Building the best CS5 Windows machine for $3000

Background:
I have CS4 Master Collection and run it on a dual boot XP64 and XP32 machine. I have the dual boot because I cannot get PPro CS4 to work at all on XP64. I know, it is not supported. I have been using Premiere since Version 6 I think. And of all of the Adobe programs that I use, Premiere (and PPRO) have always been to most troublesome for me. So this time, I'd like to get some assistance from all of you "hardware gurus" out there who can offer advice and help me get the most bang for my budget and deliver a reliable system for PPro CS5 and the other CS5 programs that I will use. It may be too early to give great advice at this time since the final versions have not be released. But maybe someone who has had a pre-released version could help now? Although I use many of the CS series programs, I pose the question in this forum since PPro has always been the program that has taxed my systems the most and would most often fail.
My uses for the Create Suite:
I am primarily a photographer. So I use Lightroom 2 (will upgrade to LR3) and Photoshop more than any other programs. I do extensive editing / retouching of my photos and use many plug-ins. I also design high end coffee-table books using these tools. However, I do still do some video editing and high-end compositing using Premiere Pro (mostly still CS3) and After Effects CS4. I would do more NLE work if PPRo worked better for me. I need the ability to edit at most three layers of 720P video, mostly acquired by D-SLR's. I also need to edit standard DV footage. I tend to use a lot of effects, including 3rd party effects (I am not sure how/if they will work anymore on a 64 bit program?). I do pretty advanced compositing in AE and customize a lot of AE purchased projects with lots of 3rd party effects (such as the Trapcode suite). I export video for the web, DVD, and Blu-Ray and hopefully cell phone and other devises down the road.
Reusable Hardware:
As long as I can still use SATA 3 7200rpm hard drives, I think that I have all of the hard drives that I need. I also have two 24" DVI monitors that I do not need to replace at this time. I have a 285 nvidia card, which I believe is the low end of the Mercury line that I can use? I have a blu-ray burner. Although I have never built a Windows 7 machine in the past, I think that I should have the ability to assemble the components and install the OS myself.
Hardware Needed
Given the above, does anyone have any good suggestions for what system or components that I should buy given my budget? I will definitely need:
Case, Power Supply, Motherboard, Memory, CPU(s), OS (Win 7 64?), ???
Specific Requirements:
Case: I can go with a large workstation case or even rack mounted version (I have a standard rack). Since workstation cases are usually less expensive, I am fine with going this route. The case should have good air flow and needs to have at least 2 5" bays (3 would be better). It should be easy to install internal drives into using some sort of sliding rail system like most nice cases have these days.
Motherboard: I would prefer to have an on-board SATA RAID controller to run Mirroring on my OS Drive(s). I would like to have at least 6 SATA connectors for , 2 OS drives, 3 DATA drive, 1 Optical Drive. It should have ample USB2 connectors. It would be nice to have firewire 400 and 800 too. PCIexpress Expansion slots for at least one video card and possibly a capture card would also be nice. A PCI-X 64 bit slot would be nice (I have a AJA card currently unused) legacy PCI-32 slot as well, especially if it does not have an external firewire connection. It could have one or two processor connections depending on what I can afford with my budget. I'd like the board to support at least 16GB of memory, if not 32GB. I may not be able to afford this much memory at this time, but I'd like this ability for down the road.
If I need to provide more information in order for you to help me, please let me know. If anyone would like to provide help given my requirements, I would appreciate it. Thanks in advance!

i only mentioned the EVGA for a DUAL Xeon.... not for a single
my prior experiance with EVGA was not a good one with concern for adding PCI/PCIe cards like raid (intel, Areca,) capture (decklink, Aja)
on the X58 but this was at release time of the X58 which was well over a yr ago now.
they may have fixed the issues. many other boards had this same issue like Intel and Foxconn (who makes Intel)
the Intel board was the worst, even adding a Firewire card would cause it to not boot or blue screen never mind it couldnt work with Intels own raid cards LOL...
i only mentioned EVGA for Dual Xeon as its the only one with overclocking ability and with the ram being locked down @ 1066 i was getting ticked
off at Tyan and Intel. where we could run 1333 previously with the X55xx series.
i think Eric said a bios change has fixed that again however so... Tyan is still what we use for now..or the higher end Intel board.
i have not yet played with the EVGA Xeon board so please do not take this as a recommendation...
on the other hand i despise Super Micro.
as far as the Ram, Harm and a few other seem to like the OCZ. i have had a lot of issues with OCZ.
however it cant be all blamed on OCZ. in all the yrs doing this i have never seen so many ram timing issues in my life.
i use Mushkin redline 1600(7-8-7-24) for overclocking and blackline (8-8-8-24) for non. and the other i like is Corsair.
but even those can have issues with certain boards bios'
its all about how the modules are "tatooed" and how well the XMP profiles are programed!
but it also has to do with the Mobo's bios
its quite a balancing act now with the low voltage (1.5 or 1.65) ram and filling all the slots.
ACPI also has a hand in controlling timings based simply on heat and or voltage use.
so a good board with good voltage control is required.
kinda funny about 4 yrs ago i remember telling my employees, "building systems is starting to get like legos, snap and go. we may be out of jobs here soon"
things were getting easy and everything just worked.
its worse now than ever before.
i dread every new release of a chipset anymore.....
Scott
ADK

Similar Messages

What is the best online storage service for time machine

what is the best online storage service for time machine?

ds store wrote:
There isn't any, the reason is TimeMachine is a backup of your entire boot drive, can be many gigabytes in size which Internet Service Providers only provide a fraction of upload speed compared to download speed so it makes online backups rather impractical for most.
You can share some files via a service like DropBox between remote computers, but to backup your whole system it's better to have it stored locally.
After all how can you restore your hard drive if OS X isn't running to get online?
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3045
Why is local storage better than offsite? I had a house that burned down and can tell you from experience that local backup was totally useless.

What is the best anti-virus software for my Mac?

What is the best anti-virus software for my IMAC?

If you are still using OS X 10.4.x "Tiger" please confirm.
atpatt wrote:
What is the best anti-virus software for my IMAC?
Use what Apple already provided.
There will always be threats to your information security associated with using any Internet - connected communications tool:
You can mitigate those threats by following commonsense practices
Delegating that responsibility to software is an ineffective defense
Assuming that any product will protect you from those threats is a hazardous attitude that is likely to result in neglecting point #1 above.
OS X already includes everything it needs to protect itself from viruses and malware. Keep it that way with software updates from Apple.
A much better question is "how should I protect my Mac":
Never install any product that claims to "clean up", "speed up", "optimize", "boost" or "accelerate" your Mac; to "wash" it, "tune" it, or to make it "shiny". Those claims are absurd.Such products are very aggressively marketed. They are all scams.
Never install pirated or "cracked" software, software obtained from dubious websites, or other questionable sources.
Illegally obtained software is almost certain to contain malware.
"Questionable sources" include but are not limited to spontaneously appearing web pages or popups, download hosting sites such as C net dot com, Softonic dot com, Soft pedia dot com, Download dot com, Mac Update dot com, or any other site whose revenue is primarily derived from junk product advertisements.
Don’t supply your password in response to a popup window requesting it, unless you know what it is and the reason your credentials are required.
Don’t open email attachments from email addresses that you do not recognize, or click links contained in an email:
Most of these are scams that direct you to fraudulent sites that attempt to convince you to disclose personal information.
Such "phishing" attempts are the 21st century equivalent of a social exploit that has existed since the dawn of civilization. Don’t fall for it.
Apple will never ask you to reveal personal information in an email. If you receive an unexpected email from Apple saying your account will be closed unless you take immediate action, just ignore it. If your iTunes or App Store account becomes disabled for valid reasons, you will know when you try to buy something or log in to this support site, and are unable to.
Don’t install browser extensions unless you understand their purpose. Go to the Safari menu > Preferences > Extensions. If you see any extensions that you do not recognize or understand, simply click the Uninstall button and they will be gone.
Don’t install Java unless you are certain that you need it:
Java, a non-Apple product, is a potential vector for malware. If you are required to use Java, be mindful of that possibility.
Java can be disabled in System Preferences.
Despite its name JavaScript is unrelated to Java. No malware can infect your Mac through JavaScript. It’s OK to leave it enabled.
Block browser popups: Safari menu > Preferences > Security > and check "Block popup windows":
Popup windows are useful and required for some websites, but popups have devolved to become a common means to deliver targeted advertising that you probably do not want.
Popups themselves cannot infect your Mac, but many contain resource-hungry code that will slow down Internet browsing.
If you ever see a popup indicating it detected registry errors, that your Mac is infected with some ick, or that you won some prize, it is 100% fraudulent. Ignore it.
Ignore hyperventilating popular media outlets that thrive by promoting fear and discord with entertainment products arrogantly presented as "news". Learn what real threats actually exist and how to arm yourself against them:
The most serious threat to your data security is phishing. To date, most of these attempts have been pathetic and are easily recognized, but that is likely to change in the future as criminals become more clever.
OS X viruses do not exist, but intentionally malicious or poorly written code, created by either nefarious or inept individuals, is nothing new.
Never install something without first knowing what it is, what it does, how it works, and how to get rid of it when you don’t want it any more.
If you elect to use "anti-virus" software, familiarize yourself with its limitations and potential to cause adverse effects, and apply the principle immediately preceding this one.
Most such utilities will only slow down and destabilize your Mac while they look for viruses that do not exist, conveying no benefit whatsoever - other than to make you "feel good" about security, when you should actually be exercising sound judgment, derived from accurate knowledge, based on verifiable facts.
Do install updates from Apple as they become available. No one knows more about Macs and how to protect them than the company that builds them.
Summary: Use common sense and caution when you use your Mac, just like you would in any social context. There is no product, utility, or magic talisman that can protect you from all the evils of mankind.

