Please Help Me w/ System Configuration - 3D Modeling, Rendering, 3DS Max, Zbrush, Inventor

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ProtonX

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Sep 25, 2013
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10,510
Hello,

First post and need help for configuring a system. I am on tight timeline trying to put a system together that would be focused on freelance work for 3DS Max, Zbrush, and CAD applications such as AutoCAD, Inventor, and Revit. Most of the work initially will be for 3DS Max with Zbrush and CAD apps later. My budget is $2500 and I've worked out a config which after doing extensive research, I'm not too confident about - I seem to have chosen way to much "gamer" hardware as opposed to 3d modeling intensive. Maybe I'll play a game once in a blue moon - but that's it. I'm also looking for scalability later to add a second graphics card. I've researched a lot, but I seem to go in circles.

NZXT Phantom 410 Series CA-PH410-W1 Black/White Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case (love this case)

ASUS Z87-PRO LGA 1150 Intel Z87 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

Intel Core i7-4770K Haswell 3.5GHz LGA 1150 84W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics BX80646I74770K

EVGA 06G-P4-2790-KR GeForce GTX TITAN 6GB 384-bit GDDR5 SLI Support Video Card

Phanteks PH-TC12DX_BL Dual 120mm PWM CPU Cooler

SAMSUNG 840 EVO MZ-7TE250KW 2.5" TLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) With Desktop Bundle Kit

Western Digital WD Blue WD10EZEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive Bare Drive - OEM

ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM

CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX850M 850W ATX12V v2.31 / EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Semi Modular High Performance ...

CORSAIR Vengeance RAM?

Windows 7 Professional
3DS Max 2014
ZBrush ZR6
Revit 2014
AutoCAD Fusion Inventor or 2014


Question 1: Am I better off with a Nvidia K4000 instead of the Titan? Have I overdone it here since the Titan is really more gamer focused? As I perform more polygon intensive projects, will I be better off with a titan in the long run or should I just buy a second K4000?

Question 2: Have I overdone it with the Asus Z87 motherboard? Am I even on the right track? Any motherboard suggestions for K4000 or Titan with regards to 3D work?

Question 3: Optimal RAM suggestions?

I'm computer savvy, although have not built one in about 15 years - basically a hardware newb. I'm sure I'm fairly behind the curve in this regard.

I was hoping to place my Newegg order tonight so any immediate help is greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance!
 
Solution
tator_80
Well Id recommend this
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1HF1e

These parts should translate back over to newegg, it's just easier to do it in this format as far as putting a system together. bumped up to the LGA 2011 socket because it has so much more pontiential in processing power and the amount of ram available (usually up to 64 gigs for most boards)
Id say go with a Quadro card or firePro cards because some business class programs have certified drivers(meaning that these types of card will always work with these programs and all its functionality). A Titan has plenty of power in the card itself, but it might not deliver all the functionality of a program, and these is no sense in dropping $1000 on it for some of a program not to work. a...
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tator_80

tator_80

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Jun 3, 2011
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Well Id recommend this
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1HF1e

These parts should translate back over to newegg, it's just easier to do it in this format as far as putting a system together. bumped up to the LGA 2011 socket because it has so much more pontiential in processing power and the amount of ram available (usually up to 64 gigs for most boards)
Id say go with a Quadro card or firePro cards because some business class programs have certified drivers(meaning that these types of card will always work with these programs and all its functionality). A Titan has plenty of power in the card itself, but it might not deliver all the functionality of a program, and these is no sense in dropping $1000 on it for some of a program not to work. a Quadro 4000 series card will start you fine, unless you want to spend more
 
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ProtonX

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Sep 25, 2013
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Wow, thank you so much - I really appreciate it. Never used pc part picker before and will do so in the future.

As for graphics - Should I be going with the Quadro 4000K or 4000? Is there a huge difference? Based on the graphics cards you listed, my primary emphasis (for now at least) is rendering speed. Is there anything I can do to squeeze as much speed as possible while still within my budget? Would it mean something above the 4000?

Thanks again.
 
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tator_80

tator_80

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Just depends on the level of complexity the programs will be functioning at. Off the top of my head, I don't know the difference the 4000 and k4000, other than the amount of ram, and the amount of cuda cores and what OpenGL it supports, but they are basically the same price. On Newegg, the K4000 is only about $40 more i think, so take your pick. The 5000 series cards and 6000 series card way more expensive and wouldn't really fall under your budget. Id go with the K4000 though, for only that price difference
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133485
That's the link to the K4000 though if your interested in it
 
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ProtonX

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Thanks for the link - I have the K4000 in my cart along with the P9X79 motherboard. Will be ordering tonight. Looking forward to getting started and appreciate your help!
 
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tator_80

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You also changed the CPU correct? that would be horrible to get a LGA2011 socket with the i7 meant for 1150. As far as i can tell on newegg, it says the board is Ivy-bridge-E ready so there should be no issue
 
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ProtonX

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Uh oh, I placed the order for the following processor
Intel Core i7-4820K Ivy Bridge-E 3.7GHz (Turbo 3.9GHz) LGA 2011 130W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80633i74820K
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116940

Here is the motherboard
ASUS P9X79 LE LGA 2011 Intel X79 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with USB BIOS

It is indeed the 2011 socket. So with Ivy-Bridge-E how is it compatible? Is there a potential issue or should I call newegg to change the order?

Thanks for the heads up!
 
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tator_80

tator_80

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It should be fine. Just making sure you didnt order the 4770 for socket LGA 1150. The board on newegg says Ivy-Bridge ready, so more than likely the bios has already been updated on the boards to support those. If it doesnt support it out the box, then the cool thing about the board is you can flash the Bios to an updated Bios that does without much hassle. Just download the new bios to a flashdrive from another computer and follow the instructions in the manual, but it should be fine
 
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ProtonX

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Thanks tator_80. I checked the Asus CPU support search and it looks like it will work fine with the Intel Core i7-4820K
http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/P9X79_LE/#support_Cpu

I have a follow up question, but don't know if this is the right thread:
Right off the bat, I don't intend to tweak BIOS settings that much (due to inexperience) but will do so later once I have a better idea of what I'm doing. However, I'm confused about the order of operation after assembly:

1) Power up
2) Will most likely say that no OS is detected
3) Install OS?

Or

1) Power up
2) Go to BIOS
3) Format/setup my 1TB Hard drive AND SSD at the same time?


I was planning on installing windows to the 1TB drive and using my SSD for important programs, modeling data, drawings, etc such as Max, CAD, and so on. I don't really have the need for windows to boot ultra fast from an SSD.

Does this make sense?

 
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tator_80

tator_80

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I have an little SSD for my boot drive and a 2TB drive for storage and some programs. With a 120 SSD you should have plenty of room to put windows on and plus your programs. I would use the 1TB drive for a storage drive, instead of the other way around. With windows on the SSD the entire computer will respond faster. Whats the point of having a few programs load super fast, if you have to wait on windows to load and make changes to itself first before the program responds? You should have plenty of room on the 120 SSD
As far as how to boot. Windows will format the SSD when it installs. So when you first boot up, only have the SSD connected, that way it will only have one place to install windows to. After windows installs, shut the computer down and connect the 1TB drive, then head to the Bios to set the SSD as your priority boot drive. The bios should recognize the 1tb drive then if it doesn't, you might have to format the TB drive from windows disk management. That's a fairly simple task
 
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ProtonX

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I actually ordered the 250GB SSD. I was assuming to use this as storage for critical work files, final drawings, renders, etc. However, with a 250GB SSD I wasn't sure if I would have enough space for Windows, 3DS Max, Revit, CAD, and Zbrush (and anything else I would throw on it) so I doubled the size to be sure.

I'll follow this approach as it does make complete sense - no reason on running these programs if windows still needs to load and make changes. Much appreciated. My only concern is just having enough space. I was planning on using the 1TB to archive a second copy of everything as well.

 
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tator_80

tator_80

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Sounds like a sound plan then. I have the majority of my programs installed on a 60gig SSD along with windows and i still have 10Gigs of space left. Now, I had to do some adjustments(Changing the page file size because of the amount of RAM and things like that to conserve space) but you wont have those issues with a 250SSD at all. Using the 1TB drive as a storage drive is the best idea
 
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ProtonX

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Just wanted to let you know that the build went perfect - installed Windows to SSD and in the process of installing all of my other apps. I did have to update the BIOS for my processor, however the P9X79 LE mobo made it simple by using the BIOS flashback via USB. Anyways, booting windows from the SSD is great - it's fast and awesome.

The only thing that scares me is the phanteks CPU fan is HUGE. The brackets are nice and tight but I'm always worried its going to rip right off the motherboard. Do I sound paranoid?
 
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