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    Buying a new computer?

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    • hellnbakH Offline
      hellnbak
      last edited by

      I've always built my own computers, but I might be interested in one of these.

      A couple questions -

      I definitely do not want a mid-size case. I suppose I could just transfer everything to a new case but is a full-size tower an option?

      I'm avoiding solid state drives for now, I want to let that technology cook for a while yet until their reliability is equal to the "old" drives. Can I get the OS installed on a WD 250GB Black drive? And I don't need a secondary drive, I buy WD drives when there's a good sale on the one's I like, and I have probably 13 or 14 of them set aside for future needs.

      I probably already know the answer to this one, but does the Win 7 come on a disc, not a "recovery disc", but on it's own disc?

      And finally, how would I find out what the system I describe would run, ball park?

      "Politicians are just like diapers -- they need to be changed often, and for the same reason"

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • andybotA Offline
        andybot
        last edited by

        This is a great thread, and if I had the budget currently, I'd be very interested. However, I am thinking I will try a 2U case for the next computer I build and see about getting my render farm set up as a server rack. I already have two boxes for rendering, and my thinking is that I will quickly run out of floor space if keep adding towers... 😕

        @hellnbak said:

        I'm avoiding solid state drives for now, I want to let that technology cook for a while yet until their reliability is equal to the "old" drives. Can I get the OS installed on a WD 250GB Black drive?

        Steve,
        If I may suggest, an SSD drive should be used for the OS and software, with a shadow backup of the OS written on a regular drive. SSD is significantly (very noticably) faster than a spinning disk when it comes to running software. Things just load and start instantaneously, whereas now working on a machine with a 7200RPM HDD feels sluggish.

        http://charlottesvillearchitecturalrendering.com/

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • soloS Offline
          solo
          last edited by

          @andybot said:

          This is a great thread, and if I had the budget currently, I'd be very interested. However, I am thinking I will try a 2U case for the next computer I build and see about getting my render farm set up as a server rack. I already have two boxes for rendering, and my thinking is that I will quickly run out of floor space if keep adding towers... 😕

          @hellnbak said:

          I'm avoiding solid state drives for now, I want to let that technology cook for a while yet until their reliability is equal to the "old" drives. Can I get the OS installed on a WD 250GB Black drive?

          Steve,
          If I may suggest, an SSD drive should be used for the OS and software, with a shadow backup of the OS written on a regular drive. SSD is significantly (very noticably) faster than a spinning disk when it comes to running software. Things just load and start instantaneously, whereas now working on a machine with a 7200RPM HDD feels sluggish.

          Andy, when you are ready to buy a server rack setup, shop around first and then come to me with the best price you can get and I'll see if I can get a better deal.

          http://www.solos-art.com

          If you see a toilet in your dreams do not use it.

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • soloS Offline
            solo
            last edited by

            @hellnbak said:

            I've always built my own computers, but I might be interested in one of these.

            A couple questions -

            I definitely do not want a mid-size case. I suppose I could just transfer everything to a new case but is a full-size tower an option?

            I'm avoiding solid state drives for now, I want to let that technology cook for a while yet until their reliability is equal to the "old" drives. Can I get the OS installed on a WD 250GB Black drive? And I don't need a secondary drive, I buy WD drives when there's a good sale on the one's I like, and I have probably 13 or 14 of them set aside for future needs.

            I probably already know the answer to this one, but does the Win 7 come on a disc, not a "recovery disc", but on it's own disc?

            And finally, how would I find out what the system I describe would run, ball park?

            Steve,

            Everything is customisable, so if you want a larger case no problem. I too was weary about solid state drives as I have heard too many horror stories, but as Andy suggests the advantages overide the fear as far as speed goes, and yes you can set up to shadow that drive, I was thinking of a third 1TB drive to do such a thing so if anything ever happened I could just rename that the 😄 drive and contine as nothing happened. (at least that is what I believe can be done)

            http://www.solos-art.com

            If you see a toilet in your dreams do not use it.

