I'm wanting to build a "Super Computer," but I'm new to the technology...?

Question

I'm wanting to build a "Super Computer," or in other words a top-of-the-line commercial machine. I have general knowledge on how to assemble them once I've purchased the necessary components, but I'm still unsure as to what are the best products to get. If it helps, here is the purpose of the machine;

The computer is supposed to be capable of peforming on multiple LCD screens (I'm purchashing a MOView Quad Monitor Stand.) It should be furnished with the best motherboard and processor, preferably a dual-processor. It should have the greatest amount of RAM that is available and all this within a full-sized tower.

Multiple 3D Engine applications will be ran on this machine with Microsoft XP Pro. While not specifically a gaming machine, it will be required to run highly detailed graphics. I also desire in having multiple HDs, 750GB a piece. If any more information is needed, feel free to e-mail me [e-mail]

Thanks for any and all input.

Answer 1

well, what you are talking about isnt a "super computer" however, you are talking about an extremely high-end PC here. first, i should address your monitor situation. i havent got a clue why you require four monitors, two is usually enough for multitaskers, however, if you want to get those monitors to run different screens, you will need just as many video cards.

for your actual components, yes, you are right in thinking you need a dual core processor if you plan on using all those screens. go with AMD for your processing needs. considering your seemingly unlimited budget, go for a X2 5000. it is their top dual core processor on the market and since AMD lowered prices all over the board, it wont put too much of a dent in your wallet.

the motherboard i recommend is the ASUS A8N5X mobo. it is only about 85 bucks and can handle all your needs. it can handle up to 4 gigs of RAM and 4 SATA hard drives. you will need PC3200 (400MHz) RAM for the mobo.

considering your hard drives, you could get up to 4 750GB SATA hard drives on the thing, but 3TB is uber overkill. get four 300GB drives. that is where the best value for your dollar lies for you can get them for about 120 bucks each where you might get a 750GB drive for more than $400. 1.2TB is still an enormous amount of space and odds are, two of those drives will be obsolete.

now, your monitor situation is really a problem considering your graphics needs. you see, the mobo i mentioned has one PCIx16 slot and 3 PCIx1 slots. if you want a different image on all of the screens, you will need to use all of those slots for monitors and three of them can not handle high-end graphics cards. of course, if you are looking for the same image on all the screens, its not such a serious problem because you only need one card for that and i recommend the GeForce 7800GT 256MB card.

finally, your OS needs. i see that several people are telling you that you are ruining your comp by putting windows on it. they couldnt be more wrong. from what i can glean from your question, you will be needing to run some commercial software and need windows to run it. however, windows has some gaping security problems that have to be reckoned with. my suggestion, get both windows XP pro AND Kubuntu (a linux distribution) you can even run them both at the same time with VMWare http://www.VMWare.com so you can surf the web safely with linux and still run your commercial software.

i hope this helps you. =]

Answer 2

A friend of mine just built a computer of the type you are envisioning.
He built his with an AMD dual processor XP-4400 with an ASUS motherboard, which according to Tom's Hardware is the hottest board around right now, and over 3 GB of RAM, with a fast video card and everything first class. 2 Pioneer 111 DVD burners.
He, like I, does a lot of video work which makes a fast system as much a necessity as a gamers.
He bought a 160GB 10,000 rpm drive as his system, and then 2 - 500GB SATA drives for extra storage and for video processing.
I don't believe that he uses multiple monitors at this time, as the work he does doesn't require it. But that is no big deal to add.
Since starting to operate with the unit, he has told me that it is extremely fast.
Be sure to get at least a 500 Watt P/S
An excellent place to buy the parts reasonably is at
http://www.pricewatch.com
To get past power interruptions, you may also want to get yourself a UPS
I hope this will help you.
P.S. Further to what some of the other answers are. BE careful of TigerDirect. The last LCD screen I bought from them, I had to go through the Attorney General of the state they have their HQ at, in order to get the rebate they had advertised. Not a pleasant experience and a real time waster.

Answer 3

If you can wait till the end of this year or the early part of 2007 for a processor, AMD has announced that they will have a "Quad-Core" processor some time in that time frame. And "Vista" will also be out at that same time. Two parts of a "Super Computer". AMD's run a bit cooler than Intel's, but for your application, H2O cooling is still the way to go.

Answer 4

For a processor go for the Intel Core 2 Extreme.
Not sure about what GPU, but all I know that are compatible are the ATI Radeon X1900XTX, so put two in crossfire.
For HD's, try the Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3750640AS 750GB 7200 RPM
put in a 600 Watt power supply. I would really recommend putting in a good cooling system. Try Water cooling.

Answer 5

Okay... First of all, you should probably consider water cooling for this system because with the parts I am going to go through it is going to generate an incredible amount of heat. Here goes... you said... Full Tower... so...

Cooler Master STC-101 Case, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811119042 $115 after rebates

680W Power Supply, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817148019 $100

ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe Motherboard, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131013 $144

Athlon 64x2 4600+ CPU, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103751
$300

Dual nVidia 7600GT Graphics, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814150140
$185x2, note you will not be able to use SLi mode to drive four monitors

Dual Lite-ON DVDRW drives, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827106013
$70 (for two drives)

Dual Seagate 750GB hard drives, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822148133
~$840 for both

8GB of DDR2 800 Memory, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820141062
$640

If I didn't forget anything, the total cost comes to $2279.

Answer 6

If you're going to spend all the effort building a super computer, why then screw it up by putting windoze on it!?
Use Unix or something.

Answer 7

I'd go with a Northwest (falcon-nw.com) or voodoo (voodoopc.com). But for what you're looking for, expect to pay way upwards of $1000.

Answer 8

hey dude, why the hell do u need it for 4 monitors? why do u even need 4 monitors? when u have the top of the line, u dont even know what u have, thus, u dont even appreciate it fully. i appreciate my pc because i have it so tht it runs at peak performance

Answer 9

you have to many options on this one, but I will tell you this the one you get had better have a water cooler, in it or it will die real fast.

Answer 10

TIGERDIRECT.COM, and play around building one.. Also you can do it at DEL.CON.. Your friend from Tennessee...ROB