a sound card.

I don't know enough about workstation graphics cards to comment on them. However, which motherboard features do you need? Onboard RAID? Extra SATA slots? I believe that you're spending an unnecessary amount on your motherboard, and that extra money spend won't offer any performance benefit on that end.

Another reason you need to change your motherboard: DDR3 RAM offers no performance increase right now over DDR2 RAM. Though Nehalem will use DDR3 RAM, chances are that it will use RAM that is faster and cheaper than what's currently available. Again, buy a 750i or 780i (LT) SLI board and stick with DDR2 RAM. All you need is DDR2 800 or DDR2 1000 RAM -- there's no need to spend more on faster RAM as it would be limited (in most cases) by the FSB speed the processor is running. (In fact, if you're not overclocking -- and I don't recommend it -- all you really need is DDR2 800 RAM.)
 
Why not just wait until October and build a Nehalem-based system? If you're going to spend the big bucks, might as well get the latest-and-greatest.
 
awsome !!!
ad what kind of case are you planning to house these cards in?
 
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