QuadCore Xeon Workstation. Help with build!

[Zkywalker]

I need to build a QuadCore Xeon Workstation and need some input from the pro's (geeks:lol)
I will mainly use it for 3D rendering and Video editing/rendering.

What I need is some specs. as to what components will gel nicely:

2x Intel® DP XEON 5320 Socket 771 1.86GHz Quad Core CPU (depending on price, maybe other)/ Active or Passive
- mainboard
- ram
- case (housing)
- powersupply
- graphics cards
- hard drives

OS - Vista 64bit?
Softw. used - Archicad/ Cinema 4D/ Adobe Premiere/ Encore/ Soundbooth/ Aftereffects

All that makes up a good Workstation, and yes I know that Xeon's available components is mainly for servers.
Thats where you come in to help me build a workstation.

Thank you in advance!!

PS.
I'm in South Africa so in rands(ZAR) I have about R15000.00 (about $2200)

 

[soloscribbler]

I'll try to help, if you havent already gone ahead. i just got done building a dual core dual socket xeon. in your first spec, you mention '2x Intel® DP XEON 5320 '. I assume this is a typo--I recommend dual-core, because it will be a while before application software catches up and meanwhile you have one or two cores out of eight running slow.

Vista's not ready is what i hear all over. Applicatios are DirectX 9, for one thing, but mainly the code is far from optimized.

Here's what I built, for under $2000 US:

Tyan s2696 w/o SAS option ((I didnt need it because I can't afford 10-15k rpm drives)
You can buy ONE CPU and wait a bit for the other, that way you end up with more in the end.
BE SURE to INSTALL THE INTEL chipset drivers using F6 method when installing Windows; you will never get another chance (unless you reinstall) and without them, you don't get the performance you paid for, and only 4 not six SATA ports

Use a Quadro not a gaming card. I got this advice everywhere, and saw no reason to ignore them (not ONE said get a consumer card). I bought a PNY Quadro FX560 Professional Video Edition) which includes multi I/O but you cant use it if you have a dual monitor setup already (ie only two screens total).

If you cant afford a high end video accelerator/IO card like the Matrox RT.X2, I am thrilled with the Blackmagic Intensity Pro, which hsu multi I/O plus its own uncompressed video format for editing which preserves quality usually lost unless you have SDI gear.

Go slow and careful, remember the storage driver (look online for Intels own Matrix Storage Manager how to) and good luck.

 

[jkresh]

solocribbler, Vista is ready for the most part and for workstation use the ability to go with more then 3 gigs of ram (vista 64) is a big benefit.

Zkywalker, fbdimms are expensive so I would start with 4 gigs and go higher if you feel you need it later. For 3d/video rendering quads are better then duals for most programs (even at lower clockspeeds, but ehre are limits, I dual 3ghz are not much sower then quad 1.86, but dual 2.3 would be slower then the quad).

I would wait till you have the other parts (drives, gpu...) figured out before dealing with power supply, but you will probably want to get a good 700+ watt unit for dual quads and lots of hard drives (especialy if you are talking about multiple gpu's as well).

 

[Zkywalker]

Thanks guys for the input... much appreciated. Once I have this figured out, I will post my components for some input. I just feel I should go with Quad now and wait for the software to catch up, rather than to buy an inferior machine that will have to be replaced soon, when the software is fully compatible.

 

[Zkywalker]

Originally posted by: soloscribbler

BE SURE to INSTALL THE INTEL chipset drivers using F6 method when installing Windows...

Please explain this to me... chipset drivers for the CPU? USB, SATA, Graphics??

Where do I find an expanded file that will allow me to access the inf file?

 

[gsellis]

SATA. The HDD controller drivers are newer than what is in XP or Vista in many cases. The install will start and then halt because it cannot see the hard drive.