Building a computer for NLE

[bufi]

First time here, sorry for my English.
I'm building a computer for some extensive HDV NLE editig. My budget here is max. 3500$, which is about 2500$ in US. My requirements are:
- fast processor for After Effects rendering
- Raid5 array with about 300MB/s read rate
- Mobo with PCI-x 133MHz slot (planning to buy a Decklink o Matrox Video Card in the future)

Here is what i've figured out:
- Core2 Extreme QX6700 2,66 GHz
- Asus P5NT WS nVidia nForce Dual PCI-E
- Corsair Twin2X DDR2 2x 1GB 1066 MHz
- 6x WD Raid Edition SATA II 320GB 16MB cache (raid5)
- 1x WD Raptor 150GB (system)
- PCIe SATA II controller (for Raptor)

What memory and GPU do you suggest? The graphics card should have at least 512 MB Ram, GPU is not so important.

Do you know any other motherboards with pci-x slot and minimum 6 SATA ports for hardware raid?

Is the Nvidia680i Raid ok, or should I go for a different mobo and some PCIe Raid controllers? (quite expensive for 6-8 drives)?

What case do you suggest for all this stuff (7 HDD, DVD Recorder, Blue-Ray recorder later). Is QX6700 Box fan noisy? What cooling would you suggest for the case and CPU?

Tagan 700W - U25 DualEngine PSU is enough?

Greetings,
Bufi

 

[mindless1]

I suggest that you have no idea what you're spec'ing.

Paying a premium is only stop gap measure, it will make only small differences in performance.


First, forget single dual core CPU. You want a workstation/server platform with dual 2Duo CPUs, and far more than 2GB memory. Forget about hard drives, they are senseless unless you have multiple times as much memory.

Do not bother trying to spec' "X" MB/s hard drive array rate. It is arbitrary and senseless. Spec how many drives you want, and the capacity, and whether you want to go SATA or SCSI.

You do not need 7 hard drives. Have someone watch you work and set up an optimal HDD arrangement if you feel you do. You might get slight gain from it, to be fair, but this is not something to budget unless you have extra funds remaining after things like far more memory and two physical CPUs (not just one dual core).

Forget about a video card having at least 512MB, you have no justification for this. It makes no difference. The card you end up with MIGHT happen to have 512MB but of all parameters, that one isn't important.

DO NOT try to find a motherboard with 6 SATAS for raid, that's asking for trouble. Buy a quality hardware raid card, which will have higher performance, remove the liability of having a board failure keep the arrays inaccessible, and open up options to buy the board you'd otherwise want without this limitation in feature sets.

Honestly, I think you are biting off more than you can chew because you are not demonstrating an understanding of what is optimal to get the job done, even before starting. But you did ask, it is a start. Don't bother with a Tagen PSU, get a real workstation or server psu. Real as-in, it' snot a mass marketed gamer retail pimped thing, it's instead honestly rated full load output. Zippy, Delta, etc make a few. Buy a case that accepts a full server PSU, it is uncalled for to make such a concession of PS2 sized PSU in a $3500 system. You need to think in terms of building a professional workstation, not a pimped PC.

 

[pkme2]

Check out a Quadro at 128MB and get at least a 24" LCD to work with.

 

[gsellis]

Spec page

Originally posted by: mindless1
I suggest that you have no idea what you're spec'ing.

The processor he has specified is a quad core. Some of his stuff is on the mark for a high-end HDV system. Dual processors (2 physical sockets) are fading a bit with dual/quad core systems as a main spec. Workstation class hardware is great, but the NLE market has been undergoing adjustments. The GPU memory requirement is inline with current HDV trends and is required for some hardware and NLEs to function. GPU memory and bandwidth are important.

Data rates are important, but in this case with HDV (not 2K or 4K or HD 4:4:4), 300 is overkill (unless you are doing uncompressed HDV - then you aren't even close to what you need!). Since you are using AE and sounds like you are an Adobe Premiere editor, an nVidia card is better. Steer clear of using a 8800 series. But since you are going to Matrox, why not GO to Matrox recommendation? The Matrox RT.X2 has a datasheet on recommended parts.

GPU

Qualified Mobos/systems


Very important - Known Problems

The RT is full sized, you might consider a full sized case

Martox has tested monitors too...

I have never optimized an Adobe system, but a "3" partition system is usually optimal. 1 is Boot/OS/Apps with RAID1 a solid consideration. A 3-5 drive RAID-5 Video partition a good choice. Finally, a Scratch/Render and bulk storage third partition optimizes it (No RAID required unless the "bulk" is important). A good RAID card is a great recommendation (I can personnal attest to this as I have my ICH5R - Iastor chipset failing on my mobo right now.)

On the PSU, if you read the forum, PC Power and Cooling or Seasonic. Looks like 600+ watts based on what Matrox suggests.

You can get the Matrox as a bundle from folks like Videoguys, but they are US/Canada. Not sure if they go elsewhere.

 

[mindless1]

I still say two CPUs, not one dual or quad core, is appropriate for a 3500 system. If a cheaper system, things change, but that's not a bad approach either to spend less and replace key parts more often.

