Budget PC build for 3ds Max

andreighinea1

Prominent
Oct 30, 2017
7
0
510
I'd need a pc build good for modeling, sculpting, animating and material creation in 3ds Max. I'll do the rendering with another pc.

This is my setup:

GPU: Asus GT740
PSU: Myria CP-0748 500w
RAM: 16GB
HDD: WD Blue 1TB or a Seagate BarraCuda 1TB
MOBO: I'll find one based on the CPU you suggest me


Would an amd ryzen 1600 be enough for this type of work ?
Can the graphics card handle that ?

 
Solution
First, it would be better if you gave a country of purchase and a budget. Country of purchase makes a huge difference to relative pricing and availability. Based on your listed PSU I will assume Romania (more on the PSU later).

Next we have good news and bad news. Bad news, the GT 740 will not be enough, it would be so slow during rotating, zooming, etc that it would make it impossible to use 3ds Max. I recommend the GTX 1050 Ti as a minimum.
https://cerise.com/solutions/autodesk-3ds-max-hardware-requirements/

But the good news is that if you will not be rendering on this machine then you only have to worry about single core performance as 3ds Max will only use one core at a time. This allows us to use step down in the CPU to...
First, it would be better if you gave a country of purchase and a budget. Country of purchase makes a huge difference to relative pricing and availability. Based on your listed PSU I will assume Romania (more on the PSU later).

Next we have good news and bad news. Bad news, the GT 740 will not be enough, it would be so slow during rotating, zooming, etc that it would make it impossible to use 3ds Max. I recommend the GTX 1050 Ti as a minimum.
https://cerise.com/solutions/autodesk-3ds-max-hardware-requirements/

But the good news is that if you will not be rendering on this machine then you only have to worry about single core performance as 3ds Max will only use one core at a time. This allows us to use step down in the CPU to save money as long as we maintain the single core speed. Went with a Skylake build over a Coffee Lake to save money and performance will not be affected. But if you plan to ever render or use other programs then this might not be the best way to go.
https://www.pugetsystems.com/recommended/Recommended-Systems-for-Autodesk-3ds-Max-159/Hardware-Recommendations
http://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i3-7100-vs-Intel-Core-i3-8100/3891vs3942

For storage the best thing would be an HDD plus an SSD. Actually an HDD, SSD plus an SSD scratch drive but that is for high end machines. If you go with a straight HDD you could end up waiting for storage calls for program information. As a compromise I therefore recommend a Hybrid HDD. Commonly used code will be stored on the 8GB SSD making usage that much faster.

Last, I am highly suspicious of this PSU. I could not find any information on it, just this other model by Myria
https://www.emag.ro/sursa-de-alimentare-myria-my8705-500w-apfc-csamy8705/pd/DLTFNDBBM/

If you scroll down to the "Alimentare" section under "Specificatii" you will see that it has 20A on the 12V rail for 240W of power. The 12V rail powers the CPU and GPU and the vast majority of the system. This is not a 500W PSU, more like a 280W. This happens all the time with cheap PSU manufacturers, the label doesn't match what is inside the unit. But the real problem with cheap PSU's is the lack of circuit protection, so if they overload they often destroy some or all of the computer. Selecting a cheap PSU is a common mistake with novice builders. And you have to look at the specific model, ordering from a known brand like Corsair does not guarantee a good choice.

For the build below all pricing is in Romanian RON and specific page links for the components are below the build. Went with the i3-7100, fast 3.9 MHz core speed while being much cheaper than a Ryzen 1600 (469.72 vs 949.99). Picked 2x8GB of DDR4 2400 MHz RAM, you might actually want to upgrade to 32GB later, you still have two empty slots to do so. You might want to shop around for RAM as I found the choice below very expensive. You will want to find DDR4 2400 MHz with a lower CAS number. Seagate Firecuda HHDD and a reliable budget PSU with circuit protection. No monitor, OS, keyboard/mouse or Wifi card included in the build.

Let me know if you have any questions.

PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/vd7h6X
Price breakdown by merchant: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/vd7h6X/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel - Core i3-7100 3.9GHz Dual-Core Processor ($469.72)
Motherboard: MSI - B250M MORTAR Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($395.91)
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($959.92)
Storage: Seagate - FireCuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Hybrid Internal Hard Drive ($319.92)
Video Card: Asus - GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB Phoenix Video Card ($816.90)
Case: Zalman - ZM-T3 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($101.93)
Other: Antec BASIQ VP500PC ($213.22)
Total: $3277.52
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-01-08 10:06 EST-0500

https://altex.ro/procesor-intel-i3-7100-3-9ghz-3mb-bx80677i37100/
https://altex.ro/placa-video-asus-nvidia-geforce-gtx-1050-ti-4gb-gddr5-128bit-ph-gtx1050ti-4g/
https://altex.ro/placa-de-baza-msi-b250-mortar-arctic-socket-1151-4xddr4-6xsata3-micro-atx/
https://altex.ro/memorie-desktop-corsair-vengeance-lpx-red-2x8gb-ddr4-2400mhz-cl16-cmk16gx4m2a2400c16r/
https://altex.ro/hard-disk-desktop-seagate-firecuda-1tb-8gb-ssd-cache-sata3-7200rpm-64mb-st1000dx002/
https://altex.ro/carcasa-zalman-t3-zm-t3-1-x-usb-2-0-1-x-usb-3-0-matx/
https://altex.ro/sursa-de-alimentare-antec-basiq-vp500pc-500w-12cm-fan-pfc-activ/
 
Solution

andreighinea1

Prominent
Oct 30, 2017
7
0
510


Firstly I'd want to say that yes, I'm from Romania. My budget is around 1500-1600 RON.

Here are some photos of the PSU to see if it's enough:

https://imgur.com/yzXUhFj
https://imgur.com/MIUlnWw

(I tried to use img but it didn't show the images, maybe there's another way to upload images)

It has this connectors:
1 x 4-pin for cpu
1 x 6-pin PCI-E
1 x 24-pin
2 x SATA
3 x 4 Pin Molex
1 x Floppy

I'll temporarily install the GT740 into my other rig to see if it's good enough for modeling, if not I'll change it afterwards. I calculated the budget without the case, the gpu and the psu

I would also use the pc for watching movies and browsing through internet.
Do you think that the extra cores from i3-8100 would make a difference in this activities, without affecting the performance of 3ds Max?
If yes, what cooler would be sufficient for i3-8100?
If not, should I buy a new cooler for i3-7100?


Now about the memory, would 8GB be enough(I could add more later)? Considering that I wouldn't have other programs opened while working.
If it isn't enough, can I see any difference between single channel and dual channel 16GB?
And also between 2133Mhz and 2400Mhz?
Maybe these if were in stock:
https://altex.ro/memorie-desktop-kingston-hyperx-savage-black-2x8gb-ddr4-2133mhz-cl13-hx421c13sbk2-16/
or Corsair Vengeance 2X8GB


Would that motherboard that you listed have more benefits than this one:
https://www.pcgarage.ro/placi-de-baza/gigabyte/b250m-ds3h/

I know that the budget is very low, but I've already spent a lot on upgrading another rig(from where I have the case, the gpu and the psu).
 
For the PSU you a split rail 12V system, meaning that two separate circuits to supply the 12V current. This used to be the standard for better PSU's so that is positive. And it was manufactured in September of 2014 so it is less than 5 years old. This is also good because as PSU's age they lose capacity. No idea about the circuit protection present though. I would be comfortable with using this PSU and maybe upgrading in the future.

If you can test the 740 in another system that would be good but make sure the system is powerful enough that the GPU will be the bottleneck process. You can assess its performance by trying to rotate or zoom larger images.

For the RAM I highly doubt that 8GB will be enough but it is very dependent on the image size and resolution. Usually they say 32GB is the minimum.

