Hi everyone I want to build a computer tailored for use in CG applications like maya and cs5, but the more research I do the more all the options make my head spin, so im hoping someone here would be kind enough to recommend a component list for me. my budget: about $1000 What i know: it seems to be common knowledge that Nvidia cards are the best for working with these types of programs, i will need A LOT of ram, a really good cpu, 2 hdds (one for backup), and lots of cooling. and I want to run both windows7 64bit and ubuntu What i don't know: what graphics cards are the best value? cpu? how much difference will the type of ram i get make? how much difference does it make using sata II or sata III? will fans be adequate cooling if im not overclocking? if i am? should i be? if someone would give me a list of components they think would be good for this, including case, fans, hdds, ram, cpu, motherboard, graphics card and...anything else im not thinking of? i would really appreciate it cheers
$1000 would be cutting it close... not sure exactly what you will be doing with cs5, but here's some tech specs for adobe premiere System requirements Windows Intel® Core™2 Duo or AMD Phenom® II processor; 64-bit support required 64-bit operating system required: Microsoft® Windows Vista® Home Premium, Business, Ultimate, or Enterprise with Service Pack 1 or Windows® 7 2GB of RAM (4GB or more recommended) 10GB of available hard-disk space for installation; additional free space required during installation (cannot install on removable flash storage devices) 7200 RPM hard drive for editing compressed video formats; RAID 0 for uncompressed 1280x900 display with OpenGL 2.0-compatible graphics card Adobe-certified GPU card for GPU–accelerated performance; visit www.adobe.com/go/premiere_systemreqs for the latest list of supported cards Adobe-certified card for capture and export to tape for SD/HD workflows OHCI-compatible IEEE 1394 port for DV and HDV capture, export to tape, and transmit to DV device Sound card compatible with ASIO protocol or Microsoft Windows Driver Model DVD-ROM drive compatible with dual-layer DVDs (DVD+-R burner for burning DVDs; Blu-ray burner for creating Blu-ray Disc media) QuickTime 7.6.2 software required for QuickTime features Adobe® Flash® Player 10 software required to play back DVD projects exported as SWF files Broadband Internet connection required for online services and to validate Subscription Edition (if applicable) on an ongoing basis* Supported NVIDIA graphics cards for GPU acceleration GeForce GTX 285 (Windows and Mac OS) GeForce GTX 470 (Windows) GeForce GTX 570 (Windows) GeForce GTX 580 (Windows) Quadro FX 3700M (Windows) Quadro FX 3800 (Windows) Quadro FX 3800M (Windows) Quadro FX 4800 (Windows and Mac OS) Quadro FX 5800 (Windows) Quadro 2000 (Windows) Quadro 2000D (Windows) Quadro 2000M (Windows) Quadro 3000M (Windows) Quadro 4000 (Windows and Mac OS) Quadro 4000M (Windows) Quadro 5000 (Windows) Quadro 5000M (Windows) Quadro 5010M (Windows) Quadro 6000 (Windows) Quadro CX (Windows) depending on whether you like intel or amd, i would either go intel quad core i5 or phenom ii x4. get it on ebay or somewhere where they have a cpu/motherboard bundle. i would probably do a minimum of 8gb memory, but upwards of 12. find a motherboard that will do dual or triple channel and get 4gb sticks with decent timing. as far as overclocking, i wouldn't recommend it. some people do this and they might make out great in the long run. i wont have any part in telling you how to potentially damage your parts. you have to really know what your doing when overclocking. typical cases these days have many fans so no need to worry about cooling really. as long as you dont overclock you wont have real heat issues. you could upgrade the heatsink/fan to help cool the cpu a little. i personally would just let it run stock since the manufacture will warranty the item for 3 years with that stock heatsink/fan anyway. you could get sata iii but i dont know that the difference is anything from sata ii. 2 ideas come to mind as far as storage... you can set up raid1 with 2 wd raptors which requires 2 drives. both drives are written read faster and are the same so therefore you now have a backup. or you can get one hdd for os's and ssd for apps and data. no backup solution here but just get an external and image the drives to the external or something. as far as graphics cards i cant tell you. i'm not an expert in which one you should use.