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • andybotA Offline
              andybot
              last edited by

              @solo said:

              @andybot said:

              This is a great thread, and if I had the budget currently, I'd be very interested. However, I am thinking I will try a 2U case for the next computer I build and see about getting my render farm set up as a server rack. I already have two boxes for rendering, and my thinking is that I will quickly run out of floor space if keep adding towers... 😕

              Andy, when you are ready to buy a server rack setup, shop around first and then come to me with the best price you can get and I'll see if I can get a better deal.

              Thanks Pete. When I do get serious about it, I'll start another thread and would love to hear more.

              http://charlottesvillearchitecturalrendering.com/

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • andybotA Offline
                andybot
                last edited by

                @solo said:

                I too was weary about solid state drives as I have heard too many horror stories, but as Andy suggests the advantages overide the fear as far as speed goes, and yes you can set up to shadow that drive, I was thinking of a third 1TB drive to do such a thing so if anything ever happened I could just rename that the 😄 drive and contine as nothing happened. (at least that is what I believe can be done)

                For backup - the simplest thing is to use the native 😄 drive/ system settings backup that comes with Win7 and you can simply restore that copy to a new SSD fairly quickly. It's also a very good idea to have a clean OS backup in case of any computer viruses. 🤓

                http://charlottesvillearchitecturalrendering.com/

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                • soloS Offline
                  solo
                  last edited by

                  Okay, so what's the deal you ask.

                  I have a page setup with the company who will be building the systems, there are 4 options as setup, these are just 4 different build ideas and you can change them as you require.

                  I am going for the second option.

                  http://www.jncs.com/php2/thea.php

                  @unknownuser said:

                  **$2,605

                  JNCS Model TS1000-128-680**

                  Chassis
                  Antec® 302 Chassis

                  Power Supply
                  Cooler Master® Silent Pro 850W Power Supply

                  Motherboard
                  Intel® Extreme DX79SR Desktop Motherboard

                  CPU
                  Intel® Core™ i7-3930K

                  Sink & Cooler
                  Gelid Tranquillo CC-TranQ-01-A 120mm CPU Cooler Rev 2

                  Memory
                  Corsair (4 x 8GB) SDRAM - 1866 MHz

                  SSD
                  Samsung 840 Pro Series MZ-7pD1228BW 2.5" 128GB SSD

                  Data Drive
                  Western Digital Caviar Black 2GB WD2002FAEX 64mb Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s

                  Video
                  EVGA® Model 04G-P4-2686-KR GeForce GTX 680 Graphics Card = 1019 Mhz Core - 4GB GDDR5 - PCI-E 3.0 x16

                  DVD-RW
                  LG, Reads DVD, CD Writes DVD, CD

                  O/S
                  Microsoft® Windows 7 Professional 64bit

                  Warranty
                  1 Year

                  Attached I include the prices from other builders I have used in the past to compare the deal we are getting.


                  AVA prices.jpg


                  Cyberpower price.JPG

                  http://www.solos-art.com

                  If you see a toilet in your dreams do not use it.

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                  • soloS Offline
                    solo
                    last edited by

                    So as you can see we save an average of $400 on a top end rig.

                    http://www.solos-art.com

                    If you see a toilet in your dreams do not use it.

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                    • hellnbakH Offline
                      hellnbak
                      last edited by

                      I know that SSD's are incredibly fast compared to normal drives, but I was concerned about reliability. This was based on research I did a while back, but after doing more research this morning I find that their reliability is now comparable, and the Samsung Pro 840 series has received very high marks. So, yes, I would go with a small SSD for my C drive.

                      As far as the full-size tower I want, I assume I could choose from a selection they have available. I don't need or want anything fancy, no neon lights or racing stripes, just something solid and well laid out, where everything is easily serviceable. It could be painted puke green for all I care, nobody's gonna see it but me. So how do I see what they have to choose from?

                      But as far as prices for this (very nice) rig, I can't seem to find anything in this thread that really nails it down. I know it will vary according to individual setups, but what do I need to do to get a price for the setup I want?

                      "Politicians are just like diapers -- they need to be changed often, and for the same reason"

                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • soloS Offline
                        solo
                        last edited by

                        @hellnbak said:

                        I know that SSD's are incredibly fast compared to normal drives, but I was concerned about reliability. This was based on research I did a while back, but after doing more research this morning I find that their reliability is now comparable, and the Samsung Pro 840 series has received very high marks. So, yes, I would go with a small SSD for my C drive.

