New build advice...

[jackfalbey]

Well, it all started with Vernon. Then Chuck got his dual-dual core Xeon. There was Mrs. Twosheds new machine. Rusty built a new rig, followed by Dave C. I just couldn't resist the urge to upgrade any longer (and prices are getting very reasonable too!). I've ordered the parts and will begin building in a few days when they get here. This is my first self-built PC, although I've done extensive hardware upgrades on my current desktop so I'm comfortable with working inside the case, but I'm sure I'll need some advice from those with more experience. Since this will be built around the Matrox RT.X2 video editing accelerator card running Adobe Production Premium CS3, I had to select from the Matrox validated parts list. I've already checked all the parts for compatibility with each other, but have I overlooked anything?

CoolerMaster Stacker 810 w/850w power supply
Asus P5W-DH Deluxe
Intel Core2Quad Q6600
4x 1GB Kingston HyperX DDR2 800
Sapphire Radeon HD3850 1GB
Seagate 500GB 7200RPM (OS)
2x Seagate 500GB 7200RPM (RAID0)
Windows XP Pro 32-bit

Also, my Dell preconfigured PCs all came with additional software like CyberLink PowerDVD and Sonic/Roxio. Other than XP, what additional software will I need to get this thing up and running?

[Dave C]

Hi Jack,
I think you made great choices on everything, processor, motherboard, case , psu, video card , hard drives. the only thing I might suggest to consider, is whether you need a 500GB hard drive for your OS, I would recommend a 150GB Raptor for yor OS. I upgraded my old system to faster ram and a Raptor for the OS, and noticed a big difference. So I bought another one for my new build. I have all my programs on it and I'm only using 25GB. Good luck with your build!..........................dave

[jackfalbey]

The main reason I went with the 500GB for the OS was price/value. It was $100, the 250GBs were $85 and the 160GBs were $75. I certainly don't need that much room for the OS, it's just that the 500GB is the best value per gigabyte and it is large enough that I will never fill it up with programs even if I add lots of other video-related software (like Red Giant, Boris, Digital Juice, etc.).

I looked at both drives' benchmarks at Tom's Hardware http://www23.tomshardware.com/storage.html (Seagate Barracuda ST3500320AS & Western Digital Raptor WD1500ADFD) and the Seagate scored better than the Raptor in most tests... but if you really do see a noticeable real-world performance boost from using it, I might reconsider getting one after all.

Also, I see you've OC'ed your Q6600... does it run Premiere faster as a result?

[Bobby]

OK - let's talk about overclocking - this from a guy who has been around for quite a while and spent much career time in performance related issues.

Performance, like many things, shouldn't be measured in gigahertz, but rather "sufficiencies". There is always the trade off of risk (and/or cost) vs. higher performance. Having worked all my career for IBM in the large mainframe and supercomputing areas, there was a difference in how we handled performance in each environment.

Our business customers wanted reliability and stability, at an "acceptable" level of performance. We watched our customer satisfaction carefully, and literally examined every error that happened. Not so on the supercomputer end. I remember working with the people in Boulder at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, which used IBM peripheral gear but Cray supercomputers. While chatting with them, I found that the Cray had almost no error detection circuitry. When I asked how they could tolerate that, they replied that absolute performance was everything - if they did a run that yielded an obviously flawed answer, they just ran it again!

Overclocking always has its price, and especially PC hardware that doesn't have much error detection or correction is not really a safe overclocking platform.

I don't want my data compromised - ever, even though I have good backups.

So the point is: if PE runs fast enough so that there are no delays during editing, why OC? When it gets to the point of actually generating output, how much do you shorten the run? If you have to go out and get a coke anyhow, what difference does it make if it takes 15 minutes instead of 20?

Carefully weigh the potential for errors and data loss against a few minutes faster rendering!

Bob

[jackfalbey]

So the point is: if PE runs fast enough so that there are no delays during editing, why OC? When it gets to the point of actually generating output, how much do you shorten the run? If you have to go out and get a coke anyhow, what difference does it make if it takes 15 minutes instead of 20?

