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Question[Message Deleted] Pin
Abinash Mohanty14-Oct-09 21:07
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AnswerRe: Client in XP and Server in vista CrossPost Pin
Richard MacCutchan14-Oct-09 22:06
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Questionin Windows Pin
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Questionhow NOT to install SQL shortcuts Pin
Jassim Rahma14-Oct-09 8:52
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Questioncomputer configuration for multimedia Pin
WilliamSimon14-Oct-09 4:31
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AnswerRe: computer configuration for multimedia Pin
Richard MacCutchan14-Oct-09 6:06
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AnswerRe: computer configuration for multimedia Pin
ruready51120-Oct-09 6:15
ruready51120-Oct-09 6:15 
William,

Your best bet is to go to the mfg's website and look at the recommended system configuration for the application. You may find that it is much harder to build a fully qualified system than you think.

Just to give you an idea - I once built a system specifically designed for AVID video editing. For the real time editing components (renderless), it needed a firewire controller that had to use the Texas Insturments chipset. On top of that, the card itself had to have a dedicated bus segment to the system's chipset controller, and it could be the only device on that bus segment.

What am I trying to say?

Building a system for specialized application handeling is not a simple task. If you have never done it before, I would shy away from doing so.

However, if you decide you do want to try and tackle it, you need to know that this type of system building is kind of like installing Gentoo Linux - no one can do it for you. Here are a few things to keep in mind though: you need to pair everything for best possible performance - but this isn't always what you think. For example - when specifying RAM to include into the machine, you want the motherboard's front-side bus (FSB) to match the RAM's FSB and the chipset's FSB. This will insure there are no bottle necks on the processing side of the system (the GPU will have it's own thing going on for it's memory speed). You also want to make sure that the RAM is rated ECC and fully buffered (ECC stands for "Error Corection Codes", it simply means that the unit is error correcting). ECC RAM will make your renders out of any 3D application more reliable (they won't get to 90% and fail). I know from personal experience that 3DS Max and Maya are very particular about the hardware installed in the system (more so Maya than 3DS). Hardware compatibility issues at the application layer are very difficult to troubleshoot. You might bump up the lumens on a light in a scene or turn on Global Illumination and get all kinds of errors dumping to the output window.

Some other things you want to include in your research are operating system compatibility, architecture support (x86 vs. x64), video hardware support (don't use ATI, Nvidia will have much better support for your application), processor type (single core - single socket all the way through multi core - multi socket) and supported instruction sets (MMX, SSE, SSE2, etc.).

The plot thickens when you start adding other primary applications into the mix, like Photoshop, After Effects, AVID, etc. These programs have their own requirements and may create a whole new level of complexity when installed on the same system as the 3D applications.

If you have ever installed a Gentoo Linux system - the comment about it earlier may start to make sense. Building a custom system for tasks such as the one you described is your perfect balance of seriousness, budget, application usage, and speed.

If I have turned you off of the idea, look to a major hardware vendor like HP (not system builder like Dell) for a configuration designed for a particular industry (eg: DCC). You can most likely get a nice student discount for one of the said workstations. And the biggest bonus: it comes with support.



Sorry about the novel of a message...
-david
QuestionManipulation of folders with files - can it be done? Pin
Hadware6-Oct-09 7:12
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AnswerRe: Manipulation of folders with files - can it be done? Pin
Dave Kreskowiak6-Oct-09 8:03
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GeneralRe: Manipulation of folders with files - can it be done? Pin
Hadware6-Oct-09 8:09
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GeneralRe: Manipulation of folders with files - can it be done? Pin
Dave Kreskowiak6-Oct-09 16:00
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AnswerRe: Manipulation of folders with files - can it be done? Pin
Randor 6-Oct-09 9:02
professional Randor 6-Oct-09 9:02 
QuestionDesktop background and startup performance Pin
Mekong River5-Oct-09 16:33
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AnswerRe: Desktop background and startup performance Pin
Richard MacCutchan6-Oct-09 0:28
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GeneralRe: Desktop background and startup performance Pin
Mekong River6-Oct-09 15:23
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GeneralRe: Desktop background and startup performance Pin
Richard MacCutchan7-Oct-09 0:22
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QuestionCan Windows Server 2003 build RAID over SAN? Pin
Jun Du24-Sep-09 5:03
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AnswerRe: Can Windows Server 2003 build RAID over SAN? Pin
Dave Kreskowiak24-Sep-09 9:46
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AnswerRe: Can Windows Server 2003 build RAID over SAN? Pin
Michael Martin1-Oct-09 18:19
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AnswerRe: Can Windows Server 2003 build RAID over SAN? Pin
ruready51120-Oct-09 6:41
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QuestionWhat is Direct IP? Info required on Direct IP. Pin
Sharath C V21-Sep-09 21:41
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AnswerRe: What is Direct IP? Info required on Direct IP. Pin
Richard MacCutchan22-Sep-09 0:26
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QuestionHow many maximum number of network interfaces can be configured on a typical machine in an enterprise setup. Pin
learner_2820-Sep-09 23:15
learner_2820-Sep-09 23:15 
AnswerRe: How many maximum number of network interfaces can be configured on a typical machine in an enterprise setup. Pin
Jörgen Andersson21-Sep-09 1:10
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