Building pc

[jeff11]

Hey guys just wondering if i can get some suggestions im doing a course and seriously need to upgrade my gear the programs im using is 3ds max ,cs5,after effects etc and i dont really know to much about building one up or components obvisouly need quick rendering so ill set a budget of say $2,500-$3,000 ive made a quick list but dont have much of an idea on most of it, except cpu so tell me what you think of this build and what i could change to save or better it and why thanks.
CPU- looking at i7 2600k and o'cing it was looking at the 990x but thought the difference in price wouldnt be worth it.
CASE-Cooler Master HAF 942 X ATX Full
MOTHERBOARD-Asus Maximus Iv Extreme Motherboard - B3 Revision - Socket Lga1155 Processor - Intel P67 Express Chipset - 4x Ddr3-2200
MEMORY-would like a minimum of 12g- G.Skill 12GB (3x 4GB) Ripjaws Triple Channel - PC3 12800 (1600Mhz) DDR3 - 240-pin
GRAPHIC CARD-Leadtek Quadro 2000 WorkStation Video Card - GDDR5 1024MB 128-bit VRAM - PCIe 2.0 - 2x Display Ports & 1x DVI-I - DirectX 11 & OpenGL 4.0

Thats as far as i got so far and i realy dont have much of an idea , i dont even know if all of thats compatible i really dont have any idea about what else is needed as in power supply ,sound card and anything else i will need i really need some help guys, this will not be for gaming so ideas suggestions and maybe help picking the rest of the gear needed would be great.

 

[rvilkman]

Professional cards cost a fortune and unless you go really really high end usually don't provide you with tangible benefits, so you would do great with a high memory regular card such as a 6950 2GB or 6970 2GB.

Since your memory is dual channel you should go with 4x4GB of 1600MHz memory.

Sound card you most likely won't need.

For power supply go with something solid from the high end: Antec, Corsair, Seasonic

Here is one suggestion for comments to start things out:

CPU: i7 2600k $314.99
MB: Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD4 $209.99
Memory: 4x4GB GSkill ripjaws X 1600Mhz $179.99 ( -20% off sale through monday )
Graphics: MSI 6950 2GB TwinFrozr III/PE $289.99
Case: HAF X $179.99
PSU: Seasonic X750 $159.99
DVD/Blu-ray:LG 12X blu-ray burner $99
Hard Drives: 2x Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB $59.99 each for Raid 1
SSD: Intel 510 120GB $284.49
OS: Windows 7 Professional 64-bit $129.99
HSF:Noctua NH-D14 HSF $74.99


Total: $2043.39without possible rebates, coupons or discounts.
Leaves you with about 500-1000 bucks for a nice IPS panel or two from HP or Dell for example they generally have the best color reproduction which is what you will want. There seems to be sales on these displays quite often so i'm not listing them here, but the 30" dell's (2560x1600 resolution) have been at best on sale for about $1000-$1100 same with the ZR30w which is the hp version. The 27" dells between $700-$900, the resolution being slightly lower but still nice. And you can get the good IPS 24" 1920x1200 panels in the $400-$500 range

Or you can use it to get a bigger SSD if you actually already have display(s).

 

[jeff11]

Thanks for the info gave me alot to think about

 

[rvilkman]

Rendering is an area where you could pump pretty much as much money as you want into it and get more performance: dual socket MB's, 10 core xeon's with hyper threading etc. But I think with something that i have suggested you should be able to things done at a reasonable budget.

Obviously if you need more disk space the MB supports RAID 5 for example so you can have up to like 6 drives in it. Or you could use larger drives. I tried to be feasible with the amount of money spent on it without knowing your exact needs.

Also not sure if you need the blu-ray burner, maybe if you want to burn HD demo's on blurays or something, if not you should be fine with a $22 DVD+/-RW drive.

And while it's not intended to be a gaming build, it is still quite capable at that as well.

 

[jeff11]

Yeh prob wont use it for gaming but you never know. I really dont know much about the internals which does not help me one bit but trying to learn. Basicaly i just want something that will handle complex scenes no hassles as what i use now often crashes with heavy amounts of particles and polys not to mention rendering times are horrible

 

[striker410]

Hey jeff, thanks for shooting me a PM. I can tell you right now the GPU you need to be looking at is the GTX 570. Why? CS5 has some advanced features in the Mercury Playback Engine. http://www.nvidia.com/object/adobe_PremiereproCS5.html
and
http://blogs.adobe.com/premiereprotraining/2011/02/cuda-mercury-playback-engine-and-adobe-premiere-pro.html

It is something that you will probably going to want to take advantage of. The GTX 570 is one of the cheaper cards supporting it, yet it still brings plenty of firepower.

Yes this is a gamer series card, but at $340 for an EVGA card with LIFETIME warranty, it's pretty hard to beat.

Also, I would not get 16GB of ram. I'm not a video editor, but I don't see how you could EVER use 16GB of ram unless you like, loaded an entire uncompressed movie onto it somehow.

Next, don't get that SSD. Here's an SSD for $60 cheaper and much higher read/write speeds: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227726&cm_re=agility_3-_-20-227-726-_-Product

Hope that gives you a little to think about.

 

[jeff11]

thanks for getting back to me striker and yes that sounds good ive just checked them out sounds like the way to go ..
And yeh i was only planning on getting 12 memory at max even 8 ... any chance of letting me know what kind of mboard would be suitable , i still need to work out the rest of the gear aswell so many decisions......

 

[striker410]

For a Mobo, you want something like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128498&cm_re=gigabyte_z68-_-13-128-498-_-Product It has quicksync, which will allow you to cut down on video render times. It also supports overclocking.

And you don't need an SSD, an SSD will simply improve bootup times & load times on the apps you put on it.

And for GTX 570 vs 580, it's not really a fair contest. The GTX 580 costs $530 for a decent model, while the GTX 570 costs $320. They both have the Mercury Playback capabilities. If you have the money, feel free.

 

[jeff11]

Thanks heaps you have helped me out alot

 

[striker410]

No problem. I'd like to elaborate A little on GTX 570 VS 580. The big reason to get the 580 is more CUDA cores. The more CUDA cores, the better for CS5. That being said, the 570 is by no means a low powered GPU, maxing even the most taxing games at HD resolutions.

Again, whatever you can fit in your budget.

Hit me up on this thread or in a PM if you have any more questions.

 

[jeff11]

yeh cool i know so little about this i should have just said hey guys build me a sick rig for 3ds max and 3d animation for a $2,500 budget really just want a fast kick ass rendering machine but im not to familiar with the inner parts to make such a rig so really should have asked for what you would build with that money for that specific need sure you guys here would put something together better than i could thanks for the help..

 

[striker410]

Well, Rvilk's build it pretty spot on. Swap the PSU for a kilowatt and the GPU for a 580, and the ram for 8GB and you are good to go! The kilowatt PSU will let you add another GPU in the future for SLI.
And as he said, an IPS panel for color correctness.

 

[jeff11]

yeh sounds good what do you mean for SLI im still fuzzy on that im still reading as we speak trying to learn more

 

[striker410]

SLI is using 2 cards together. It's the act of combining the power of both into a single, all powerful machine! It's not something you need right away, but something to keep in mind.

 

[jeff11]

ah right o i gathered as much just wasnt too sure well you have helped clear things up for me thats for sure, im gettinng a better idea now just not sure about mobo more than anything ive had so many opinions on them and realy dont understand the difference between for example the one you said and a asus p8p67 pro or ASUS Rampage III Extreme, some guy said go with Asus Maximus Iv Extreme Motherboard - B3 Revision - Socket Lga1155 but thats pricey and do i need it, will there be any benifits for what i need, and the other was ASUS Sabertooth X58 and also Gigabyte G1-Killer Series Motherboard - G1.Guerrilla - i mean im not sure there even giving me correct info some trying to find somewhere to ask these questions and get reliable answers and think you have provided me with that ..... Its hard to find good help these days cheers

 

[striker410]

Ok, I didn't say anything at first, but PARAGRAPHS! It's hard to read....

The X58 boards aren't compatible. Don't bother with them. And the P67 pro is honestly as high end as you want to go. Anything more is excessive.
That being said, I suggest getting Z68 as it will use the IGP to cut down on render times. That's called quicksync.

 

[jeff11]

hah sorry about paras im multi tasking im reading/learning , trying to write and nursing a baby who wont stop squirming and rushing as i have to be somewhere soon.

ok well thanks heaps ive gone from totally terrified to slightly frightened about it all so thanks for the great ,quick responses very grateful...

 

[striker410]

If you have any more questions, don't hesitate to ask. I have been in your situation.

Hang in there, this is the hardest part.

Striker

 

[jeff11]

Thanks buddy much appreciated and yeh ill pm you but for now think you have given me plenty to think about cheers.

 

[jeff11]

sorry to bother you again but which z68 where you refering to when you said it would be the one to get?

 

[striker410]

Well I'm not gonna say this is definitely the one, but it's a very nice board for the money:
GIGABYTE GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard $169
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128498&cm_re=gigabyte_z68-_-13-128-498-_-Product

A very nice product. It doesn't matter so much as long as it's SLI capable, and has those DVI/HDMI outputs on the mobo to signify it being a true Z68.

 

[jeff11]

Hey buddy i forgot to tell you im in australia and i dont think newegg ships internationally and i havent been able to find the gigabyte mboard that has the quicksync so can you tell me your thoughts on this one i found and if it has quicksync ..


Also if its upto the same standards/comparable to the one you mentioned also will it be fine for overclocking the 2600k just your thoughts as its all i have found in the same price range as the gigabyte you mentioned..

here it is
ASRock Z68 Extreme4 Motherboard - Intel LGA1155 - Intel Z68 Chipset - 4x DDR3-2133 - 3x PCIe x16, 2x PCIe x1 & 2x PCI - 4x SATA3 & 4x SATA2 - 1x eSATA - 1x IEEE 1394 - 4x USB 3.0 - Gigabit LAN - CrossFireX & SLI Ready - D-sub, DVI, HDMI & Display Port - 7.1 CH HD Audio - ATX

im tired and cant figure out the link but it is on newegg thanks.

 

[striker410]

Lol Jeff, mighta been good info....
Well if the Extreme4 Z68 is at a good price, then by all means get it. It's a lovely board with lots of advanced features. What site are you planning on ordering from?

 

[jeff11]

Its from a local store here its price was $200 or 189 cant remember the exact price but it was close to the price of the gigabyte.

Yeh i thought newegg would ship, its a shame they dont because prices are slightly higher here not by much but there is a bigger selection at newegg too

so this board is on the level with the gigabyte and it does have the quicksync feature?

 

[striker410]

It's a little expensive, but not VERY expensive. If it's what they have, get it.

Yup, it's got quicksync. A lovely board. Any more questions?