Ok hardware buffs, here is a request.

I have a friend that is doing artwork for comics and such and for some unknown reason he thinks that I get into the hardware side of things. Here is a copy of what he sent to me for his plan to build. I am looking for you hardware expert's opinions as to what will or will not work with this. Thanks!




"I'm building two systems, I need your advice: can I put a raptor x 150 as a main drive, and use a 320 gb for art/pics? Do you know if its possible to put more than 4 gb in vista 32 bit? I want to put 8gb ocz in this system. Its on a 780 motherboard, with 3 8800 gtx gpu's. With a 1100 w power supply. Sound massive it's not, these systems run about 760w tops, thats with 3 gpu's. and I have a single dvd rw drive. I found a way too get the video cards cheap. If you can find them used with the receipt it means they are under warranty, plus they have a lifetime gaurantee if it d.o.a. so this will cost about 1100 dollars to build. Then I plan to use a 30 lcd. I found a really good one thats expensive but you can run two pc's on it at the same time. the screen splits in the center. Its made by eizo, check it out :). Then im gettin a crappy 12x18 scanner i found for cheap under 200. I dont know jack about harddrives. Until now I used single drive systems. Do they have to be the same drive, and does it have to run in raid 0. I wanted this system to start up really fast. I'm using on a 2.6 intel duo on this too. New egg has them for 189 bucks. I'm having to wait on the motherboard. The evga 780 sold out everywhere the first few days. Now they are on back order. 250 for a 3 gpu motherboard isnt a bad price. I think I could use a smaller p/s than 1100 watts but I want to be on the safe side. Not alot of p/s's have 3 or 4 pci e connectors on them. Enermax 850 is the lowest wattage Ive found. The dvd drive is 25 bucks. 8 gbs for under 300 dollars too."

1) Yes, hard drivers can be configured individually. RAID is entirely optional, and you would only want it if you want to chain 2 or more physical drives (make them into a single partition) together or mirror a phsyical drive or chain of drives.
2) No. You need 64 bits to address any memory above 4GB. I think I heard once of a patch that allowed it to be done, but there was a huge performance hit for it.
3) The screen-split on the monitor sounds like crap. I'd rather have a monitor that just had buttons to let me select the input (actually, I have one at work).
4) See #1 about HD's again. They only have to be the same size if running in RAID, and RAID is optional.
5) I got a Athlon 6000+ x2 @ 3.2GHz with a motherboard for about $170 at Fry's. Look for a better deal, they're out there.
6) There are converters to change a regular power supply output into another pcie output. You could also probably find a splitter.

Anything I miss?

Sounds to me like you covered everything. I will forward the information to see if he buys it. I thank you.

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Its on a 780 motherboard, with 3 8800 gtx gpu's.

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3 8800GTXs? WTF for? They're only useful if he does any realtime 3D graphics (i.e. games).

One really important note about RAID0. Yes, throughput is faster but... if one drive dies you lose ALL your data.

I would let the guy go and play with his "boy's toys" he doesn't know jack sh1t.

Tell him not to use RAID 0.................. it is not appropriate to his required usage.

He just wants it. LOL. I don't know what he wants to spend that much money for anyways. I appreciate the tips though. He hasn't responded since i shot down his original plan. I guess he is trying to see if he can prove us wrong. Anyways, thanks again.

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Originally Posted by nihil

I would let the guy go and play with his "boy's toys" he doesn't know jack sh1t.

Tell him not to use RAID 0.................. it is not appropriate to his required usage.

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That's a bit harsh, nihil. Everybody wants to go balls-out with everything, even if it isn't prudent, at some point in their life.

O

Hi O~,

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That's a bit harsh, nihil. Everybody wants to go balls-out with everything, even if it isn't prudent, at some point in their life.

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Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind ;)

This guy is working on a system for business use from what I can gather. You don't mess with stuff that earns your beer vouchers IMO.:eek:

I don't see the obsession with speed though. Comic book cartoons are 2D graphics applications.

Also:

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I wanted this system to start up really fast.

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Why? just get out of your pit 5 minutes earlier :D With graphics it is how the system performs after it has started that counts.

This is true.

Didn't mean to snap at you, nihil.

My sig says it all concerning my opinion on overdoing things.

Hi O~,

No offence taken, but I was coming from a different angle.

I have had a fair bit of experience with professional CAD, photomanipulation and publishing applications, mostly CAD.

The secret is to have a stable and balanced system that is dedicated to the task requirements. I would normally go the other way round in these situations. That is, I would look at the applications software requirements and supplier's recommendations, then go to the User Group forum and ask my questions there.

Professional software is expensive, and you are using it to earn money. The hardware side is coincidental and tax deductible ;)

In my experience, looking at the hardware first is not the way to go.

I don't know the full business requirements here, but I would look at keeping the production box as dedicated as possible, and connect to something far less exotic when I wanted to use e-mail, internet and general office stuff. Possibly a SOHO type network?

If I read that email again I can't help but thinking he doesn't want a new workstation, he wants bragging rights to his gamer friends ;)

SirDice shame on you for being so cynical :D

It would explain his interest in RAID 0 though ;)

EDIT:

Following SD's comment, I too have re-read the original message, and have found the following priceless item:

[QUOTEI found a way too get the video cards cheap. If you can find them used with the receipt it means they are under warranty, plus they have a lifetime gaurantee][/QUOTE]

Hmmm, someone hasn't read the small print have they? If it is a true "lifetime guarantee" why do you need a receipt?

On the other hand, if the small print says something like "not transferable" or "original purchaser" then you can claim, but it is fraud and a felony.

I wouldn't want that on my record, for the price of a lousy video card.

Anyways, I gave up believing in elves and the Tooth Fairy a long time ago........ strange that my piles seem to have gotten better since then. :lildevil:

Who, on God's Green Earth is going to give a forever warranty on some sub-contracted Chinese electronics?

I would like to know who deals for this guy, because it is obviously very high quality merchandise

:hippy: