Animation/Gaming/Movie Computer build

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-WX

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Dear all,

I am seeking a new computer build for a Animation/Gaming and movie watching purposes.

I am a Flash Animator and will be working on a major Flash project from time to time. I currently use a laptop to do my animations but it lags whenever details become slightly too complex. My laptop has 512 mb RAM. The thing is, I want to know what specific hardware I need to improve my animation experience so that it won't lag or delay. Does the RAM affect the lag I keep getting or is it something else?

I also use my computer to listen to music, watch a ton of movies and play online games. Basically, I need something that is great at multitasking and is able to work smoothly. Fast is the keyword, I love a speedy computer. Who doesn't?

Please recommend me on the specific hardware I will need to look for to build my dream computer.

Comments are greatly appreciated.
 
intel e6600 cpu
gigabyte ds3 mobo
fortron 450 watt psu
2gb ddr2 800 gskill
8800gts
a big hard drive probably a 500gb
a nice case maybe a coolermaster centeriun (sry cant remember how to spell it lol)
 
Budget wise something less than £1,000. I wouldn't want to spend unnecessary money on cases or etc, I just need good hardware for my computer.

I'm not so bothered about Hard drive space, I'm thinking 300 GB should be sufficient...

Sorry I don't know all the technical computer terms so you'll have to explain to me briefly what they do and how it helps my computer work better.

Thanks! :)
 
ok the ram is defiantly the bottleneck. last time i checked flash animations are not video card intensive, and Wolrd of Warcraft and the like arent known for killing a 7800.

My advice go with an Intel Core2 cpu
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819115005
this 6300 is a good one to go with.

Are you going with Windows XP or Vista? either way you need at least 1 gigabyte of DDR2 memory, and probably more.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145527
here is 2 gigs of Corsair Value ram, since you wont be playing any high end video games, you can get by with standard ram. but the 2 gigs will make sure you wont get slow downs at all

as for hard drive space 250gigs is a good place to start, any more and you are getting expensive, any less and you might not have enough space.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822144417
I use this drive in my own rig, and it is a great drive, i highly recommend it.

As for a motherboard you want one that can support all the newer technologies, like SATA2 and PciX, you dont need to know what all of that means right now, but its good.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131046
this one has good reviews, and it has all of the nifty technologies and hookups you could need

The power supply needs to be at least 400 watts to provide all of the juice you need and still not have any overhead
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817171005
this one is a solid performer from what i can tell

Since your arent going to be playing Oblivion or Crysis, you dont need the world's fastest video card, that good cause it will really save some cash.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130025
This EvGA card has the muscle to handle your games, and is still at a decent price.

You said you dont need a pretty case. I like the way you think, i have a custom machine and i put it in an old Beige tower i had laying around.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811119075
this case is fairly conservative, but it still looks good. It has a "tooless" design that will be good for you, and it has a lot of room and good cooling. It is a good choice.

Thats about it. as for keyboard, mouse and monitor those are not nearly as important which brands you get, except maybe the monitor if you watch alot of dvds.

I may not have gotten the best parts listed so if you guys want to tweak this at all go right ahead.

and by the way this all comes out to $742 USD well below your $1000 budget.
 
Wow, thanks alot for your time. I'll definitely check those out.

Is Windows Vista any better than Windows XP? I am quite comfortable with XP at the moment to be honest...

And as for the games I play, I'm pretty old school but since its still rather popular, I play Counter Strike 1.6, and mostly Warcraft 3. In future, I might go for higher end games so hopefully the graphics card you mentioned should be able to handle those.
 
The budget is around 1,000 UK pounds, not US dollars. Also, Newegg won't ship to the UK, so that may be a proble,

Here's another suggestion, with parts from scan.co.uk .

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2.4Ghz - £191.49
One of the most powerful CPUs available today.

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3 Intel P965 - £71.36
This is a relatively cheap motherboard, yet its build quality is excellent, and has all the features you'll need.

Memory: Corsair 2x1GB DDR2-800 CL5 - £147.63
2GB of fast 800Mhz DDR2 memory should be enough for 3D animation. You can always add more memory later on.

Video Card: Asus GeForce 8800GTS 640MB GDDR3 - £252.61
This is the second most powerful video card available in the market, and it's an absolute monster. Now, I have to check whether 3D animation will benefit from this video card. I'll modify this entry accordingly.

Hard Drive: Western Digital 250GB SATA 3.0Gb/s - £48.16
A 250GB hard drive, as you suggested. Western Digital is quality.

Optical Drive: Samsung 18X DVD+/-RW - £22.31
It's always useful to have a DVD/CD burner.

Power Supply: HiperPower Type-R 530W - £49.35
This power supply delivers enough power for the system I propose, and the brand has a very good reputation.

Total: £782.91 - all prices include VAT.

I didn't include a case, so just browse around Scan.co.uk and pick any ATX case you like. It doesn't really matter.

Also, I'm assuming you don't need a monitor, keyboard, mouse and speakers.
 
thats a pretty powerful video card Meithan. you could save some cash by not buying the fastest video card in the world.

Sorry about not realizing you were in the UK, unfortunately New egg doesn't and may never ship internationally, which is a real shame, you guys are missing out on some great deals.
 
zmatt said:
thats a pretty powerful video card Meithan. you could save some cash by not buying the fastest video card in the world.

Well, he said a £1000 budget, and the card fits the budget. I just do what I'm told. I admit for a non-gaming computer, such video card is unnecessary. However, I'm still not sure whether 3D animation would benefit from it or not. The fact that both ATI and nVidia sell specialized video cards for 3D rendering means a GPU may in fact provide a large advantage.

[...] unfortunately New egg doesn't and may never ship internationally, which is a real shame, you guys are missing out on some great deals.

Tell me about it! Prices here in Mexico are around 30% higher than what Newegg sells, and the selection is far, far smaller.. no high-end parts here.
 
IIRC the video cards for 3d rendering are for real time display and don't help with the actual rendering. What I mean is when using stuff like CAD a better card would give faster response when turning the object but when you go to render the final product it doesn't help.
 
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