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@Alvin

You're probably right about premium price on the slot drive, but I got a techno-woody when it came on the market. My mix ended up about the same price as your original list. It includes the mouse and keyboard you pointed out along the way and I upped the system SSD to SATA III. (Good idea??) Here are the combined items from Newegg and Amazon. (I like the Egg, but they charge sales tax to my zip code. I saved >$100 picking items from Amazon.) If everything looks good, the orders will go out next week.

ASRock x58 Extreme 6 - $215.99+15.66=$231.65
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157213&Tpk=asrock%20x58%20extreme6

Intel i7 980 - $599.99+43.50=$643.49
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116402

G.Skill 12GB DDR3 1333 cas7 3x4GB (qty 2) - $199.98+14.50=$214.48
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231405

OCZ Agility 3 120GB - $198.99
http://www.amazon.com/OCZ-Technology-Agility-2-5-Inch-AGT3-25SAT3-120G/dp/B004Z0S6SO/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1312623637&sr=1-1

OCZ Revodrive 3 240GB - $599.99
http://www.amazon.com/OCZ-Technology-Drive-240GB-Express/dp/B0058RECUE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1312623590&sr=8-1

Western Digital Caviar Black 1.5TB (qty 2) - $215.06
http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-Caviar-Desktop-WD1501FASS/dp/B0044DHU84/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1312624059&sr=1-1

PNY GTX 560 ti OC2 (qty 2) - $461.98
http://www.amazon.com/PNY-NVIDIA-GeForce%C2%AE-PCI-Express-VCGGTX560TXPB-OC2/dp/B004QD2IAW/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1312624192&sr=1-2

SeaSonic X-850 - $210.99
http://www.amazon.com/Seasonic-ATX12V-EPS12V-Power-Supply/dp/B004ETEFTK/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1312624280&sr=1-1

CoolerMaster Hyper 212+ w/ extra Blade Master fan - $38.89+2.82=$41.71
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103069

LG 24X DVD w/ LightScribe - $20.99+1.52=$22.51
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136228&Tpk=lg%20gh24ls70

CoolerMaster HAF 932 Blue - $159.98+11.60=171.58
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119213

OKGear 18" SATA III cable, Straight-to-Rt.Angle (qty 2) - $8.98+0.65=$9.63
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812123158

CoolerMaster Sentinel Advance S3RO-G Laser Mouse - $57.99+6.11=$64.10
http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Storm-Sentinel-Z3RO-G/dp/B005ELWH5G/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1312625231&sr=1-1

Logitech 920-000914 USB Keyboard - $59.99
http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Illuminated-Ultrathin-Keyboard-Backlighting/dp/B001F51G16/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1312625331&sr=1-1


Grand total: $3055.90 + $90.25 CAtax + $10.73 shipping = $3156.88


Let me know if I need to tweak anything.

-cassdog
 
Well,
That is all compatible and will all work ... Not what I would have done but you got the important stuff right and YOU *need* to "like it".
So ... I won't try to cram my discretionary opinions down your throat ... It is within your budget and it is gonna scream !
SO glad you went with that PSU !
Obviously ... I already told you "exactly" what *I* woulda done, ... but "you ain't me" and I won't "pick nits" over stuff that will not effect your render times.

Great job ! (sincere).

(I *do* hope that 2nd fan, you got, is VERY well matched to the stock one (CFM)).
... The fan I spec'd is an EXACT match ... if they don't match, one fan will burn the other out.
... In general terms, with a 120mm push-pull config, the CFM/RPM/Static Pressure should ~match~.

I will not argue with Noctua's Engineers on their 120mm/140mm model ... THAT is an exception !

I bless this config with my official certification (but still recommend the fan I originally spec'd).

Win7-Pro64 is the only OS I would recommend ... but you knew that ... I hope.

I am certan you are aware of the various "Help and TS stickies" ... they are GOLDEN and will get you through your build but ... we will do our best to assist you with any questions or problems that might arise.

I say "we", because my itinerary and agenda are getting a bit crowded, so ... I (personally) might be a bit scarce, because I will be on the road, sporadically, for several week-long trips, through next spring ... but I will be checking in, between those trips.

You are in great hands, with our nost excellent senior techs, here at THG.

Feel free to drop me a PM ... I'll get to you when I can.

=G'luck!=

PS: You *DO* know that the i7-970 will clock just as well (high) as the 980, right ?

... and ... "No" ... Going with a SATA-III SSD, of that capacity, ain't gonna improve performance ...
... but it certainly will not hurt anything, exept (perhaps) your wallet ... might have a "better" controller and SSDs are "getting better" (firmware-wise) with each iteration, so ... go for it.


 


That fan link was a bad paste; I'm going with yours. (..and that's why a second set of eyes helps!)

Dropping back to the i7-970 and Agility 2 90GB saves ~$75 and gets the build done for under $3k w/o tax which was my stated goal. We'll see what happens when I click "buy now".

I have access to Win7-64 Pro and Ultimate keys; I'll use the Pro.

Thanks for all the help, Alvin; this is gonna be *FUN*. I'll put up a final post in a couple of weeks with some benchmarks once it's running stable.

My tail is waggin'.
 


"Bow-wow-WOW ... Wuff !"

I'm glad you got the gist of my "hints" ... Sometimes enthusiasm and "logic" can cloud better judgement.

Yeah ... Going SATA-III with a 240GB SSD makes TOTAL sense, as the internal RAID-0 scalings WILL saturate (exceed) a SATA-II interface ... but, like I said, a newer controller and newer firmware surely won't hurt anything ... just your wallet.
(The SATA-II Agility is "more than adequate", as a dedicated "base-drive", and the 90GB internal RAID saling is a good match, for a SATA-II interface.)

Going with the matched fan is "most prudent" ... One builder reported, to me, that the second fan only gave him a 3-degree reduction in temps, so ... I'd still do it, tho, just for "fault-tolerant redundancy" ... The 2nd fan will prolly increase your "combined" MTBF by up to 30% (about one extra year) ... even if the 2nd fan does not significantly effect the cooling performance, in the short term ... and, also ... as dust (inevitably) builds up, on your HSF cooling fins ... the 2nd fan could contribute more significantly, in cases of "marginal stability envelope".

So, yeah ... don't let me catch you playin' games on this thing ... I would be tempted (but no time).

=woof!=

(pardon me, if I don't sniff yer butt)


 


Win7 Pro removes that silly 16GB low hanging ceiling beam as well, on the RAM.

Another thing I think about is the percentage increase in performance for the next dollar level up in equipment.
So, second tier may only be 2% performance loss but $100+ savings.

"Alvin says it best, 'Diminishing Returns ... Beyond THIS sweet spot. ...'"

In cost however that may be 5% of the build. I'm not seeing that here due to the overall budget but a couple of things spring to mind.

The 560Ti at (x2) (768 cudas) again against the overall budget @ $461 vs something like the 580GTX @ $469 with 1.5GB RAM and (512 cudas) with
a down the road upgrade to SLI. I haven't looked to see what the difference with SLI will mean to your performance or if you would need that head room later
or why you are jumping in with the dual 560Ti's from the get go. Nice to have - do ya need it? Can you use all of it?

http://developer.download.nvidia.com/compute/cuda/2_3/toolkit/docs/NVIDIA_CUDA_BestPracticesGuide_2.3.pdf
http://georeference.org/doc/nvidia_cuda.htm

OR:

http://www.cgarchitect.com/news/newsfeed.asp?nid=4960

be nice if iliya77 and puff were about to offer some thoughts on that cause you can never have too much on board stuff.

Last thought I had was about the case, everyone has their preferences and I have mentioned this before in the thread but it just caught my eye and seemed
so right.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163173 or lower still...

http://www.amazon.com/SILVERSTONE-RV02B-W-Steel-Tower-Computer/dp/B002M78KZG

"...This is a big case but easy to put together. Almost any size power supply will fit in it. Plenty of room left after I install my 3 video cards. Each fan along
with the intake for power supply has a filter. This is a great case that will keep your components cool but will take up a lot of space...."

GOOD LUCK and may the gods of assemblage be hanging on your shoulder in a supportive way.

Since you're a PRO and read the thread no one need mention:

Step-by-Step Guide to Building a PC

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/ [...] e-building

"System won't boot" and "no video output" checklist

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/ [...] o-problems

In all sense of caution though I humbly place the links as is tradition for each build.....





 


@Alvin
Yeah, my choice of the slot drive already cost me a few extra $'s and is probably not going to yield any "real" benefit on renders (which is the whole purpose of this thread).

And, when I looked for the i7-970, I shifted it to Amazon and save a few more bucks.

So,with an i7-970 and an Agility 2 90GB the final total is: (Drumroll. please)

$2,971.90 + 46.75 CAtax + 10.73 Shipping = $3,029.38

Budget: Now within 1% of $3k target including tax and shipping to a CA zip code.


@fport
I've been trying to figure out just how much GPU I need and I'm still taking a bit of a shot in the dark. My main concern since this is a design workstation instead of a gamer is getting enough memory to hold complex spaces. The GTX cards we are using in this thread are a little light on memory and heavy on cores compared to the Quadro equivalent.

One Modo project which I will use to benchmark the performance of this beast is a 10,000 sq.ft. property my wife created with 2 multi-level buildings, 4 swimming pools, and a field of cut grass. (Real grass -- thousands of random length blades...) I've tried this with 2 different video cards a 256MB FireGL and a 2GB V7800 FirePro. The FireGL card cannot support OpenGL in the modeling environment, but the V7800 does. However, render times are not really changed for Modo regardless of the GPU. As I go forward on the new build I will also benchmark some Revit & 3Ds MAX projects and try to see if the CUDA cores are helping with the render times. (Maybe I can pull one card and get a good measure of how much help the GPU is providing.)

Getting 2GB on two GTX cards does max out my slots since the RevoDrive3 is taking one, and any upgrade requires a reconfig (new MOBD, ditch one 560 for 570/580/590, ...), but I don't think I'm going to need that any time soon. The equivalent Quadra 4000 has 2GB DDR5, but only 256 CUDA cores and costs $700~800. I get my 2GB DDR5 with 768 CUDA cores for under $500. (Winning!)

Being a PRO only helps me on my own projects where I write the rules. Here on the PC build front, there are dozens of different vendors writing the rules and we *ALL* need help getting beyond the marketing bullsh*t and down to real facts on how the available products meet our needs.



Thanks for your prayer to the gods of assemblage, but I shouldn't need it. I've got "the knack".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmYDgncMhXw
 
Well the 850W PSU gives you enough headroom, for the 2x560Ti ... barely ...
... And you maxe'd out your ram and have a couple of spinners, in there, too ...
SO ... Just remember that the big GTX cards use MUCH more power than the 560Ti .

Keep a handle on your power reqs ... But you DO NOT need to SLI to perform "Combined CUDA Compute" !!! ... ANY cards (from a GT220 to a big Quadro) that have any CUDA cores will AUTOMATICALLY combine the compute cores, regardless of which model card they reside on ... mix and match !
One GOOD thing about having a 2nd GPU is that you can up your monitor count from two, to three or four, which will allow for one or two "outrigger" displays to help you scroll/select from your object libraries (or clip bins) ... Design stations can never get enough display real-estate, IMO ...

JUST BE SURE that the two monitors, which are running off the same card, are set to the SAME resolution ... Don't ask me why ... ask Illy ... Something to do with heat and speed with the GTXs ... we never did get total clarification, on that "issue" (dissimilar rez monitors, on the same card).

From what I hear (from Illya and someone else), for 3DSmax, at least, you must purchase some expensive sw plug-in if you want CUDA compute to significantly ccontribute to your render load ... something like $1k or $2k ... Owchie !

Don't know if that is true or what else may be available, for whatever tasks and apps ... but my MAIN POINT, in bringing up this subject is to make you aware that there ARE some add-on/plug-in sw products, out there ... for SOME apps ... that will fully engage the CUDA compute engine for the purposes of renders, transcodes, etc. ... So ask on your prefered applications discussion forums ... and KEEP asking, every so often. (especially regarding 3DSmax).

It really IS prolly most prudent to go with the 560Ti *AND* to get two (matched) cards, now. ... Just live with that and forget about upgrades unless your environment should absolutely demand some change ... if that happens ... re-calculate your power reqs.

