Thanks Henk: the article on Mac memory is very helpful. Also a good idea [silentpilot] re the Sun Ultra. I have used one of these before, they are very nice machines. They seem to be priced pretty competitively as well. e.g. even Sun Ultra 45 ~$3700, but more once you add on all the extras. Not sure...

If you were going to put together a dream machine
what would it be.

Main purpose is graphics, photographic processing.

Matt, if you are going to use your system for (semi-)professional SLR photo editing I think you could better ask your questions on a more appropriate forum like the Apple discussion site, a fan site like Appleinsider, or a professional photo site. Thing is, I have not decided on a Mac pro or a Dell...

Bonestone said: the Mac OS is very resource friendly, meaning it doesn't use a hell of a lot, ever. now, the more RAM you give it, the farther it will spread out. and when you spread anything out, it takes longer for it to get done. now, if you were running your shell in RAM [unlikely] it would be o...

Here is a Dell quote, pretty close to MacPro quote but not as good I think. Q240550 - Dell(TM) XPS 710 Desktop 1 5600 5600.00 Base System XPS 710 Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Extreme quad-core processor QX6700 1 Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Extreme Label (2.66GHz, 8MB L2 Cache, 1066MHz FSB) NVIDIA nForce(R) 590 SLI(TM...

Why not. RAM: Many macrpo users say 4GB is preferably 6GB is needed for snappy graphics using apperture and photoshop. So may be get 8GB at least. But not so much more for 16Gb. Monitors: Start with one 30" maybe get another later if needed. The card supports it. Thisi is what people say on the appl...

Any recommendations would be welcome.

No real budget.


BTW: I was listening to a Mac Pro today and it was very quiet
and running pretty cool, at least to touch.

The config is below: • Two 3.0GHz quad-core Xeon processors (8-core) OR • Two dual-core processors 3.0GHz each (quad-core) • RAM 16GB • Top of the line graphics card - to drive 2 x 30 inch monitors • Hard drives - 4x 750Gb drives = 3TB on board • AirPort Extreme • Bluetooth 2.0+EDR Inc...

If you want want quiet go for water cooled, can't beat it! RAM - Consider DRAM 3, really fast, but a bit expensive. Core 2 Duo E660 - Good choice for your application. ASUS P5W DH DELUXE/WIFI-AP LGA 775 Intel 975X ATX Intel Motherboard - Yes good choice though you might consider something that will ...

Case: Silverstone LC04 - if the PSU is too noisy or the case needs more ventilation Im gonna replace it with a picoPSU. - Yes not bad but consider water colling and a small refrigeration unit to really cool things down. On ly costs $197.45 for water cooling and and extra $64.95 for refreigeration he...

It is possible to use water cooling. You can do away with a regular fan though probably better with a smaller fan. You can get real cheap refrigeration units $64.95 that will really cool the water down. It makes huge difference to my system. Also avoid going for the minumum PSU, a more powerful PSU ...

Obviously u need a fan!

Maybe even two fans.

Why not look into water cooled.

If it is a fixed station extended tubes through a small refer
unit.


I use water colling and it kicks A...

Case: Antec Solo - good case PSU: Corsair HX520 reused from existing setup - CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 - ok but could do better Mobo: ASUS P5W DH Deluxe - this runs hot, so need good cooling CPU fan: Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro on Zalman Fanmate 2 - this is ok Video: HIS X1950XT IceQ3 on Zalman F...

this is a Dell system quote: ~$1200 *AO-745USFFV AO-745USFFV - Dell(TM) OptiPlex(TM) 745 Ultra Sm 1 all Form Factor (Vista) *TJ468 -OptiPlex(TM) 745USFF with Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo 1 Processor E6300 *BCH-P044 -(1.86GHz, 2MB L2 cache w/VT, 1066MHz FSB, Intel(R 1) EM64T) *PY215 -Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 D...

Hopefully someone with more experience can help me out here. Dell have a USFF Optiplex gx745 h 10.3" x W 3.5" x D 9.9". Has a flexible config duo 2 core video card recommended by dell for the 30" monitor 2Gb ram not sure about hard disk, wireless, or room for a blue ray DVD writer (alt back up). At ...

Need small footprint machine.

Graphics card to drive dell 30 inch monitor at native res 2560x1600.

Need 2Gb ram (that is all that can be used right?)

internal 320 to 500GB hard disk.

internal blue ray writer or equiv writer.