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Please help: building a new A/V system

J

jojo99

n00b
Joined
Apr 10, 2005
Messages
42
Hi, I've been using an Athlon X2 4400+ for a while now (the system is still somewhat ok and I could keep using for a while, perfect for my hardware needs though and still running great, ... it's just time I think to upgrade get some faster processing, etc.). My hardware needs are quite specific, this will be a home studio A/V system...and I was hoping there might be some AUDIO and Video philes out there who can help suggest system parts and help in regard to a system like this

I hope this is the right forum section here for this.

I work with video in Adobe CS and Sony (Vegas 9).
I work with audio more often (Pro Tools 8.03 Mpowered and/or Sony Vegas/Acid - with two Delta 1010's and/or an RME Multiface, all of which are PCI cards, not PCI-E/X).

Goal is to improve processing speed, be able to run more soft-synths without bogging down, improve mixdown render speeds, etc.

Can you tell me what kind of performance difference I can expect from my old system now compared to the planned new system please?
More of a real-world guesstimate...

Anyway, I'm looking into building another AMD system here and need a motherboard with at least 3 usuable PCI slots on it (not PCI-E) for my A/V hardware. I also would prefer the mobo to have the T.I. Fwire chipset. I've looked into the Intel systems and although it would be a bit faster I like the affordability of another AMD build.

What I have now: Athlon 64 X2 4400+, Gigabyte GA-K8NS Ultra-939 (once the perfect mobo for hardware needs), 4 gig DDR2 GSkill ram, 3 sata, 1 dvd burner. AGP video card (Nvidia 7600 GS, two flatscreen monitors - no gaming going on here btw).

NOTE: I NEED to stay with Windows XP Pro (have a copy here) however.
I'd like to move to windows 7 one day, but there's no real need and my applications (Pro Tools and some mobile media encoding apps still only work with Win Xp - so it's ok for me).

What I (might) buy soon to upgrade: AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor

Motherboard - HERE IS WHERE I NEED SOME HELP - I need at least 3 PCI slots (and newer mobos usually only have 1 or two normal PCI).
I need at least 3 PCI also want to make sure the motherboard is the best for the processor and my hardware needs - I hope you can help

Looking at this one: GIGABYTE GA-880GA-UD3H AM3 AMD 880G SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard

or this mobo:
GIGABYTE GA-790XTA-UD4 AM3 AMD 790X SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard

Ram (is this the smartest/best ram for this sys?): G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL8D-4GBHK

Power supply (can you suggest a cheaper/better option or deal?:
OCZ StealthXStream OCZ500SXS 500W ATX12V / EPS12V Active PFC Power Supply

Graphics : not sure just yet.
1 mobo above has onboard graphics...the other does not (GA-790XTA).
if I'm not a gamer, would going with onboard graphics be ok for my a/v editing needs?
It won't affect my processing power at all going with onboard vid?

I do have 2 flatscreens (1 using DVI, the other reg D-Sub)

Not sure about what case to go with yet, but i do know I'd like it to be quiet for my piurposes...yet I don't want all the fancy see thru, lights, etc. Just plain and simple.


Concerned about what Fwire chipset is used here on these gigabyte mobos, i don't know what it's using (prefer if it was the TI chipset like I have on my current gigabyte board, I think it might be T.I though).

I do like the build quality of the gigabyte boards...but this one is an unknown. Both only have 1 PATA connection (up to 2 IDE devices max). Again, i do need at least 3 regular PCI for my hardware (might be able to get by with 2 if hard pressed but prefer 3)

The GA-880GA-UD3H mobo has onboard video....which I'm worried about. It would save me a separate PCI-E graphics card purchase....but if it affects processing/ram (shares system ram and will affect my A/V processing needs) I might have to bag on this mobo and avoid. But maybe newer mobos like this don't share the ram/cpu with video card?
I dunno - hoping some of you can fill me in here.

I'll add another sata at some point, have 3-4 SATA 1 and 2 drives to tranfer, have an IDE and my IDE DVD burner, PS/2 mouse/kybd, windows XP pro, will transfer likely.

I'm sure, but are there other items I should include or are forgetting here?

* NOT planning on OCing here btw, just don't want to bother with OCing with this kind of rig. Again, no gaming here, just looking at building a better/faster Audio/Video media editing system
Plan on running on air cooling as is.

Also: can you tell me roughly what difference in speed/power I can expect from my older/current system (AMD x2 4400+) compared to this possible new build (X4 Phenom 3.2ghz)?


Thanks for any and all help, I've been coming here first to you guys for this kind of advice.
 
1) the PSU you got is not too good....most of the Corsair 500W's, or Antec's would be better....im not very knowledgeable here, but I do know the OCZ ones are not too good/reliable.....ill let someone else chime in here.

2)Your performance increase will be huge, however I would suggest jumping to either the Phenom II X6 1055T or X6 1090T, more cores is typically better for video/audio work....

3) If you get Windows 7 Pro/Ultimate you get Win XP Virtual machine which works with almost every XP only program out there, and it even does it within Win7 environment.

