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Help a Girl Out! Building a System Advice...

G

geekgirlxxx

Junior Member
Ok, guys, a girl here trying to get some help!!!
🙂
I am a designer, and recently got some money to put together a nice PC design machine. Since I have been a Mac user for as long as I can remeber, this is a big deal for me switching over to the world of the PC, so please, be gentle!!!!!

So, I have done a little research, and have about ($ USD) 1700 saved up to by this....!

Here my questions...

1.Which AMD? I am currently leaning towards the 1800 XP...
2. Should I go with a dual board (the Tyan) or just hold off and get a single processor board...?
3. Which motherboard should I get? Stay away from the Via chipset? DDR Ram? This is prob. the issue on which I am most confused. There are so many mobos out there that a girl doesn't know which one to choose from...!
4. To RAID or not to RAID? I use some high throughput apps like MAYA and the DISCREET suite, so need as fast a drive as possible, but, because of the cost/gig, would like to stay away from SCSI. So which IDE RAID controller card/drive combo should I go with? Or should I get a mobo with RAID on-board?
5. Finally, which graphics card? I was intrigued by the aceshardware (or was it tom's? i forget...) review of OpenGL cards. Which do you guys rec.? OR should I just stay with NVIDIA? Agian, speed is important in MAYA/3dsmax rendering...Quake III fps is not such a big deal...

Oh yeah, this will prb be a Win2k Pro machine too (unless you guys have any better ideas!!!)

Thanks sooooooo much for bearing with me.....

I'll be waiting to see what you guys say!!!

XXXOOO,

melody

 
What with you being a designer, I'd ask, why move from a Mac??? Odd geek girl you.

Since noone's replied yet, here's my 2c.

If you're using Maya, then a dual processor setup is probably a must.

If you're leery about building a high-performance PC, I'd recommend that you buy a 3D design machine off the shelf - like a Dell Workstation(no flames please... I'm not a huge fan but they are solid machines) with a midrange NVidia Quadro-series display adaptor. You may need to save up a little more though.

I would go for it if I was in your position, since it would meet all your needs, and with the new case design, wouldn't offend your designer sensibilities as much as a 'beige box' that your homebuilt would have - as well as offering a unified warranty policy for the box as a whole.

Many people might steer you towards a homebuilt since it does give you more choice in what you spec, but if you are using the machine for professional purposes, my opinion is that you should choose a professionally built and supported PC.
 
What with you being a designer, I'd ask, why move from a Mac??? Odd geek girl you.

Because she can get twice the performance at half the price.

1.Which AMD? I am currently leaning towards the 1800 XP...

Get the fastest processor you can afford.

Should I go with a dual board (the Tyan) or just hold off and get a single processor board...?

I'd stick to a single processor and get a faster one.

Which motherboard should I get? Stay away from the Via chipset? DDR Ram?

Get a VIA KT1266a chipset with DDR memory from a reputable and stable system vendor. Most people here will have their own preferences but I've had good experinces with Gigabyte and Soltek boards.

4. To RAID or not to RAID?

I personally wouldn't bother with RAID. Just buy the the fastest and biggest HD you can afford, preferably two of equal size so that one is a backup and complete mirror of your primary one.

5. Finally, which graphics card? I was intrigued by the aceshardware (or was it tom's? i forget...) review of OpenGL cards. Which do you guys rec.? OR should I just stay with NVIDIA? Agian, speed is important in MAYA/3dsmax rendering...Quake III fps is not such a big deal...

For 3D rendering stick to nVidia unless you want to fork over extremely high prices for high-end professional 3D boards.

Oh yeah, this will prb be a Win2k Pro machine too (unless you guys have any better ideas!!!)

Windows XP Professional. It's definitely the best OS I've ever used.
 
Like Magic said since you are using this machine for business a DELL might be a good idea. Since if you build one and it breaks YOU are the tech support and warranty person all in one.

If you are set on building your own I have been impressed with the EPOX 8KHA+. It is cheap but it runs very stable for me. Crucial sells good quality PC 2100 memory. I am fond of the NVIDIA chipsets, I do not know how well it will perform in anythng other then games. I dont use RAID but I have a good MAXTOR ATA100 hard drive. It is 7200 RPM, it is fast and very reliable.
 
