Hey everyone! I'm building a new computer (this will not only be my first custom computer, but my first Windows PC), and I thought I'd ask for your input. The new system will primarily be used for visual effects and filmmaking, including 3D modeling, simulations (rigid body, smoke, fluid, etc), rendering (sometimes raytracing), compositing, editing, and color grading. After a long discussion on the Video Copilot forums, and some back and forth emails with an IT guy I know, I've made a list of the best parts that I think look good. Here are my selections:
Case:
IN WIN Dragon Slayer Black 0.6mm SECC MicroATX Mini Tower Computer Case (My main concerns are A) Whether this case is a good choice in terms of ease of use, functionality, and airflow and B) Whether my parts will even fit inside it)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811108236
Power Supply:
Rosewill CAPSTONE-650 650W (The Newegg power supply calculator told me I needed something like 647 W, which is cutting it close with 650 W, so I don't know if I should get something with a little higher wattage or if this is a fine choice... or whether 80Plus gold is worth it.)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182071
Motherboard: (This motherboard seems great, but
one reviewer said that his RAM didn't work with it. Should I be concerned about that? The RAM I selected is not on the supported RAM list that the employee responded with, but I don't know if those are just recommendations or actual requirements. If that's the case, I may need to go with a different motherboard.)
ASRock X79 Extreme6 LGA 2011 Intel X79
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157289
CPU:
Intel Core i7-4930K Ivy Bridge-E 3.4GHz LGA 2011 130W 6-Core (I'm almost positive this is the CPU I'll be getting, so no questions here.)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116939
CPU fan:
Undecided, but maybe this?
Cooler Master Hyper T4
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103182
GPU:
GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 770 4GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125462
RAM:
Team Elite Plus 16GB (2 x 8GB) (I'm on the fence about whether I should start with 16GB or go right to 32GB. I think I'm gonna go right to 32GB)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820313430
Boot Drive:
SAMSUNG 2.5" 120GB SSD (Obviously the boot drive is for the OS and all my apps. I think 120GB should be enough.)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147247
Temp Drive:
Mushkin Enhanced Chronos 2.5" 240GB SSD (The temp drive is for whatever project I happen to be working on. 240GB should be enough, and when I'm finished with that project, it goes to the storage drive. My IT guy recommended that I get two really good HDDs and put them in RAID, but the people on Video Copilot told me that I'll see the single biggest speed increase in my work come from SSDs, and I've read that SSDs are faster than HDDS even when in RAID, so I'm leaning towards SSD, but I'm not positive yet.)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226371
Storage:
Western Digital 1TB 7200 RPM HDD (Still debating on whether I even need this, since I already have 1.5 TB on an external WD drive.)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822236339
Disk Drive:
ASUS 24X DVD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204
Monitor:
Acer S Series 23" 1920x1080 (The monitor is just something cheap I picked out that will get the job done until I can get a better monitor.)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009417
Windows 8.1:
Windows 8.1 (Some have said that I should go with Windows 7, but I don't know, I feel like it's better to be all up to date)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832416778
I'm also thinking about getting
THIS sound card, in case i need to do any recording into the computer.
That's it! Thanks for bearing with me while I figure all this out. Am I missing anything? Funnily enough, the things I'm having the most trouble deciding on are the smaller details like the case and the CPU fan. I'd love to hear your feedback/suggestions/recommendations.
EDIT: I forgot to mention my budget. My budget is at an absolute maximum of probably $3000, but I'd like to keep it somewhere around where it is now, or lower, if possible.