New workstation to run Edius SP

[osilaya]

Hi everybody. Great forum you guys have here.

I'm hoping for some opinions from people who have used the Edius SP systems before and what their recommendations for hardware would be. I've been recently approached by a friend who wants me to build workstation to run his new Edius SP system. Not having designed a system specifically for HDV editing before I'd like to know what the people here think of the following system that i've come up with.

- Mainboard: Tyan Tempest i5400PW - S5397AG2NRF
2xS771, i5400, 16xFB-DIMMS, 6xSATA-II, RAID, 2xPCI-Ex16, 1xPCI-Ex8, 2xPCI-X, 1xPCI, 2xGigLAN, VGA, E-ATX

- CPU: 2 x Intel XEON X5460 Quad Core, 3.16GHz, 12MB Cache, LGA771, 1333FSB (Active or passive cooling, im not sure which to go for)

- RAM: 1 x Kingston 2048MB PC2-5300 667Mhz Fully Buffered ECC DDR2-RAM - Dual Rank x4

- Graphics: 1 x Leadtek Quadro FX 4600 - 768MB DDR3, 384-bit, 2x DVI - PCI-Ex16

HDD and peripheral components to be decided later by my friend but any suggestions on these would be greatly appreciated as well.

[shueardm]

Hi

I have built these that work wonderfully well on a Suprmicro X7DAE (DA8 or DA3 are variations that also work). That Tyan might work but I think for safety you should stick with what people already have working well, that its the above mentioned.

Can i ask why he is asking you to do it? Are you a builder? I'd be a bit worried if i were him because you need to ask for help, this is seriously expensive and seriously he wont be happy with you if you stuff it.

We're all here to help if you need it but I strongly recommend going with what we already have tested.

Depends on what chassis you get which determines the CPU cooling system. The best way is with a Supermicro chasis which has a template air shroud and with the use of passive CPU cooling.

[osilaya]

My reason for asking for assistance is because i have not built a system specifically for HD editing before so am uncertain of the best setup to use for this purpose and more specifically, i'd like feedback from users who have extensively used the Edius hardware and know what it needs to run effectively along with any incomptibilities that people have encountered with any of the particular hardware components that i've mentioned.

I've built numerous machines in my time but never for this specific purpose, and i always prefer to customize a machine to a persons needs rather than just getting everything top shelf based on a users budget.

I've been looking for a source for Supermicro boards as i noticed a few people using them here, but have been having difficulty locating a supplier that has any in stock around my area which is why i opted for the Tyan as i've never had issues with them in the past.

Would you consider the components i've suggested to be overkill in any way, as i've noticed others using quite different specs for their machines although most i've come across so far seem to be running the NXE rather than SP and im not exactly sure how much they differ in real life requirements.

[shueardm]

The NX card is PCi-e and the SP card is PCI-X (which is better suited to workstations boards)
The system requirements are the same other than the required slots.

It's not that hard to get Supermicro boards, give me a Pm if you want I can get them. The X7DAE is usually in stock the others with SCSI or SAS are by order. If you want a system that is known to work stick with Supermicro. If you want the latest Xeon CPU's with 1600FSB there is a new Supermicro board you would need X7DWN+ but i have already been told they are not shipping yet. This board hasn't been tested so it's a guessing game but should be ok. Otherwise ue the 1333FSB chip models and a X7DAx model board. A supermicro chassis is a must with a Supermicro board (not literaly but highly recommended)

Basically with the boards mentioned, good RAM, Quadro FX it will rock.

[shueardm]

The only overkill I think is the FX 4600 unless they are big into 3D rendering programs. A FX 1500 is fine for EDIUS and saves a lot of money, there is no real performance gain in having a 4600 over a 1500 Quadro card.

And you must get 2 x FB DIMM minimum sticks and better 4 sticks- go 4 X 1GB sticks as the price is marginal between the 512MB and 1Gb FB DIMMs now.

On your specs you wont have much change from $15000.