PC Build for student-level 3D Modeling/Rendering and professional photo editing

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Looking to build a computer for professional photo retouching and fast 3D modeling/rendering. I use Photoshop, Maya, and Agisoft Photoscan for photogrammetry. I hope to buy VRay or Octane Renderer for photorealistic renders soon and want a powerful CPU/GPU for this workstation.

My budget is about $1700 but I should be able to upgrade as I get more involved in 3D. The monitor needs to an IPS panel, display the Adobe RGB gamut, and have a good bit depth. I do not game but occasionally stream movies.

Current Build: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/LnwQzM

CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor
Memory: Patriot Viper 4 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory
Storage: Sandisk Z400s 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 4GB Superclocked Video Card
Monitor: ViewSonic​ VP2772 27​-Inch IPS ​LED Monito​r

Thank you!
 

Garilia

Distinguished
Mar 28, 2014
586
0
19,360
Good build. If you can afford it, I'd make 2x16gb ram top have 32gb total. Your applications are ram intensive.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor ($369.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock X99 Extreme4 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard ($174.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill TridentZ Series 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk Z400s 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($64.16 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 4GB Superclocked Video Card ($189.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Define S ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 520W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($61.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($83.89 @ OutletPC)
Other: ViewSonic VP2772 27-Inch IPS LED Monitor ($440.00)
Other: Apple Cinema 23" 1080p Monitor (Purchased)
Total: $1724.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-06-02 14:30 EDT-0400
 
Ooooh... Yes. Another 3D modeling rig.

Don't use consumer i7. If you're doing this professionally, you'd probably need that perfection of ECC and maybe a much faster render.
And... Dude... You're wasting SO DAMN MUCH on the monitor! Can't you just wait for later to get a true professional monitor?! Plus, you don't have a Quadro. You can't really get that 10-bit accuracy anyways.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133560

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E5-2620 V4 2.1GHz 8-Core Processor ($404.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U12DXi4 55.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($63.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock X99 Extreme4 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard ($174.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial 16GB (2 x 8GB) Registered DDR4-2133 Memory ($99.99 @ Adorama)
Storage: A-Data Premier Pro SP600 64GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($34.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 980 4GB Video Card ($374.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair Carbide 400Q ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic EVO Edition 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($87.99 @ NCIX US)
Monitor: Asus VC279H 27.0" 60Hz Monitor ($172.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $1542.38
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-06-02 14:37 EDT-0400

Get both the Quadro and the GTX 980. Plug the DP or DVI to the Quadro. The GTX 980 is your GPGPU, used for rendering (both the Quadro and the GTX will be used for Octane Render, so 2 GPUs would boost the performance). The SSD will be your scratch disk. And RAM is ECC to ensure no loss of random data.

Total amounts to about $1700.
 
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Guest

Guest



Thanks so much for your help! My post was confusing, sorry. I don't need a professional monitor yet, but I do more profession photo editing now than 3D rendering. I will be modeling and making photorealistic rendered stills, not as much animation so realtime rendering is not a priority. Will do more research on renderers, Octane may be more powerful than I need.

I like you suggestions for the CPU/Motherboard/Display/Memory. Is the Quadro or the GTX 980 more important for my needs now? I may get both later but which should I buy first for an efficient workstation?

Thanks!
 

Albionm00n

Reputable
Jan 31, 2016
462
1
5,165
Greetings!

The Quadro is really only beneficial (I believe) if it is supported by a relationship with your program. The difference between consumer and workstation cards is really in the driver support for certain programs to be able to take advantage of the CUDA cores. If the support is not there, then there will be no real gain and the consumer card will work just fine. I don't use your programs, so I can't speak specifically for your case, but this may be an avenue you might want to research to make the best gpu choice.

Hope this helps!
 
Thanks so much for your help! My post was confusing, sorry. I don't need a professional monitor yet, but I do more profession photo editing now than 3D rendering. I will be modeling and making photorealistic rendered stills, not as much animation so realtime rendering is not a priority. Will do more research on renderers, Octane may be more powerful than I need.

I like you suggestions for the CPU/Motherboard/Display/Memory. Is the Quadro or the GTX 980 more important for my needs now? I may get both later but which should I buy first for an efficient workstation?

Thanks!

Oh... Your focus is on photo editing. This will do much better, then.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E5-2620 V4 2.1GHz 8-Core Processor ($404.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U12S 55.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($61.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock X99 Extreme4 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard ($174.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial 16GB (1 x 16GB) Registered DDR4-2133 Memory ($74.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: A-Data Premier Pro SP600 64GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($34.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($90.88 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: PNY Quadro K620 2GB Video Card ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair Carbide 400Q ATX Mid Tower Case ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Antec TruePower Classic 750W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: AOC U2879VF 28.0" 60Hz Monitor ($299.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1510.16
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-06-23 15:48 EDT-0400

In this case, I got you a sRGB monitor and Quadro since you'll want that color accuracy more than horsepower. So, yeah.
 
That Xeon will be awful for photo editing. You need a chip with a fast single core ability for that. Your best bet for Maya and Photoshop is the i7 6700K.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/skylake-intel-core-i7-6700k-core-i5-6600k,4252-5.html

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/skylake-intel-core-i7-6700k-core-i5-6600k,4252-8.html

https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Adobe-Photoshop-CC-Multi-Core-Performance-625/

https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Haswell-vs-Skylake-S-i7-4790K-vs-i7-6700K-641/#CPUPerformance-PhotoshopCC

https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Agisoft-PhotoScan-Multi-Core-Performance-709/
 


Oh, you are right. I forgot that those don't take ECC RAM. I think that being student level and with a budget of $1700, he is going to get the best bang for his buck with the i7 6700K or an overclocked 5820/5930/6800/6850. When he is ready to spend $10,000 and doing it professionally he can worry about error correcting RAM.
 
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Guest

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Thank you all for your help, sorry I didn't reply sooner.

I have purchased a used i7 5280K and considering a BenQ BL3200 or other 10 bit IPS panel display. This is my current build: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/C4TtJV

For 10 bit photo editing, I'm planning to go with a Quadro K620 or older K2000 as my first card. Will get a faster graphics card for 3D later, doing what okcnaline suggested with dual graphics cards. Any suggestions regarding the Quadro line, is it worth investing in a K2200 or such over a K620 while I'm learning the 3D software?

 

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