Could use help with picking out parts for my sisters PC

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Tahbo3

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Oct 4, 2016
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I'm building a PC for my sister who's a graphic designer. She's needs a PC for her work as she uses a fairly outdated Macbook laptop. She does mostly graphic design but is going to start with 3D in the future. She will use this PC to work with, render but also to game with.

I've only built 2 gaming PCs but I don't really know a lot about what's important for a media, rendering computer. She obviously needs a good CPU and RAM but any and all input is appreciated. I've put together a PCpartpicker system as a starting off point. I have a spare Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ATX case and an EVGA SUPERNOVA 650w G2 PSU that can save frees up some money for other parts. The budget is 15 000 SEK or 1 736,88 USD(1 USD = 8,64 SEK). She can spend a little more if need be. Here's what I've got atm:

MOBO Asus - Prime Z370-A ATX LGA1151
CPU Intel - Core i7-8700K 3.7GHz 6-Core Processor
CPU Cooler NZXT - Kraken Liquid CPU Cooler
GPU Asus - GeForce GTX 1070 Ti 8GB ROG STRIX
RAM Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000
OS drive Samsung - 860 EVO-Series 250GB
Storage Seagate - BarraCuda 4TB

Since she'll be rendering(especially 3D), she'll need a really good cooler. She could also buy another set of RAM sticks in the future, since they are so expensive currently. CPU however, I don't know at all if the 8700K is good for her needs. I know it's supposed to be a great CPU for gaming which is something she will be doing on this computer.

Please keep in mind that the prices vary in my country(Sweden) but this will go for a little over budget but this leaves oppurtunity to upgrade in the future should she need it. Storage is something she currently uses an external harddrive for. I think her laptop uses a 1TB HDD. I think a 250 SSD will be good to obv put the OS on but it'll fit most of the Adobe program she frequently uses.

Again, nothing is set in stone. I'm open to any and all input. I'm not very experienced which is why I'm asking here. I can put the thing together but picking out the part for a media PC is not my forte.

Thanks in advance!
 
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smorizio

smorizio

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Jan 22, 2010
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on the ssd look at toms hardware ssd/m2/nve guild. if you can try get a 512g drive. with windows 10 the avg space is 30g. and on a ssd you want to leave room for wear levling and other tools. on the video card use the onboard video for now and then buy the newer 1100 gpu when the drop. as she going to use this pc for work. look to put one of those removaable hard drives in one of the drive bays. if the drive goes bad she or you can swap it out. if the pc goes down you can remove the drive and then plug it into another pc. also look to cloud or online storage/backup. at some point there going to be a hardware failure. it better to have a local backup and one on a large usb stick and one online if all of the other are bad. when i worked at a local repair shop i saw a lot of lawers with laptops with no backups..having to spend a lot of money on data recovery or time trying to reload lost work files.
 
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madmatt30

madmatt30

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Great build , good for any purpose at the end of the day.

I daresay the locked i7 8700 with a b360 board & a decent $30 air cooler would honestly fulfil your need at greatly reduced cost.

Then there are the and ryzen 8c/16t cpu's which may actually be better depending on exact workloads.
 
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Tahbo3

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@smorizio I was looking at the 960 but with the parts I had picked it was a cost saving measure to go with 860 SSD. But if there's other places I can save money, that's definitively one route. She uses cloud a lot in her work to send source material and final product. I believe she uses her external harddrive for storage but I'll tell her to get a backup sorted. Thanks!

@madmatt30 Just now, I've taken a look at the B360 board and they look alright. Though they seem a bit restrictive in future upgrading. She's expressed interest in adding a second GPU in SLI and the ones I saw didn't have SLI, some had only two DIMM slots and support for slower RAM speed. And if you wanted the support for these functions they seem to cost just slightly less than the Z370 one. I obviously just looked at a few just now but do you have a suggestion for one in particular?

About the Ryzen CPU's, it's my understanding that they are great and all but that Intel is better in a professional environment but I'll take a look at the ones you mentioned :)

@Lucky_SLS Yeah it seemed like a good middle ground as far as I could tell since she'll be gaming and working. I'll definitively go with a 960 pro if I can save money somewhere else. And I was thinking about going with 16 GB to start with and hope the price is going down and expand in the future. Right now the 3000MHz 16gb goes for around 242 USD where I live.

I honestly don't know about the Kraken X62. I wanted to go for a liquid cooler as we'll be overclocking it, but also I do some graphic design myself as a hobby and rendering stuff is brutal. I could go for a single fan liquid cooler and save money to put into the 960 pro. Her apartment doesn't have great ventilation and goes becomes quite hot. She also has a dog that sheds a lot. Knowing her, she's a little lazy when it comes to cleaning a computer which is why in my opinion a liquid cooler would be preferable. Though that doesn't mean she needs one of the best ones.

Thanks for the info!
 
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cryoburner

cryoburner

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Oct 8, 2011
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Single fan liquid coolers are generally no better, or are often worse at cooling than many tower coolers costing significantly less. And ultimately, liquid cooling is just air cooling as well. The heat still needs to get carried away by the air that's getting forced through the radiator by its fans, and any heat that doesn't get removed remains in the water, gradually raising temperatures. The water is mainly just there to carry the heat to the radiator in another location. You still need to move the same amount of air through the fins to maintain a certain temperature.

It does allow for a potentially larger cooling surface than could easily fit directly over the CPU though, as well as the ability to draw in somewhat cooler air from outside the case, depending on the radiator's orientation. With a single fan cooler, you remove the main advantage of having a larger cooling surface. Those smaller liquid coolers are typically only a good idea if a case doesn't physically have the space to fit a large tower cooler. Some might get them because they feel that they look nice as well, but performance-wise a tower cooler will typically perform better and be quieter than a single-fan liquid cooler.

As for pet hair, looking for a case with easily-removable dust filters covering all the intakes might be a good idea.
 
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madmatt30

madmatt30

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Guys - he did mention he already has an evolve atx.

Its a good case with an excellent washable front filter & 3x140mm stock fans


With a 8700k, if you're overclocking I would go with a 240mm aio minimum in an exhaust configuration (that case will actually take a 360 rad depending on board layout & component height)
 
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Tahbo3

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Oct 4, 2016
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That's what I was thinking. I personally have a lot of experience with air coolers, much less the NH D15 but I'll take a look and consider it. Also depends on what my sister wants to spend money on. But I appreciate the input.
 
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Lucky_SLS

Lucky_SLS

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Dec 16, 2016
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Advantage in going with NH D15 is you can have a top intake for the vrm area in the mobo to cool it in case you are overclocking it.

Only gripe is the top fan filters are integrated and can only be scrubbed / vaccumed.

Other coolers to consider : cryorig R1, be quiet dark rock pro 3
 
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