New build for Digital Character Animation / 3D Animation / 3D Modelling idea

Togglez- · Feb 13, 2014

Hello Everyone,

I’ve been searching the internet for quite some time to find a great build for this type of machine, it is a gift for a 3D Animation / Digital Character Animation graduate that will be used for freelancing and professional work with upcoming jobs.

Approximate Purchase Date: May, 2014

Budget Range: $1100 - ~$1500 -- willing to spend more depending on bang for the buck

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Digital Character Animation, 3D Animation, Modelling, graphic design

Are you buying a monitor: No

Parts to Upgrade: New build

Do you need to buy OS: No

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.ca, canacacomputers.com, tigerdirect.ca and open to suggestions.

Location: Toronto, Canada

Parts Preferences: Intel CPU, AMD/NVIDIA Video Card, Corsair Memory/PSU/Case, Coolermaster Case, GIGABYTE Motherboard or recommendation.

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe for future if its worth it

Your Monitor Resolution: Highest Possible

Additional Comments: A quiet/silent PC in a smaller form factor would be ideal to be placed in an area with not a lot of space. Software that is used would be Maya, 3DS Max, SketchUp, Blender, All Adobe Products, and I know it’s general but any type of 3D Animation Software that could be available to me.

Here is what I have gathered so far;

Video Card:
AMD Firepro W7000 OR NVIDIA Quadro K4000

Motherboard:
GIGABYTE GA-Z87X-OC LGA 1150 Intel Z87 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS – Or any other motherboard that could be recommended.

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

Memory:
Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 1600MHz CL10 DIMMs or anything recommended.

Case:
Cooler Master K350 Mid Tower Case USB3.0 -- Or other recommendations, would like a nice sleek looking case.

Power Supply:
Corsair Builder Series Modular CX750M 750 Watt 80 PLUS Bronze Certified Power Supply – Or Any recommendations

Any assistance with this would be highly appreciated. And thanks to everyone who is willing to help!

bob hays · Feb 13, 2014

Go with only one video card. the software can most likely only use one or the other so having both is just a waste.

also i'm interested in learning how to do 3d animations, do you know any good place to start off? Right now i'm just watching the beginner video guides in blender because a maya license is way too much.

dragonsqrrl · Feb 13, 2014

One question... how are you fitting a W7000 and a K4000 into a $1500 system budget?

Also, I've never thrown a Firepro and Quadro into the same system, but I'd be concerned about driver conflicts if you've never done it before.

Togglez- · Feb 13, 2014

bob hays :

Personally I do not work with 3D animation myself. However i'm planning to play around with it as well. Also for Maya you can take a look at their free student software which contains a 3year license; http://www.autodesk.com/education/free-software.

also thanks for the info in regards to the Video Card, i guess it's a question of which one to go with.

dragonsqrrl · Feb 13, 2014

bob hays :

You can get a Maya license for free if you have a student email account.

Togglez- · Feb 13, 2014

dragonsqrrl :

I modified my original post to correctly display my options and price adjustments i should've mentioned earlier. And i believe the dual video card system is possible if multiple monitors are involved. But i have modified my statement to say "OR" instead.

Thanks for the reply.

dragonsqrrl · Feb 13, 2014

Togglez- :

I honestly think driver compatibility and validation are more important for this type of work than absolute performance. Personally I would recommend the K4000, but understand I have no experience with Firepro cards. I frequently use a system with a Quadro 5000 for Maya and Mudbox work, and everyone I know who does similar work uses Quadro's in their systems.

FunkTheWorld · Feb 13, 2014

dragonsqrrl :

You don't actually need a student e-mail account to get one. I have both a student e-mail account (that I used to sign up) as well as a gmail account that is being used as my "student account" on the site. I think it works for any e-mail address really.

dragonsqrrl · Feb 13, 2014

FunkTheWorld :

dragonsqrrl :

You don't actually need a student e-mail account to get one. I have both a student e-mail account (that I used to sign up) as well as a gmail account that is being used as my "student account" on the site. I think it works for any e-mail address really.

Yes, but like you said you need to provide the student email to get access to the license.

dragonsqrrl · Feb 13, 2014

Since you have a relatively tight budget considering your component selection, and you're thinking about light overclocking, I would normally wholeheartedly recommend a Hyper 212 EVO, but the price seems to have gone up considerably. It might still be a descent deal at $40, but it used to offer one of the best price to performance ratios on the market back when it could be found for ~$30.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099

dragonsqrrl · Feb 14, 2014

Togglez- :

i7-4770K
Hyper 212 EVO
GIGABYTE GA-Z87X-OC
CORSAIR Vengeance Pro 16GB (2 x 8GB)
Quadro K4000
SanDisk Extreme II 120GB
CORSAIR CSM Series CS650M 650W
Corsair Carbide Series 300R

Total: $1763.93 after MIR

Let me first say that it's nearly impossible to use the type of components you listed in your original comment and come out at the $1500 price point. I think you would really have to make some cuts to the processor, motherboard, and a couple other components if you're really serious about hitting $1500. But if you have room in your budget to play around, I think the component list above is a good place to start.

The Vengeance Pro is $165 right now after $25 MIR. I would also recommend DDR3 1866 for a Haswell build.

The K4000 is $779 right now after $100 MIR, which I think is a pretty good deal.

The SanDisk Extreme II series has very good performance consistency for a consumer SSD, highly recommended. Only problem is it's a little pricy.
http://anandtech.com/show/7006/sandisk-extreme-ii-review-480gb

I think a 750W power supply is complete overkill for a build with a 84W TDP CPU and a 80W TDP GPU. I recommended the CS650W because it's a good deal at the moment, and because the additional efficiency would benefit a system like this, but you could definitely go lower on the rated W. Ideally you'd want to hit ~50% of the rated W at max CPU+GPU load to achieve maximum power efficiency, but I think there tends to be a problem of diminishing returns with sub 500W PSUs. For example you can save maybe $20 - $30 on a 500W bronze, which personally I don't think is worth it. This might be an area to cut back though if you're really crunching penny's.

The case is personal preference. I like Corsair, I think the 300R is easy to work with, provides plenty of room for expansion, and has okay airflow. It's also $70 after MIR at the moment.

Don't know if you need an optical drive or hard drive (you probably want a hard drive). I don't think you need a particularly fast mass storage drive for this type of work. I also don't know how much capacity your client needs, so I think it's best to leave the choice of drive up to you.

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