I think fPort is prolly right about the GPU/CUDA *not* contributing "much" (if any) to your current environment ... *BUT* ... CUDA is coming on very strong, in the graphics and design industry and those GPUs (that you are getting) will not go stale before the developers start writing code, to fully leverage the CUDA resources ... Anyone care to wager that CUDA code will "widely prevail" within two years ?
... 'Till then ? ... Load up on cheap displays (even using vertical orientation, which the nVidia drivers will do, generically) . ... gotta love THAT.

As far as OpenGL and spanning memory reqs, across 2 cards goes, and if those 2 cards must be SLI'd ... I really do not know ... surely would depend on the app ... would be worth an eMail to thei app-developer's product support team.

Another thing ... you can SLI without using the physical bridge. Not exactly the same thing, but you SHOULD ask your app-support teams about the optimum config ... I would have done that before shopping ... I *USED* to do that FOR people, around here ... but being both busier and a bit lazy, I don't usually provide that service, of late ... I may start doing that "spoon-feed" type research, for folks, in the future, but all the developers are currently in the process of porting over to CUDA and 64bit compute code, anyway, for this interim spate, so I am just trying to "wait it out", as the situation changes every quarter and everyone will (I hope) catch up soon. ... meanwhile ... CUDA is a moving target and 3rd party products are wrangling and angling to fill those gaps, in the mean-time. ... so ... anything I might learn will be invalid, in weeks or months ... kind of a dis-incentive, considering the effort ... for ME.

For now? ... Hit the forums (and support teams) and do your own homework !

If you find out anything useful, *DO* let me know and I *WILL* pass it on !





=f=
 

 

 
something I only alluded to, before ("mix-n-match")

You COULD go with just ONE plain old 560 (not even a Ti), as the primary, for now, and slap even a 240GT in there, as a 2nd gpu, just to push more monitors and add a few cores.

Essentially, you'd have enough cores, in a pinch ... enough displays ...
... And ... could save the big bucks for when the timing is more ripe.

Also ... Quadro vs. GTX ... TOTALLY (repeat) depends on the exact app and SOMETIMES, even the particular version, or feature, or function ...
... GTX *WAXES* Quadro on *MOST* pro benches ... you just need to check your junk !

(but, not in public, plee-uhz ! )
 


@Alvin
Yeah, I was a little worried about that; the Egg's calc said 811w at this config, but I didn't see any upgrades coming without a total re-think since I maxed out the MOBD. If you wanted to one-up this P/S where is the next good step? 1000w? The Seasonics max at 850w and the Corsair Gold line looks like it jumps from 850 to 1200. How's the OCZ 1000w? (It just popped up; I know nothing about it.)
http://www.amazon.com/OCZ-1000W-Power-Supply-OCZZ1000M/dp/B002IPHDZA/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1312739747&sr=8-9

@fport
I'm still pondering the GPU part. I'm trying to correct any misconceptions I had about GPUs in SLI for my apps. I'm only single monitor at this point, so even 2 monitors is an upgrade and maybe a better fit for using one card with increased memory. I've seen recommendations for using dual SLI'd 1.5GB GTX480s, a single 3GB GTX580, and another for going to a single 2.5GB Quadro 5000. My head is spinning. The idea of the dual 560s was to get CUDA count, but maybe it doesn't meet my memory needs if the model loads into each card seperately. I have been viewing SLI'd cards as total GPU payload above over total PCIe lanes beneath, not as individual cards. But, this might be one of my misconceptions. I'm gonna download GPU-Z and see how much of the V7800's memory is actually being used when we open large models and do a little more research on SLI'd cards.

I'm used to running 2D and 3D CAD on single workstation class cards on my previous builds and everything was fine, but the shift to photo-realistic rendering is changing the playing field. However, I believe the bottlenecks I am currently experiencing are mostly at the CPU/RAM level and ANY reasonable GPU setup will probably work just fine.


@everybody
Please excuse my tongue in cheek attitude when I am posting in the middle of the night. Remember to RTFM and use the forums; that how we get it done.


And here's a bit of wisdom from the PRO who runs our local large-format inkjet print shop.

"Don't *Over-Render* your scenes!! Know your target output system. Most printers claim to be 300~1200dpi, but in reality the printer/paper combo maxes out at 75 or 150dpi (that's 72/144dpi for you Epson guys out there). Everything beyond that is imperceptable. Only special digital photo media can take you beyond this limit."

