normally it restarts automatically one time and you you don't have to start it...?!?
was it the first restart?

but why did you choose this case if you know that the airflow is not that good and you already plan to mod it?!? i don't get it...

The hdd should be placed in the airflow behind the front fan (or air inlet)
The SSD can be mounted everywhere. No need for cooling. Do you have a mounting kit for 2,5" drives? (2,5" to 3,5" or 2,5" to 5,25")
Place the DVD where ever you want and where you feel comfortable with it. I normally use the highest slot of a case to have more room in the case and because it's better to handle for me staying under the desk...

My Cooler Master cases have a plastic fabric as filter. And it looks like the CM310 has it too:

But concerning the airflow... I don't think that this case is ideal for maximum airflow. The front is almost closed and the mounting for the HDDs is blocking the way... but i don't think that this will be a problem.
Maybe you can rotate the HDD cage, i don't know.

I have this one for all of my nodes:
http://www.coolermaster.com/product.php?product_id=6656

with open front and HDD cage 90° rotated.

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@adamb said:

Computer monitors normally have a display of 1.8

no, Windows PCs are using 2.2, Macs 1.8

And like srx said, gamma is only one part...
There can be huge differences on different monitors.

• display panel type
• quality of display and color system
• color space
• calibration
• software settings / profiles

But for a quick start you could at least adjust the different monitors using a calibration chart (if you have access to the other system) - otherwise adjust at least your system...
But it will always be a problem since you can never be sure on which display your picture will be shown. You can only calibrate your own system to be at least sure to match the standart.

@chedda said:

does anyone here calibrate regularly ?

I use a hardware calibrated NEC PA 271W with NEC MDSV Sensor (automatic calibration). Calibrated to sRGB.

without any additional info about the system and further description of the problem it is impossible to tell you anything...

this can have many reasons

• hardware failure (power supply, mainboard,...)
• overheating
• malware
• corrupted windows
• ...

Have you already opened the case to check if maybe the cpu fan has stopped running or is covered with dust?

If you're not able to give this information, take the system to a pc-service or buy a new one...

unbelievable...

and i think there are some stupid idiots who have already done it!

if you don't need the safety then just disable the autosave...

@liam887 said:

Let the GPU redering commence...

@liam887 said:

2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 670 ...

...?

@liam887 said:

Memory (RAM)
16GB KINGSTON HYPERX BEAST DUAL-DDR3 2400MHz X.M.P (4 x 4GB KIT)

Why 4x4GB and not 2x8GB? Because of the 2400MHz? No chance for an upgrade to 32GB...

maybe look for a review with noise level testing... i don't know how quiet the fan of the cheap MSI cards is. Normally the video card fan will be the loudest part of your system now.
But it will be hard to judge by reading reviews... Maybe you should buy it and if it is too noisy than you can change the cooler for an arctic cooling one or something like this (but then you will loose the warranty of your card - theoretically).

...just to be clear, i can't promise you that a 550TI is faster in Sketchup than a 650. I can only look at the reviews like you do!

Another "cheap" option could be the good old Crucial M4 128GB (or 256GB). I think it's still a good drive. I'm not sure about the Sandforce chipset of the kingston... i think the marvell chip would be better.

Yes, the kingston ssd now 300v is nice for the price. I have the 120 gb version in a render node as budget version. Very fast. The only thing i don't know is how it bahaves over the time. But it should be ok.

@vigge50 said:

A hard drive is not a 32- bit or a 64-bit
http://www.sevenforums.com/backup-restore/139224-backup-32bit-external-hard-drive-64-a.html

no surely not... that was what i wanted to say
If a hdd can be read depends only on the file system (and maybe raid volumes) and not the bitrate and drivers.

Intel SSD 330 review:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ssd-330-review-benchmark,3190.html

@vigge50 said:

I felt this was littel to much so I change the gtx550ti to gtx650 or would this make big different for me?

@numerobis said:

http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/2012-vga-gpgpu/19-Tom-s-Hardware-Index-B-Performance,2976.html

maybe 20-25% slower?

@vigge50 said:

I thougt about take the intel 330 120gb insted of 180gb and then take the harddrive i have in my computer now but somewhere I read that the 120gb was worse then the 180 gb, do you know anything about that?

Yes, normally the write speed is slower on smaller models. For Samsung models the difference between 256GB and 128GB model is ~ 20%. I
For the intel 330 the nominal write speed seems to be the same, but the IOPS are much less
http://ark.intel.com/compare/70274,67288,67287

@vigge50 said:

I have found out that both sketchup and vray is 32-bit application and that means that it can just use 2 gb of ram so 16 gig is overkill, mayby go down littel and choose a faster?

Is v-ray for skp really running in 32bit? I wasn't aware of this. This would be a bad limitation... Maxwell for instance runs outside the skp-process and in 64bit.

I would not buy less than 16GB. Even if one app is only using 2-3GB you will maybe start multiple instances of it and use Photoshop or other apps at the same time. 16GB is not too much! Do not limit yourself with this. RAM is cheap today.
The Z77 Pro3 has four DIMM slots and supports32GB RAM max. So if you buy your 2x8GB now, you will be able to plug in two more later if you need it.
1600MHz CL9-10 is enough. Faster RAM will give you close to none for modeling and rendering. Maybe 2-3% in some applications. But if you have not enogh RAM, you will notice it!!!
Last year i have upgraded 3 of my rendernodes from 12 to 24GB because they weren't enough anymore. I had to take out the 6x2GB modules to plug in 6x4GB... after that i had 18 useless 2GB modules to sell... do not save on the wrong things!

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.
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@mac1 said:

You noted using the HD from another PC. Hope you are aware all drivers for a 64 bit system MUST be 64 bit and if it is from a 32 bit system it will not work unless you can get 64 bit driver for it! Chances of that are two: slim and none.

A HDD from a 32bit system that will not work on a 64bit system...?!? Interesting...

http://sketchucation.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=72&t=50066

If you really want to buy cheap, then take AMD. But i wouldn't recommend it, because the single thread performance is much worse for the AMD chips. On the long run with only multi core operations it might be ok. But also for rendering there are phases which are only single threaded. And Sketchup in any case... for now.
And the AMD CPUs have a higher power consumption...

So i would say take an i7 3770K (or without K if you don't plan to overclock it) - or if you don't need it now, wait a few months (June) for Haswell (~10-15% faster than Ivy Bridge, new architecture, new socket)

i have several F12's in my render nodes and my workstation without the TC. I think you don't need the TC-version if the mainboard controls the fan.
Most of the F12's that i have are very quiet but the last one i bought was really noisy... I can't tell you if this is a production failure of this single fan or if they have this production tolerance.
For me it's ok because they are really cheap and the nodes are located in the server room, so i don't hear the at all. But i will check this for future builds.

I think a front fan is not absolutely neccessary. One case fan on the backside could be enough.
If you want to install one, i would take one with 800-1200rpm i think and then use the fan control of the BIOS (UEFI) to adjust it to maybe ~600-900rpm. The Scythe GT is very good, but very expensive too. You could also take a Yate Loon for ~5€ or a Thermalright (not sure about the product numbers - you should look for some reviews). They should be good enough as a case fan.

yes, the True Spirit 140is even better than the Macho. If you're in the 40€+ range now, this should be the one to get, i think.

The Noctua NH-D14 is nice but VERY expensive. I didn't think that this would fit your budget...

@numerobis said:

...

• a good cooler, maybe Thermalright True Spirit 120 Rev. A ~25€ (or HR-2 Macho or Macho 120)
  ...

I think the Thermalright HR-02 Macho Rev. A (BW) has still the best price/performance ratio at the moment (~40€) and a very quiet fan - i have two of them in use for render nodes (overclocked i7 980x and 3930K).
The True Spirit would be an even cheaper solution. Performance is a bit below the Macho - like the price.

@matte said:

"Luckly" for me I have to probably wait another 2-3 months before I can pull this off anyway, ...

If you will have to wait 2-3 months you maybe should wait one or two more and buy a Haswell based notebook... i think i would be worth it.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/6355/intels-haswell-architecture

And add a (good) SSD! It will speed up your whole work.

@matte said:

http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/load_configuration.do?destination=review&config_id=7686168#

no ssd? i think this would make a real difference, especially compared to a slower 2,5" notebook hdd.

...and i would go for the 3820QM - if this is really for the next 5-6 years (and it's at least 7-8% faster)