I'm looking to buy or build a new awesome encoding machine

[rallynavvie]

Anything with multiple PCI-E slots would work, but you don't need that much video power unless you're powering two dual-link LCD displays. Which of us can afford two 30" Apple cinema displays? Oi, $3300 each.

[SIRCOOKS]

look at this, i built this cheaply, and it encodes my movies, in a 1.5 hours tops...
case:-
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=5110167502&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT
video card:-
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=14-134-108&DEPA=1
processor:-
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=19-116-171&depa=1
ram:-
i had 2x512 ddr ram sticks in my old suystem, i dont know what they were, but i have 1 gb of ram behind my sytem....windows xp pro, dvd burner, cd burner, dvd rom, cd rom...and i get my movies encoded in 1.5 hours top, then tmpgenc dvd author, authors them in 15- 20 min, take in mind im not doing anything, during this time.., but even if im doing soemthing, it doesn't go much slower....

[offline]

Are there any machines out yet that are slotted to take advantage of DUAL 6800s yet?

I would think any socket T (775) m/b would be fine to run them right now.
Thank goodness Intel have at last taken care of the
temp problem. Just built a 55 running @ 38 deg c. Nice but
no speed improvement over its predecessor. Standard PCI-E
is no faster either. Groovy pinless cpu is fun though!

[ViRaL1]

Anything with multiple PCI-E slots would work, but you don't need that much video power unless you're powering two dual-link LCD displays. Which of us can afford two 30" Apple cinema displays? Oi, $3300 each.

Dual-link video displays?

Elaborate please.

[rallynavvie]

Those LCD displays use two DVI ports on the back of a DDL-enabled video card to drive the massive screen sizes (2560x1600). I believe a few of the 6800s are DDL cards.

[videocheez]

Hey guys im still in the process of specifying hardware for my new comp and wanted toask a couple of questions about using the Iwill DH800.

I bought 1 74GB Raptor drive and i was about to buy two when I started seeing a few SATA drives with larger capacity. I did notice that the higher capacity SATA drives did not spin at 10KRPM.
I was thinking that I would use the raptor for my OS and APPZ and the larger SATA drive to encode too. Will i lose a lot of speed by making this change in design.
One reason that I'm leaning away from getting two Raptors is that I want to get more Hardrive space. I was thinking about getting a huge IDE drive but i read that the DH800 only has two IDE ports. I'm not sure how those IDE ports work and am wondering would I be able to install 2 large IDE drives, 1 DVD burner, 1 fast CD burner and floppy drive.
If i can get all of that on the DH800 then maybe I'll go pick up the other Raptor while the sale is still going on.

thanks in advance,

VC

[ViRaL1]

Most PCs only have 2 IDE ports. No reason you shouldn't be able to get 2 large hard drives as well as a DVD burner and a CD burner (although I'd recommend a combo CDRW/DVD to save wear and tear and time). Floppy runs on a separate controller so that's not a problem. Since you get 2 SATA ports you can run 2 SATA drives. 2 74GB raptors would work fine. I'd recommend 1 for OS/Apps/Swap and 1 for encoding. You can store your completed projects on the larger drives. You'd probably see a gain in speed going from 1 Raptor to another as opposed to A) using 1 drive for OS/Apps/Swap/Encoding or B) encoding across buses from SATA to PATA.

[rallynavvie]

I use the single Raptor for boot and apps. I also have a 200GB IDE drive for storage and encoding. I have an IDE swap bay for another IDE hard drive that's usually where my client projects reside. In addition I have two fast SCSI drives in there for scratch space. I have a ROM and burner in that same machine which is very similar to the board you have

The large capacity SATA drive would be nice since I'm guessing you won't need room for SCSI hardware. That way you can fit another hard drive in there without the need for a PCI controller.

[videocheez]

I use the single Raptor for boot and apps.

Should I partion the 74B Raptor, If so into what sizes. I plan to run Windows XP Pro.

Also, I also have been asking around aboutthe Iwill DH800 and was wondering what will i use the PCI-X slots for. I figured I would just get an AGP videocard but maybe i could get a PCI-X video card. Unfortunately the AGP slot would go to waste other than providing some breathing space for the CPU. One bummer that I see in the DH800 is that it only has 2 PCI slots.

Thanks for the time,

VC

[rallynavvie]

Umm, the PCI-X slots are just extended PCI slots, they are completely compatable with PCI cards. And they aren't PCI-E which are the slots the new graphics cards are using. It has AGP, 2x PCI, and 2x PCI-X. You just wouldn't be able to use any PCI-E devices and only 2 PCI-X devices, but you likely won't utilize PCI-X unless you get some heavy SCSI RAID equipment. What are you going to use in 4 PCI slots anyway? Most everything needed is onboard with the DH800. The only thing you'd benefit from is a better sound card on the bottom slot, and maybe a USB 2.0 card with internal headers so you can use front USB ports on your case. Save the PCI-X for a FireWire800 combo card that does all 3 (1394b, 1394a, and USB 2.0).