4) both of those mobo's would be good, personally I would say just get a ATI 5750 to do video because it will be better for whatever you do, however that onboard should be ok....
-Suggestion: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131398
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131627

or either of the gigabyte's.....both of the Asus boards I just suggested should do the job just as well

this one would be good(lotsa sata) if you can ditch those IDE drives: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157191

this one can do all of what you need, but also has a floppy spot: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813136058

FYI: I'm not 100% sure on anything but the Asus boards(havent really looked at them, just going by feature set/brand name....ASrock is a sub company of Asus)....did not include the gigabyte's because the only ones filling your spec's are posted by you

hopefully these suggestions help
 
Thank you for the fast reply!

Well, i have to stay Win XP pro :( at the moment (looked into it and stupid Pro Tools MPowered 8.03 (which I have to use for some clients at times) won't fly right in Win7 in my scenario. Plus my preferred audio card preferred "driver version" will work only in WinXP Pro (yes, I'm dictated by a driver - but, hey that's what it is since I want to keep these audio cards).
Also, there are quite a few 3rd party mobile media editors that only run in WinXP after looking into it. Most people won't have (or want) these type of apps though. The problem is me and my strange needs and guides to follow here :(

I'm looking Gigabyte mobos as I'm kind of more sure it's coming with the T.I chip Fwire I prefer onboard, plus I've used them in the past and feel they have a great build.
But, I'm seriously looking at the options you sent - thank you (concerned also in avoiding anything VIA or the like and about the Fwire chipset).

So not being a gamer - going with the newest gigabyte (880GA) with graphics onboard shouldn't affect my audio/video processing/editing power needs?

I'd love to go X6 but I think it's a bit out of my price range (and I think quad will accomplish the upgrade goal well enough. I'm interested though...and the gigbyte boards should take it...so maybe I will opt for that. I dunno).

I know I just need to avoid any unseen instance of the graphics or PCI-E slot negating any of the regular PCI slots (need those for my specific hardware).

Should I be thinking 600W power supply (and def avoid OCZ)?
I'll look into an Antec, Corsair, or Thermaltake
 
I highly suggest getting at least an x6 1055t because you're going into productivity suites.

Now, there are a few boards that support DDR2 and the new x6 processors, but they are quite hard to find. Gigabyte makes this one, but it only has 2 pci slots.

Here's a good power supply that is very cheap, but may be limited on what video card you decide to get if any: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139008 .


So basically, what I'm recommending is:
AMD x6 1055t: $200
Gigabyte MA770-UD3: $80
G.Skill DDR2 (another matching 4gb because you want a lot of ram): $110
Ati HD5450 for your video needs: $40
The power supply I linked above: $35

Yeah, that's pretty much it. Totals to around $500 after tax/shipping. Of course this all goes out the window if you absolutely need 3 pci slots. >.<
 
the 1055T is ~$200 depending on where you look, as shown above.....very stable CPU and not too much more than what you listed, and even though there is a 400 mhz drop in speed, you will be better off with more cores.

ive personally never had an issue with VIA stuff, then again i dont do heavy FireWire, or heavy sata usage on any of my machines......any of the boards will be good

you shouldnt be hindered by the onboard, however I do highly suggest getting an external like the 5750, or the 5450(forgot about this one) over any onboard....I do suggest getting a DDR3/AM3 board, over an AM2+/DDR2 board, only because in the future you can get some newer chips, and will have more BIOS updates...


you will want tons of RAM, given your programs can use it, worstcase you can just use something like RAMDISK......hope this helps

+1 for that 400W PSU, though it wont give you much wiggle room if you throw in a few more drives and the like
 
Ok, so I think I'm with ya on the Phenom II X6 2.8, it's only a little more $.

But, just checking all this, since it's running 6 cores at 2.8, won't the quad running at 3.2ghz be somewhat close in performance in comparison with the A/V work I'm doing? or are those added 2 cores allowing for a serious and noticeable improvement over the quad?

The other question is Pro Tools Mpowered written to take advantage of 4 or 6 cores?
Same question with my Sony Vegas (vers 6, 7 and 9) and Sony Acid 7, as well as my Adobe CS3.
I dunno.

I also re-decided to go back with the orig gigabyte 880GA mobo I chose (was gonna switch to the other, older 790X gigabyte).

And felt you guys were right about the power supply, going with a corsair 650W (which wasn't too much more than the 500w).

thanks
 
i would assume the Sony programs are mutli threaded(very big name, it should be....you would have to ask someone that knows the software)......i don't know the software you use, if they are not multi threaded the x6 is a waste, however if they are the x6 will noticeable increase your times because you now have ~50% more processing power(not accounting for the speed loss, though two cores at 2.8 beats a 400 MHz cut)
 
Ok, understood. I'm going with the X6.

Well, I can utilize both cores of this 4400+ with Sony apps and Pro Tools 8 right now, so I assume it would be able to utilize all 6 cores of the X6.

And thank you once again btw!
 
well, the programs may have an artificial limit of 4 cores in their design(hell they could only be written to take advantage of 2 cores)....worst case whenever you upgrade your software, you should get some that utilizes all 6 of the x6.......
 
But ProTools M-Powered runs on Windows 7. I run it using the MAudio Black Box.

EDIT: OK, it is technically a "Public Beta".
 
If the programs aren't mulit threaded the 1055T will run at 3.3ghz so Its better suited than the 955 for your purposes.
 
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