Computer of the Future

[Ashton]

Hi I am going to buy a new computer soon And I think I have narrowed it down to four different ones I need this computer to run Maya the 3D program at it's best. which of these do you know would be the best. Please help me out I do not know much about the AMD chips so tell me as much as you know thank you.
here they are.

Item Maker Nomenclature
Motherboard MSI K8TM-ILSR K8T800 Chipset
CPU AMD ADA3700AEP5AR AMD Socket 754 Athlon 64 3700
Heatsink ThermalTake Silent Boost Venus K8
RAM Mushkin Blue Dual Pack 184 Pin 1GB(512MBx2)
Hard Drive Seagate Seagate 200GB 7200RPM Barracuda 7200.7 SATA
Video Card eVGA nVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT
DVD-R/RW NEC Dual Layer 8X DVD writer
Floppy Disk Sony 3.5" Floppy drive
Case Antec Aria MicroATX Small Form Factor (SFF) + 300 Watt PSU
Sound Card Creative Labs SoundBlaster Audgy 2 ZS
Keyboard Mouse Logitech Logitech Cordless MX Duo
LCD Screen Sony SONY SDM-S74/B 17" LCD Monitor
DVI Cable ADI Micro DVI(M)/DVI(M) Dual Link Digital Cable 10 ft

AMD 64
Item Maker Nomenclature
Motherboard ABIT AV8 K8T800 Pro Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket 939 CPU
CPU AMD AADA3500DEP4AW Athlon 64 3500+ (Socket 939)
Heatsink Zalman 7000cu
RAM Mushkin Blue Dual Pack 184 Pin 1GB(512MBx2)
Hard Drive Seagate Seagate 200GB 7200RPM Barracuda 7200.7 SATA
Video Card Gainward FX 5900XT Ultra 1100
DVD-R/RW NEC Dual Layer 8X DVD writer
Floppy Disk Sony 3.5" Floppy drive
Case Antec Super LanBoy
Power Supply Antec True480
Keyboard Mouse Logitech Logitech Cordless MX Duo
LCD Screen Sony SONY SDM-S74/B 17" LCD Monitor
DVI Cable ADI Micro DVI(M)/DVI(M) Dual Link Digital Cable 10 ft

Intel Dual XEON (64 or 32 Bit)
Item Maker Nomenclature
Motherboard IWILL DH800
CPU Intel XEON 2.8GHz 1MB Ram 800MHz (Nocona - OEM)
RAM Mushkin Blue Dual Pack 184 Pin 1GB(512MBx2)
Hard Drive Seagate Seagate 200GB 7200RPM Barracuda 7200.7 SATA
Video Card eVGA nVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT
DVD-R/RW NEC Dual Layer 8X DVD writer
Floppy Disk Sony 3.5" Floppy drive
Case Antec Super LanBoy
Power Supply Fortron 550 Watt
Keyboard Mouse Logitech Logitech Cordless MX Duo
LCD Screen Sony SONY SDM-S74/B 17" LCD Monitor

AMD Opteron (64 or 32 bit)
Item Maker Nomenclature
Motherboard Tyan Tyan Tiger K8W (S2875ANRF)
CPU AMD Opteron 246 (2.0 GHz)
Heatsinks Thermaltake ThermalTake Venus 7+
RAM Corsair XMS Extreme Memory Speed Series (Registered)
Hard Drive Seagate Seagate 200GB 7200RPM Barracuda 7200.7 SATA
Video Card eVGA nVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT
DVD-R/RW NEC Dual Layer 8X DVD writer
Floppy Disk Sony 3.5" Floppy drive
Case Antec Super LanBoy
Power Supply Fortron 550 Watt
Keyboard Mouse Logitech Logitech Cordless MX Duo
LCD Screen Sony SONY SDM-S74/B 17" LCD Monitor

Please give me as much information as you can and if you know of a better computer (only PC's not a MAC ) please tell me about it.
Thanks

 

[bosox188]

K first of all you can't get a Xeon or Opteron, they're only for businesses and workstations and stuff. I'd say the first one that you listed is the best, although the case says it's a SFF (small form factor) case. You cannot get that. SFF cases are tiny, they're just little box shaped cases that won't fit all of that stuff in them. Get a better case. And ATX Mid-Tower. Other than that, the first one is the best. *Edit* Just found one more problem with the first one. For you processor it says "socket 754 amd athlon 64 3700+." The Athlon 64 3700+ is socket 939, so make sure the motherboard you picked out is socket 939.

 

[Ashton]

Thank you so much any more info from anyone else is welcome

 

[downthesun]

K first of all you can't get a Xeon or Opteron, they're only for businesses and workstations and stuff. I'd say the first one that you listed is the best, although the case says it's a SFF (small form factor) case. You cannot get that. SFF cases are tiny, they're just little box shaped cases that won't fit all of that stuff in them. Get a better case. And ATX Mid-Tower. Other than that, the first one is the best. *Edit* Just found one more problem with the first one. For you processor it says "socket 754 amd athlon 64 3700+." The Athlon 64 3700+ is socket 939, so make sure the motherboard you picked out is socket 939.

Correction: They DO make a socket 754 AMD Athlon 64 3700+. So both of his set ups are fine. :naughty:

 

[blackeye]

The second option would also be a great system but I would not recomend getting a 5900XT. A 6800 GT would be much better if you want nvidia.
The antec super lanboy is a great case at its price and provides decent cooling once you add another 120MM fan (it only comes with one, so buy another) Only problem with it is doesnt feel very sturdy. (I used to have one)
The second configuration would be very quiet judging from the heatsink and case you choose if that was a factor or not.

 

[Ashton]

Thank you thank you everyone Please tell me some more info also I think I will be getting an ATI video card instead of a Nvidia.. (Question) should I wait for the 9800 XT or should I just get the 9800 PRO?

 

[Asus]

You can buy just about any Xeon or Opteron CPU even from Newegg.

I tried to look up some Maya benchmarks for you.
GamePC - shows Dual CPUs
3Dchips - shows Dual CPUs
LostCircuits
Ace's Hardware
Ace's Hardware 2
extremetech
GamePC

If you scroll down here you can see Hyperthreading compared to Dual CPUs. Search for Maya. Dual CPUs helps a lot in this test.

Personally, I would get dual Opteron CPUs that fit your budget. Any opteron plays games great, even the Opteron 142 (242) can compete with a P4 3 GHz in some games. Here is a review of the Opteron 150/250 but they list the 148 and 146 as well. I linked you to the Game section there.

 

[Cyanide]

I agree with Asus. If you want the best performance in Maya, dual CPU is the way to go. Opterons are good. Xeons are pretty damn good too, although usually more expensive. Dual CPU will definately help with rendering in Maya and other 3D modeling apps. They won't help much with games though. There aren't very many games that are multi-threaded to take advantage of dual CPUs. However, it would be awsome as a game server. You could run a dedicated server and play the game at the same time with no problems.

 

[The Terminator]

Get the first one.

 

[Asus]

Get the first one.

That would be the best for Games, not Maya.

 

[Cyanide]

Whatever you do, don't buy an ABIT motherboard. I know lots of people who've had nothing but problems with them. I myself have had 2 of them die within 2 weeks of purchase.

 

[Ashton]

wow you guys this is great stuff thank you so much... this will help me a ton. But what about the video card should I wait for the 9800 XT, and will it be worth the money?

 

[Asus]

If you are going to be mainly doing Maya and need money for other parts of the system, stick with the 6800GT.

If you want to wait for more places to have the X800XT instock and plan on paying 499$ for the card then that's your choice. It does better in games, especially HL2 (except Doom 3 of course).

 

[Dead-Inside]

Please give me as much information as you can and if you know of a better computer (only PC's not a MAC ) please tell me about it.
Thanks

About the last part... There's no better "Mac's" then PC's.

 

[staddydaddy]

K first of all you can't get a Xeon or Opteron, they're only for businesses and workstations and stuff.

wtf are you smoking. WRONG