Kaebora's New CG Animation PC

Spongy · Post by **Spongy** » Wed Oct 03, 2007 12:35 am

Sweeeeeet! That thing is crazy powerful, I wish I had that >_>. Quad core, insanity. Add the 4 Gigs of RAM and you got yourself a nice computer there.

Midnight · Post by **Midnight** » Wed Oct 03, 2007 12:58 am

stares at the huge googly eyes on that thing

Xiroteus · Post by **Xiroteus** » Wed Oct 03, 2007 1:27 am

Nice system.

Should be awhile before that becomes obsolete.

Kaebora · Post by **Kaebora** » Wed Oct 03, 2007 11:08 am

As long as it runs my current CG software at full capacity, becoming obsolite wont be a problem for at least 4 years. I'm sure it will run Half-Life 2 and its mods at full settings just fine as well.

I've decided on buying two 160-300GB harddrives so I can configure them in a RAID-0 (striping) setup. That decreases read/write times by 30% and save me from spending more on WD Raptor drives.

ravaged_warrior · Post by **ravaged_warrior** » Wed Oct 03, 2007 12:51 pm

I hate you SO MUCH.

Xiroteus · Post by **Xiroteus** » Wed Oct 03, 2007 1:25 pm

Kaebora wrote:As long as it runs my current CG software at full capacity, becoming obsolite wont be a problem for at least 4 years. I'm sure it will run Half-Life 2 and its mods at full settings just fine as well.

I've decided on buying two 160-300GB harddrives so I can configure them in a RAID-0 (striping) setup. That decreases read/write times by 30% and save me from spending more on WD Raptor drives.

I read that such software you will run best with four giga bytes of ram, otherwise most people would not need as much, I would have to look into as I do not recall off hand, how much can you upgrade this in the future if need be?

Fullmoonstar · Post by **Fullmoonstar** » Wed Oct 03, 2007 1:38 pm

that is really a nice PC-System...

Morkulv · Post by **Morkulv** » Wed Oct 03, 2007 4:56 pm

ravaged_warrior wrote:I hate you SO MUCH.

Kaebora · Post by **Kaebora** » Thu Oct 04, 2007 11:52 am

Dont hate on the guy that uses his PC for an art business. If this were a gaming PC, indeed I would target the jelousy of others.

Shadow Wulf · Post by **Shadow Wulf** » Thu Oct 04, 2007 2:25 pm

ravaged_warrior wrote:I hate you SO MUCH.

Razo wolf · Post by **Razo wolf** » Thu Oct 04, 2007 3:46 pm

Damn is that 2 200 mm fans?? its gonna be a hurricane in there...and sound like one too

Morkulv · Post by **Morkulv** » Thu Oct 04, 2007 9:21 pm

Kaebora wrote:Dont hate on the guy that uses his PC for an art business. If this were a gaming PC, indeed I would target the jelousy of others.

Haha, okay thats true.

Kaebora · Post by **Kaebora** » Fri Oct 05, 2007 12:55 am

Razo wolf wrote:Damn is that 2 200 mm fans?? its gonna be a hurricane in there...and sound like one too

According to dozens of reviews, the 25cm fans are quiet, and the speed can be adjusted with two knobs. Every other fan I have purchased is advertised as silent or near-silent running, which includes the CPU heatsink. If I'm going to overclock a Quad Core processor running 3D renders for hours at a time... that cooling had better be top-dollar.

Just FYI everyone, but don't bother talking about decorations though. Both other forums I posted this in had some lame suggestions related to that. I don't care at all about lights, plastic windows, and related doo-dads. They're a waste of money unless they contribute to the computer's functions. The stuff I bought just happens to have some neat looking blue LEDs, but can blow out more hot-air than George W. Bush.

This shoud be completely built before the end of October. Any computer techs here that might have some suggestions? Oh... and I just added a poll for fun.