                        As far as the full-size tower I want, I assume I could choose from a selection they have available. I don't need or want anything fancy, no neon lights or racing stripes, just something solid and well laid out, where everything is easily serviceable. It could be painted puke green for all I care, nobody's gonna see it but me. So how do I see what they have to choose from?

                        But as far as prices for this (very nice) rig, I can't seem to find anything in this thread that really nails it down. I know it will vary according to individual setups, but what do I need to do to get a price for the setup I want?

                        I agree on the simple case, I purposely chose a plain case with no silly lights and sliding covers, it's not how it looks, it's how it performs.

                        The price is in the link above, $2600 for this beast (cheaper option also available if you want a different GPU)

                        http://www.solos-art.com

                        If you see a toilet in your dreams do not use it.

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                        • hellnbakH Offline
                          hellnbak
                          last edited by

                          While I was composing my last post you have posted more info on prices, so that answers my last question. Thanks.

                          "Politicians are just like diapers -- they need to be changed often, and for the same reason"

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                          • soloS Offline
                            solo
                            last edited by

                            Okay, it's ready to go.

                            If you want to modify anything then email Adam Pierce apierce@jncs.com

                            And remember to mention either Solo or Pete Stoppel in correspondence for him to include you in the discounted deal.

                            http://www.solos-art.com

                            If you see a toilet in your dreams do not use it.

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                            • Dave RD Offline
                              Dave R
                              last edited by

                              Are the prices they show the discounted ones?

                              Etaoin Shrdlu

                              %

                              (THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE)

                              G28 X0.0 Y0.0 Z0.0

                              M30

                              %

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                              • soloS Offline
                                solo
                                last edited by

                                Yes, I have a comparison from competive builders above, these are great prices.

                                http://www.solos-art.com

                                If you see a toilet in your dreams do not use it.

                                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • maxhouserocksM Offline
                                  maxhouserocks
                                  last edited by

                                  OOPS! is ee it. Thanks.

                                  ~~Pete, did you post a link yet for us to be able to go in and start looking at configurations and use the"solo" code?

                                  sorry if i missed something and you already addressed this.

                                  bob~~

                                  Robert A. Christman
                                  http://rachristman.blogspot.com/

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                                  • soloS Offline
                                    solo
                                    last edited by

                                    Could any or everyone that purchases one let me know here or by private message so I can get some sort of idea how this promotion is going? thanks.

                                    http://www.solos-art.com

                                    If you see a toilet in your dreams do not use it.

                                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • Dave RD Offline
                                      Dave R
                                      last edited by

                                      Will do. I expect I'll place my order tonight or tomorrow. Can't decide between the 128GB and 256GB SSD.

                                      Etaoin Shrdlu

                                      %

                                      (THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE)

                                      G28 X0.0 Y0.0 Z0.0

                                      M30

                                      %

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                                      • maxhouserocksM Offline
                                        maxhouserocks
                                        last edited by

                                        pete, my company is still deciding between this and an OriginPC spec. I hope to take advantage of this. Did you say how long the promotion will last?

                                        Robert A. Christman
                                        http://rachristman.blogspot.com/

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                                        • soloS Offline
                                          solo
                                          last edited by

                                          @maxhouserocks said:

                                          pete, my company is still deciding between this and an OriginPC spec. I hope to take advantage of this. Did you say how long the promotion will last?

                                          No problem, if you want to PM me the specs from Origin and the price I will set out to beat it with exact machine.

                                          I cannot say for sure how long this deal will last, have not discussed duration, I know for sure it will be the next two weeks at the very least.

                                          http://www.solos-art.com

                                          If you see a toilet in your dreams do not use it.

                                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                          • Dave RD Offline
                                            Dave R
                                            last edited by

                                            Pete, did you already order your machine? I just ordered one. I also spoke with Adam on the phone. Nice guy.

                                            Etaoin Shrdlu

                                            %

                                            (THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE)

                                            G28 X0.0 Y0.0 Z0.0

                                            M30

                                            %

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