So, run some test renders at different resolutions, try different paper, and learn what works for your output system. It makes a BIG difference on render times when we go for a 36"x24" money shot of the project (10800x7200@300dpi vs. 5400x3600@150dpi).
 
The good news is that "your" Seasonic X-Series power ratings are marginally understated ... and ... the egg-calc power recommendations are liberally over-rated. ... same goes with the GPU cards ...
... So, you have some healthy wiggle-room, there. A noisy "space=heater" PSU prolly is not the most prudent choice ... If you can't do it on 850W? ... prolly should farm-out your renders.

I would personally choose that PSU and *make* my config comply to it.
(but that's just how I roll).

Honestly? ... I recommend just one GTX560Ti ... leave it at that, and just live with that unless or until the landscape becomes much more clear. That card was specifcally designed to provide exceptional value ... to consume a sane amount of power ... to run reasonably cool ... to be less noisy ... to provide a professional modicum of cores and speed ... especially for grad students and home-pros.
It was designed for "consious" graphics pros, on a budget ... tah-dah ... You're welcome !

If you should (finally) discover that you MUST have more GPU power, THIS card *will* make a fantastic secondary "side-car", that will not suck power of burn the house down.

Please DO get as much specific information about the "compute-focus" of your primary suites, if you have dependable recommendations from seasoned vets, but, in generic terms, the 560Ti is a pretty good place to "start" and is a purchase that you will not regret, in ANY event.

I very much doubt that a formal (harware bridge) SLI is gonna get you very much, outside of gamng ... software SLI can be enabled (and disabled) at will. (This is where only the cardbus lanes are used for SLI).

And, yeah ... I have all sorts of professional hi-def camcorders and editing software but NONE of my audience has the bandwidth to view my HD masters smoothly. They also take a long time to render, etc.

Now? ... I even shoot my original vids at lower bit-rates and transcode to even lower bit-rates and nobody can really tell the difference and playback is smoother and renders are MUCH faster and, and, and, etc., ... ad nauseum.

Life gets simpler when we "get real".

JMO.


 


@Alvin:

A long day/night of trying to benchmark my software (Modo, Revit, 3Ds MAX) on system usage has led me to the same conclusion. My problems with Modo are at the CPU/RAM/Chipset and not the GPU. Loads on the GPU were "spikey", hitting 80-90% then flatlining at 0% for a while then up again, meanwhile the CPU was maxed out on all cores, so it looks like the calls to the Shader modules are barely getting out to my GPU slot. I hit 11GB commit charge on an 8GB rig, so I was paging like a mother to a spinner. Any zoom/pan/orbit sent all 4 cores to 100% for about 1 minute. It was painful to watch.

The AutoDesk products are a light touch on my system only using about 30% of my resources until I go to render. One interesting thing I do notice is that the process runs heavy on one core. You can tell which one is Master and which ones are Slaves. I've heard the same is true of Inventor from a ME at work.

I never did find out how much DDR5 I'm using, something about how Vista handles this stuff. (I know, Vista sucks!!!) If anyone has a way around this, let me know.
FYI - RivaTuner and MSI Afterburner ended up being to best tools to monitor this with. GPU-Z was clunky.

So, we'll drop one 560 from the shopping cart, hit "buy now", get this done for about $2,800, and I've got room to grow into the second GPU as my needs progress. I also have the V7800 as a backup if I wanna swap it out for the GTX. No CUDA, but a VERY nice workstation card. (A wag of the tail to ATI on this one.) And Modo uses OpenGL so it prolly don't matter for me. No fears.

Mission accomplished. Time to build.

Still gonna follow up with Tech Support on how the SLI'd cards will be handled should I need them in the future.

-cassdog
 
Great info, for this thread ! ...

... and ... Sher, PLEEZE DO get back to us with ANYthing related to "compute resource demands and balancing" (such as SLI + apps).

Don't ferget Yer Boiz !



 


Yeah fport, I'm down to do this. I just don't know what you exactly want me to do to create some 'stats' that we can compare. Walk me through this one pal.
 
Ohh yeah and I can't believe this thread is still going so strong!!! props to the foundational Alvin character in the space suite who likes espresso. You are helping many a diy-er!
 


