PC built in 2009 for 3d modelling and graphics needs fresh components: suggestions?

noktek

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Hello everybody.
Four years ago i started to rise my antennas to catch up with the computer hardware world.
I put my personal computer together with the following components: Now, four years later, i have some money to put in it for upgrades and alikes. Something around 600$ more or less. I work as a videogame freelance, so i believe i might want to invest a bit on a graphic card, as i already have a SSD. or maybe on a new processor. or maybe on both. Im not one of those persons that wants the super duper latest graphic card or so, something with a good price/performance ratio is perfect, maybe a bit more on the performance side. but apart from that, im open to any suggestion, as i stopped following the hardware scene a while ago.
please note that my pc cassis is on the medium/small part and that i fitted the gtx275 with difficulty in this one.. and i cant be assed to dismount everything: need a "small" graphic card or an external one (given they exist and are decent)

bests, raffaele

Intel Core i7 920 D0 BOX, Quad Core, 2.66 GHz, ...
Noctua CPU-Cooler NH-U12P SE2 - Sockel 1366/1156
AsRock X58 Extreme, Intel X58, LGA1366, SLI, CFX
GeIL EVO ONE 6x2GB Kit, DDR3-1600, CL7-7-7-24@1...
Samsung HD103SJ, F3, 7200rpm, 32MB, 1TB, SATA-II
OCZ SSD Vertex 2 Extended Cap. 120GB, SATA-II, ...
WD VelociRaptor WD3000HLFS, 10'000rpm, 16MB, 30...
LG GH22NS, 22x DVD±R Brenner, SATA, schwarz
Cooler Master RC-690-KKN1-GP, inkl. Mesh-Gitter...
Corsair CMPSU-850HX, 850W, SLI/CF, ATX2.2/EPS, ...
Noctua CPU-Kühler NH-U12P SE2 - Sockel 1366/1156
MSI GTX-275 Lightning (GT200b) 1792MB GDDR3, 55...
 
Solution
At this point, if you update the CPU, you should absolutely also update the motherboard. If not, you'd be severely limiting yourself in value for your dollar, as there are only a limited amount of CPUs available for the 1366 socket.

I would personally advise against spending money in that direction, as you can sufficiently run a more powerful GPU than your current on your existing system.

Just to put things into perspective using hardware from this thread with passmark scores:

CPU:

Intel Core i7 920 @ 2.67GHz
Score:
5,011

Intel Core i7-3770K @ 3.50GHz
Score:
9,601

AMD FX-8350 Eight-Core
Score:
9,128

Potential for performance improvement is roughly 90% at a cost of (at least, with a cheap board) $300.

GPU:

GeForce GTX...

gmkos

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Definitely spend the budget on GPU. In fact, just $400 for a GTX 770 would be very nice upgrade for that system, and has virtually the same clearance as your current GPU.

In regards to physical clearance, you should be fine:

MSi GTX 275 Lightning: 10.6"
MSi GTX 770 Lightning: 11"

If you don't think you can clear the extra 0.4", there are plenty of shorter versions available.
 

KareemGT

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you have to upgrade your CPU , GPU

everything else looks alright to me

i would suggest an HD 7870 (220 $ ~ ) and FX-8350 ( 200 & ~ ) or you can go for the i5-3570k ( 200 $ ~ )

( the FX-8350 is better if you are looking for an future proof CPU sine it has 8 cores while the i5-3570k is Quad core CPU )

if you will upgrade the CPU you will need a new MOBO for sure
for the FX-8350 : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131876
( if you want cheaper : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128514 )

for the i5-3570k : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131821
( if you want cheaper : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157293 )
 

gmkos

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Mmmm... that's a given without reading the article. I suppose I made the assumption that OP has some hardware knowledge, had a reason for previously purchasing a GTX 275 (also plays games?), and that replacing like with like would be in his interest. Of course, my assumption could be entirely wrong. OP?

 

noktek

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Hi and thanks for your answers!

gmkos: thanks for your input, from the little time i lurked around i too tought the gtx770 seems like an unique money/performance gem, rarely a card is such a "sure pick" in communities... and also thanks for the size infos, exactly what i needed.

KareemGT: the CPU was also one of my worries: i was already a bit on the low side four years ago.. it is indeed outdated by now. Tough i did buy that precise motherboard because of some structural hypothesis on the coming CPUs. long story short, someone suggested that with that type of mobo i wouldnt have problems upgrading to a different CPU years later. Do you believe it is inevitable to to change the MOBO in the case of a CPU upgrade? do i have any other options?

ram1009: thanks for the link, interesting stuff. I kind of wanted to read something like that to refresh my knowledge on the matter, seems the situation has remained unchanged

gmkos/ram1009: yes gmkos is right, i do have some vague hardware knowledge, but nothing spectacular, i would sum it up like that:

for someone who works in 3d mostly and plays videogames from time to time, quadros and alikes are a waste of money that results in disappointing performance

for someone who works in 2d (photoshop) mostly, does NOT play videogames, and has double the money that a gaming card requires, Quadros and alikes are the way to go

To me, from the quick overview i gave these benchmarks, it looks like the quadros cant hold a candle to the gaming cards for 3d viewports and rendering, but are the way to go if you spend yout time in photoshop with thousands of layers. I notice that while i get good performance with my gtx275 in 3dapps like zbrush or maya, in photoshop it really suffers... rotating the canvas at mid/high resolutions results in atrocious lagging.
 

gmkos

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At this point, if you update the CPU, you should absolutely also update the motherboard. If not, you'd be severely limiting yourself in value for your dollar, as there are only a limited amount of CPUs available for the 1366 socket.

I would personally advise against spending money in that direction, as you can sufficiently run a more powerful GPU than your current on your existing system.

Just to put things into perspective using hardware from this thread with passmark scores:

CPU:

Intel Core i7 920 @ 2.67GHz
Score:
5,011

Intel Core i7-3770K @ 3.50GHz
Score:
9,601

AMD FX-8350 Eight-Core
Score:
9,128

Potential for performance improvement is roughly 90% at a cost of (at least, with a cheap board) $300.

GPU:

GeForce GTX 275
Score:
1,209

GeForce GTX 770
Score:
6,280

Potential for performance improvement is almost 600% at a cost of $400.
 
Solution

noktek

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thanks for the details..
ive been reading these benchmarks further and seriously i see no trend whatsoever... some 3Dapps do great with quadros some other with gtx... and seen how they reccomend a quadro4000k for ~700$ it does look like a viable option... if there was a well defined difference between performance in 2d and 3d environments the choice woulve been easy, but with these wild benchmarks... meh
 

gmkos

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You're right, they have made the entry level for workstation GPUs more reasonable in recent years. Seems like a viable option for you provided everything you've shared.