What is the best virus protection software for imac

Can someone suggest the best anti virus software for an intel based iMac?

If you are really running OS X "Leopard", you should be aware that Apple stopped providing updates for it years ago. On the other hand your profile also indicates you are using a Power Mac, and they do not use Intel CPUs. The good news about that is that the PowerPC platform has become so uncommon that they are extremely unlikely to be the target of any sort of malware or virus attempts. So, more information is required, but lacking that most of the following principles apply equally well to any computer.
There will always be threats to your information security associated with using any Internet - connected communications tool:
You can mitigate those threats by following commonsense practices
Delegating that responsibility to software is an ineffective defense
Assuming that any product will protect you from those threats is a hazardous attitude that is likely to result in neglecting point #1 above.
OS X already includes everything it needs to protect itself from viruses and malware. Keep it that way with software updates from Apple.
A much better question is "how should I protect my Mac":
Never install any product that claims to "clean up", "speed up", "optimize", "boost" or "accelerate" your Mac; to "wash" it, "tune" it, or to make it "shiny". Those claims are absurd.Such products are very aggressively marketed. They are all scams.
Never install pirated or "cracked" software, software obtained from dubious websites, or other questionable sources.
Illegally obtained software is almost certain to contain malware.
"Questionable sources" include but are not limited to spontaneously appearing web pages or popups, download hosting sites such as C net dot com, Softonic dot com, Soft pedia dot com, Download dot com, Mac Update dot com, or any other site whose revenue is primarily derived from junk product advertisements.
If you need to install software that isn't available from the Mac App Store, obtain it only from legitimate sources authorized by the software's developer.
Don’t supply your password in response to a popup window requesting it, unless you know what it is and the reason your credentials are required.
Don’t open email attachments from email addresses that you do not recognize, or click links contained in an email:
Most of these are scams that direct you to fraudulent sites that attempt to convince you to disclose personal information.
Such "phishing" attempts are the 21st century equivalent of a social exploit that has existed since the dawn of civilization. Don’t fall for it.
Apple will never ask you to reveal personal information in an email. If you receive an unexpected email from Apple saying your account will be closed unless you take immediate action, just ignore it. If your iCloud, iTunes, or App Store account becomes disabled for valid reasons, you will know when you try to buy something or log in to this support site, and are unable to.
Don’t install browser extensions unless you understand their purpose. Go to the Safari menu > Preferences > Extensions. If you see any extensions that you do not recognize or understand, simply click the Uninstall button and they will be gone.
Don’t install Java unless you are certain that you need it:
Java, a non-Apple product, is a potential vector for malware. If you are required to use Java, be mindful of that possibility.
Java can be disabled in System Preferences.
Despite its name JavaScript is unrelated to Java. No malware can infect your Mac through JavaScript. It’s OK to leave it enabled.
The same precaution applies to Adobe Flash Player. Newly discovered Flash vulnerabilities appear almost weekly.
Beware spontaneous popups: Safari menu > Preferences > Security > check "Block popup windows".
Popup windows are useful and required for some websites, but unsolicited popups are commonly used to deceive people into installing unwanted software they would never intentionally install.
Popups themselves cannot infect your Mac, but many contain resource-hungry code that will slow down Internet browsing.
If you ever receive a popup window indicating that your Mac is infected with some ick or that you won some prize, it is 100% fraudulent. Ignore it.
The same goes for a spontaneously appearing dialog insisting that you upgrade your video player right this instant. Such popups are frequently associated with sites that promise to deliver "free" movies or other copyrighted content that is not normally "free".
The more insistent it is that you upgrade or install something, the more likely it is to be a scam. Close the window or tab and forget it.
Ignore hyperventilating popular media outlets that thrive by promoting fear and discord with entertainment products arrogantly presented as "news". Learn what real threats actually exist and how to arm yourself against them:
The most serious threat to your data security is phishing. Most of these attempts are pathetic and are easily recognized, but that hasn't stopped prominent public figures from recently succumbing to this age-old scam.
OS X viruses do not exist, but intentionally malicious or poorly written code, created by either nefarious or inept individuals, is nothing new.
Never install something without first knowing what it is, what it does, how it works, and how to get rid of it when you don’t want it any more.
If you elect to use "anti-virus" software, familiarize yourself with its limitations and potential to cause adverse effects, and apply the principle immediately preceding this one.
Most such utilities will only slow down and destabilize your Mac while they look for viruses that do not exist, conveying no benefit whatsoever - other than to make you "feel good" about security, when you should actually be exercising sound judgment, derived from accurate knowledge, based on verifiable facts.
Do install updates from Apple as they become available. No one knows more about Macs and how to protect them than the company that builds them.
Summary: Use common sense and caution when you use your Mac, just like you would in any social context. There is no product, utility, or magic talisman that can protect you from all the evils of mankind.

What is the best blue-ray drive for my Mac Pro????

What is the best blue-ray drive for my Mac Pro????
I wanted a BWU-200S but it says windows only i called apple
and all they could tell me was logitech....wouldn't tell me a model
or anything.
I would really like one that does all the formats and feature that the
Sony BWU-200S does.
I read that the BWU-200S might work in the mac pro it just only comes with
windows software. If anyone has tried this let me know please i need this soon.

This site makes Mac compatible Blueray drives:
http://store.fastmac.com/index.php?cPath=10252
The questions to ask them is:
1. Which applications can be used to burn bluray movies from it?
2. Which applications can be used to playback commercial bluray from it?
3. Does it let you burn DVDs from iDVD, iTunes and the Finder as well as CDs and CD-RWs?
4. Does it support both DVD-R DL and DVD+R DL for burning and playback?
5. Does it allow for booting from the system installer that shipped with the machine and running the hardware test that shipped with the machine?
6. Do you get to keep the original optical drive in case you want to troubleshoot if system issues are due to their drive?
Some of these may already be on the website, I just haven't taken the time to look it completely over.
Message was edited by: a brody

What is the best external hard drive for the MAC Book Pro with Retina?

What is the best external hard drive for the MAC Book Pro with Retina?
I was looking at WD MY PASSPORT FOR MAC and Toshiba. I want something that will work best with time capsule! Suggestions on the best external hard drive would be greatly appreciated!!!

A Time Machine backup drive should be substantially larger than the system drive. If you have a 128 or 256 GB SSD then a 1 TB drive will suffice. If you have a 512 GB SSD then a 2 TB drive will suffice. As leroydouglas indicated any brand other than WD will do.
For 1 TB drives PlotinusVeritas gives some great suggestions here:
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5602141?tstart=0
A 2 TB drive sold by Apple:
http://store.apple.com/us/product/H9378ZM/A/lacie-2tb-usb-30-porsche-design-p923 3-desktop-hard-drive
$130
A 2 TB drive just as good for only $92.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Toshiba-Canvio-Basics-3-0-USB-2-TB-Portable-Hard-Drive-M odel-HDTB220XK3CA-/231162655273

What is the best virus/spyware software for OSX 10.6.8?

What is the best virus/spyware software for OSX 10.6.8 on an iMac?

Csound1's answer albeit short is correct. Because there are no viruses (as in zero, none, nada, zip) for OS X having antivirus software is a waste of time, resources and possibly money. About the only need for antivirus software is if you frequently download files you know nothing about and then forward them to Windows users. In that case even though you still don't need anything for OS X you are protecting the Windows users from your passing along infected files. Most anti-virus software for OS X tend to create more problems than they solve however if you insist I'd recommend ClamXav which is free, non-intrusive and is frequently updated.
Roger

What is the best word processing program for ipad2?

What is the best word processing program for ipad2?

I would recommend using Pages for what you are doing. It is the best one to use on the iPad itself, and has the ability to convert to an MS Word format. I know that it can do this through email, but I am also fairly certain you can import it in this format through iTunes, though you may need to convert it on the iPad itself.
With iOS 5 and iCloud, I recommend kicking Word to the curb altogether and going with Pages on both machines. Not only will everything be more seamless, but iCloud will update the changes you make, on either device, automatically. And Pages is only 20 bucks through the App store for the Mac (OS 10.6.7 or later needed).

The Best Brightness and contrast for my monitor

I have an acer monitor AL2016W. I managed to get it too work but the screen is too bright. What is the best brightness and contrast for it? I have a resolution of 1850 x 1250, can I safely change that on my mac mini? Thank you for yuor help.

If you are using windows 8 - go to the start screen and just start typing Power.
When you start typing in, "Just Type" kicks in and starts searching for what you are typing, The default is to look for applications, but the power options you need are under settings.
So Click on Settings, and you'll see power options on the left.
Click Power Options and once you get to there, you should see a slider on the bottom of the window to change the brightness, I added a screen shot for you.
good luck
bill
I'm a HP employee
Attachments:
power options Brightness.PNG ‏97 KB

What is the best software to use for screen capture on a PC for use with FCPX?

What is the best software to use for screen capture on a PC (windows 7) for use with FCPX? I've tried Camtasia and camstudio however the avi files cannot be imported by FCPX and the mov files produced by these programs are shown as just black screens in FCPX.

I use to face this issue every now and then (as a freelancer) when I use to cut on FCP7.
if the material is DV and was captured using Sony VEGAS, Premiere or Edius, the footage generally worked fine. You'll find most people will tell you to convert it regardless, however I found no issues working with them.
A problem you'll definitely face is HDV material. Most PC editing software write HDV in their own codec, which can't be read in FCP.
The only thing I can think of is to try converting HDV meaterial to QuickTime using something like MPEG Streamclip, or something similar.
Good luck

What is the best & cheap backup solution for a macpro laptop?

What is the best & cheap backup solution for a macpro laptop? easy & simple to use

Basic Backup
For some people Time Machine will be more than adequate. Time Machine is part of OS X. There are two components: 1. A Time Machine preferences panel as part of System Preferences; and, 2. A Time Machine application located in the Applications folder. It is used to manage backups and to restore backups. Time Machine requires a backup drive that is at least twice the capacity of the drive being backed up.
Alternatively, get an external drive at least equal in size to the internal hard drive and make (and maintain) a bootable clone/backup. You can make a bootable clone using the Restore option of Disk Utility. You can also make and maintain clones with good backup software. My personal recommendations are (order is not significant):
Carbon Copy Cloner
Data Backup
Deja Vu
SuperDuper!
Synk Pro
Tri-Backup
Visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on backup and restore. Also read How to Back Up and Restore Your Files.
Although you can buy a complete external drive system, you can also put one together if you are so inclined. It's relatively easy and only requires a Phillips head screwdriver (typically.) You can purchase hard drives separately. This gives you an opportunity to shop for the best prices on a hard drive of your choice. Reliable brands include Seagate, Hitachi, Western Digital, Toshiba, and Fujitsu. You can find reviews and benchmarks on many drives at Storage Review.
Enclosures for FireWire and USB are readily available. You can find only FireWire enclosures, only USB enclosures, and enclosures that feature multiple ports. I would stress getting enclosures that use the Oxford chipsets especially for Firewire drives (911, 921, 922, for example.) You can find enclosures at places such as;
Cool Drives
OWC
WiebeTech
Firewire Direct
California Drives
NewEgg
All you need do is remove a case cover, mount the hard drive in the enclosure and connect the cables, then re-attach the case cover. Usually the only tool required is a small or medium Phillips screwdriver.

What is the best allocation block size for HDDs in Hyper-v?

Hello experts,
A server will be running Hyper-V soon. All virtual machines and their virtual HDDs will be stored on D driver of the physical machine.
What is the best allocation unit size for formatting the physical D drive? Shall it be the biggest available option (64k) for getting better performance?

Hi,
You can check the following post.
Recommendations for base disk cluster size for hosting Hyper-V Virtual Machines?
http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en/winserverhyperv/thread/45919c42-bc39-47f4-9214-3f1cf00f2ea9
Best Regards,
Vincent Hu

What is the best/suggested CI software for SVN+ADF+Weblogic

What is the best Conitinuous Integration software for building ADF projects on every post-commit in subversion?
By googling I could see that Jenkins (formerly Hudson) needs to be patched for the use with weblogic. Is this still true?
Is there anything specific and working out of the box with Weblogic?
Thanks

hi, this will be a late response, but anyway...
we set up continuous integration environment for our adf projects with Hudson v1.395(version before Jenkins fork). there is no need to patch hudson for weblogic deployments.
system basically works like this; when a developer commits changes, hudson loops svn every minute. then it creates ADF Library jar file. we have 15 modules deployed as ADF Library. in every 2 hours, another hudson job deploys main application to weblogic dev and test environments.

What are the best settings to use for the newest AirPort Extreme (AC wifi) with my optimum online service provider?

I have the current generation of the AirPort Extreme and a handful of devices that utilize the new 5Ghz A/C frequency. My internet speeds were blazing fast when I had first set it up but lately it has been lagging terribly. I was told that changing my dhcp did help, which it did it seems like it might be back to its normal speeds but I just want to know what are the best settings to configure for the airport so that I can get the most out of my service on all my devices? I'm using a CAT 6 cable which does help, I have a guest wifi setup with a wifi password which I understand will slow it down a little. Can anyone just point me in the right direction or just give me a step by step guide on what settings to configure? Should I really consider turning off the guest network?

I am assuming that you are looking to configure your network to provide the highest level of bandwidth possible for your network clients. If that is the case, the following are a few things to consider:
The Internet modem should support Gigabit Ethernet. That is the Ethernet connection between the modem and your 802.11ac AirPort Extreme should be Gigabit Ethernet.
Use CAT-5e or CAT-6 Ethernet cables between all wired connections.
Only expect 802.11ac performance with 802.11ac clients in the same room as the base station.
Eliminate or significantly reduce any forms of Wi-Fi interference on both the 2.4 & 5 GHz bands.
When streaming, especially HD video on your local network, use wired connections between the host and player devices when possible.
Other than the above suggestions there are no "magic" settings that you can make on your AirPort. Note: The Guest network shares the same bandwidth as the "main" network. Unless you have a network goal to provide this type of network, it is best left disabled.

What are the best books to purchase for pl/sql programming?

What are the best books to purchase for pl/sql programming?
I am new to this field and I am looking for the best books to help me in pl/sql programming. Can someone please suggest?
Thanks

In my opinion one of the best to start
Oracle PL/SQL Programming, Third Edition
Steven Feuerstein

Building the best CS5 Windows machine for $3000

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