And thanks to THE CREATOR of this fine vehicle ... the chassis, of which, remains intact.

At this point, I am more of a "Librarian" .... just holding down the front-desk and pointing in various directions.

Hey, Puff ? ... Could you ask Mission Control to send another case of Fart Filters, on the next Progress Supply Shuttle ? ... I went thru the last one, in record time.




 


Well okay, after all this isn't what you use as software.

Go to the Dx0 download page: http://www.dxo.com/us/photo/free_trial_version

Install it. Configure it to use your camera lens and body with the optional Optics Modules which you can choose and install.

Grab 71 RAWS and process them. You need to start a project and then browse to a folder of RAWS and select them and add to the project
bar at the bottom of the frame and then just follow the Select (all), Customize, Process, View as laid out. It might take a couple of passes
to get all the parts right, but it is basically self explanatory and you should have some fun as well.

Try it on a onsey or twosey until you feel you got it right then bang a bigger whack into the hopper.

You can refer to my screen grabs for details of times. You have to tweak the settings to get where I was at 17ish for 71 down to 4.15.

I got my gadgets from addgadgets.com
 
Alvin, you should consider a guide with links. I'm sure we could link it into the main sticky. It would save you some time and help folks wanting to design a "workstation build".

There are obviously things to consider in every case.

-How the software is written. Will it support and actually use multiple cores? Hyperthreading?
-Will GPU performance directly impact software performance?

Just think of all the hours of research you could save advisers and those they are trying to help :)
 


Well, the last box showed up on Thursday. I was very impressed by some of the packaging. The OCZ boxes could have held fine leather wallets and the Seasonic was amazing in its own velvet bag with a velcro satchel for the cables. It reminded my wife of a "Louis Vuitton" purse. I couldn't sleep without putting it together. (The Knack was strong that night.) But, I waited until the light of day to turn it on.

Unfortunately, my knack doesn't protect me from the evil demons that lurk in the netherworld between the BIOS and the Operating System. I goofed on the RAID config, and Windows grabbed 100MB from one of my spinners as a System Reserved area. A second install got by that one so I could figure out my original mistake which led to the "third time's a charm" install the I've got going now.

Took me a minute to figure out where to put things with 3 drives, but I've got /My Docs, /Desktop, and /AppData/Roaming on the slot drive and the rest of the user folders (My Music, My Pictures, My Videos, etc.) over on the RAID. I also put a /Saved Documents folder on the RAID and a shortcut for it inside /My Docs so she can easily file her stale projects from the slot drive to the spinners. I redirected the folders listed on this web link, kept the 3 critical folders on the second SSD, and put the rest on spinners.
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc732275.aspx
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Redirect-a-folder-to-a-new-location
I'll probably schedule a backup of the slot folders to the RAID on a regular basis just for added data redundancy.

So, @Alvin, it looks like I've sucessfully kept my mashed potatoes away from my peas.

I've logged several hours under Prime 95 without errors in the standard config, but still need to turn the clock up then start putting on the apps.


The Dragon breathes...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjsiGd8iAfs


P.S. - For those of you new to this Excalibur reference, have a look at the suggested links for Helen Mirren as Morgana. She may be your grandmother now, but she used to be pretty hot.
 


Any pitchers?
 


Agreed,
I have not given much consideration to "cannning" the "guidance process" which I have been attempting to contribute, here (and elsewhere) ...
... It usually starts with defining the primary apps, the "periodic" volume of output required and, of course, the cost vs. payout vs. budget.
I then, either go to the main app sw support site and do some research (or coax the OP to do that) ...
... CPU cores, Vs. GPU cores ... and ... Quadro vs. GTX are usually the main sticking points.

As for the rest ? ... If CPU cores **OR** disk access are dominant, then, heaps of DRAM ... fer sher.

SSD size (and number) are fairly easy to suss ... Mechanical RAID-0 is something that I only recommend in the most extreme cases ... almost never ... ok ... "NEVER" (any more).

I *DO* think RAID-1 of two very large spinners is totally worth it (in almost every case).

PSU ratings are (as always) VERY important, to the point where I am starting to think about the PSU and the total wattage *FIRST*, (more and more, lately) ... sometimes actually building to a power spec. (to some degree).