 

[bufi]

I wrote that my budget is 3500$, but it's equal to 2500$ in USA (hardware here in Poland much more expensive). That's why I can't afford a high-end workstation and need to find a "pimped pc" anyway. I'm going to stick with single Quad Core, it's performance in Adobe PPro is quite impressive. (at least for me)

Gsellis, Thanks for the advice. I will go for an 8 port SATA Raid controller, but still can't decide on the mobo. Which chipset is better Intel 975X(Asus P5W64 WS) or NF680i (Asus P5NT WS)?

I've decided on Seasonic 700W PSU (the others you mentioned are unavailable here).

I can't find the right case, the only Full Size Towers I've found so far are:
- Chieftec Chieftec BA-01B-B-B.
- CoolerMaster Stacker 810 Black
- Thermaltake Tai-Chi (quite expensive)

Why should I avoid 8800 Series?

How is the box fan doing, is it noisy?

Thanks for your help,
Bufi

 

[gsellis]

The 8800 series cards are having green screen problems in Avid Liquid. It has been more than 2 months and no fix or even word from nVidia (Avid engineering reported it too - the card will probably end up on a list of incompatible at this rate.) There have also been problems with Vista drivers and it has been 5 mths. I am starting to wonder if there is a hidden problem with the card.

I am now in the same mode. My ASUS PC-DL mobo just lost the Intel ICH5R controller (intermittant). I had to replace it last night as I have a project I must start burning discs on this weekend. Had to keep the cost down, but be better than current.

Thermaltake VC3000 case (holds 4+2/3 internal drives - but not would not recommend it for its external/top USB and Firewire plugs)

Abit AB9 Pro (I wanted the ASUS P5B-E - this board is similar)

Seasonic 600w

Patriot 1GB x 2 (cost)

3 500GB Seagate SATA/3GBs

Diamond X1950Pro 512 (did not want a Diamond that much, but it was all Fry's had at the level)

E6400 Dual Core.

Building it now.

 

[gsellis]

Oh, just going on what the Anand site says, I would go with the 975 chipset. I did see a note at newegg about CAS timings and not to use 4-4... It was with the Asus P5B-E information (ASUS US was down all day yesterday.)

 

[piasabird]

Look at some of the HP Workstations with motherboards that support 2 Dual Xeon Processors. This is how the MAC Pro gets its power.

 

[gsellis]

Originally posted by: piasabird
Look at some of the HP Workstations with motherboards that support 2 Dual Xeon Processors. This is how the MAC Pro gets its power.

That is the ultimate solution, but the price for a configured 8400 workstation will fly by budget.

 

[Puffnstuff]

I've used abit mb's for the past several years but even I'm steering clear of them at the moment. When univeral absorbed abit things changed and their software development/support isn't what it used to be. I cannot with a good conscience recommend an abit mb at this time and I'm running one. I would suggest that you look at one that has the physical features that you're looking for with a bios that is mature enough to support the hardware you intend to mount on it. I personally opted for the msi p6n sli platinum even though it has some issues itself.

BTW bufi your english is better than a lot of native english speakers so don't sweat it.

 

[Balhirath]

(yes this is my first post here and as bufi english isn't 'first language

I am also building a NLE system at the moment and so I've been researching a lot lately. Especially since i dont have a lot of money to burn. *grin*

Here is my thoughts on such a system.

CPU: Intel Core2Duo E6600.
(It's good cpu for the money and it can be overclocked)

Mainboard: ASUS Commando.
(It have firewire, 10 USB2, GLAN, 6 SATAII and everything else you need. More importently it's a very good overclocker that can push the E6600 cpu to at least 3 Ghz and remain stable while doing it. Besides that the board can take quad-core cpu's in case you need even more power in the furture. It even have passive cooling on the North and south bridges. I have looked at a lot of mainboards and even though this is a p965 board, i keep comming back to it. According to the tests that I've read, it's just as good as the P975 boards.)

Memory: 4*1Gb Corsair Twin2X DDR2, PC6400 DDR800
(Some systems say that 2Gb is enough, but I usually have both Avid Liquid, Photoshop, Internet explorer and a few other applications running at the same time, so I like 4 Gb ram.)

System drive: WD Raptor 150Gb 10000 rpm 16Mb Cache
(it's very fast and you dont need more room on a system drive.)

Storage drives: 4*SEAGATE Barracuda7200.10 500GB HDD 7200rpm SATA 3GB/s NCQ 16MB cache
(One for Scratch/Render and the rest for Video)

GPU: Sapphire Radeon 1950 Pro.
(The 512 Mb on the card really helps in editing systems.. at least the one I use)

As for power supply and cooling I dont have any advise besides this: If you (as I do) sit in the same room as the computer, make some effort to make it as silent as possible, coz I really hate all that noise from the fans.

Anyway, Good luck with your new editing system

I do intend to enjoy mine.

BTW: gsellis, do you intend to overclock your E6400 or will you use it as it is? Either way I would like to hear how it runs

 

[bufi]

I'll take comments on my english as a compliment
Thanks again for all the input, you really helped me out.

 

[gsellis]

Balhirath - I may overclock it, but so far, stock kicks butt over my old Xeon. Avid Liquid 7.2 ... Linear timewarp in SD now renders at real time speed. Mistyped though, I have the E6600.

ARGH - just looked at newegg. The processor price just dropped $80 there... Sigh... I have a 10 tape project that I need to start burning DVDs for this week, so I had to get it and now at Fry's.