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Ok so Im very new to the whole build your own computer thing so i thought id go to the experts.

 

Basically I've got a macbook pro and it kicks ass so id like to stay in line with the whole mac thing except with a desktop and not a macpro because my names not richard branson.

 

So basically Im into graphical design so need a kick ass render beast with a huge raid setup and a ridiculously awesome graphics card. Would love dual quad core 3.2GHz or better if you can.

 

Have fun with this guys - build your dream here for 5k or less so i can put it into reality.

List the parts and specs so i can hunt them down and build this puppy.

 

cheers

-mickoin

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Mac Pro 2.8ghz - Base setup $2800

Specs:

-320gb HDD

-2 gigs RAM

-ATI2600XT

-1000W PSU

-4 Hard drive drawers, up to 4Tb of storage

-2 Superdrives

-RAID Capable, supports up to 4 graphics cards for 8 displays etc etc etc.

4gb Fully Buffered Dual Channel Kit - $150 at Newegg

2x500gb Hard drives - 2x$80 = $160 at Newegg

ATI 3870 Mac Pro edition - $220

So you have an awesome 3d Graphics setup with 8 cores, 6gb RAM and 1.32 Terabytes of storage for $3330 - That's less than $5000! Of course you can spend more, get some nice displays, more RAM, storage etc.

 

The Mac Pro is overclockable too, with the ZDnet overclocking tool

Ok so I've taken this a little further - can any one see a problem with this setup? Anything uncompatible with anything else???

 

CASE

Thermaltake Armor Series VA8000BWS Black Aluminum / Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case

LINK: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16811133154

 

MOTHERBOARD

GIGABYTE GA-EP45T-EXTREME LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard

LINK: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813128350

 

GRAPHICS

MSI R4870-T2D512 OC Radeon HD 4870 512MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card

LINK: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814127358

 

POWER

KINGWIN Mach 1 ABT-1000MA1S 1000W ATX / BTX Power Supply

LINK: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817121037

 

PROCESSOR (x2)

Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9770 Yorkfield 3.2GHz LGA 775 136W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80569QX9770

LINK: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819115051

 

MEMORY (x4)

Patriot Viper 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model PVS24G8500ELKN

LINK: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820220334

 

HARDDRIVE (x4)

Seagate Barracuda ES.2 ST31000340NS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

LINK: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16822148278

 

OPTICAL DRIVE

LG Super Multi Blu-ray Disc Burner & HD DVD-ROM Drive Black SATA Model GGW-H20L

LINK: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16827136137

 

 

Missing anything - cooler maybe?

Will this all work in a Hacintosh setup?

 

-mickoin

p.s. excuse my newbness

seems to me that there is only one socket on the motherboard. why two procs? and they arent cheep by any means. you'll probably fall right in to the EP45 crowd with installation on this board. Looks like a nice board though. The pciex1 slot looks dangerously close to the heat sync piping there, and i would want firewire on such and expensive board. but that is what add on cards are for right?

 

at this price though, what happens when snow leopard comes out and we cant install. I'm not trying to start rumors here, but ya never know what apple might do to deter people from installing on non-apple hardware. then again apple might open up. Just seems like to much risk for me, where is the benefit/risk analysis? for $5k you could pimp a mac pro.

What's a good motherboard that can handle eight cores? Again (and this will make me sound ultra un-informed) but does the motherboard have to have two sockets for dual quad core procs

 

Also what will Nehalem mean to everything else in any given set up. Is it really worth the wait?

 

One more thing - i've heard that if you get eight cores you cant overclock though the pay off is that it's faster at rendering. True false? Pros Cons of eight cores? What would you get and why?

Ok will this set up work with Leopard?

Pretty ultimate hey?

Give me your thoughts and recommendations.

Also I've been trying to find a motherboard that can support 8 cores but can't find anything - can someone point me in the right direction.

 

ASUS P5N-D LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 750i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813131232

 

Thermaltake Armor Series VA8000BWS Black Aluminum / Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16811133154

 

MSI R4870-T2D512 OC Radeon HD 4870 512MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814127358

 

KINGWIN Mach 1 ABT-1000MA1S 1000W ATX / BTX Power Supply

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817121037

 

Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9770 Yorkfield 3.2GHz LGA 775 136W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80569QX9770

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819115051

 

Patriot Viper 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model PVS24G8500ELKN - (x2)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820220334

 

Seagate Barracuda ES.2 ST31000340NS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - (x4)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16822148278

 

SAMSUNG 245T-BLACK Black 24" 6ms (GTG) HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor - (x2)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16824001246

 

LG Super Multi Blu-ray Disc Burner & HD DVD-ROM Drive Black SATA Model GGW-H20L

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16827136137

 

Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16829102006

 

GIGABYTE GH-WIU02 3D Galaxy II Liquid Cooling

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16835128015

 

 

Thanks for advice

mickoin

 

ps. sorry for the double post

Don't get the 4870 - it's not yet supported in OS X. There are lots of posts of people using dual-socket motherboards eg this thread. However the cost is comparable to a Mac Pro then, so why not just get a Mac Pro. Anyway, Nehalem is around the corner and is gonna change everything, you don't wanna invest too heavily in an 8-core system now only to see it beaten to a pulp by Nehalem next month.

 

Stick with the Single Quad-core Hack, in my opinion. It's blazingly fast, especially at 4ghz!

 

Get a 9800GTX+ or 3870

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