Razo wolf · Post by **Razo wolf** » Fri Oct 05, 2007 8:42 am

Kaebora wrote:
Razo wolf wrote:Damn is that 2 200 mm fans?? its gonna be a hurricane in there...and sound like one too
According to dozens of reviews, the 25cm fans are quiet, and the speed can be adjusted with two knobs. Every other fan I have purchased is advertised as silent or near-silent running, which includes the CPU heatsink. If I'm going to overclock a Quad Core processor running 3D renders for hours at a time... that cooling had better be top-dollar.

Just FYI everyone, but don't bother talking about decorations though. Both other forums I posted this in had some lame suggestions related to that. I don't care at all about lights, plastic windows, and related doo-dads. They're a waste of money unless they contribute to the computer's functions. The stuff I bought just happens to have some neat looking blue LEDs, but can blow out more hot-air than George W. Bush.

This shoud be completely built before the end of October. Any computer techs here that might have some suggestions? Oh... and I just added a poll for fun.

ohh i see i have a antec 900 case and it has a single 200mm fan and its pretty loud at full blast and tolerable at the lowest setting. If your overclocking and willing to go top dollar, why not try water cooling?

RedEye · Post by **RedEye** » Fri Oct 05, 2007 9:49 pm

Those two fans-the ones on the side-are they intake or exhaust? Unless there's enough air access, they won't do much good.

You might consider having vents on the board-side of the case "under" the processor-the backplanes of some compy's can get pretty hot and no airflow gets to them.

Where is the computer going to live? With all that air moving thru it, dust can really be a problem near the floor (where the coolest air is). Don't worry about noise-if you're working, you won't hear it and if you're watching-you won't notice it.

Kaebora · Post by **Kaebora** » Sat Oct 06, 2007 1:47 am

Razo wolf wrote:
Kaebora wrote:ohh i see i have a antec 900 case and it has a single 200mm fan and its pretty loud at full blast and tolerable at the lowest setting. If your overclocking and willing to go top dollar, why not try water cooling?
Some cases come with better cooling than others, otherwise you can buy aftermarket parts to make it quieter. In regards to refrigeration and water cooling... it goes beyond my budget, and endangers the system with the possibility of condensation building up on the CPU and motherboard if the area you live in is humid. Considering the fact that I'm moving back to Texas, it's not a good idea without a dehumidifier. If I were staying here in New Mexico, I would definately have considered it... and gotten a slightly smaller case.

RedEye wrote:Those two fans-the ones on the side-are they intake or exhaust? Unless there's enough air access, they won't do much good.

You might consider having vents on the board-side of the case "under" the processor-the backplanes of some compy's can get pretty hot and no airflow gets to them.

Where is the computer going to live? With all that air moving thru it, dust can really be a problem near the floor (where the coolest air is). Don't worry about noise-if you're working, you won't hear it and if you're watching-you won't notice it.

The side fans are intake. There is one exhaust fan on the back. (Two if you include the power supply.) It's sitting on the top of a computer desk. Ironicly enough, the underside that was designed to hold the computer... is too small, and has bad ventalation. It now holds the towers of CDs. No room for a printer now. Heh. I doubt I have to add any more cooling that I have already. Fan noise never bothered me... but noisy harddrives are kinda starting to drive me nuts.

Should I photodocument the building process and post it here? Doesn't seem like anyone has done some neeto how-to's on the subject for The Pack yet.

Teh_DarkJokerWolf · Post by **Teh_DarkJokerWolf** » Sat Oct 06, 2007 8:40 am

ravaged_warrior wrote:I hate you SO MUCH.

Echo..echo..

lol but it's awesome Kae!! My bro he builds compys as well an he is thinking about taking on such a project himself one day, so good luck

RedEye · Post by **RedEye** » Sat Oct 06, 2007 7:29 pm

I still think you ought to try grilling the underside of the backplane where the CPU is going to live, so there is airflow on both sides of the brain of the device.
Reason: I used to work on Postal machines using open-rack setups, where component loaded backplanes edge-plugged into a main connection board about six layers thick. The areas where the CPU's were located were open on both the "front" and "back" that way, so that one rather large squirrel-cage blower could cool both sides of the 'plane at once.
After a few weeks, most of the processors had darkened the area they were plugged into on the backside of their board with heat dissipation...and we ran (as controllers for multi-million dollar Postal machines) 80886's for the most part; old reliable Z-80's that were so overbuilt they couldn't die. They did get hot, though...and for a Z-80 that's some overclocking.
You mentioned you might leave things running: even water-cooling can't get to the heat radiated into the plug and backplane...but an open grilled vent can help dissipate it.

