DIY Rip Station...any suggestions??

[WYLDGFI]

Looking to build a Rip Station as a DIY project. Was thinking of AMD 5000+ 64x2 processor and about 4 Gb ram. About 2 10K RPM Drives and a moderate priced Vid Card. Any suggestions from the peanut Gallery?

[djenurm]

Why not core 2 duo extremes? It'll be quieter due to their efficiency.

[mark in tx]

Can your RIP take advantage of the 64 bit processor? If not, then you are wasting money.

[WYLDGFI]

Just did some more research...PS Rip is only 32 Bit app!

[jayhawksigns]

Wasting money on 64 bit processor?? Are not all the new processor from AMD and Intel 64 bit compatible. Its just what you have to buy anymore.

[Shovelhead]

hard drives?...........it's your CPUs and RAM that will process
the files fast.

[WYLDGFI]

Well..thats the thing. I can get single Opteron or Xeon core dual processors and it would take advantage of that more than dual core I think. the fast hard drives are a no brainer....10K Raptors are the fastest with seek/write times. I would have 3 of those puppies running on it. Input/temp-PS/then output.

[Shovelhead]

but you want to process (RIP) the image quickly...
not write it to a disk.

[WYLDGFI]

As a PS Rip, it does process the image quickly. Part of it is reading the file, processing it with the Temp file that the software writes then Writes the file to the HD...we're talking files anywhere from 100MB upwards of 2Gb when the files are finally Processed. Its not processing/printing at the same time on my end. Im processing the files THEN copying the ready-to-print files to my printer over the network. This is a standalone processing computer.

[Shovelhead]

10K HDs generate alot of heat.
What are you thinking for cooling the box?

[Checkers]

Hiya Bill,
Is this for fun or profit?
If its the latter, I would recommend computer that comes with 24/7 tech support and same/next day service. There's nothing worse than a deadline approaching, and you can't print a file because your computer doesn't work.
It sounds like you're attempting to build a dream machine. So, I would go with dual Xeon Processors and as much ram as you can afford. The 10,000 to 15,000 RPM hard drives would be nice, and having 2 to 3 smaller drives is better than one huge one. Keep one HD for the programs & OS, the 2nd & 3rd could be for scratch disks and the files you're working on.
If you do a search, this has been discussed before.

Checkers

[WYLDGFI]

Nah...its strictly a WORK box. And Dell isnt worth the $$. I built one 9 months ago and its good...BUT...new printer Im going to order has higher requirements for files. The case itself will have at least 3 fans and runs cool as a cucumber.

[Shovelhead]

a HD cooler.

[Derf]

I have a AMD-64bit, 2gb of ram and a duel 1.8ghz G5 1.5gb ram both running Flexi Pro 7.7v1 MAC and 7.6 PC

I have to say the G5 is faster at ripping. but way more unstable that the PC version of flexi. MY...2¢

[mfarney]

We have 3 RIP Servers, all custom built by yours truly.

All are dual AMD Opterons, 4GB RAM, 4 10Krpm Raptor Drives. We use Onyx 6.5 so your program may require different specs, but these work great for us.

The Raptors don't put off as much heat as you would think. So as long as you have good case fans you should be golden.

I chose the AMD Opterons because they were flat out best bang for the buck. The HDD are setup so that the OS, the incoming art and the output for each printer is writing to it's own disk. This keeps things moving very smoothly. It also adds som redundency incase a machine goes down.

Out newest press theTJ8300 from HP Scitex is a beast, we just ripped a tractor trailer and the files were almost 20GB for the sides, back and front. Crazy part is is takes less than an hr to print an entire Trailer. The TJ does 4300 sq ft an hour.

What new machine are you getting?

[WYLDGFI]

Im getting a Vutek PV200 Flatbed UV 6 color 600 Dpi. Already have a Vutek 3360 Six Color Solvent printer.
Colorburst runs similar to Onyx. Your processors on that are single core Opterons?? Ive been looking at them too...My current RIP is a 2400+ AMD X2...dual raptors and a single Sata 2 drive at 250gig.

[mfarney]

We have colorburst on an old rip server for our Vutek 2360. It had Xeon procs and I can tell you the Opterons are alot faster. We've been looking at Flatbeds we just don't get enough work on them to buy one just yet.

[WYLDGFI]

what Opterons and MoBo do you suggest??
Ive turned away mounting work and other stuff...dont want to do that anymore.

[djenurm]

Buy Intel brand boards with Intel Processors. It is the most stable way you can go. The new intel core2's and Xeons are a lot faster than anything amd has right now. If cost is no object get a mac pro with 2 dual core xeons.

Dave

[WYLDGFI]

Colorbust doesnt take advantage of 64bit processing. The Mac Pros are nice...but its a striclty Windows based app. Running on Bootcamp would be alright...but not for a dedicated windows app.

[mfarney]

I just used the 256 Opterons (3ghz) in our TurboJet RIP. They are fast, also playing with RAM Disks since the files are copied to the turbojet before they are printed. As far as Mobo's go I like ASUS and Tyan. Below is a list of what I have Used.

CPU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103624
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103573

MOBO's
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131059
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813151148

Power Supply (don't skimp on these)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817151031

RAM - 512

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145041

RAM - 1GB

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145310

HDD

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822136011
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822136033

[WYLDGFI]

Thanks...been looking at newegg for the past week trying to figure out the best combos for Mobo's and Processors. Ive got experiece with the similar socket 939 board on my current rip and its nice and rock steady. thanks for the info!!! :thankyou: