$1,400 Video Rendering PC

SplashHero · Jun 6, 2014

I like to work with 3D rendering and some gaming, and I have a pretty loose budget. I already have displays, and other peripherals/accessories, so they are not a problem. Here is the build I chose:

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/SplashHero/saved/3Wm323

I have a few questions, at the bottom of the page it says that: Some AMD 990FX chipset motherboards may need a BIOS update prior to using Vishera CPUs.

I understand what BIOS is, but not much more than that, as I am fairly new to building computers. So what could I do to fix that problem when I get the parts?

Please feel free to leave a comment or suggestion, as I am sure that this is not a perfect build! Also if it can be avoided I would not like to raise the price any higher than it is already!

Thanks

Eduello · Jun 6, 2014

A cheaper (but still high quality) and also modular PSU, a lot better CPU, more RAM (useful with rendering), a lot better CPU cooler, a more reliable HDD, a high quality motherboard for the CPU, and finally a cheaper but somewhat equal GPU:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($333.97 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 PRO4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($118.91 @ Newegg)
Memory: Team Vulcan 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($55.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 290 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($379.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Cooler Master Storm Stryker (White) ATX Full Tower Case ($124.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($80.81 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1396.61
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-06 10:41 EDT-0400)

Keep in mind that if you wait a little longer you can actually get the i7-4790k. Also, you're spending too much on the case IMHO, but I didn't change it since it depends on personal preference.

SplashHero · Jun 6, 2014

Eduello :

A cheaper (but still high quality) and also modular PSU, a lot better CPU, more RAM (useful with rendering), a lot better CPU cooler, a more reliable HDD, a high quality motherboard for the CPU, and finally a cheaper but somewhat equal GPU:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($333.97 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 PRO4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($118.91 @ Newegg)
Memory: Team Vulcan 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($55.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 290 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($379.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Cooler Master Storm Stryker (White) ATX Full Tower Case ($124.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($80.81 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1396.61
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-06 10:41 EDT-0400)

Keep in mind that if you wait a little longer you can actually get the i7-4790k. Also, you're spending too much on the case IMHO, but I didn't change it since it depends on personal preference.

Thanks for the list of parts, and yeah, I probably should bring the price of the case down! Although the Gigabyte Radeon R9 290 GPU seems to have some BIOS issues, although it is nice to know that there are cheaper equivalents to the GTX 780.

Dblkk · Jun 6, 2014

Depending what your actually rendering, will determine if you should go amd/NVidia 780/290 route. Cuda support is most widely used, as well as physics and that goes with NVidia.

Program specific/rendering specific depends if you should go intel or amd. If you do go with either and plan on getting 4.5ghz or higher with it, you'll need a minimum double 120mm fan res. Like Corsair H100i/105/110, any single fan 120mm rad will not cool enough.

I video edit using cyberlink powerdirector 12 and sony vegas, and both seem to favor amd cpu and NVidia gpu. When running photoshop cs, it seems to favor intel cpu and NVidia. I don't have hard evidence to support this, but somewhere I wrote down rendering times between so many differenct setups and source/output hhd/ssd's. What I came up with was powerdirector 12/vegas on home pc with is 8350 and gtx 770. Photoshop (sadly) better on laptop i7 4700 and gtx 880m

But the i7 vs fx is really really close if your talking strickly rendering and 3d work. So either way, I went amd route, saved $100 and got a better gpu. But amd will need superior cooling and will consume more power. (enough power to pay the $ difference between intel and amd within first 3-5 years of use).
\
The only chip that makes a difference past the neck and neck 4770k and 8350 is the 4930k. Which is $550 and a six core with hyper threading. Which thanks to my personal video editing side business doing well, I will be upgrading to soon.

But if you could tell us exactly which programs you use, and what you ALL plan to do with your build, we can give you more specific choices between intel/amd and amd/nvidia

The i7 is more expensive but has stronger cores, but some things are done better on amd's side. That's a good price for the 9000 series amd chip, but you'd be better off with 8320. its the same chip just stock clocked lower, and you can overclock yourself.

SplashHero · Jun 6, 2014

Dblkk :

Depending what your actually rendering, will determine if you should go amd/NVidia 780/290 route. Cuda support is most widely used, as well as physics and that goes with NVidia.

Program specific/rendering specific depends if you should go intel or amd. If you do go with either and plan on getting 4.5ghz or higher with it, you'll need a minimum double 120mm fan res. Like Corsair H100i/105/110, any single fan 120mm rad will not cool enough.

I video edit using cyberlink powerdirector 12 and sony vegas, and both seem to favor amd cpu and NVidia gpu. When running photoshop cs, it seems to favor intel cpu and NVidia. I don't have hard evidence to support this, but somewhere I wrote down rendering times between so many differenct setups and source/output hhd/ssd's. What I came up with was powerdirector 12/vegas on home pc with is 8350 and gtx 770. Photoshop (sadly) better on laptop i7 4700 and gtx 880m

But the i7 vs fx is really really close if your talking strickly rendering and 3d work. So either way, I went amd route, saved $100 and got a better gpu. But amd will need superior cooling and will consume more power. (enough power to pay the $ difference between intel and amd within first 3-5 years of use).
\
The only chip that makes a difference past the neck and neck 4770k and 8350 is the 4930k. Which is $550 and a six core with hyper threading. Which thanks to my personal video editing side business doing well, I will be upgrading to soon.

But if you could tell us exactly which programs you use, and what you ALL plan to do with your build, we can give you more specific choices between intel/amd and amd/nvidia

The i7 is more expensive but has stronger cores, but some things are done better on amd's side. That's a good price for the 9000 series amd chip, but you'd be better off with 8320. its the same chip just stock clocked lower, and you can overclock yourself.

After I build my computer, I will be using it for 3D game development in software such as Unreal Engine and Unity (Unreal Engine is specifically taxing to the computer) I also use Blender 3D and I am going to start using 3DSMax in the future. I also use the Adobe Creative Cloud Suite.

Dblkk · Jun 6, 2014

Alright, that helps a lot. Even though I think the difference wont be night and day, think you'd be better off going i7 4770k and amd hd 290.

My proposed build, well over your $1400 mark, but this would be ideal.
To save your $1400, you can easily drop the ssd and wd black and get what you need. Case I just picked what I have and love, but its all personal opinion and you could def save on getting a cheaper one. I picked good and speedy ram, which you should have 16gb of but you can easily drop some price on that as well. Cooling, you could get away with a $30 coolermaster hyper 212 evo, but the h100i will give you higher overclock cooling capability.

I just threw this together using ** components that you would need, and filled in the rest with ideal. Easily swap out less than ideal for cheaper/different and wont be make or break. I put more **** by the most important parts and the lower * are easily changed while not taking huge performance hit.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/JwQ7pg
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/JwQ7pg/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/JwQ7pg/benchmarks/

****CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($333.97 @ OutletPC)
**CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
***Motherboard: Asus Z87-Pro (V Edition) ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($157.50 @ Newegg)
**/*Memory: Corsair Vengeance Pro 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($169.99 @ Newegg)
**Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($134.99 @ Amazon)
*Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($174.99 @ Newegg)
****Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 290 4GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($359.99 @ NCIX US)
*Case: Corsair Air 540 ATX Desktop Case ($119.99 @ Newegg)
****Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($84.98 @ OutletPC)
*Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer ($19.98 @ OutletPC)
*Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1736.35
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-06 11:51 EDT-0400)

The ram you could save like $40, but the corsair is some good ram.
Cooler, depending if you want to overclock or not, bundled one is fine for stock, $30 coolermaster evo is good for decent overclock, h100i is great for great overclock. So if you stay stock or go coolermaster drop $50-90 off total price.
SSD/HHD, fast for boot, fast, large, and very reliable for data, but drop to single 1tb for $50ish, and drop like $250-300 of my price.
Case, is great, but can easily find a good one for $50-80. or swap it out for anything.
WIndows, 8 or 7, up to you.

But if you drop ssd/hhd and get a 1tb, drop the cpu cooler, your in your $1400 budget.
And when you have more $ down the road, easily drop in ssd and/or another hhd, or add the cooler. But don't need these now.

Search

$1,400 Video Rendering PC

SplashHero

Reputable

Dblkk

Eduello

Judicious

SplashHero

Reputable

Dblkk

Honorable

SplashHero

Reputable

Dblkk

Honorable

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page