Cooling and case suggestions?

[coremortality]

Hello all!

I've been a long time reader of Anandtech (and related sites) this is my first time posting though. I'm in the market to build a new system for multi-purpose use, hence the thread title. The last system I built has lasted admirably since 2001 (an Athlon T-Bird 900, w/ GF3) unfortunately its time to retire it and look to the future. I'm looking at building such a multi-use system for a few reasons.

With the pending release of DOOM3, HL-2, Stalker and the like, my old system just isn't up to the challenge. I also, as a sort of psuedo hobby, create maps for basically any FPS I can get my hands on (maybe someone in the industry will take notice! ) which has become increasingly burdensome due to the fact that compilation times for modern games are starting to take well beyond what I consider a reasonable amount time. And finally I was hoping to use such a beefy rig as a PVR or even small HDTV (I already have a 21" monitor) to watch DVD?s etc.

I have a general idea for some of the major system components that I want to use and I will outline them below but I want some input as to what everyone else thinks and some suggestions to fill in the holes.

Cooler Master STC-T01
Power Supply: ?
Dual AMD Opteron Model 246
Tyan Thunder K8W
Ram: ?
Video Card: ?
Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS Platinum
Dual Western Digital Caviar SE Serial ATA 160 GB
Plextor PX-712SA (Serial ATA) 12X DVD+R Drive
Logitech Z-680 5.1
Belkin ClassicKeyboard F8E206-BLK
Logitech MX 300

Now I am REALLY torn on the video card, mostly due to the GF6 series and x800 pending release. I have been loyal to nVidia since their original TNT and they have never let me down, and do to some very bad experiences with ATI?s Rage cards and that crap support, I am leery of buying an ATI card (even though I?ve read things are different now and I?ve seen the performance reviews.) Also, suggestions are needed on cooling. I?m interested in trying watercooling but if I can get good performance from a traditional Fan/Heatsink setup then I will go with that.

SO?any suggestions and comments are welcome!! The majority of this is going to be paid for with a $2500 interest free loan from my employer and the remainder will probably come out of a small savings I have. Thanks!

-Eric

 

[ericgl]

While I have doubts that the additional expense of multiprocessors will be worth it for you, if that is the way you go, I wouldn't fool around, I'd get a PC P&C Turbo-Cool 510 deluxe for that rig.

 

[gordanfreeman]

if he is compiling stuff like maps/levels for games, would the dual cpu's give a performance increase? i know dual cpus generally dont give any benefit for strait game performance but for compiling data i am not sure.

if they dont give a performance boost of any significant amount, then i agree that its probably not worth your time/money to get a dual processor rig. and if you do, definatly get a high quality high wattage PSU like the one ericgl mentioned.

 

[WDK]

Heheh I think heating caused Stalker to crash on the last day of E3 this year. It was pretty hot, pretty crowded, and the developers were playing the game in an incredibly boring way until... *boom*. Back to Windows. Back to game. *boom* Back to Windows again. Back to game. *developer turns on 'no clipping'* Flies out of the map and demo is over

 

[AnnoyedGrunt]

Looks pretty nice, although I'd consider the WD Raptor 10,000 RPM SATA drives (expensive, but fast).

Case looks interesting.
RAM, I'd say at least 1GB, PC3200 but for opteron I think you need a special kind (ECC Unbuffered maybe)? I think you can use dual channel, so you'd want 2X 512 MB.

For power supply I like the seasonic supertornado 400W with the single 120mm fan. Don't know if 400W is enough for dual proc with next gen vid card though.

For video card maybe just stick with the GF3 until the 6800GT arrives. I had a GF3 Ti200 until Jan or Feb when I got a 9700pro. Really haven't taken too much advantage of the 9700pro yet, except for Call of Duty, where it made quite a noticable difference. If you are getting by on the GF3, might be good to hold off for the new cards to drop in price a bit.

Seems like a fun project.

-D'oh!

 

[Zepper]

Pay a visit to coolcases.com and check out their ideas...
.bh.

 

[coremortality]

Thanks for the input all. I may end up waiting another month due to all the new hardware hitting the market soon but all your opinions are very much appreciated.

-Eric

 

[wviperw]

As a fellow level designer (see sig ), I doubt that you'll need that system for compilation. Most compilers I've seen don't support SMP (dual proc support) anyway, so the point is moot. Plus, I don't know about HL2, but D3 no longer requires you to "compile" levels. The engine takes in the raw .map file format. Instead of worrying about compiling, you should be worrying about performance in 3DS Max/Maya/Lightwave/Photoshop, as those will be the main editors to be using in these upcoming games.

 

[AnnoyedGrunt]

OK, lost message - so here's the short version.

Check review of opterons if you haven't already.
http://tech-report.com/reviews/2004q2/opteron-x50/index.x?pg=1

150 is very good for a single proc, and less than 2X 246. Faster in sigle threaded apps but much slower in multi-threaded, and at least two of those programs wviperw was talking about are multi-threaded and are covered in that review.

Another option is to get a single 250 now (about the same cost as 2X 246) and then add a second 250 at a later date (if that is easily accomplished - not sure on that).

Based on 939 prices, it currently looks like the Opteron is a much better deal than the high end FX processors or the A64 3700/3800's.

Finally, my ATI driver experience has been good. Some minor crashes in CoD that never happened with my GF3, but those are the only problems I've had.

And you need ECC/Registered memory for the socket 940 chips. It's about $40 more for 1GB than equivalent quality Non-ECC/Unbuffered ram (at least from the relatively high quality 2x512 packs I was looking @ today).

-D'oh!