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So im looking at getting a new machine as mine is now a dinosaur but need some advice.
Got R10k budget, could be stretched tho
Going to be running 3D Studio Max & Maya
Autocad photoshop and the likes of...

Looking at getting an i7 , would be nice but still not too sure if its absolutely necessary, but would be nice

suggestions?

gabzor wrote:So im looking at getting a new machine as mine is now a dinosaur but need some advice.
Got R10k budget, could be stretched tho
Going to be running 3D Studio Max & Maya
Autocad photoshop and the likes of...

Looking at getting an i7 , would be nice but still not too sure if its absolutely necessary, but would be nice

suggestions?

I am thinking that for 10k, you will get much more bang for buck with an AMD system. With an i7, you looking at around 4.5k just for the board and cheapest LGA1366 processor.

I am biased however, and the Intel guys might have something to say.

5minutes on sybaritic and I did this:


Intel Core i7 930 2.88GHz LGA1366 Processor (R2,774.00)
Asus Rampage II GENE IX58 Motherboard (R2,287.00)
Kingston DDR3-1333 6GB (3x2GB) Memory Module Kit (R1,624.00)
Cooler Master CM 690 (R794.00)
Cooler Master eXtreme Power RP-600-PCAR Power Supply - 600W (R712.00)
Seagate 1TB Barracuda 7200.12 SATA300 32MB 7200RPM Hard Drive (R671.00)
Sapphire Game Edition Radeon HD5770 (R1,853.00)

Total: R10715

Or
Intel Core i7 870 2.93GHz LGA1156 Processor (R2,792.00)
Asus P7P55D IP55 Motherboard (R1,755.00)
Corsair DDR3-1333 4GB (2x2GB) XMS3 Memory Module Kit (R1,076.00)
Cooler Master CM 690 (R794.00)
Cooler Master eXtreme Power RP-600-PCAR Power Supply - 600W (R712.00)
Seagate 1TB Barracuda 7200.12 SATA300 32MB 7200RPM Hard Drive (R671.00)
Sapphire Game Edition Radeon HD5770 (R1,853.00)

Total: R9653

I guess it depends on how multi thread optimized those programs are. Monty's first option looks pretty good, specifically as far as the extra RAM and the 8 threads of the i7 930 is concerned. You could also get another 6GB RAM kit a bit later on. Also not sure how much benefit you'd gain from the CUDA of an NVidia card, which would push the price to at least R11200 with a 192 bit GTX460. You'll have one hell of a system then though.

You could drop the price a bit by going with an 890 chipset motherboard, AMD Hexa core CPU, 8 GB of RAM and the GTX460. You don't need a fancy motherboard to get good performance, though an extra PCI-E port might come in handy for future upgrades.

Rough pricing for such a system would be:

AMD Phenom II Hexa core 1055 - R2200
An 890 chipset motherboard - R1500
8 GB Ram - R2200
NVidia GTX 460 256 bit - R2330
Case - R600
PSU - R700
Hitachi 1 TB HDD - R620

Total: R10150

Adding another 4GB RAM kit to Monty's second option would give you a better CPU.

Moved to Hardware.

Why do you need two separate topics for hardware suggestions?

AFAIK Photoshop CS5 (4?) can make use of NVIDIA's CUDA and also possibly ATI's Stream APIs. Double check this though.

Which of those programs are you planning to run concurrently? I'd go for Kalster's option with 8GB of RAM or, if you can stretch your budget, Monty's first option (the i7 930) with *12*GB of RAM, not 6GB.

The i7 930 = 4 physical cores, but with 2 threads per core (this is called HyperThreading) the operating system sees it as 8 cores (8 *logical* cores.) The Phenom II 1055 has 6 physical cores (more than the i7 930) but no HyperThreading.

<technical waffling>
I haven't done much research into this but the possibility exists that the OS could oversubscribe work to the i7 930 because it sees it as having 8 cores instead of it's actual 4 cores whereas with the Phenom II 1055 this problem can't happen. Intel has done some really good work in trying to avoid this problem though.
DON'T JUST TAKE MY WORD FOR IT THOUGH - Google for benchmarks of the products that you're going to use if performance is uber mega super amazingly critical to you!!!
</technical waffling>

Guys, would a NVIDIA Quadro or ATI FirePro with Eyefinity for multimonitor support not be better for gabzor?

