I'm building my first workstation and i need help

[zabur]

I wanna build a very fast dual proc workstation that supports dual channel ddr ram w/ firewire, etc. i'd like to go dual xeon as i have around $2500 to spend on the computer only---can anyone help me pick the correct parts for this cause i'm VERY new to this---thanx alot

[ralph7d7]

Have a read through the forum here for items on mother boards / ram / hard drives / graphics cards.

Have a think about what you want the machine for : animation / rendering / modelling / coding.... etc

Then have a look on somewhere like www.dabs.com for info on hardware prices. (or your country equivalent)

Hardware is getting cheaper so you are in luck !

[zabur]

i wanna figure out what the best mobo is for a wide variety of maya uses--i'm sure i'll learn a lot of different uses for the program as i am about to graduate w a bachelors of graphic design and am about to start ucsd or calarts in a pursuit of a computer animation degree. (I haven't decided which school i wanna go to) ---but anyway, i wanna be able to render on this pc, and i'm interested in character animation--so i guess i'm actually interested in a computer that'll do alot- in MAYA--is XEON the only way to go for top end performance? i've heard from some that AMD duals are wonderful and others say they're crap Would an AMD dual proc be suitable for ALL my future maya needs? What mobo ( AMD or Intel based) would you professionals recommend? THANX for the help

[bigeye]

Post deleted by paper_bass

[zabur]

well...i know enough to know i wanna further my education. And i have between 2000-2300 dollars to spend. Will i be able to render with a single proc?

and which ddr ram should i get?(266,333.or 400}

[francisbitonti]

I know how hard it is to find good info on building high end workstation. I had just finished buiding mine. After long research this is what I had gotten.

Tyan Thunder i7505 (S2665) motherboard
2x Intel XEON 2.4GHz 533FSB cpu
4x Crucial 512MB DDR266 memory
3x Western Digital 120GB hdd (Special Edition)
1x Seagate 80GB for system drive
3Ware RAID Controller
Leadtek GeForce4 4400Ti (from my old system, waiting for something better to come out)
Plextor combo drive & Pioneer DVD-RW
Thermaltake Case & Antec True550 p/s

You probably don't need all this staff but it should give you some ideas. For me it is a dream machine.

X3M

[zabur]

i really appreciate the help everyone...i think i'm probably gonna go with a the gigabyte ultra2 mobo w/ the sis655 chipset, p4 3.06w/H.T., and a gig of dual channel ddr400 ram to start with (i'll buy another gig in a few months) i havent decided on the video card yet cuz i'm not sure which is best for maya and the rest of these 3d apps-(got any suggestions?) i know it's not a dual proc like i originally wanted but i'm kinda strapped 4 cash. Do you think it'll do the job for modeling,animation and rendering?

[bigeye]

Hey
As far as GPU's go you may like to consider the following:

NVidia 4 Ti 4600 - probably the best value for money card. Will do the job and is not too expensive - you could then save up for something better ?

NVidia Quadro 4
Something like the 750 XGL represents good value for money if you have the cash. ie its bigger brother the 900 XGL doesn't give too much more performance increase - well some but the price doesn't justify the 900 over the 750 in my case - unless you can persuade a mate to buy you one..., but a step above the 4 Ti 4600.

Apart from that you could look at the ATI cards but I dont know much about those.

nvidia 4 Ti4600 -

[ralph7d7]

I think you mean the 980 ?