Can I build a computer this powerful??

[melorock]

A computer to the specifics of a full topped out Mac Pro?

• two 2.26 - 2.93 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon 5500 (8-core)
• 32GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 ECC SDRAM memory
• NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 graphics with 512MB of GDDR3 memory (easy)
• 4 HDD slots - up to 4 TB memory
• four PCI Express 2.0, four USB, four Firewire 800 slots
• Mini DisplayPort and DVI (dual-link) for video output

I want to build a professional recording studio, and I want the ability to do album covers, art, and amatuer music videos. I wish to do some gaming as well. A major workstation that'll hopefully last me 5, 6, 7, or more years (albeit a few upgrades here and there).

But I don't want to pay 6 grand and up.

 

[S0ULphIRE]

If you're not looking to pay more than 6 grand, but want a pc good enough to game on for 7 or more years, then you're stuck. It'd be like trying to buy an Intel Q6600 in 2002.

And you won't need 32GB of ram, 16GB will handle just fine (and even then, 8Gb would do)
The 4 HDD's and 4 TB space won't be a problem, that's fine.
For a cpu, Intel core i7 975's are the pwnage right now.

 

[Hefemeister]

what is your budget?

Do you need dual cpu's?

No problem hitting the specs you want. The question is do you need those specs?

i7 975 is a great chip but not worth the money.

 

[hikaricloud]

I want to build a professional recording studio, and I want the ability to do album covers, art, and amatuer music videos. I wish to do some gaming as well. A major workstation that'll hopefully last me 5, 6, 7, or more years (albeit a few upgrades here and there).

But I don't want to pay 6 grand and up.

And you don't need to. Doing album covers, art, and music videos doesn't require a 6 grand machine.

You could easily get an i7 920 and be perfectly fine, it has more than enough processing power for what you need.

I priced out everything but the sound stuff. This will get you a really nice machine that will last for a while.

Newegg.com - i7 920/ASUS P6T Deluxe V2/6gb OCZ Gold
Newegg.com - XFX GTX 260 c216/Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit
Newegg.com - Corsair 620HX/Seagate 1TB HDD
Newegg.com - G.SKILL FM-25S2S-64GB 2.5" 64GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid state disk (SSD) - Solid State Disks
Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases
Newegg.com - HP Black 22X DVD+R 22X DVD-R SATA 22X DVD Burner with LightScribe - CD / DVD Burners

Total comes out to be $1,446.54 after shipping, then you get 35 bucks back in MIRs.

I got you two HDDs, the SSD for optimizing OS/program speed, the 1tb for storage. With video editing, you'll need that much storage.

The video card may be overkill, but it will definitely have longevity. CUDA will help out in Photoshop, while it will work in conjunction with your CPU with video editing and such. Also, you could play the occasional game.

Threw in a modular PSU, since they're fun. That should really be all the power you need.

You have plenty of room to upgrade. You can throw in extra HDDs, or get higher capacity HDDs...though 2tb drives are stupidly expensive. 1tb is the sweet spot right now.

If you absolutely need it later down the road, you can upgrade your RAM, seeing as this board has 6 slots and you're getting 3 sticks.

All in all, this build will suit you well for years to come.

Now what kind of audio equipment are you using?

 

[b0dge]

Apple != hikaricloud...

 

[S0ULphIRE]

if (b0dge == varHikaricloudJoke)
   { lol = 1;
      if (EpicLol != 1)
         {
           break;
         }
      else
         { sendYouWIN();
            break;
          }
   }

 

[b0dge]

if (b0dge == varHikaricloudJoke)
   { lol = 1;
      if (EpicLol != 1)
         {
           break;
         }
      else
         { sendYouWIN();
            break;
          }
   }

Is this available under the GPL?

 

[melorock]

Thanks guys for the replys

I've thought it over and the only main question that distinigishes the Mac Pro from a home built system is the capability of expanding up to 8-core, and 32 GB of RAM. Obviously for recording music, the more hard drive space and I/O's the better. So will I need the 8-core? Will I need 32 GB of RAM?

I'm by no means a professional, but I want a professional machine so that when I'm ready, this machine can go the distance and perform "like the pros".

 

[S0ULphIRE]

you will NOT need 32GB of Ram.
you will NOT need 8 physical cores.

If you really wanted, you could get something better than an i7 920. Maybe not the 975 (which as Hefe pointed out is not worth the extra $$$ for what extra performance it offers), but you might want to check out the i7 950. It's pretty darn good for what it costs. Either that or a 965, but if you're going with that you may as well get the 975. One is about $70 more expensive than the other.

 

[Kharn]

Yes you can specify a machine with the same power as a macpro but to be honest you don't need all that power unless your running a metric ****ton of VM's at any one time.