Want to build Q8200 system - looking for advice

ki_cz · Post by **ki_cz** » Fri May 15, 2009 1:38 am

I'm looking to build a budget-ish Q8200 system which will be used primarily for Photoshop and 3D work, television, but not gaming. I've built a silent system before, so have kind of an idea of what I'm looking for, but I could use some advice on a motherboard, etc. This will be running a 24" monitor.

Here's what I'm thinking of so far:

CPU - INTEL Core 2 Quad Q8200 - 4,033 CZK

RAM - 2x 4GB (KIT 2x2GB) DDR2 800MHz PC6400 CL5-5-5-18 CORSAIR TWINX XMS2 BOX - 2,354 CZK

Video card - still unsure, looking for recommendations. Maybe the ASUS EN7600GS SILENT/HTD, 512MB DDR2 (540MHz) - 1,546 CZK

Power supply - SEASONIC S12II-430HB or NEXUS VALUE 430W ATX2.0 - both around 2,000 CZK (looking for other recommendations here as well)

Case - Antec SLK3700 (already have one of these) - 1,890 CZK

SCYTHE Ninja mini Low Noise Low Profile CPU cooler - 915 CZK

3x SCYTHE S-FLEX SFF21D, 800rpm - I was thinking about 1 for intake, 1 on the CPU and 1 for exchaust. Is that overdoing it? - 1,200 CZK

Motherboard - looking for budget options!

So, basically I'm looking for recommendations on how to improve this system (budget and sound wise if at all possible), and looking for recommendations for a motherboard. 20 CZK = ~1 USD, so all the prices just divide by 20 for their dollar equivalent.

thanks for the help.

jessekopelman · Post by **jessekopelman** » Fri May 15, 2009 12:36 pm

If your primary apps are Photoshop and 3D modeling, maybe you should be focusing on a higher end GPU and a lower end CPU. I know Photoshop supports CUDA, does your 3D program?

Of course, another way to go is no video card at all. On board video should be fine for driving a 24" monitor at 1920X1200 -- or is this a CRT running at some super high resolution?

amabhy · Post by **amabhy** » Sat May 16, 2009 7:48 pm

Even if you are doing photoshop and 3d, a quad core CPU might actually be good because these apps actually use the other cores while games don't always.

On the other hand, you will need a better graphics card. Especially if you're doing 3d, I would suggest a workstation card like ATI's FireGL or Nvidia's Quadro. Unfortunately these can get quite a bit expensive.

Or if its just a processing machine, like for music and video editing and encoding, a cheaper card and faster CPU might do the trick.

ki_cz · Post by **ki_cz** » Sun May 17, 2009 11:20 pm

amabhy wrote:Even if you are doing photoshop and 3d, a quad core CPU might actually be good because these apps actually use the other cores while games don't always.

On the other hand, you will need a better graphics card. Especially if you're doing 3d, I would suggest a workstation card like ATI's FireGL or Nvidia's Quadro. Unfortunately these can get quite a bit expensive.

Or if its just a processing machine, like for music and video editing and encoding, a cheaper card and faster CPU might do the trick.

Yeah, that's the thing. The computer will be mostly for rendering/processing, tasks which currenctly my ATI 650xt is up to, but my Venice 3000+ can no longer handle.

I may be willing to up the budget on the vid card if anybody has any suggestions for something not too much more expensive, but would be worthwhile in the setup.

jessekopelman · Post by **jessekopelman** » Mon May 18, 2009 1:00 am

But what's a budget video card get you that modern onboard graphics don't? NVIDIA 9300/9400 spank your existing video card. I think you should either go with onboard video or a higher end graphics card coupled with a lesser CPU.

ki_cz · Post by **ki_cz** » Mon May 18, 2009 4:32 am

jessekopelman wrote:But what's a budget video card get you that modern onboard graphics don't? NVIDIA 9300/9400 spank your existing video card. I think you should either go with onboard video or a higher end graphics card coupled with a lesser CPU.

I was under the impression that onboard video was always garbage.

In any case, I will be using the computer for HD video viewing and I need something decent for 3d as well, just not something completely 'extreme'. As I said, I'm open to solutions. Currently I'm using the 7600GT at work which I'm fairly satisfied with.

ki_cz · Post by **ki_cz** » Thu May 28, 2009 4:44 am

Well, I ended up going a completely different route. I'm wondering if somebody can have a look at the system and tell me whether my Seasonic S12 430W will be enough to power it. I looked at the power supply calculator, and it should be OK, just wanted another check:

- AMD Phenom II TRIPLE X3 710
- SCYTHE SCNJ-2000 Ninja 2
- CORSAIR DIMM DDR2 4GB, 800Mhz, CL5, XMS2
- BIOSTAR TA790GX 128M
- SAPPHIRE Ultimate HD4670 512MB
- WESTERN DIGITAL WD Caviar Blue WD1600AAJS 160GB 7200RPM SATA-3G 8MB
- Maxtor 7200 500gb drive
- lg dvd burner
- 2x Noctua NF-S12-1200 (will be running off of fan controller)

I think I should be OK. Any opinions?

silo · Post by **silo** » Fri May 29, 2009 9:31 am

i see mucho mobo ($) and ram and poco micro @ nada gpu

my advice@ cheap trouble free build with punch @ pci-e2 is useless edition
( even if you are a gamer and you are not even gaming)

intel E8500
intel g31
amd 4770 (4670 if quad)
4gb g.skill
1 hdd
1 dvd

and

Scythe Kaze Master ACE

Scythe SFF21E x2

XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V

what os do you use? xp sp3 does not like amd much

Post by **CA_Steve** » Fri May 29, 2009 12:56 pm

For Photoshop, the speed drivers will be:
- number of cores
- faster CPU
- 4GB of RAM in a 64-bit OS.
- some kinda video acceleration (either a modern IGP like the 9400 or 780G or nearly any current video card). It uses the video card to accelerate the display/interface functions such as pan and zoom.
- fast system/app HDD for files requiring more working space than your RAM provides. So, you might think about upgrading the listed HDDs.