Building PC for 3d modeling, rendering and digital art

benlc125 · Jul 8, 2015

Hi,

I want to build a new pc for 3d modeling (3ds max, mudbox and zbrush) as well as adobe suite. I have a budget of about £1200 ($1800), but I don't what parts would be best suited for these programs. I really don't want to buy anything that would only make a marginal difference.

I'm currently using http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/computers/intel-1150-workstation/ this website to check what parts I can use.

If anyone can help out it will be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

CTurbo · Jul 8, 2015

I recommend building the PC yourself. Do not use that terrible site. It is a major ripoff. It forces you to use parts that are either not very good or not suitable for what you need. It literally won't let you use the stock cooler so it MAKES you spend more than you need to. All of the psu choices are bad as well as the RAM choices.

CTurbo · Jul 8, 2015

Don't know if you need to buy an OS or not

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor (£259.99 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler (£55.71 @ Ebuyer)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-Gaming 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£99.98 @ Novatech)
Memory: Kingston Savage 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£75.29 @ CCL Computers)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£74.23 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£50.99 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE 3X Video Card (£257.99 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case (£71.83 @ CCL Computers)
Power Supply: XFX TS 750W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply (£62.10 @ More Computers)
Total: £1008.11
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-08 21:19 BST+0100

benlc125 · Jul 8, 2015

Thanks a lot!

Yeah, I thought so much. Do you have have any good tutorial recommendations that I should watch before attempting it?
Its going to be my first build, so I'm terrified of making a mess.

benlc125 · Jul 8, 2015

I'm also going to be using windows 7

CTurbo · Jul 8, 2015

newegg has a 2-part instructional video guide that seems to be helpful

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIF43-0mDk4

benlc125 · Jul 8, 2015

Awesome! thanks a lot!!

jtabb1256 · Jul 8, 2015

benlc125 :

Is there a reason that you are using that website instead of PCPartpicker?
I see the website you are using is UK. Are you in the UK?

Nvidia is better than amd for adobe suite and for 3ds max.

This list I made is for UK pricing. If you live in US, I'll change it to better fit that.

This list is just to get a start. There are things you can do like get more ram or get more fans. Or get a better/ different CPU cooler.
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/parts/partlist/

Also, using an i7 4790k and motherboard and ram to suite that would be much cheaper, if you wanted to go cheaper than this.

Meant to post this at around lunch time today, but lost internet connection.

It still fits in your budget, and is much more powerful than the previous suggestion.

benlc125 · Jul 9, 2015

Yeah i'm in the UK. I'm new to the whole building your PC, and that was just on top of the list... I now know to avoid it like the plague.

I just want a powerful enough PC to start off with, then gradually upgrade it when my designs become more complex. So the cheaper the better, but I don't mind investing in better gear now and add more RAM later on.

The list only has the RAM selected... do you mind selecting the other parts as well?

Thanks for the advice!!

jtabb1256 · Jul 9, 2015

benlc125 :

Sorry. The list I initially put together disappeared. I will put another one together for you

jtabb1256 · Jul 9, 2015

The conversion you gave from 1200 euros to 1800 dollars threw me off for a bit. 1200 euros is more like 1300 dollars.

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/user/jtabb1256/saved/xpnqqs

This is about 200 euros over your budget, but brings next gen stuff. (DDR4 memory, 5th gen processor, etc)
This processor is slightly less powerful than the 4790k in single-threaded stuff, but its 6 cores (vs 4 cores) + hyperthreading gives 12 cores vs. 8 cores. This will help in rendering.

32 gb ram will also help in rendering.

This list may be overkill for what you are doing. If it isn't, get a gtx 980ti.
If it is, just go with the previous list and maybe get a gtx 980 instead of a 970. And use the powersupply i suggested, not the previous one.

benlc125 · Jul 9, 2015

jtabb1256 :

That is a beasty machine!!

That would be my dream PC, but i figured i could always upgrade over time.

I was going to ask about the power supply, whats the difference? I trust your opinion, just curious!

Thanks again!!

jtabb1256 · Jul 9, 2015

benlc125 :

jtabb1256 :

That is a beasty machine!!

That would be my dream PC, but i figured i could always upgrade over time.

I was going to ask about the power supply, whats the difference? I trust your opinion, just curious!

Thanks again!!

The power supply I listed is fully modular and has higher quality capacitors.

Also note that windows 7 home premium does not support more than 16gb ram, so you may want to get pro.

CTurbo · Jul 9, 2015

First of all, the i7 4790k is cheaper today than it was a couple days ago.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor (£233.94 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler (£55.71 @ Ebuyer)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-Gaming 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£99.98 @ Novatech)
Memory: Kingston Savage 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£76.03 @ CCL Computers)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£68.34 @ Aria PC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£50.99 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE 3X Video Card (£257.99 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case (£71.83 @ CCL Computers)
Power Supply: XFX TS 750W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply (£62.10 @ More Computers)
Total: £976.91
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-10 00:14 BST+0100

Second of all, the XFX psu in my build is made by Seasonic. Both of them use all Japanese caps. I don't know why you think a Seasonic 620w Bronze would be better than a Seasonic 750w Gold. The only advantage the 620w Seasonic has is that it's full mod.

Lastly, the i7 5820k is a good idea, but if you're going to go ddr4 quad channel, 2133mhz CAS15 is a terrible choice. Dual channel ddr3 2133mhz CAS9 would perform better. I left the budget a few hundred £££ short to leave room for shipping and tax and such.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor (£274.74 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler (£65.46 @ CCL Computers)
Motherboard: ASRock X99 Extreme4 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard (£169.19 @ Scan.co.uk)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws 4 series 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-2800 Memory (£239.88 @ More Computers)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£68.34 @ Aria PC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£50.99 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE 3X Video Card (£257.99 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case (£71.83 @ CCL Computers)
Power Supply: XFX TS 750W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply (£62.10 @ More Computers)
Total: £1260.52
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-10 00:30 BST+0100

jtabb1256 · Jul 9, 2015

I know that xfx is seasonic, but that particular model is not as good as the model I have listed. It's a different series of seasonic psu's.

benlc125 · Jul 10, 2015

Just wanted to say thanks for all the information you guys have given.

I've done more reading into the DDR3 and DDR4, and I think I'm most probably stick with DDR3.

But thanks again!

Witch_2 · Aug 22, 2015

jtabb1256 :

The conversion you gave from 1200 euros to 1800 dollars threw me off for a bit. 1200 euros is more like 1300 dollars.

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/user/jtabb1256/saved/xpnqqs

This is about 200 euros over your budget, but brings next gen stuff. (DDR4 memory, 5th gen processor, etc)
This processor is slightly less powerful than the 4790k in single-threaded stuff, but its 6 cores (vs 4 cores) + hyperthreading gives 12 cores vs. 8 cores. This will help in rendering.

32 gb ram will also help in rendering.

This list may be overkill for what you are doing. If it isn't, get a gtx 980ti.
If it is, just go with the previous list and maybe get a gtx 980 instead of a 970. And use the powersupply i suggested, not the previous one.

Pounds not euros

Witch_2 · Aug 22, 2015

CTurbo :

Pc specialist isnt that bad

Building PC for 3d modeling, rendering and digital art

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