PC Components

I've posted a components list on our "Video Editing Computers" forum, under the topic, "Building PC for HDV Editing". We went with a Rocketfish full tower case instead of the listed one, and we got the following Seagate harddrives:

4 @ 500 gig; 2 @ 1 terabyte

Stand-offs (L) Asus Maximus Extreme (R)

We gathered all the components and started unpacking. We tried to keep everything straight as our cat had a field day with the empty boxes, peanuts and wrappings.

I removed the case front door and set it aside to be tossed out with the trash, feeling that they are more of a pain in the butt than anything else. Then I removed the case side cover opposite the side where the motherboard mounts, and removed the fan that was blocking my access.

See link for larger image

Next, I installed the power supply and connected it to the motherboard. Then, I slapped the CPU, CPU fan and the four gig of RAM in. Now, the fun part - trying to read the tiny print on the case connector leads and the motherboard connection labels and match them up - pwr-sw; reset-sw; pwr; ide led; etc. (When I'd finished the build and Jean was going over all my "left-over" parts, she discovered there was a "Q-Connector" that would have made connecting these tiny wires much easier!)

The video card was next, then I slipped in the optical drives and connected them, being sure to set one as master and the other as slave, since these were IDE burners. Then I screwed on the harddrive side-mounting gear and installed the drives, connecting the SATA cables as I went.

I then reinstalled the case fan I'd removed earlier and connected all three case fans to their motherboard power connectors.

Now it was time. Truth or Consequences! I told Jean (my wife) that I didn't know whether it would blow-up, just smoke and sizzle, or actually run. With a good bit of concern (after all, this was a big investment!), and some build-up and drama..the cat backed cautiously away as my hand neared the switch!..I flicked the power switch - CLICK - ...and nothing else. NADA! Well, at least it didn't blow-up or smoke. I started to remove the case cover when it dawned on me - the main power switch in the rear of the case hadn't been turned on!

Another CLICK, and this time we got a BIOS screen! But the war was not over. After setting the BIOS to raid 0, making a raid driver floppy, loading raid drivers and configuring the raid system, the computer only wanted to use the terabyte drive as a boot drive. Countless attempts to reconfigure and try again with the latest drivers, etc. all failed. Finally, I disconnected the T drives, and moved forward.

Once Windows Vista Ultimate (32bit) was installed, I again connected the big drives and attempted to partition and format them. For awhile, Windows insisted on a reinstallation with the T drives as system boot drives. Finally (I forget all the steps I took), I got past that to where Windows could see the drive in the Device Manager, could partition it, but could not format it.

An email to my son got me a quick fix, and finally all seemed well. But things are not always as they seem. A problem with Maxtor/Seagate SATA drives in raid configuration with Intel chipsets and the newer version of Vista, is well documented on sites like Microsoft, tomshardware.com and the flying nerd. Though I seem to be alright at the moment, I could have corrupted data at any time. These issues have been posted at least since last September, yet it seems that no viable solution is available yet, other than avoiding these harddrives. (I read that Seagate bought out Maxtor and Maxtor makes all Seagate drives now).

Windows Vista has something they call the "Windows Experience Index" which rates your computer's performance. It seems that software can now list a minimum requirement based upon this figure, so you can determine whether it will run properly on your system. The numbers can range from 1 to 5.9, with 5.9 being the top end of the scale. Well, I clicked the thing to have it check my new system and YES!! - I got a 5.9

The new motherboard supports Dolby 5.1 surround sound, so I can now get the full benefit of our new Logitech speaker system. I'm running a Hanns-G 24" widescreen monitor with a Samsung 19" widescreen. I've just installed Adobe CS3 and I feel like a king in my new editing suite!

Only one thing left to do now - gotta book some extra gigs to pay for all this!

(Have you read last week's article, Your Wedding Videography Storefront?)

Comments

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Todd R.   | 71.132.141.60 | 2008-03-21 02:28:10 I hope you used your EST safety protocol on this one Hank! You're definitely a madman! And here I am considering an Apple Dual Quad to avoid building another! Fun stuff when it works. All the best. Todd & Jen Reply 0   0

Todd R.   | 71.132.141.60 | 2008-03-21 02:28:39 ESD...not EST. Reply 0   0

Anonymous   | 64.111.246.31 | 2008-03-26 14:58:06 ESD, EST, no matter - I didn't use it. Never have. I've owned a few computer stores and have probably built hundreds of systems over the years (but I'm a bit rusty anymore), and have never wired myself to a ground. Just don't rub your feet on the carpet in wintertime and you'll be fine! Madman..... Reply 0   0

Todd R>   | 71.132.136.72 | 2008-05-24 00:56:30 Yes, ESD...typo. I've blown hard drives like pop corn. Just be sure to grab the case before you touch anything else. The real damage comes from the sudden discharge of electrons when you've been waling around on the carpet, etc. By touching the case you disharge it slowly and harmlessly. Have f... Reply 0   0

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Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved.