A Possible New Workstation........................................................................

[raouuul]

First Post! Howdy Yall!

Motherboard: MSI K8T Master 2-Far (chipset) K8T800
Processor: (2) AMD Opteron Model 242
Memory: Buffalo Tech. (2) 512 MB ECC Registered DDR PC2700
HDD: Seagate IDE 80GB
Video: ATI Fire GL X2 9800 256MB
CD: Lite-On 52x32x52 CD-RW
PSU: Thermaltake W0011 480W
Sound: Creative Labs Audigy 2 ZS Platinum
Floppy: Samsung
Case: Cooler Master Wave Master

Anybody have experience building a workstation? Does it look like Im missing anything. Should I upgrade somewhere? I was planning on getting these parts and assembling (for the first time) end of March. Thanks!!

 

[InlineFive]

I have never built a graphics workstation but from what I see on here that system should work nicely. However if you do a lot of HDD intensive stuff you might be better off with SCSI since IDE is comparitevly very slow.

Welcome to the forums!

-Por

 

[MDE]

I'd go with at least PC3200 RAM, and possibly a RAID array (Raptors ) or just take the SCSI plunge. Also, look at Nvidia Quadro cards, as they regularly whip the snot out of ATI's workstation cards IIRC.

 

[InlineFive]

Originally posted by: MonkeyDriveExpress
I'd go with at least PC3200 RAM, and possibly a RAID array (Raptors ) or just take the SCSI plunge. Also, look at Nvidia Quadro cards, as they regularly whip the snot out of ATI's workstation cards IIRC.

There isn't Registered ECC PC3200 yet is there?

-Por

 

[Megatomic]

I think I've seen some Corsair registered ECC PC3200. It's relatively new and probably pretty expensive.

 

[jdogg707]

Originally posted by: Megatomic
I think I've seen some Corsair registered ECC PC3200. It's relatively new and probably pretty expensive.

Corsair and Kingston both have Registered PC3200 Memory out and it is carried at Newegg. The prices aren't that bad considering what they could be...

 

[NFactor]

Looks good, for workstation I would still say NVIDIA over ATI still though, their graphics cards still excel in programs like 3DS Max and most workstation programs if i remember properly. And yes, look at SCSI or Raptor over your IDE drives.

 

[raouuul]

Concerning the PC 3200 i looked into it and this is what my motherboard says in the newegg specs.
- For Single AMD? Athlon-64 FX 51 series, it will support Registered Memory up to DDR 400
- For Single or Dual AMD Opteron Series, it will support Registered Memory up to DDR 333
So does this mean no corsair xms low latency platinum silver heat spreader ecc registered ram?
SCSI seems like a great idea. Should i assume my mobo accepts that if it supports Dual Channel ATA/SATA and Raid 0,1? Is SCSI difficult to install and work with? Nvidia...hmm Ill look into that.

 

[jdogg707]

Originally posted by: raouuul
Concerning the PC 3200 i looked into it and this is what my motherboard says in the newegg specs.
- For Single AMD? Athlon-64 FX 51 series, it will support Registered Memory up to DDR 400
- For Single or Dual AMD Opteron Series, it will support Registered Memory up to DDR 333
So does this mean no corsair xms low latency platinum silver heat spreader ecc registered ram?
SCSI seems like a great idea. Should i assume my mobo accepts that if it supports Dual Channel ATA/SATA and Raid 0,1? Is SCSI difficult to install and work with? Nvidia...hmm Ill look into that.

If you are going to purchase an Opteron or Athlon64 FX Processor, and a board in which to run that chip on, you are going to need ECC Memory. I would grab the Corsair memory you listed above and enjoy!

 

[Megatomic]

raouuul, have you ever considered flashing your current video card's BIOS to an equivalent Quadro card? I'm not saying that is a better option than getting a new true workstation card, but considering what you are trying to do it does sound intriguing to me.

 

[Daniel]

Maybe I missed it in the post but everyone is assuming it's a graphics workstation... is that the point of it? If not can you tell us exactly what you would like to do with it so we can tell if you need more in the HD area, the video area, etc...

 

[Megatomic]

I think we all may have assumed a graphics workstation as the guy spec'd out a FireGL card. Why would someone buy a FireGL or Quadro if it wasn't intended for a graphics workstation?

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: jdogg707

Originally posted by: raouuul
Concerning the PC 3200 i looked into it and this is what my motherboard says in the newegg specs.
- For Single AMD? Athlon-64 FX 51 series, it will support Registered Memory up to DDR 400
- For Single or Dual AMD Opteron Series, it will support Registered Memory up to DDR 333
So does this mean no corsair xms low latency platinum silver heat spreader ecc registered ram?
SCSI seems like a great idea. Should i assume my mobo accepts that if it supports Dual Channel ATA/SATA and Raid 0,1? Is SCSI difficult to install and work with? Nvidia...hmm Ill look into that.

