Building new rendering/media PC

[srt42b]

I'm wanting to build a new computer for my house that will be an omnipresent god, or not. I want it to be my main computer that I work on (Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, Flash, Dreamweaver, Premier Pro, After Effects, 3DS Max 2008 with Vray, and typical web browsing and word processing). My biggest memory hogs are obviously 3DS Max and Premier Pro. I would like to use this computer to watch movies and network it to my TV/receiver as well (Directv HR-21). I came up with the following list:

Q6600 overclocked to 3.6gHz+ (looks like the Q9450 isn't OC too well)
P35 or 780i mobo (rather go cheaper but will get 780i if necessary)
4 x 2gb PC2 6400 DDR2 ram
500gb SATA-300 16mb cache drive
8800gts 512mb g92 (overclocked if necessary)
LG GGW-H20L Blu-Ray/HD-DVD player/burner
Corsair 520HX 500w power supply
Anything else?

I can't decide between XP 64bit and Vista 64bit. XP is faster but Vista will support more ram. I'll probably hack up an old tower I have or build a plexiglass one. I want to go watercooled on the CPU and GPU but am at a loss as to what parts I need/want. I will probably add a second 8800GTS SLI down the road as well. Before anyone says I should go for a Quadro: it is too expensive, I have heard with OpenGL the GTS is effectively a quadro in 3DS max, I don't use Premiere very often, and this is not a dedicated rendering/video editing box.

I think that's everything...

[Shaz]

Considered waiting for the 9800? Might either be a better option or save you money on an 8800.

[XS Janus]

Why not a 2cpu system?
:)

[Yakyb]

you say to watch movies what are you planning on watching movie on? HDTV or normal comp monitor

network to tv/receiver? what do you mean by this do you want to send and HDMI/svideo cable to the receiver?

what about sound do you want seperate speakers? will the TV and comp be in the same room? i guess you want to use the comp monitor as the main monitor (for work etc), do you need two monitors for this?

sorry to roll of questions but im in the process of doing something similar and i think its best to have two comps for it to be honest

[Drunner611]

I would grab the corsair 620 just to be safe instead of that 500.

[srt42b]

The 9800GX2 is just 2 8800GT bolted together and marked up. It would be cheaper and faster to go with a pair of 8800GTS G92.

As for 8 cores... Depends on final cost. I may get a dual quad core board and leave my future options open (as long as running a single quad on a dual board does cause issues or slow it down).

Movies will be in 1080p on a 47" LCD TV. It will either be networked through my satellite box (ethernet) or straight from the computer DVI to HDMI. I don't have a sound card picked out yet. I was looking for a decent quality 5.1 or 7.1 card and will need a speaker system as well. Computer location has yet to be determined. It will probably be in my room with a separate monitor for working. My house if fairly small and would be easy to run cables to living room or use wireless network to satellite box (which is already set up).

Thanks for the PSU suggestion.

I appreciate the suggestions/questions. It helps me think of things I forget as well. :)

[zanzabar]

if its for media and rendering go ati there is no purpose for NV here, and the 780i is bad go p35 or x38


with an ati card then u will get better image quality and faster rendering especially with from gl workstation drivers

[srt42b]

After doing some reading, it looks like the 3870x2 may be more suited to my needs. May go with 2 3870x2's once the drivers are worked out. Probably end up with a P35 due to cost. Will also need to bump up the PSU to probably 850w for the CrossfireX cards and overclocking everything. Still have yet to figure out which sound card and speaker setup to go with yet, as well as the entire watercooling setup.

[srt42b]

Ok updated list time. Let me know your thoughts and if there is anything I should add/replace. Cutting down some costs would be great...

Hardware:
CPU - Q6600 overclocked to 3.6gHz+ (looks like the Q9450 isn't OC too well)
Mobo - P35
Ram - 4 x 2gb PC2 6400 DDR2
HDD - 500gb SATA-300 16mb cache drive
GFX - ATI HD 3870X2 (probably go with a crossfire in the future)
Optical - LG GGW-H20L Blu-Ray/HD-DVD player/burner
PSU - Corsair TX 750w
Sound - Creative X-Fi XtremeGamer
Speakers - ?

Watercooling (all taken from petrastechshop):
CPU - EK Supreme
GPU - EK-FC3870X2
Pump - Laing D5 Basic
Radiator - MCR-220 QP
Resevoir - Swiftech MCRES-MICRO
Fans - 2 x 120x25mm Quad LED Case Fans (69.15 cfm, 39.29 dBA)
Tubing - 1/2" ID R-3603
Additives - Pentosin G11

I am hoping to be able to cram all of this into a 7x18.5x16" case. I don't mind hacking it up as necessary as its an old case. I may consider building a acrylic case too (depending on how ambitious I am). Also, I'm still up in the air about what OS to use. Vista Ultimate 64 with 8gb ram or XP 64 with 4gb. I've heard Vista is very slow in comparison but it also has more ram...

[XS Janus]

For speakers go with Logitech Z-2300 if you want 2.1
They are the best not only IMO :)

[srt42b]

I was thinking 5.1 so I could use it to watch movies, etc.

[XS Janus]

Then go for Z-5500 :)
$$$

[Thund3rb1rd]

link (http://area.autodesk.com/index.php/forums/viewthread/3846/)

this is a link to a recent thread at autodesk's 3ds forum conserning workstation class vs mainstream cards for 3d rendering. most useful is post #7, nvidia vs ati, and post #16, workstation vs mainstream

I wish I had done more research like this when I was building my current home computer :(
I would have had an ATi card rather than Nvidia. I don't do an 3d rendering, but I do some residential drafting as a paying hobby.

[srt42b]

I'm looking at the GA-P35-DQ6 or GA-P35C-DS3R motherboards. I think I'll go with the onboard ALC889A to see how it goes. I have heard nothing but good things about the quality. Plus I can add a sound card if necessary later.

BTW - thank you zanzabar for pointing me towards ATI and Thund3rb1rd for seconding it with a link.