GDI_Lord wrote:I'd go for Kalster's option with 8GB of RAM or, if you can stretch your budget, Monty's first option (the i7 930) with *12*GB of RAM, not 6GB.

Yeah, an i7 with 12GB of RAM will fly with things like Photoshop...

GDI_Lord wrote:Guys, would a NVIDIA Quadro or ATI FirePro with Eyefinity for multimonitor support not be better for gabzor?

This is a good question. Better processor + gaming car OR weaker processor + workstation card. With the Intel system your budget would pretty much exclude a good workstation card, with an AMD system you can squeeze in a decent Quadro/FireGL.

GDI_Lord wrote: The i7 930 = 4 physical cores, but with 2 threads per core (this is called HyperThreading) the operating system sees it as 8 cores (8 *logical* cores.) The Phenom II 1055 has 6 physical cores (more than the i7 930) but no HyperThreading.

<technical waffling>
I haven't done much research into this but the possibility exists that the OS could oversubscribe work to the i7 930 because it sees it as having 8 cores instead of it's actual 4 cores whereas with the Phenom II 1055 this problem can't happen. Intel has done some really good work in trying to avoid this problem though.

Check AMD's website for a whitepaper on why it's better to have more physical cores than to hyperthread less of them. I think they compared the AMD Phenom Hexa Core vs the Intel i7. So it should give you a good idea.

Linky: http://www.amd.com/uk/Documents/Cores_v ... epaper.pdf

Bladerunner wrote:

GDI_Lord wrote: The i7 930 = 4 physical cores, but with 2 threads per core (this is called HyperThreading) the operating system sees it as 8 cores (8 *logical* cores.) The Phenom II 1055 has 6 physical cores (more than the i7 930) but no HyperThreading.

<technical waffling>
I haven't done much research into this but the possibility exists that the OS could oversubscribe work to the i7 930 because it sees it as having 8 cores instead of it's actual 4 cores whereas with the Phenom II 1055 this problem can't happen. Intel has done some really good work in trying to avoid this problem though.

Check AMD's website for a whitepaper on why it's better to have more physical cores than to hyperthread less of them. I think they compared the AMD Phenom Hexa Core vs the Intel i7. So it should give you a good idea.

Linky: http://www.amd.com/uk/Documents/Cores_v ... epaper.pdf

That was really interesting to read! +1 AMD

Thanks for the link bladerunner.

would Win7 (64 bit) be a good choice for what you guys are discussing here?

i7 with 6Gb -12Gb of RAM

Nah, rather go for MS-DOS 2.0 or even better, Windows ME.

i knew it, that OS is a waste of time.. LOL!!!

andrekruger wrote:would Win7 (64 bit) be a good choice for what you guys are discussing here?

i7 with 6Gb -12Gb of RAM

I believe Linux is the only OS with proper multicore support.

Bladerunner wrote:I believe Linux is the only OS with proper multicore support.

You mean like the Completely Fair Scheduler? While I do think that other companies have done lots of research, I cannot comment with a comfortable degree of certainty as I haven't researched it. I have, however, seen some REALLY impressive parallel programming stuff from Intel and Microsoft.

<conspiracy theory>
From Intel's parallel programming documentation it appears that Intel and Microsoft have cooperated very closely with each other with regards to parallel programming. Microsoft probably implemented many things from Intel for .NET 4's parallel capabilities and Intel's Parallel Studio seems to have improved integration/performance capabilities or compiler optimisations for the Windows platform and .NET - even though Intel's C++ compiler has the (likely deserved?) reputation for being the best C++ compiler around.
</conspiracy theory>

i'd go for workstation graphics and weaker processor if you're gonna do a lot of 3d work. graphic cards have more cores and higher performance, and most graphic programs utilize 3d cards, even photoshop.

besides, workstation graphics are awesome...

hello there all, small question what is better? A single gtx 450 / hd 4850 or a crossfire hd 5770?

i am not so sure what to think , the reviews go 50/50

There's a GTX 450?

A single 4850 can compete with two 5770's in crossfire?

...i think he got the question mixed up... didnt know about the GTX450 but a single HD5770 is as powerful as a GTX260 which in turn is better than a HD4850.....

and two 5770's compete with a 5870....

yes i am sorry my bad having a hectic day lol , can 2 5770 beat a single 5850 or a gtx 465

can you read that post above yours? 5870!!