If you are going to purchase an Opteron or Athlon64 FX Processor, and a board in which to run that chip on, you are going to need ECC Memory. I would grab the Corsair memory you listed above and enjoy!

You need *registered* memory for Opteron systems; Registered ECC is optional but recommended for servers (for stability purposes).

 

[raouuul]

yep a graphics workstation. I intend my main use to be Alias Wavefront Maya for polygon modeling, texturing, lighting and rendering.
MonkeyDriveExpress suggested PC3200 which is DDR 400, the specs for my motherboard says it supports DDR333 for Dual Opteron chips. Can i still use the the 400? Newegg only offers Buffulo in DDR333 and the Corsair i mentioned in DDR400. I understand i need ECC registered ram.
Megatomic I never did consider flashing my card, i did some research and found out a main reason for the workstation card is the support of drivers which greatly increases its performance. For now this computer is for games, and i dont want to lose that right now by me micky mousing with it.
Looks like the Quadro does slap the Fire GL in the face. But damn they are more expensive. I need to do a little more research on that. This is all new to me, i appreciate the help.
Is SCSI pernounced scuzzy? Its a faster harddrive for mulittasking and seems the best bet for me. Thanks

 

[raouuul]

You guys think i need more wattage? I dont know how to set up a SCSI drive(s) anybody have any recommendations. ex. partitions, or multiple drives. Danke.
Oh and dont hit back when you send a message. Dumb me forced another post.

 

[MDE]

Originally posted by: raouuul
yep a graphics workstation. I intend my main use to be Alias Wavefront Maya for polygon modeling, texturing, lighting and rendering.
MonkeyDriveExpress suggested PC3200 which is DDR 400, the specs for my motherboard says it supports DDR333 for Dual Opteron chips. Can i still use the the 400? Newegg only offers Buffulo in DDR333 and the Corsair i mentioned in DDR400. I understand i need ECC registered ram.
Megatomic I never did consider flashing my card, i did some research and found out a main reason for the workstation card is the support of drivers which greatly increases its performance. For now this computer is for games, and i dont want to lose that right now by me micky mousing with it.
Looks like the Quadro does slap the Fire GL in the face. But damn they are more expensive. I need to do a little more research on that. This is all new to me, i appreciate the help.
Is SCSI pernounced scuzzy? Its a faster harddrive for mulittasking and seems the best bet for me. Thanks

The motherboard actually has little to do with the memory speed supported because the memory controller is on the CPU. The Opteron white papers say that the memory controller supports DDR400 (PC3200).
Yes SCSI is pronounced scuzzy.
EDIT: 480W is plenty IMO. Just remember quality over quantity. I'm using a 350W for my system right now.

 

[raouuul]

An upgraded system:

Motherboard: MSI K8T Master 2-Far (chipset) K8T800
Processor: (2) AMD Opteron Model 240
Memory: Corsair XMS Low Latency (2) 512 MB ECC Registered DDR PC3200
HDD: Seagate SCSI 37GB 15,000RPM
Adaptor: LSI 64 Bit PCI-x To Ultra SCSI
Video: PNY Quadro FX1100
CD: Lite-On 52x32x52 CD-RW
PSU: Thermaltake W0011 480W
Sound: Creative Labs Audigy 2 ZS
Floppy: Samsung
Case: Cooler Master Wave Master

What do you guys think of the mobo, specifically the chipset. Again, any upgrades or anything missing?

 

[raouuul]

Does that SCSI adapter look right?
No, it doesnt. That motherboard doesnt support a 133MHz PCI-x slot. i think.
Newegg doesnt have a great dual 940 socket motherboard.
They either have integrated video or a chipset im not familiar with. Is anybody familiar with the AMD-8151 + AMD-8131 + AMD-8111 chipsets?

 

[Sideswipe001]

That adapter would be backwards compatable most likely, meaning it should would just fine in a "normal" PCI slot, so don't worry about that.

 

[Megatomic]

Not to take away from the expertise to be found here at AT, but have you considered going to 2CPU.com forums to get some more advice? It's a damn good forum.

 

[raouuul]

Thanks fellers. ha ha I actually thought of asking you guys about an alternate recommended forum but i thought that was somewhat disrespectful. Preciate it.

 

[mcveigh]

I run scsi...it's fdast but the cost is high, the new WB digital raptor 74gb gives you similar performance at a lower cost.

i'd get a dvd burner, just cause they are so cheap now.

the motherboard is fine, make sure you get a good power supply.

 

[CraigRT]

faster HDD is all you need, if you REALLY want this machine to shine..

 

[Overkast]

I would at least buy 1 Raptor HD for your applications and buy another huge IDE HD for storage purposes.

 

[raouuul]

Thanks again!