building my first PC...many questions

[jackb602]

I'm planning to build a PC that will serve two purposes. It will primarily be a render node (for Cinema 4D, Maxwell, finalRender) and I'll also use it as an AutoCad workstation, only for 2D drafting. I've always owned Macs, so this is all pretty new to me. From what I've read, the AMD X2 dual cores offer some of the best price/performance at the moment. With that in mind, I put together the system described in the link below. I think it will do the job, but I have a bunch of questions.

 

1) The case includes a 300W power supply. Is that large enough for this system? I'd like to use the smallest power supply I can to save energy.

 

2) The video card I picked is just a guess. Does it look like a good, cheap card for 2D work? Or is there something else I should try?

 

3) Do I need the 64-bit version of Windows XP, or can I get by with XP home? If I do need the 64-bit version, will I be able to run AutoCAD 2002 on it? What are the disadvantages of using XP home with a 64-bit processor?

 

4) Is there anything else I need that's not included on the wish list?

 

I'd appreciate any advice or comments on the system.

 

Thanks,

Jack

 

 

EDIT: Here's a link to the wish list:

http://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/Wishlist/WishShareShow.asp?ID=1598196&WishListTitle=AMD+DualCore+%2D+%241%2E59%2FCB

[AJLynn]

1. No. You want more than 400W.

 

2. "TC" or "TurboCache" in an nVidia card means shared memory - it's got 16MB on the card and the other 112 is system memory assigned to the video card. This is slow, and it means you hav less available system memory. Lose the TC card, look for a non-TC GF card or something like an ATI x600 (I have that in my second machine and it's working out well for me).

 

3. Did I see somewhere that FR-2 is going to be 64-bit? Oh well. This is still a really hard question to answer. But at least go with XP Pro instead of Home.

 

4. You forgot to mention that your case is "Armed With 'Honor'".

[jackb602]

Thanks for the feedback.

 

1. I picked a bigger (430W) power supply that's supposed to be very quiet. Here's a very basic question about power supplies. Am I right to assume that the computer (or power supply) will only draw as much power as it needs at a given moment? I want to build a fairly energy efficient machine so that I can add as many nodes as possible in the future, and to minimize the cooling load.

 

2. Thanks for the heads up on the video card. I've switched it for a "normal" Geforce 6200.

 

3. I'm still not clear on the requirements/advantages of 64-bit. Regarding XP Pro vs. XP Home, I thought Home would be fine for my needs. The only thing this machine will need to do is run Autocad and talk to a local server for network rendering. Will Home be sufficient for that?

 

4. I wouldn't have it any other way :-)

[bjornkn]

1. I just built a X2 4600+ system, and then I was recommended to buy at least a 480W PSU. I don't know if it's really needed, but I would rather be on the safe side than having to fight "unexplainable" problems caused by unsufficient power.

3. I'm not sure, but I thought you'd need XP Pro to run dual-core?

AFAIK some programs also require the Pro version to be able to run.

 

I couldn't open your wishlist, so I don't know what MB you chose. Maybe you should check if the BIOS on it is dual-core-ready? Mine wasn't, but the MB was, so I had to flash the BIOS before it would recognize the CPU. And that might be a problem if your other machine(s) are Mac?

I use the Asus A8N-SLI De Luxe MB.

[bcampbell]

There is a lot more to building a stable system than picking just any old power supply and in my opinion wattage alone isn't your reference. You also have to be careful with the Ampherage on the rails - especially the 12+ rail. The guide below is a bit old but is good for a rough guide.

 

Latest Motherboards

=40watts

 

Fans (each)

=9watts or 0.5amp eusing the +12v line

 

Athlon Xp & Intel CPU above 1800

=90watts or 7.5amp using the +12v line

 

CDROM / DVDROM"s each take

=30watt or 2.5amps using the =12v line

 

Hard Disk Drives each take

=30watt or 2.5amps using the =12v line

 

AGP latest 8x

=up to 80watts

 

Lookin at the PSU you have picked - I would go for something with a dual 12v+ Rail at atleast 18A per rail, and remember that usually when manufacturers specify the power rating they use a peak rating. Also have a look at this on tomshardware http://www.tomshardware.com/howto/200507111/index.html.

 

As for motherboards, after several years building workstations I have cam e to the conclusion that Abit is one the best manufacturer out there and on the rare occasion that I have had to use there tech suppport - they have always been excellent! You can also save a bit of money for a better PSU as the abit is a good bit cheaper for the same spec http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813127212

 

I would not go XP 64 just yet. Not that I have been able to give it a good test (it is still sitting in the box on my desk!). And Home Edition won't use two cores.

