It is time, need new build advise.

[Jamey Gigliagi]

With each project I get more and more frusterated with my aging computer.

AMD X2 2.8ghz, 4x1gb ddr2 800 4-4-4-12, 320gb 7200rmp 16mb (os, apps, scratch), 1tb 7200rpm 32mb (data), 7900gtx, win7 64bit

I use it mainly for media editing, playback, a few games, and standard stuff (msft office/internet/music). Video wise, I do mainly animations. My last one was a claymation consisting of 2000 frames taken at 8mp and converted into an uncompressed HD video and then into a playable highly compressed HD version as I cannot play the uncompressed HD. The project before that was 1700 images on a chalk board photographed an exported in the same way. Although I have only done very limited work with actual video, I play to get a Canon 5DmkII by the end of the year to further explore that medium along with my photgraphy. So far I have only used Premiere and Photoshop CS4, but I am in the process of learning After Effects, and would like to be able to play with some 3D animation.


In terms of photography, while not as intensive as video, I do far more projects. Editing wise, I don't for see any problems, but I would like to be able to batch process 22mp raw files. Also, I do quite a bit of painting/drawing and digitize all of my works at 600dpi 16bit. My smallest pieces are 11x14 and they go up to about 30x40. Currently, the 11x14 pieces are enough to cause me to have to dedicate all of my computer's resources to run smoothly, and the larger ones are in the "click, go have a snack, come back, click..." range. Today, I am digitizing a sketchbook and am only about 20% done and the cumulative file size is already a little over 15GB.


In relation to the editing, the games even run fine on my current computer as long as I am not encoding/rendering, in the background. Graphics wise, I foresee no problems with any modern cards, and cpu/memory wise, I cant do any better within my budget, so I am good here. While editing, I like to listen to music and have essembled a larger library over the years consisting of just shy of 300gb (.flac), so it is more of a storage concern, but I will be using my current sound card, Asus Xonar Essence STX. Just add to the music player, 10 internet windows, and a media editing program or 2, and possibly some scanning and you have my typical workload. Sometimes, I scan to my laptop, just to free up some hdd bandwidth.

Initial future system plans:

cpu- intel i7 920 oc to 3.5-4ghz $280
cpu cooler-Scythe MUGEN-2 SCMG-2000 $40
mobo- MSI x58 pro $165
ram- ocz 6x2gb ddr3 1333 7-7-7-20 $150
sound- asus xonar essence stx (already have)
video- ati 4890 1gb $220
psu- thermaltake W0116RU 750watt modular $120
case- NZXT WHISPER WHI (9 3.5" bays 6 5.24" bays) $100
dvd- 2x samsung dvd-rw $50 (bluray media cost is too high for me at the moment)
monitor- dell UltraSharp 2408WFP $480 & samsung LN40B610 40" 1920x1080 lcd (already have)
os- win7 64bit rc until released

*hdds-HELP! I want to be able to play uncompressed HD and do as much multitasking as described above as possible.
3x320gb wd raid 0 for os, apps, playback
2x1tb wd raid 0 for reads (music, data, video, photos)
2x1tb wd for writes (scratch, render, etc)
1tb wd esata for backup of critical files.

Total is about $2500

Any suggestions, specifically on the storage side of things?

Thanks for your help.

[Harm Millaard]

Instead of "3x320gb wd raid 0 for os, apps, playback" I would use a single WD Velociraptor for OS/programs and use these 3 disks in raid0 for pagefile, scratch and rendered files.

To give you an idea of how I setup my system, look below. Maybe the components I used can be helpful for your decision. In my case, C is for OS & programs, D for pagefile, scratch and renders, E for media. All network drives are for photos, music, software etc.

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/attend-wo...tem-build.html