Critique my Opteron build!

[screw3d]

I'm building this rig for a friend doing 3D animation (mostly Maya) in college, and the budget is $2000 or lower. I'll probably sneak in a tiny OC but I'm assuming that I will want to run everything at stock for now.

I came up with this list:

Opteron 165 Dual-core Retail ($325)
Motherboard - I need recommendation here - a good non-OCing board ($150 max?)
OCZ (2x1GB) PC3200 Platinum ($200AR)
PNY PCI-e Quadro FX540 ($200)
250GB Samsung Spinpoint SATA drive ($110) (Maybe add a 2nd drive?)
Antec Solution SLK3000-B ($60)
Fortron FSP400 PSU ($70)
NEC DVD Writer ($50)

... which comes to about $1200

I'll leave out display, mouse, keyboard, which I figure about ($400-$500)

Any input is appreciated

 

[HO]

For the mobo, grab a Tyan K8E 2865. They come in about 3 varriants, with and without integrated graphics. That motherborad will require an EPS power supply (24/8 pin connectors). Don't go less than 450W on the PSU.

You may be able to save money on the RAM if overclocking is not part of the plan. I would seriously consider a 4GB configuration if Photoshop is any part of the mix. CS2 can utilize an extra 1GB of RAM if the /3GB switch is invoked in the boot.ini file. It may be possible to add the /LARGEADDRESSAWARE bit to the Maya.exe header as well if it doesn't already have it. If you haven't a clue what that means, see here.

I don't know much about either the video card or the HD you've chosen, but two HDs are always better than one.

 

[screw3d]

Thanks.. more input?

 

[Fullmetal Chocobo]

For mobo (brands) Tyan or Supermicro. I *believe* Supermicro has started making Opteron boards, but I'm not certain. But these are definitely amongst the most stable contenders. Are you going to be doing 3DSMax as well, or just Maya? I'm still running on R5 of Max; need to get the upgrade version sometime. But oh well. I'm waiting til I can get rid of this 6800. I'm looking forward to seeing another rendering machine around here!

 

[ProviaFan]

I was going to recommend the ASUS A8N-E, but the Tyan boards listed would probaby be a better choice, if with fewer frills, for a workstation system. One advantage would be that the northbridge heatsink lacks a fan (not so on the A8N-E, but I modded mine with a Zalman NB47J), as motherboards that have HSFs on the northbridge tend to be noisy.

 

[Blain]

165 = low rent model. :thumbsdown:

 

[jlbenedict]

another vote for the Tyan board, since this is a workstation, and stability is a priority

 

[Dubb]

I do similar work.

my 2c:

Rendering for days weeks at a time? might want to find some ECC unbuffered ram. It's debateable if it's needed or not, but I like to have it for the extra peace of mind.
maya is a big program and will benifit from a faster HD setup. get a second drive just for apps. it will help.
$200 on graphics would go alot farther as a modded 6800gt/ultra (find a used nv40 rev a3 or earlier). Something to consider.