Dual channel ram is about 2-4 faster than the same RAM speed run in single channel. This is why you buy RAM in pairs, so it can run in dual channel mode.

Since your total RAM GB will be lower I would spend the money on 2400 over 2133. But I would choose 16GB of 2133 over 8GB of 2400.

The mobo you have listed will work, it is just not as good as the one I listed. You will not be placing a big burden on the power phases of the mobo so something lesser would be okay.

To get the build down to budget we will have to downgrade the CPU to the Pentium G4560, bit of a hit but not much, they are surprisingly powerful CPU's. You might have to look around as they don't seem to be in stock at either of the websites. You will have to stay with the GT 740, hoping that this will be okay. G4560 will overpower it so there is no bottleneck there. In fact there would be no bottleneck with a GTX 1050 Ti.

Also had to drop the HHDD and just go with a plain HDD. Again, I would really try to find the extra RON to get the hybrid. Or you could just get the plain HDD and save up for an SSD.

Here is the new build, used a normal Patriot memory but it is DDR 4 2400 MHz.

PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/6yx6cc
Price breakdown by merchant: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/6yx6cc/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel - Pentium G4560 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($309.99)
Motherboard: Gigabyte - GA-B250M-DS3H Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($315.99)
Memory: Patriot - Signature Line 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($797.93)
Storage: Seagate - BarraCuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($212.99)
Total: $1636.90
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-01-08 17:52 EST-0500

https://www.pcgarage.ro/procesoare/intel/kaby-lake-pentium-dual-core-g4560-350ghz-box/
https://www.pcgarage.ro/placi-de-baza/gigabyte/b250m-ds3h/
https://www.pcgarage.ro/memorii/patriot/signature-line-16gb-ddr4-2400mhz-cl17-12v/
https://www.pcgarage.ro/hard-disk-uri/seagate/barracuda-1tb-sata-iii-7200rpm-64mb/#pe-specs
 

andreighinea1

Prominent
Oct 30, 2017
7
0
510


I did some tests on another PC:
-I changed the graphics card with the GT740 and it worked fine up to ~1 mil vertices
-Then I changed it back with the other graphics card and I created an object with ~25 mil vertices, which took 7GB of RAM. If I'll be working in photoshop at the same time(or if it would start to be choppy) I'll definitely need to upgrade to 16GB


Now comes the cpu, if I'd take only 8GB of RAM for now I could afford the i3-7100 which you recommended me the first time, and since 3ds Max only uses 1 core in viewport it may be a good option.
I'll then save up some money for another 8GB of ram from the same model (to run them in dual-channel) and for the 1050 ti.

Tell me if this would be a good setup(considering that I'll add another 8GB of ram later and maybe change the graphics card to a 1050ti, like you've told me)

I found:
CPU: the cpu you suggested me the first time, i3-7100 (470 RON)
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-B250M-DS3H (329 RON)
Memory: KINGSTON HyperX Predator 8GB DDR4, 2400MHz, CL12 (420 RON)
Storage: Hard disk Seagate FireCuda SSHD 1TB SATA-III 7200RPM 64MB (345 RON)
 
With the small current budget and as long as you can live with the slower GPU and lower RAM for the time being, then I believe that upgrading later is the way to go. This will allow you to manipulate larger files later on. Getting a very low end complete system now might lead you to the same situation you currently are in.

For the 1050 Ti don't worry about the GPU speed, they all run about the same. Cooling, noise and price are more important.

Just one last point, when purchasing the RAM upgrade be aware that the system will slow down all the RAM to the speed of the slowest stick in the system. So if you have 1x8GB of DDR4 2133 CAS 15 and later buy 1x8GB of DDR4 2400 CAS 17 it will run at 2133 MHz CAS 15.
 

andreighinea1

Prominent
Oct 30, 2017
7
0
510


Thank you for helping me to pick the required components for 3ds Max!
I would have never thought that it uses just 1 core in the viewport...