$600 - $800 graphics/audio workstation

flimsyhat · Jul 23, 2014

Howdy all,

First time posting anything in the forum, but more importantly, first pc build. I have a workstation at work for handling graphics processing/3D modeling stuff (mostly in blender, but I'll do some compositing and graphics work in the adobe suite), and I'd like to have something at home to do the same. I'm not sure if these are exclusive demands, but I'd also like to run some DAWs and such (reaper mostly) and do audio processing work.

TL;DR -- the details:

Approximate Purchase Date: This coming month.

Budget Range: $600 - $800 (flexible)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: 3D modeling / rendering, video editing, audio processing, 2D graphics

Are you buying a monitor: Yes, would like suggestions as well if possible.

Parts to Upgrade: Nada

Do you need to buy OS: No

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Reliable ones.

Location: MD, USA

Parts Preferences: Maybe SSD boot drive? I've had some issues recently with my drives. Also GPU rendering would be great, CUDA is officially supported by blender and necessary for after effects

Overclocking: Yep

SLI or Crossfire: Not sure??

Your Monitor Resolution: N/A

Additional Comments: I'd like to run two monitors. I also code in Processing sometimes (built on Java), not sure if this changes any requirements.

Why Are You Upgrading: I need something to work at home on.

Cheers!

Karsten75 · Jul 23, 2014

I'm more than happy to suggest something, but it will have to be a little pared down by necessity. Good builds in this area cost closer to $2,000.

Karsten75 · Jul 23, 2014

Ugh, this is my first try. Not quite getting there. I may pare down the CPU a tad, try and reduce the cost of the video card, but apart from that I'm really at the lowest I'm thinking will give you what you need.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1226 V3 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($221.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 PRO4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($86.66 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($139.99 @ Micro Center)
Storage: Sandisk Ultra Plus 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 760 4GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($279.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($54.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 620W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($71.30 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer ($13.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1038.88
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-07-23 10:06 EDT-0400

flimsyhat · Jul 23, 2014

Karsten75 :

If I wait a bit longer, I could stretch the budget as high as $1200-$1400. I don't need to be able to render things terribly quickly, just that the programs run smoothly. I'd love any suggestions, including what you would do differently with a larger budget -- I need to learn! Thanks!

Karsten75 · Jul 23, 2014

flimsyhat :

The first thing I'd do is bump you up to a beefier motherboard and processor. the Intel LGA 2011 boards have more memory lanes and quad-channel memory. Additionally, they have about 15 more PCIe lanes which they use for faster access to devices in the PCI slots. Then you can boost memory performance by putting in PCIe or M.2 SSDs. That really kicks performance up a notch.

also improves things if you go to an additional video card.

If you use video cards in CUDA mode, then the memory of the card becomes important and 3 or 4GB memory gets to buy you something it wouldn't if you were just hoping to play a game on a 1080 monitor.

Waiting is actually a rather good idea. A little later this year, Intel will refresh their high-end processors and chipsets and that should bring new life to a sector that hasn't seen a good refresh for 2 years now. THe high-end refreshes are slower since they're more tied to corporate requirements.

flimsyhat · Aug 16, 2014

Karsten75 :

flimsyhat :

The first thing I'd do is bump you up to a beefier motherboard and processor. the Intel LGA 2011 boards have more memory lanes and quad-channel memory. Additionally, they have about 15 more PCIe lanes which they use for faster access to devices in the PCI slots. Then you can boost memory performance by putting in PCIe or M.2 SSDs. That really kicks performance up a notch.

also improves things if you go to an additional video card.

If you use video cards in CUDA mode, then the memory of the card becomes important and 3 or 4GB memory gets to buy you something it wouldn't if you were just hoping to play a game on a 1080 monitor.

Waiting is actually a rather good idea. A little later this year, Intel will refresh their high-end processors and chipsets and that should bring new life to a sector that hasn't seen a good refresh for 2 years now. THe high-end refreshes are slower since they're more tied to corporate requirements.

Thanks for this! And sorry, thought I had posted a reply long ago. I'll wait it out and see what's what.

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