Kaebora · Post by **Kaebora** » Sat Oct 06, 2007 11:53 pm

What exactly do you mean by "grilling"? I'm still new to PC building, and this is my first build using my own parts. (Did some assembly stuff in college classes.) Is there a website that explains how to do it, or gives links to good aftermarket parts to acomplish it? I'm not sure there's enough room on the backpane for extra cooling devices. I figured that this $70 heatsink would be more than enough for the CPU.

RedEye · Post by **RedEye** » Sun Oct 07, 2007 1:27 am

Grilling is the making of an opening in the case and putting a grill over it.
The airflow will do the rest. Air will move over the components and cool them. There is a grill at the top of your machine (in the picture) on the side above the fans near the top.
It's basically a hole, or series of holes that allow airflow. It's passive, and since the side fans are taking air in...air will move over the backplane and exit out the holes, thus cooling the area. If there is a grill on the opposite side of the case like the grill on the side we can see, that'll do nicely. Air will flow...

MattSullivan · Post by **MattSullivan** » Mon Oct 08, 2007 6:21 am

Now you can make REALLY GOOD flying logos! lol

Kaebora · Post by **Kaebora** » Mon Oct 08, 2007 8:11 am

MattSullivan wrote:Now you can make REALLY GOOD flying logos! lol

Kaebora · Post by **Kaebora** » Thu Oct 11, 2007 10:45 pm

Update! I'm almost done building it... and have some photos of the assembly process.

Unopened Boxes
To let you see the pile of cardboard and plastic these things are packaged in. The yellow package is the anti-static wristband, which is VERY important if you're installing the CPU. Just 10 volts of static can damage components. If you can hear the static discharge... you've just transferred 6000 Volts! That's why you never touch the insides of a computer unless you're a trained professional, or a nutcase like me.

Installed Power Supply
The 750 Watt Thermaltake is one of the best money can buy. Good thing too, because it's the most vital part of the system next to the CPU. If a bad Power Supply goes haywire, your entire system is fried.
Open up a can of Mobo!
The motherboard and CPU equipment seeing the light of florecance for the first time.
CPU Close Up
The Intel Quad-core in all it's processing glory.
Place CPU into socket.
The CPU fits perfectly into the LGA775 socket on the motherboard. Had to be extra careful not to touch the pins.
Install CPU Cooler
This bad boy is the heatsink and fan for the CPU. Copper is twice more effective than most other metals used. Just a tad more costly.
Instal Motherboard
Motherboard situated onto the case. Nice fit, and plenty of room.
Connect the case cables to the motherboard.
The indicator LEDs, USB, and Audio ports are now connected.
Instal drives into drive bays.
No Harddrives yet. They're still in the mail. However, the two DVD-RW drives and the floppy drive are all hooked up.
Front of case
What I'll be able to see and use for the next few years.
On my desk
I want this PC filled out and on my desk by next Friday! And handle the TPS reports while you're at it.
Chrome Dragon
This was originally going to be placed on my car, which was totaled last May. In memory of that heroic little Mazda MX-3, my PC will carry its emblem. *Sniff* Gonna miss that car. Plus the dragon thingy looks totally SWEET!

The computer will be finished next Thursday or Friday when I purchase the video card. Also, the memory and harddrives are being shipped, which is part of the delay.

Shadow Wulf · Post by **Shadow Wulf** » Fri Oct 12, 2007 4:01 pm

Its times like these when I wish I had a job. I already can estimate Im gonna be spending about $700 on the rig I want.

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