3DS Max workstation build (approx 2000 AUD)

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nickclews

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May 29, 2014
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Hi im looking to buy a workstation pc for working with:
3ds Max, Autocad, Inventor, Revit Blender, photoshop

predominantly for architectural modeling, rendering & walk through animations. Rendering will primarily be Mental ray.
This machine would be for work, I would play games on it but I don't care if it can't run the latest or the graphics look rubbish.

My local PC shop offered me the following for $1700
Intel Xeon E3-1230v3 CPU - 3.3GHz
ASUS P9D-WS Workstation Motherboard
16GB Kit(2x8G) DDR3-1600MHZ RAM
Western Digital Black 1TB Hard Disk
22X DVD-Burner
nVidia Quadro K600 Workstation GPU
CoolerMaster Silencio 550 case + 500W PSU 80+ Bronze Certified PSU

I want to make the following changes
swap K600 GPU for PNY K4000
add: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk
bump ram to 32GB if room in budget

For those working in the architectural visualization field how would this system stack up?
Any suggestions on changes?
Also how does the Xeon compare to an i7 3770 or 4770 in a rendering context?

Any help would be greatly appreciated as I have not used this type of build before so Im unsure what sort of build to use to get the most out of my system.
 
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JackNaylorPE
I also usually stick to Asus in the $250 and up range but MSI has attacked the $125 - $200 price segment aggressively and their stuff on a feature for feature basis is $40 less than Asus. I had some bitter experiences with Asrock over the years and tho I am softening with their improved product and now having industry standard warrantees, the MSI's and Asus boards still seem to hold my attention. I love the Asus BIOS but the Z87 Frozen Time Clock Bug has resulted in putting a hold on Asus builds till it's fixed.

Personally I'd avoid the EVGA SC series..... Classy is great but again MSI brings a superior product to market for a lot less money than the SC at the 780 level ($450), I'd urge you to step up to that.

The Seagate HD's are...
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JackNaylorPE

JackNaylorPE

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Oct 30, 2004
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Most PC shops assume CAD means rendering and automatically go for workstation cards. That is not always the best choice depending in exactly what you will be doing.

07-CUDA-01-3ds-Max-iRay.png


Make sure ya have a detailed understanding of exactly what you will be running, even what tasks within the applications, to determine what ya need before going forward.... Go thru the article here.... bit dated but it will give ya an idea of what 's what.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-workstation-graphics-card,3493-6.html
 
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nickclews

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May 29, 2014
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Ahh I see mentalray uses cpu not gpu and blender (cycles) uses both. A workstation card would only really help for the viewport graphics not the renders. And since it is unlikley I will be working with massivley complex models I probably will not need the workstation gpu a GTX 660 or 670 would probably be plenty.
What about the i7 or the xeon though has anyone had much experiance between the 2?
 
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nickclews

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May 29, 2014
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Ok after a bit more trawling came up with the following build

cpu: i74770K
mobo: ASRock Fatal1ty Z87-Killer 4
(I assume this is up to the job but is it possibly excessive? also not sure about asrock usually stick to asus but $$ anyones 2 cents would be appreciated)
gpu: eVGA GTX770 2G Superclocked w/ ACX Cooler (2G more than enough if rendering with cycles? (blender))
hdd: WD 2TB
ssd: Samsung 250GB SSD 840 EVO
case: antec P280 (anyone have any experience with how quiet these cases are? I often run my renders overnight so quiet is better)
psu:CoolerMaster 850W Silent Pro Hybrid (again not sure of the power draw but looking for something that is quiet and stable)
cooler: no idea Cooler Master Hyper 212X CPU Cooler? not planning to overclock

Most of the info I am reading seems to be about a year old so im not really sure if there is some better option available at the moment
Any thoughts or suggestions greatly appreciated
 
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JackNaylorPE

JackNaylorPE

Titan
BANNED
Oct 30, 2004
32,255
14
99,960
I also usually stick to Asus in the $250 and up range but MSI has attacked the $125 - $200 price segment aggressively and their stuff on a feature for feature basis is $40 less than Asus. I had some bitter experiences with Asrock over the years and tho I am softening with their improved product and now having industry standard warrantees, the MSI's and Asus boards still seem to hold my attention. I love the Asus BIOS but the Z87 Frozen Time Clock Bug has resulted in putting a hold on Asus builds till it's fixed.

Personally I'd avoid the EVGA SC series..... Classy is great but again MSI brings a superior product to market for a lot less money than the SC at the 780 level ($450), I'd urge you to step up to that.

The Seagate HD's are 30% faster

Antec 280 was my go to case 5-6 years ago for quiet builds.Now I like the Phanteks Pro .... built in fan PCB does the job ot keeping noise down by lowering fan speeds when not needed. I have the big brother Enthoo Primo w/ 10 fans in my CAD station and its dead quiet.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811854003

The Hhper 212 has resulted in 3 puters coming in my door for MoBo replacements.... it's kinda easy to overtighten the mount and damage the board so be careful.

 
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nickclews

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May 29, 2014
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4,510


Thanks man I will definitely check out the msi stuff
 
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