Carefully weigh the potential for errors and data loss against a few minutes faster rendering!

Good point, Bob. I wasn't planning on overclocking; I prefer rock-solid stability in an editing PC. I was just curious if Dave noticed a difference with the CPU OC'ed vs. stock.

I don't want this thread to get too far off-topic, so I'll get back to my 2 main questions:

1) Is there anything I've overlooked for my build?
I know I didn't list optical drives (I'll be using existing ones); keyboard, mouse, and monitor will be KVM'ed with my Dimension 8400.

2) What software, either retail or freeware, will I need in addition to XP to be able to run CS3?

[John 'twosheds' McDonald]

Hello Jack,

I can't think of any additional software that you will need to run CS3 (or to rephrase that I don't have any additional software and my CS3 runs oerfectly OK).

The only suggestion that I can come up with for your planned rig is maybe a Blu-Ray writer (personally I am waiting for prices to drop now that the format war is over).

[jackfalbey]

I was thinking about things like certain codecs, DVD decoders, and other utilities etc. that may not be included with XP Pro. On my Dell 8400, I uninstalled CyberLink PowerDVD thinking it was redundant with Windows Media Player 11 only to learn that WMP11 still needs a third-party DVD decoder to play DVDs. Luckily I had a reinstall disc.

And yes, I'm also holding off on Blu-Ray for better prices...

[Bob]

Hi Jack,

You can add me to the list of those that recently built a Q6600 quad system. You'll love yours when you get it done. The Production Studio CS3 package you have should run well on your new system. It's pretty complete as is, about the only thing missing from that is Audition 3, for which you may or may not have a need. You probably already have a good idea of what else to put on that system -- DVD decoder ala PowerDVD, DVD burning software, backup software/hardware etc. As for codecs and related utilities, that's going to depend on your workflow and intentions, I'm pretty sure you are savy enough to know what you need to work with your source material and intended distribution.

One thing you might consider is a hardware calibration device for your monitor. I wouldn't consider using Photoshop without a calibrated monitor and profile. I see a noticible difference when the LUT is loaded. The video world is only just now getting concerned with a color managed workflow. After Effects CS3 does support color management, I'd expect other products to follow eventually. Speaking of After Effects, be sure to get the Keylight plugin upgrade -- the version shipped with After Effects CS3 is buggy and it's a free upgrade to the current version for AE CS3 users.

I reused my existing DVD writer which is an old style ATAPI style, but next time I buy a DVD writer I'm going to get a SATA unit.

Watch out for static electricity and have fun putting your new system together!

[jackfalbey]

Hi Bob,

I don't really need Audition at this point. For burning I plan to keep using ImgBurn; it works well for me. For backups, I'll keep copies of projects-in-progress on eSATA externals, and if the C: gets errors I'll just reformat & reinstall if necessary (this is a video-editing-only PC so I won't have any documents or personal files to lose).

I really like WMP 11 for a media player, so I'll be using it, but I suppose I will need a DVD decoder... is there a good free one or should I buy one, and if so, which one?

My workflow will mainly be a mix of DV and HDV sources delivered in SD on DVD, and occasionally some videos produced for the web. The matrox RT.X2 uses its own proprietary codec within CS3 to achieve real-time preview and playback, but I don't know if I will need other codecs (like the K-lite pack) for other apps like WMP, QT, etc.

I am considering a monitor calibrator. They range from about $70 to over $400. Any recommendations on a good one?

[rustysterling]

Jack, You've made some good choices. And I've really become a fan of Coolermaster cases. They are just great and very cool (I mean cold cool but also cool looking).

One suggestion I followed when first doing my build was to connect everything with the motherboard outside of the case. That way if there was an issue it would be easier to troubleshoot without having to tear everything out. Also, you can enter the bios and if you need more power for RAM or the like you can configure it then.