First off, if you think that being a girl is more deserving of a helping hand, then you're wrong (as far as I'm concerned anyways) and secondly, you don't have to demean the whole female race by pulling that "I'm a helpless girl" crap.
</vent>

Now....
It would help to have dual processors, but it's not necessary.
GeForce 3 will do fine.
I'm not sure if there is a quadro patch for that one, but there was for the GeForce 2 .. (this patch is a driver patch, because basically, all the GeForce 2's were hardware quadro, but the software -drivers- basically nutuered (sp?) the card, so this patch just patched the drivers, and bingo, you have a quadro card) .. might be the case with the 3 as well, not sure, something to look into.

You know more than most people who are building a first rig, it's good to see someone reading a whole lot before coming and having someone else do their homework.

The Tyan tiger MP is a nice board and one beautiful thing about it, is that it's not VIA powered, if that matters to you (it doesn't matter to me, my VIA boards have all been fine).
If you're going dual, you might save a bit of cash getting a slower clocked processor, it won't take that much time off of your renders, but it will help the wallet.
Win2K pro is the only windows way to go. Again, as far as I'm concerned anyways.
Raid (I'm not sure if the tyan has onboard or not) is okay, but I'm not sure if you need it for Maya, you might though. I use 3DSMAX and I'm always okay with one processor, and one hard drive, but you might just be a hard-core 3D dude who rips the sh!t up .. I don't konw. Oh, and if you use apps like combustion or anything similar, then yeah, raid might be wise. I think onboard is fine too.

My story is that i go to art school and I work in the computer labs. I am familiar with you designer types (I'm in the art stream here) and I know you and all your Macish ways 🙂
I like macs too though, don't get me wrong. I just prefer PC's when I'm at home.
What kind of design do you do? (Apart from the obvious) and why were you _ever_ using macs? If you do 3D that is.
 
Like Magic said since you are using this machine for business a DELL might be a good idea. Since if you build one and it breaks YOU are the tech support and warranty person all in one.

Good point. If you don't know how to build your own machine get an OEM system instead. You don't want to break your work machine.
 
All the local shops around me will build the thing for you with whatever parts you want, at no charge, and will support it for a year. Don't get a dell.
 


<< Ok, guys, a girl here trying to get some help!!!
🙂
I am a designer, and recently got some money to put together a nice PC design machine. Since I have been a Mac user for as long as I can remeber, this is a big deal for me switching over to the world of the PC, so please, be gentle!!!!! >>


Seeing as how you're a designer, I would actually recommend contuining usage of the mac (I use macs in addition to PCs).

So, I have done a little research, and have about ($ USD) 1700 saved up to by this....!

Here my questions...



<< 1.Which AMD? I am currently leaning towards the 1800 XP...[q/]
Sounds fine.


<< 2. Should I go with a dual board (the Tyan) or just hold off and get a single processor board...? >>


3. Which motherboard should I get? Stay away from the Via chipset? DDR Ram? This is prob. the issue on which I am most confused. There are so many mobos out there that a girl doesn't know which one to choose from...! >>


I would avoid Tyan, as they are expensive an can run up your cost. Try the Asus A7M266-D--it's affordable and has dual processor capability. In spite of what AMD might have you believe, you can use dual XPs on the board. If you don't want dual, I recommend the Abit KR7A RAID or the Soyo Dragon+ (both of which have RAID onboard).


<< 4. To RAID or not to RAID? I use some high throughput apps like MAYA and the DISCREET suite, so need as fast a drive as possible, but, because of the cost/gig, would like to stay away from SCSI. So which IDE RAID controller card/drive combo should I go with? Or should I get a mobo with RAID on-board? >>


If you buy the Asus A7M266-D, check out Anand's review of IDE RAID. Otherwise, the onboard RAID of a Soyo Dragon+ or Abit KR7A RAID should be fine.


<< 5. Finally, which graphics card? I was intrigued by the aceshardware (or was it tom's? i forget...) review of OpenGL cards. Which do you guys rec.? OR should I just stay with NVIDIA? Agian, speed is important in MAYA/3dsmax rendering...Quake III fps is not such a big deal... >>


Well frankly, you'd probably want an ATi Fire GL or a Quadro DCC based card, but that would push you far over budget. Hence, I recommend the ATi Radeon 8500.



<< Oh yeah, this will prb be a Win2k Pro machine too (unless you guys have any better ideas!!!) >>


Good plan. Make sure you don't actually pay for Win2k.