 

For GFX you want to go atleast 6600. I use a Gigabyte 6600GT 128MB for 3D Studio MAX and am very impressed it. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814125176

 

Hope this of help

[jackb602]

Thanks for the replies. In case others can't see the Wish List, I've pasted the important info below...

 

COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum/Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

ASUS A8N-SLI Premium Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard

CHAINTECH SE6200/128 Geforce 6200 128MB DDR PCI Express x16 Video Card

Antec TRUE430 ATX 430W Power Supply

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Toledo 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Dual Core Processor

CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered System Memory

Western Digital Raptor WD360GD 36.7GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive

ASUS Black IDE CD-ROM Drive

Microsoft Windows XP Professional X64 Edition

 

It looks like the consensus is that I need an even larger power supply. I did use the calculator at this link (http://www.jscustompcs.com/power_supply/Power_Supply_Calculator.php?cmd=AMD) and came up with a result of 283W. Does that sound right?

 

The Asus motherboard is supposed to be ready for AMD X2 chips, and it includes some kind of overclocking utility which sounds cool.

 

I did get the feeling that 64-bit Windows is still somewhat experimental. However, Cinema 4D gets a substantial rendering speedup in the 64-bit version. Maybe I should start with XP Pro, but I kind of hate the idea of having to buy Windows again in a few months.

 

bcampbell, do you think I need to upgrade the video card if I will only be using the machine for 2D Autocad drafting? All of my 3D work will remain on OS X.

 

Thanks for all the tips,

Jack

[vizwhiz]

ASUS A8N-SLI Premium Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Toledo 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Dual Core Processor

jackb602

 

is This a 1x dual-core motherboard or a 2x dual-core setup??

is There a 2x dual-core motherboard out on the market now??

 

CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered System Memory

one major advantage of the 64 bit systems

is That They can use more Than just 3 gb of ram

 

is 4 gb do-able for your system?

a faster rendering unit will go Thru more ram faster

 

not sure what The optimal amount of ram is for a dual-core 64 bit system

i am hoping to purchase a compuker in The next 6-8 weeks, impatiently waiting

 

Thanks

 

Randy

[jackb602]

Randy,

 

The motherboard is for a single AMD X2 dual core processor. I don't think there are any motherboards that would allow a dual dual-core system, but I wonder if they will come along in the future. Is that possible with the X2 chips?

 

The system I picked out can take up to 4 1GB chips. I think this is more than enough for what is bascially a render node. And I'm guessing that 1GB is enough to get started though I'm not sure.

 

Jack

[bjornkn]

Jack, It looks like your MB choice is about the same as mine. It does indeed say that it is dual-core ready, which it obviously is - but only after you have flashed the ROM to the newest version. Or maybe they have started shipping them with a newer ROM version by now?

The overclocking system is probably what they call NOS? I just tried it once, but couldn't get it to work at all (didn't even boot), but maybe I'll try it again with some more consevative settings when I have some free time..

BTW, I think I would go for 2GB of RAM

[bcampbell]

 

bcampbell, do you think I need to upgrade the video card if I will only be using the machine for 2D Autocad drafting? All of my 3D work will remain on OS X.

 

Thanks for all the tips,

Jack

Well it cheaply gives you the flexibility to use it for other work. Also the heatpipe is a good feature - reduce fan noise - thats was the plan with my current workstation and it would have worked too if i didn't put 5 hard drives in it - to be honest - my server is the only machine I have that shares memory from the system board but it's not like I'd ever notice!

[jackb602]

I checked the price again, and realized it's only a $20 upgrade to the card you recommended, which looks very good. Now I just need to get a couple of checks from clients so I can order this thing.

 

Jack

[Chad Warner]

Jack-

 

Did you get this system and succesfully have AutoCad run on it? I just got a Dell with x64 and I don't know if AutoCad has problems or not.

 

-Chad

[jackb602]

I had completely forgotten about this thread. Not too long after I posted it, the G5 Quad was released and I spent my money on that. It's definitely made my life alot easier when it comes to deadlines. Now that the Mac Mini uses the Core Duo processors, that looks like a very good candidate for a render node. But I'm not planning a major upgrade anytime soon. Sorry I can't answer your AutoCad question. It runs reasonably well under Virtual PC, good enough for basic drafting anyway.

 

Jack