When you do this, put your MB on top of the box it came in, install just one stick of RAM, the CPU and cooler fan (this is much easier with the MB outside the case), your video card, and the PSU connectors. In order to turn it on you have to use a screw driver to short the connection for the case front switch. I'll find a website that helped me with all of this that has some good illustrations.

If everything fires up as it should outside the case they you should be good to go. Once you install fully after that, if things don't fire up then I'd suspect the MB shorting out from the standoffs.

Good luck. And I'll find that link and post it back in this reply.

Here it is:

http://forum.uabit.com/showthread.php?t=134617

It's the Abit forum but the theory is the same regardless of MB.

[Bob]

Sorry, I haven't researched DVD decoders in a very long time so I can't give a recommendation. WMP doesn't come installed with a DVD decoder (I'm guessing to avoid a licensing fee), but it will use one that gets installed by other software. I've generally just installed the software that came with my DVD burner and haven't had any problems viewing commercial DVDs with WMP. I hear that ffdshow includes a DVD decoder, but I haven't used it so I don't know whether that is compatible with wmp 11 or whether it decodes encrypted commercial DVDs. I think the k-lite mega pack includes a decoder also -- same caveat. But, your PowerDVD supplied decoder should fill the bill nicely. I'd use that and not worry about it unless you are having obvious problems.

You probably will need some additional codecs. I'm not a fan of indiscriminately installing codec packs and generally just install the individual codecs I need. I don't pick up a lot of videos off the Internet, mainly tutorials, stock footage, etc. so my needs are relatively simple. I find that I mainly run into QT, Wmv, Divx, and Xvid. I try to avoid anything in Xvid. I'd recommend installing the free version of Quicktime. I use Virtualdub when I need to convert avi files from one codec to another. I've found gspot to be a good utility to have around also.

For a calibration tool, I'd recommend either the Eye One Display 2 or the Spyder 2 / Spyder 3. I wouldn't bother with the low end Huey's and the like. The Eye One Display 2 is well regarded and it's a little faster than the Spyder 2 to calibrate. I have a Spyder 2 and have been relatively happy with it. Now that the Spyder 3 is out, I've seen some good prices on the Spyder 2 kits. The Spyder 2 is a little weak on response with the light tones compared to the Eye One, if you're a wedding photographer, go for the Eye One. On the other hand, the Spyder seems to do a better job in the dark tonal range. I haven't seen the Spyder 3 or any reviews so I don't know how that will compare, but the Spyder 3 is supposed to be faster than the Spyder 2. There are higher end calibration tools, but unless you have a high end monitor, you're wasting your money on them.

You might consider backup software that can make an image of the entire os disk, including the boot sector. Adobe places some of the activation info for CS3 in the boot sector. If that isn't restored, you might eventually need to call Adobe to have them clear the activation database entry. (or, deactivate before you format the disk -- if you can)

[John 'twosheds' McDonald]

I have the eye-one display 2 and can recommend it.

Very easy to use and, when I used it for the first time, I was amazed at the difference. I can only calibrate the primary monitor (in my case left hand) on my dual monitor set up so I was able to compare directly the 'calibrated' withthe 'uncalibrated' - quite a surprisng difference!

[Ken Jarstad]

Why can't you calibrate the secondary monitor?

[John 'twosheds' McDonald]

Hello Ken. My understanding is that this is a Windows limitation. Each monitor will have its own unique colour profile but Windows can only apply one profile to one monitor; it cannot handle two profiles nor will it apply the same profile to two monitors.

This is not a problem as the 'profiled' monitor is the one I use for viewing images. But the difference is noticable when one drags an image so that it half on one monitor, half on the other.

[Bob]

Not necessarily. It's more an issue of your video card and drivers. If you are at least at Windows XP SP2 level, you can profile the two monitors separately if your video card is a true dual head with two LUTs or if you are using two video cards. The microsoft color control panel applet, which you will need to download from Microsoft(http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/usin ... ntrol.mspx), makes the process a lot easier. That also has a LUT loader which will load both LUTs individually. Vista has equivalent color management built-in.