Hi,
With the help of Reddit, I've ordered parts for the PC. Most of the parts should be coming tomorrow. As far as I can tell, it should be fine for my purposes - animating in Blender, some Unity3d, minor GIMP/Photoshop, LoL, & recording gameplay.
I've read a lot of reviews on the parts, and my biggest concern is the GFX card - the GTX 680. While it is good for gaming, IIRC the 580 had better render times than the 680... and while I do game, the main purpose of this rig is to have a card that can do rendering in Blender for me. Should I switch? Is there any other alternative? I'm willing to drop more money on this build, but I'm not sure if a titan would be worth it... And yes, I have looked at the Blender forums spreadsheet comparison of GFX cards to see how the 680 compares, but it's a little confusing because not everyone follows the same time format for how long the renders took.
My intent is to practice and practice with Blender to the point that I can make models for a game that I'm working on. The game would be kind of low poly, much like TellTale Games' Wallace and Grommit. I am hoping that this rig could produce something like that.
Link: http://www.telltalegames.com/wallaceandgromit
Here is the build:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks
CPU: Intel Core i7-3930K 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor ($499.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Thermaltake Water 2.0 Extreme 81.3 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($119.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-X79-UP4 ATX LGA2011 Motherboard ($233.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($224.33 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Sandisk Extreme 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($101.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($97.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 680 2GB Video Card ($469.99 @ Best Buy)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($99.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Kingwin Lazer Platinum 850W 80 PLUS Platinum Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.98 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($93.98 @ Outlet PC)
Monitor: Dell S2240M 60Hz 21.5" Monitor ($149.99 @ Adorama)
Monitor: Dell S2240M 60Hz 21.5" Monitor ($149.99 @ Adorama)
Monitor: Dell S2240M 60Hz 21.5" Monitor ($149.99 @ Adorama)
Keyboard: Cooler Master Storm QuickFire Rapid Wired Gaming Keyboard ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Mouse: Logitech G400 Wired Optical Mouse ($39.78 @ Amazon)
Total: $2624.94
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-23 15:23 EDT-0400)
Reasons for picking everything:
* Processor - it's pretty top of the line, should be great for my purposes
* 2x monitors: I wanted two monitors because I like the idea of giving blender the whole window on one screen, and having video tutorials up/blender forums on the other one. I realize that it probably isn't wise to have both going while the render has started, though... same with gaming
* Case - it is supposed to help keep the rig quiet, I like the color, etc
* Mouse - I wanted a 3 button mouse and something nice
* Keyboard - I like the look of it, and I figure I can use AutoHotkey to make macros for Blender
* Liquid cooler - Should help with keeping the PC quiet, and I always liked the idea of them
* RAM - 32GB seems pretty good, but I'm wondering if it will be enough for renders for actual games
* GFX card - again, unsure about this. Great for gaming, but need input about if I could do better & still be able to game and render
* Motherboard - The reviews aren't great, but most other MOBOs I've looked at aren't much better. If I use exactly 32GB of RAM, then I should be fine, according to previous reviewers on Newegg. They had said that if you add more or less than 32GB of RAM, then it doesn't properly use all of it.
* SSD/hard drive - Use SSD as boot drive and maybe for some rendering, and use the 2TB HDD for storage
* Power supply - I think it looks fine via Newegg reviews/comments on it from Redditors, and supposedly the brand is OK as well. The $40 rebate also got me.
* Optical drive - I don't have a use for blu-ray yet, so DVD/CD writer made sense
* Operating system - I picked Windows 8 because a lot of the gaming will be done on it, but I will probably try to use Fedora for better render times in Blender
So, if I was unclear: I am asking if this build looks fine for my purposes - and ultimately if it should work okay in Blender. If there is a problem with the GFX card, if I should change the Sandisk Extreme to a Samsung 840 Pro, if the MOBO or anything else should be changed - & what to be changed to, etc.
If further clarification is needed then I will do my best to respond ASAP.