[ViRaL1]

PCI-X isn't fully compatible with PCI. I think PCI 2.2 is where they started keying the cards at both ends. Depending on the card you have, it MAY NOT have a notch toward the back. If it doesn't, it won't fit in a PCI-X slot. Most newer cards are PCI 2.2 but I'm not sure if they all are.

[videocheez]

Maxtor 300GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive, Model 6B300S0, OEM Drive
I was reading in Maximum PC that this hardrive was selected as there dream machine's secondary storage drive.
I'm working on a hardware list for my dream machine and I was thinking about using this drive on the Iwill DH800 motherboard. The drive with the the OS will be a 74GB Raptor.
Will this drive compatible with the Iwill as I have mentioned?
Also I'm wondering why is the price so low. Newegg is selling it and I thought that it is priced a little on the low side perhaps because its an OEM model. I hate to buy the lowest price thing online cause I believe that prices too low to be true are too low to be true.
What do you guys think about this drive as the secondary drive one my dream machine and also is the price low because its an OEM.
Below is a link to Newegg's order.

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?DEPA=0&description=22-144-359&ATT=Hard+D...&CMP=OTC-C173T

[rallynavvie]

It will work just fine on the second SATA controller. Price is about what I expected. 16MB cache on that sounds pretty cool!

[budz]

Also I'm wondering why is the price so low. Newegg is selling it and I thought that it is priced a little on the low side perhaps because its an OEM model. I hate to buy the lowest price thing online cause I believe that prices too low to be true are too low to be true.

Newegg is the bomb when it comes to computer components. Nothing wrong with ordering a MAXTOR OEM hard drive. MAXTOR OEM SATA HARD DRIVES fom Newegg.com come with 3 year warranties versus a 1 year warranty for the retail version. I posted the information on another thread.

https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=237489

[videocheez]

Memory: Mushkin 2-2-2 PC3200 dual pack ($339)
Again the last 1GB of RAM you'll ever want. Mushkin had far superior BH-6 chips on their 2-2-2 but not anymore. You can still get the BH-6 ones but they are $$$

Is this still the recommended memory I was looking on the Mushkin site and could no longer find it.

BTW, Im still wondering about the E0 stepping revsion for the nocona. Anyword on when they will be available. I'm still excited about building this PC. Looks like I'll be working on it over xmas vacation at this rate.

Also, I was thinking about purchasing an ATI all in wonder pro capture for the proposed new system but I want to have an nvidia 3D video card. will ther be any conflict mixing and matching these rivals hardware on the DH800+?

Thanks in advance,

VC

[rallynavvie]

I was thinking about purchasing an ATI all in wonder pro capture for the proposed new system

Don't do that. Get a dedicated PVR if you're looking to do TV capture, or just get a Canopus ADVC if you're looking at capturing analog to DV a lot. I personally abhored the captures I got from my AIW. Never again. Or perhaps just get the eVGA GFX 5700 that has the TV capture and remote all built in. I've thought about getting that to replace my 5600 Ultra. Haven't seen any reviews on it though.

The E0 stepping revision is out in some places. Problem now is finding distributors who will sell you a pair of E0 exclusively. Most places don't differentiate between stepping revisions other than to sell pairs as same stepping. NewEgg and Monarch may do this, otherwise you have to go to local stores which are going to charge a lot for Xeons. I'll be getting mine in November after I hear more about how well they perform. They still run hot like a Prescott though, there are just less issues with EM64T instructions and probably have that hardware AV support for SP2.

Here's the good Mushkin kit at NewEgg:
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-146-355&depa=1
Good price on it too. Beats the price on the Mushkin site by $30.

[videocheez]

How can I tell if its the EOwhen I order. Will it be in the part #?
Does this look like the right one?
http://www.newegg.com/oldversion/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=19-117-027&depa=1

Thanks,

VC

[rallynavvie]

No, you'll need to call then and make sure they're the right stepping revision. You'll need the S-code for that. Let me go see what the code is for that revision and get back to you.

[rallynavvie]

3.2 GHz E0 Xeons are SL7PF and SL7TD

[videocheez]

3.2 GHz E0 Xeons are SL7PF and SL7TD

Thanks again for the info. I found a supplier on pricewatch.com that can get them. The company is called memory labs. It just so happens that the vendor is just a few miles away so I can pick them up and check them out prior to purchase. The guy is aware that I that I need a matching set of E0's. They are charging $479 how does this sound?
Also what's the differnence in the sSpec #SL7PF and SL7TD? Are these simply different production runs?
I apprecieate your time. You are the teacher I am the student.

VC

[rallynavvie]

The different s-specs are usually just from different plants, there is usually no difference between performance for same stepping revisions. You should still get procs with the same s-spec though.

Price sounds fine, just keep in mind that if the store is local they'll charge sales tax so you may want to take that into account. A lot of places have some really cheap shipping and for the amounts you're spending the tax may be quite a lot more than shipping costs for the little processor boxes.