Ready to rock...

[Calaf]

Question...think since I'm down to such an ungodly amount, that I could put a few more dollors towards a better mobo like the ASUS A7N8X Deluxe?

 

[Calaf]

Perhaps it might...I'm going to be doing digital content creation. Working with 3D Studio Max and Photoshop to make cities and characters a-la "Thief" style and era graphics...might the 9700 be sufficient?

 

[pillage2001]

Originally posted by: Calaf
Question...think since I'm down to such an ungodly amount, that I could put a few more dollors towards a better mobo like the ASUS A7N8X Deluxe?

Do you need SATA??? If you do, maybe it's a good idea to but the Epox has all the things you would ever want for now. One of the best overclocking boards out there.

I don't know much about working with 3D Studio Max and Photoshop. My 8500LE does a pretty good job with photoshop though. You might wanna try asking other members for this.

 

[Calaf]

Okay, I don't need SATA for what I'll be doing so I'll stick with the Epox. Man...does this mean I have to start a new thread? hehe

 

[pillage2001]

Are you looking to game on the system or just DDC???

The 9700Pro is a good choice for highend gaming andmaybe what you're doing. If you're looking to save more. I would get a 9700 or a 9500Pro. That will cut about 150-200 bucks off your budget for a video card.

 

[Calaf]

I'm mainly going to be doing DCC perhaps with a bit of gaming on the side. Any recommendations for what manufacturer to go with on the 9700 Pro?

Also it seems newegg hasn't decided to lower their 9700 prices to what I've seen elsewhere (<$250)

 

[pillage2001]

FOr video cards, some have gotten sapphire cards(9700, no the pro) that can oc to 9700pro speeds with just a simple bios flash. I would personally go for a ATI retail card but you can try your luck withthe sapphire. They're the same thing as far as I know it.

 

[Calaf]

Okay, sounds good! Thank you so much...looks like I'll be spending about $1150 for this whole setup, hehe.

 

[pillage2001]

Just double check on the video card to see if it suits your needs. Other than that, I think you're pretty much good to go. If you need oc advice, there are a lot of threads on ocing the xp2100 in the OC section of this forums.

You'll love you new PC. Oh yeah, since you saved so much, consider the Z640 from newegg or Z680 if you want POWER.

 

[Scitex]

You may want to get a couple of 80mm fans to go in the front of the Chieftec to keep positive pressure in the case (keeps dust from collecting around and inside drive openings) and some filtering material to go behind the front grille. Keeps the inside of the case nice and clean

 

[Calaf]

Scitex thanks! I think that might not be a bad idea for an extra $20 or so. Another question though: My dad was saying that I might want to invest in a second HDD and 0-RAID them. Now, I'm going to be doing DCC with 3D Studio Max and Photoshop, mainly modeling cities, characters and items, Photoshop being used to create my textures. I have that 80GB which is HUGE compared to this laptop's HDD (only 30GB and I still have 23GB left on it!), so would it be worth it or should I perhaps first see if I need it and invest in a second down the road?

 

[pillage2001]

Originally posted by: Calaf
Scitex thanks! I think that might not be a bad idea for an extra $20 or so. Another question though: My dad was saying that I might want to invest in a second HDD and 0-RAID them. Now, I'm going to be doing DCC with 3D Studio Max and Photoshop, mainly modeling cities, characters and items, Photoshop being used to create my textures. I have that 80GB which is HUGE compared to this laptop's HDD (only 30GB and I still have 23GB left on it!), so would it be worth it or should I perhaps first see if I need it and invest in a second down the road?

How long does it take to render and generate images in the laptop??? I doubt you'll need a fast hdd for image processing but video editting is a different story.

 

[AndrewNF]

I'm not sure about using a regular 9700 Pro for 3D Studio Max work. The drivers are geared towards gaming, not content creation work. This article covers workstation cards, including the workstation version of the 9700 Pro, the ATi FireGL X1.

It concludes that drivers are very important in this area, and I'd have serious concerns about using the 9700 Pro instead of a specialized card.