With the help of Reddit, I've ordered parts for the PC. Most of the parts should be coming tomorrow. As far as I can tell, it should be fine for my purposes - animating in Blender, some Unity3d, minor GIMP/Photoshop, LoL, & recording gameplay.
I've read a lot of reviews on the parts, and my biggest concern is the GFX card - the GTX 680. While it is good for gaming, IIRC the 580 had better render times than the 680... and while I do game, the main purpose of this rig is to have a card that can do rendering in Blender for me. Should I switch? Is there any other alternative? I'm willing to drop more money on this build, but I'm not sure if a titan would be worth it... And yes, I have looked at the Blender forums spreadsheet comparison of GFX cards to see how the 680 compares, but it's a little confusing because not everyone follows the same time format for how long the renders took.
My intent is to practice and practice with Blender to the point that I can make models for a game that I'm working on. The game would be kind of low poly, much like TellTale Games' Wallace and Grommit. I am hoping that this rig could produce something like that.
Link: http://www.telltalegames.com/wallaceandgromit
Here is the build:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks
CPU: Intel Core i7-3930K 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor ($499.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Thermaltake Water 2.0 Extreme 81.3 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($119.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-X79-UP4 ATX LGA2011 Motherboard ($233.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($224.33 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Sandisk Extreme 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($101.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($97.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 680 2GB Video Card ($469.99 @ Best Buy)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($99.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Kingwin Lazer Platinum 850W 80 PLUS Platinum Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.98 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($93.98 @ Outlet PC)
Monitor: Dell S2240M 60Hz 21.5" Monitor ($149.99 @ Adorama)
Monitor: Dell S2240M 60Hz 21.5" Monitor ($149.99 @ Adorama)
Monitor: Dell S2240M 60Hz 21.5" Monitor ($149.99 @ Adorama)
Keyboard: Cooler Master Storm QuickFire Rapid Wired Gaming Keyboard ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Mouse: Logitech G400 Wired Optical Mouse ($39.78 @ Amazon)
Total: $2624.94
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-23 15:23 EDT-0400)
Reasons for picking everything:
* Processor - it's pretty top of the line, should be great for my purposes
* 2x monitors: I wanted two monitors because I like the idea of giving blender the whole window on one screen, and having video tutorials up/blender forums on the other one. I realize that it probably isn't wise to have both going while the render has started, though... same with gaming
* Case - it is supposed to help keep the rig quiet, I like the color, etc
* Mouse - I wanted a 3 button mouse and something nice
* Keyboard - I like the look of it, and I figure I can use AutoHotkey to make macros for Blender
* Liquid cooler - Should help with keeping the PC quiet, and I always liked the idea of them
* RAM - 32GB seems pretty good, but I'm wondering if it will be enough for renders for actual games
* GFX card - again, unsure about this. Great for gaming, but need input about if I could do better & still be able to game and render
* Motherboard - The reviews aren't great, but most other MOBOs I've looked at aren't much better. If I use exactly 32GB of RAM, then I should be fine, according to previous reviewers on Newegg. They had said that if you add more or less than 32GB of RAM, then it doesn't properly use all of it.
* SSD/hard drive - Use SSD as boot drive and maybe for some rendering, and use the 2TB HDD for storage
* Power supply - I think it looks fine via Newegg reviews/comments on it from Redditors, and supposedly the brand is OK as well. The $40 rebate also got me.
* Optical drive - I don't have a use for blu-ray yet, so DVD/CD writer made sense
* Operating system - I picked Windows 8 because a lot of the gaming will be done on it, but I will probably try to use Fedora for better render times in Blender
So, if I was unclear: I am asking if this build looks fine for my purposes - and ultimately if it should work okay in Blender. If there is a problem with the GFX card, if I should change the Sandisk Extreme to a Samsung 840 Pro, if the MOBO or anything else should be changed - & what to be changed to, etc.
If further clarification is needed then I will do my best to respond ASAP.
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