Building a Workstation PC (Self-Build)

Some of you might remember my old post about trying to construct a PC to output and record media. Now, after some researching, I'm thinking what I'm constructing is a lot more in the workstation field.

The things I need this rig to do are the following:
1. Have at LEAST one output in S-Video Format
2. Have multiple CD drives
3. Be able to record high-quality HD/SD video/audio
4. Be able to do hefty audio/video editing
5. Boot up fast
6. Rackmountable (This is NOT, however, a server, to clarify)

My current configuration is as follows:

Case - iStarUSA D-400-6 4U Rackmount Case
PSU - SilverStone ST55GF 550w Redundant PSU
Mobo - EVGA 132-BL-E758-A1 X58 3-Way SLI     (Chosen for large SATA capacity and known quality from EVGA)
CPU - Core i7 920 to be OC'd
CPU Cooler - Thermalright Venomous X + Coolermaster R4-L2R No LEDS
RAM - 6 GB DDR3 @ 1333Mhz Mushkin Blackline
Hard Drives -
OCZ Onyx 32GB SATA II SSD [Boot]
1x WD Caviar Green WD20EARS 1.5TB
2x WD Caviar Green WD20EARS 1.5TB in RAID 0
Hard Drive Accesories-
Silverstone SDP08 3.5" to 2.5" HDD Bracket
iStarUSA BPU-230-SA 2x5.25" Bay to 3x3.5" Bay Casing
Video Card - GTX260 (No reasonably priced Quadro has S-Video out, attempting to make up for it with a good GeForce)
Sound Card - Asus Xonar D2
A/V Capture - BlackMagic Design Intensity Pro
A/V Capture and Editing - Adobe Premiere Pro CS5
Disc Drives -
1x Asus BD-R Drive
2x Samsung CD/DVD Multi-Drive
1x Kangaru CD/DVD Multi-Drive with Lightscribe
Monitoring - Silverstone FP52B Thermal Readout and Fan Controller

(The reason behind the two RAID 0 1.5TB drives is that the BlackMagic Intensity Pro records in uncompressed formats, and we will be recording at 3 hours shows at a time)


Edited by ablahblah - 02 May 2010 at 9:22pm

i know a workstation card would be ideal for large capacity video editing, but i need a video card that has an onboard s-video out. this system will be supplying some audo/video elements in addition to recording, and the systems here are s old that they still use F-jack as a video interface. it can be turned to analog, and then to s-video. i can't find  reasonably priced nvidia fx that has s-video (only one does,in fact).

only one has S-Video out...D:

most have a circular port that resembles S-Video at first, but is really a component out source...

this one has s-video out
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814195043

puny capacity of 256MB though, which isnt very appealing. doubt any crossfire support.

also saying screw it to redundant PSU's, on time isnt substantial for this rig

i7 swapped out for Xeon (2.26 Ghz, will be OC'd) to make up for lack of workstation GPU


Edited by ablahblah - 04 May 2010 at 12:25am

s-video adapters are an option, but I'd really prefer it if it were just a pure source coming from the video card. don't cross definition adapters mess up the quality a bit?

(we can't replace it, unfortunately, the entire system is rigged with F-Jack, so no go. Unless, however, we get a really really really really really long VGA cable that we can connect it with. The projector we're using DOES support higher definition formats, its just that its hard wired with a old cable. if you know any way to get a DVI/VGA signal across a distance of about 200 feet, then we can start talking...:D)


Edited by ablahblah - 04 May 2010 at 4:58pm

stream...what...the system im building is gonna be the first and only computer to ever exist in our auditorium...ironically...

swapped video card for Quadro FX 1700 with s-video out. ya think this 512MB card will be enough to handle about 3 hours worth of uncompressed HD video?

hey, a Xeon WILL run on a EVGA 3x SLI right?


Edited by ablahblah - 04 May 2010 at 9:38pm

blegh, i tweaked it a long while ago.

current specs-
Raven RV01 (E-ATX, Vertical Airflow, w/e, I like it)
i7 920 to be OC'd
EVGA 3x SLI
8GB DDR3-1600Mhz RAM
2x2TB WD 7200RPM HDDs
64GB Corsair Nova SSD
Asus Xonar D2 sound
5x Lightscribe DVD Burners


Edited by ablahblah - 03 Jun 2010 at 9:49pm