<< Thanks sooooooo much for bearing with me.....

I'll be waiting to see what you guys say!!!

XXXOOO,

melody >>


You're probably the only girl with the...ovaries to build her own computer that I've seen on these forums. Good luck!
 
Hey I'm a girl.

Then why is Steve listed as your first name in your profile?

Good plan. Make sure you don't actually pay for Win2k.

Last time I checked the only way most people could legally acquire programs was to pay for them.
 


<< Last time I checked the only way most people could legally acquire programs was to pay for them. >>


Where did I say anything about obeying laws?
 


<<

<< Last time I checked the only way most people could legally acquire programs was to pay for them. >>


Where did I say anything about obeying laws? >>


That'll get ya' a nice vacation in some circumstances............😉
 


<<

<< Last time I checked the only way most people could legally acquire programs was to pay for them. >>


Where did I say anything about obeying laws? >>



🙂

800 posts in 2 months
should know better

🙂

good luck with system
 
Then why is Steve listed as your first name in your profile?

Because that is my name.
My point in that case was that you don't know who anyone is, including Geekgirlxxx.
Man you drop a girl into a swarming pit of smelly, nerdy boys and of course everyone will run to her aid. Maybe some male was getting tired of not having his posts answered at some other forum, so they came here pretending to be a girl, knowing that the pit of porn addicted internet geeks would rush to help.
I'm not saying that Geekgirlxxx is a male in disguise, I'm just saying that it's pretty low to use your gender to get an advantage... not even unfair, just repressive.

Don't tell me to lighten up either.
 
Congrats on wanting to build your own machine. There are plenty of good suggestions here including the suggestions to buy a Dell... they are good with tech support in case it breaks down and it comes loaded with software...
But if you're going to build, do it right....So heres my 2 cents. The general rule in building a new machine is go with max you can afford in three major areas. CPU, Memory, and video power. Heres a list of parts I would get if I was going to build a new machine right now.

Case- I'd go with something with an AMD approved 300W (or higher) power supply. Newegg.com has the trusty Enlight 7237 case right now for 47 bucks. Good case and the price is right.

CPU- AMD AthlonXP 2000+. I don't know if you really NEED a dual processor setup. I doubt you'll strain that XP 2000+....

Mobo- KT266A, no doubt. MSI, EPOX make great boards. I actually am please with the Biostar M7VIB... runs great. Just make sure its the KT266A, and not the KT266

Memory- Crucial DDR2100. For what you are going to be running, I'd suggest 512MB or more. You can get it here by clicking on the top banner. (Shameless plug I know 🙂 )

Video card- a good GeForce 3 is a good choice....

The rest, I'll let you decide. But those are the main components you want to put the $$$ into... good luck and let us know how it goes...

If you live in South Jersey, let me know. Ill help you with it if you need it....
 


<< You're probably the only girl with the...ovaries to build her own computer that I've seen on these forums. >>



<raised eyebrow> Actually, I'm female and I just built my third computer. 'Course, the gender-neutral nick ensures that I don't get all that "omigod, a girl built a computer!" attention... 😉
 


<<

<< You're probably the only girl with the...ovaries to build her own computer that I've seen on these forums. >>



<raised eyebrow> Actually, I'm female and I just built my third computer. 'Course, the gender-neutral nick ensures that I don't get all that "omigod, a girl built a computer!" attention... 😉 >>

The male avatar assures it as well.
 


<< Memory- Crucial DDR2100. For what you are going to be running, I'd suggest 512MB or more. You can get it here by clicking on the top banner. (Shameless plug I know 🙂 ) >>

Actually, if you were to click here, you would get the 15% off AnandTech Forum Member Discount.
 


<< The male avatar assures it as well. >>



Well, maybe my hair's just short. Thing about the avatars is, most of the "male" avatars have some interesting feature to them. The female avatars are just female. That in itself is their distinguishing characteristic. How dull. Besides, why advertise my gender? It's not like I'm here looking for a boyfriend...

We now return to your regularly scheduled thread.

 
KDOG,
Forgot to mention to make sure the motherboard will work in the Enlight case. My AK31 doesn`t, so the Enlight is just sitting there (and looking at me, saying "Why am I empty. Go to Hot Deals and buy stuff to fill me. Do it now!"). Would recommend getting a 350W or 400W right off the bat.
 
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