Help required on Xeon build.

[MarkPatterson]

Im building a new workstation here, but im concerned over if i should wait for the Clover Xeon (4 core Xeon) or stick with what I have here?
If the quad xeon core chip is only a few months away, and wont cost much more then my chips (shown below) then I would wait but if im looking at a 6 month wait for release and having to pay twice the price I will probably buy my new machine now. Any ideas?

Any comments on my build are much appreciated but I must say the GPU choice comes after a long investigation into Quadro v Geforce v Money etc... so im happy with this choice.

My main area of work is 3D CAD/Animation - but I have to do alot of rendering and simulation hence my need for CPU speed!

2 Intel Xeon 5150 Passive Socket 771, Woodcrest Core, 2.66GHz , 4MB Cache, 1333 fsb, Retail

Supermicro X7DAL-E, Intel 5000X, LGA 771, DDR2 FBD, SATA, SATA RAID, ATX, FSB 1333.

650W Silverstone ST65ZF-GM SLi Dual PCI-E EPS12v ATX12v v2.01 PSU (Xeon comp)

4GB b (4X1Gb) Corsair TwinX XMS2, DDR2 PC5400 (667), 240 Pin, Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 4-4-4-12

512MB BFG Technology 7950GT Overclocked, PCI-E (x16), Mem 1430MHz, GPU 565MHz, 24Pipes Dual DVI/HDTV (Just cant see why I would spend so much more on the Quadro)

1st drive: 160 Gb Western Digital WD1600JS Caviar SE, SATA300, 7200 rpm, 8MB Cache, 8.9 ms

2nd drive: 500 Gb Western Digital WD5000KS Caviar SE16, SATA300, 7200 rpm, 16MB Cache, 8.9 ms

Antec P180 Advanced Tower Case, Black (no PSU)

 

[oeuf]

I don't have an answer for your question, but I'm curious as to how much this system costs. I too do 3d animation/AfterFx work and am looking to put together another machine. I used to just put together gaming machines, but i'm finding that this is not enough now and need more CPU power. HD res and film res projects are killing me and my xp 3200+ is showing it's age...

 

[MarkPatterson]

Its around £2200 here in the UK bought from scan.co.uk

Im adding about £300 for a 20inch widescreen TFT - so all in £2.5k.

I tried building an apple Pro a Boxx and a HP workstation and couldnt get anywhere near the same system setup - I was looking at having to spend at least another £1k

 

[frankienyc123]

Just a bit of advice, I also am running my PC with the SIlverstone STF650 and just a bit of a warning, this thing is LOUD! Its a very stable and well built power supply, but the fan always seems to run nearly full speed even when the computer is idling. So if noise is a problem for you u should look at other options for a PSU or you can mod the Silverstone to make it less npoisy. Silverstone must know its very loud because they sell a cover that gooes on the power supply to quiet the fan noise. I found the cover to work quiet well but it is still to noisy for my taste so I had to mod it a bit. Using a rubber gasket when mouting the power supply helks a bit. But the mod that made the biggest differance was to remove the stock fan and replace it with a quieter fan mounter in the opposite location. You mount the fan on the front of the power supply where the auir intake is and blow the air out instead of mounting it in the stock locattion and sucking the air out. This keeps the noisy fan inside the computer case so that its less audible.

Just wanted to warn u, when I first nbuolt my system I thought something was wrong with the power siupply since the fan was so loud so I returned it and got another and it was just as loud. It got to be very annoying after a while when working at home in a quiet house. Just figutred id warn u about that. Good Luck
Frank

 

[MarkPatterson]

thx for the advice - any ideas on another, more quiet PSU?

Im not even sure if I need 650w to be honest in my build?