Videoguys' DIY6: Quad Core System

Last spring we updated our DIY5 article to reflect the then latest round of Dual Core processors. Almost as soon as the article came out, we found ourselves bombarded with questions about Quad core CPUs. Back then you paid a pretty hefty premium for them, so we didn't feel it was necessary to build a DIY machine for Quad core. That pricing model held true until the end of last year, when Intel dropped the prices on their Quad core processors and made them just a slight premium over a Core 2 Duo. We knew what we had to do, and the plans for DIY6 where set in motion. We've now tested our DIY6 Quad core machine with the leading hardware and software (Avid Media Composer, Adobe CS3 Production Premium, Sony Vegas Pro 8, Avid/Pinnacle Liquid and Matrox RT.X2) and the results have been outstanding. If the sky is the limit you can go with an Octo-core machine (Dual Quad Cores), but we have had such outstanding success and performance that we can only recommend these configurations for the most demanding and professional editing needs. The reality is that with today's current state of technology (32 bit applications and hardware running on a 32 bit OS) you're only tapping into a fraction of the full capabilities of this rig. Our hope is that later this summer Windows Vista 64 drivers and optimized software become available from our vendors. At that time we'll begin our efforts on our next DIY project - Building a multi-core 64 bit NLE Workstation. Until then, you are going to be hard pressed to find a better bang for your buck than our DIY6 Quad Core. read more...