ALERT ! ... I will be more and more scarce, around here ... I just fiinished building an expedition back-pack and am about to purchase a Street/Enduro dual sport motor-cycle (MOTARD, actually ~CRF230M?) ... And I am purchasing an annual permit to all Texas State Parks, etc. ... Gonna do some Winter Camping, on the beaches, as well.

But ... When/IF the Socket~2011 platform rolls out, I will be back to review the evolution of BullDozer and compare those platforms (because I will build one of the two, for myself and because I am not interested, in what will happen, between now and then) ... Let's say .... ~Christmas 2011 ? (or so?).

And, for the first ~90 days, after release ... I'll be checking-up on all the benches and owner (components) reviews, etc., at egg-town ... and I'll be reviewing the current status of CS5+ and "where the beef needs to be", for typical "common broadcast" productions, etc.

I guess the reason that *I* keep hanging around is that EACH new WS build is a totally unique case and DOES seem to require that two or more people knock their skulls together and also do some gritty digging, into REAL requirements ... based on REALITY ... (and a sensible budget).

It's not hard ... but it is a process that often takes some time and conversation, to suss-out.

=Alvin=
 
@Proximon ... (Continued) ...

Though ... Come to think of it ... Half the battle is often slapping the OP around, a good bit, trying to "sober them up" ... because ... A logical process cannot begin until everybody dumps their notions and "sheds the hype" ... Sometimes, I (personally) have found it (absolutely) necessary to get "down-right rude", to get some folks to settle down and really step thru the process ... that is usually where the battle is won, or lost ...
... I mean ... Just look at the first 10 posts, on this thread ... Puff is totally way smarter than I am ... BUT ... he did come into this process wth a full head of "steam" and (lucky for him), he finally was able to "unlearn" the supposiitions and mis-information that he brought with him ... HE was not the problem ... He just got a hold of some "bad dope" (and had taken it, to heart).

And ... Proxi ? ... You know "THAT" happens, even with typical gaming and office builds ... with ALL builds!

And, once a really intelligent person has their mind "made up" ? ... It requires a good bit of really hard "work" to ... uhmm ... get them to reason, with a sufficient modicum of objective rationality.

VERY difficult to work with folks, once they "think" they know what a WS is ...

... As we know ... (around here) ... A ws is defined by the APPS (and the load).

... The HW config and even the budget are (should be) completely dictated by those driving requirements.

... And ... as I DO think about it ... I really am wondering if a "Guide with Links" is even efficable (even worth it) ... Even just looking at 3DsMAX or CS5+ ? ... develepment (and, therefore, requirements) progress at a rapid pace ... requirements (sw & hw) are3 totally a "moving target" ...
... As you well know, the entire pro-apps industry is porting over to multi-core AND 64-bit code, in sporadic leaps and bounds ... look at Auto-CAD ... still loves two fast cores ... Premiere MPE, on the other-hand ??? ... Feature by feature ... module by module ... the requirements are changing ... always !

... Every week brings a new landscape and new "forward visibility" ...

... As for 3DsMAX ... what is a $1200+ GPU-compute add-on module, this week, ... may be a fully integrated standard feture, next week (sure ... take a deep breath and hold it !).

And, god only knows what the "real deal" is (or will be) with Blackmagic Design hw product reqs. or what a particular OP really needs (as opposed to what they imagine they *might* need.

Sometimes trying to satisfy "might need" requirements can cost an extra ~$2k, or much more ...
... It takes some very frank and gritty conversation to get a user/OP/builder to recognize that they might be better off, waiting until they ABSOLUTELY *NEED* a capability, before they double their budget, just to satisfy a remote "possible need" ...

.... These conversations and this "process" can be very difficult to "encapsulate" ... folks are individuals and they want and need individual recognition, strokes, spankings, advice, biotch-slapping, etc. ...

Frankly? ... Tho ? ... MOST ws builders should spend 60 days, on their MAIN APPS user forums, before they EVER come to THG, looking for build advice. ... That would be the BEST single advisement that ALVIN could issue ...
... KNOW YOUR APP !!! ... Engage THAT (app) community ... FIRST ! (and deeply).

THEN ... we can help you hone a slick build ... save you some money ... give you the best components, for your budget ... THAT is what WE do best ... around here.
 
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