keld Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 Okay I've been reading posts and guides for the past two days trying to wrap my head all of this stuff. Here are my goals: 1) Mini Tower (Full ATX) that would fit on my desk (24" deep). I used to have an Antec P180, but while it did fit "on" my desk, it was just too huge. 2) Quiet PC (even while gaming). If it means having to buy aftermarket GPU and CPU coolers, I am fine with that. 3) Gaming capable machine (I'm looking at the Radeon 4870 now that there is support and I only have 1 monitor) in OS X and Windows Vista. Want to dual boot this system. 4) 100% compatible at least with 10.5.6. Need to have Audio out/in, ethernet, USB, DVD/RW, working 100%. 5) Money is an issue. I know I'm probably spending at least $1,000 for a Quad system.. if I have to spend a little more to get i7, I want to know if it's going to be worth it in terms of Final Cut Studio and Gaming. Here is what I've come up with so far: Build A (Cheaper) Q9400 2.66Ghz Yorkfield - $229.99 G-SKILL 8GB (4x2GB) DDR2-1066 RAM - $89.98 GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P - $134.99 SAPPHIRE 100259-1GL Radeon HD 4870 1GB - $199.99 (I read that this card is surprisingly quiet) SAMSUNG SATA 22X DVD+-R/W - $23.99 3 SATA hard drives (1 for OS X, 1 for Vista, 1 for Data, possibly another drive for a mirror / backup of my OS X partition incase I need to restore from backup). ^^^Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB - $54.99 each ANTEC SONATA III w/ 500W PSU - $129.99 == Total $973.90 Build B (i7) Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz - $288.99 G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 - $99.99 SAPPHIRE 100259-1GL Radeon HD 4870 1GB - $199.99 GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD5 - $288.99 SAMSUNG SATA 22X DVD+-R/W - $23.99 3 SATA hard drives (1 for OS X, 1 for Vista, 1 for Data, possibly another drive for a mirror / backup of my OS X partition incase I need to restore from backup). ^^^Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB - $54.99 each ANTEC SOLO - $89.99 CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W - $94.99 == Total $1251.90 I also would probably have to spend a few more dollars on some quiet fans and maybe a fan volt controller, and possibly an aftermarket cooler for the CPU and GPU. I really want it to be quiet. I know it's crazy to figure this all out.. I've been having trouble piecing this all together so I come to you guys for help! Thanks in advance! Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/156290-gaming-video-editing-machine-but-quiet-please-advise/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synaesthesia Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 I think you've got it figured out. Your hardware lists are good. To reduce noise, buy components with quiet fans, or none at all. It depends on how far you wanna take it. So far so good though. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/156290-gaming-video-editing-machine-but-quiet-please-advise/#findComment-1099760 Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaE-V Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 i7 is worth the price difference. i just jumped ship not too long ago from a system really similar to your cheap build. and with 10.5.7 our performance is probably gonna imporve. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/156290-gaming-video-editing-machine-but-quiet-please-advise/#findComment-1099797 Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottishduck Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 I wouldn't recommend Seagate HDDs, change them for Samsung F1s. I also wouldn't recommend ATI, they use buggy drivers. NVIDIA 9800GTX or 9800GT would probably be a nicer solution. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/156290-gaming-video-editing-machine-but-quiet-please-advise/#findComment-1099957 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts