3D workstation - First Timer Step-by-Step

daawaa

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Hi all,

This looks like a good place to start documenting my progress in terms of getting advice/suggestions from this community for my first machine build. I have had a quick look through some of the discussion topics here and I cannot really find one specific for my build (please highlight if there is an existing discussion and link to me)

I am a 3D character artist working professionally however my personal computer (laptop) is ancient and not up to scratch for my practise and/or future experimentation in new programs.

This build will first and foremost be a 3D workstation that will need to run the following with ease:

Autodesk:
3D Max
Maya
Softimage XSI
Unity
Adobe:
Photoshop
AE

My budget for this build would range somewhere be up to €3,000 ($3924) and this I hoped would include peripherals such as monitors, case etc.


I was told by a workmate in IT to start from the CPU outward and I have done some research in this area and this is where I will start from and move forward to motherboards, RAM etc. (Please - if I am incorrect with my findings or there is a fault with my hardware matching please highlight)

I have filtered my search for CPUs between Intels i7 3770k and i7 3930K . After much reading I understand the certain differences between the too, the main one being the price, the 3930k being the more expensive. Benchmarking one off the other shows that they are pretty close to matching in certain areas from here 3770k vs. 3930K and the 3930k is slightly better with regards to my interests in the 3D Max tests.

I am wondering now would I see major differences in choosing the more expensive/powerfull 3930k over the 3770k with regards what I need it for?

If anyone has first hand experience on this or can give advice, especially from a 3D graphics viewpoint, I would love to hear it. Also if anyone has any relevant links that may be of importance that would be great too.

Best,

D
 

boulbox

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You would go for the i7 3930K if all you will be doing is workstation stuff, The extra Cores in the 3930K can prove to be useful.

Also if all you will be doing is pure workstation stuff, go for a professional Graphics card(at least 500+ area)

Also you can wait for IB-E to come inside if you would so like.

But to save money, i would opt for an i7 3770k, 256GB SSD, 16GB of ram, and a 670
 

daawaa

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Just read the sticky for this discussion group. Here are some further details:


Approximate Purchase Date: March 2013

Budget Range: €2,500 to €3,000 ($3269.00 to$3925.50 )

System Usage from Most to Least Important:
3D Workstation using Autodesk software
Video Editing using Adobe software
Gaming (not much)
General Usage with Internet

Parts Not Required:
Mouse
Keyboard
Speakers

Preferred Website(s) for Parts:
amazon.co.uk
amazon.com
scan.co.uk
komplett.ie

Country: Ireland

Parts Preferences:
Intel
nVidia


Overclocking: Possibly

SLI or Crossfire: SLI ... will do further research into the GPU for my needs after I finalise on CPU/Mobo/RAM



 

boulbox

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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3930K 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor (£431.94 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 SE2011 CPU Cooler (£57.49 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: Asus P9X79 LE ATX LGA2011 Motherboard (£159.35 @ Scan.co.uk)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£124.23 @ Dabs)
Storage: Samsung Spinpoint F4 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive (£60.96 @ Dabs)
Storage: Samsung Spinpoint F4 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive (£60.96 @ Dabs)
Storage: Crucial M4 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£145.97 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: ATI FirePro V7900 2GB Video Card (CrossFire) (£555.58 @ Dabs)
Video Card: ATI FirePro V7900 2GB Video Card (CrossFire) (£555.58 @ Dabs)
Case: Cooler Master HAF XM (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case (£94.99 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: XFX 850W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£88.62 @ Scan.co.uk)
Monitor: Asus PB278Q 27.0" Monitor (£462.32 @ Scan.co.uk)
Total: £2797.99
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-09 21:00 GMT+0000)

something that i would do, if you like Nvidia more, then you can grab a quadro 4000 or 5000 instead
 

daawaa

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Thanks for that..I've taken note of your suggestion! I've never used that PartPicker site before...must login and give it a shot.

I've found the 3930k on the US version of Amazon for the much cheaper price of €456 rather than the €530-550 mark I have found in domestic and UK sites.

 

boulbox

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there is a UK version for pcpartpicker

just put uk after the / on the website.

and yes price does vary place to place but the build i have put up there is using uk resellers
 

daawaa

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Would it be plausible to buy parts from the US version of Amazon, as they are about €100 less than the UK version?

Certain Amazon shops ship internationally for a reasonably small price..
 

daawaa

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Actually scratch that...customs here apply VAT of up to €110 on this item :( Thought I was onto something there
 

daawaa

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After much deliberating and discussion with people in the IT dept at work...I have decided to go for the 3770k CPU instead of the 3930k. Mainly because of the large price difference in relation to the power minor difference

I am now looking into the MB for this guy and I am thinking about going for the ASUS P8Z77-V DELUXE http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131818


Would anyone have any comment on this combination?

 

daawaa

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Below is an update of where I am at with regards the combination of components. I'm going to start buying parts within the next fortnight so all/any advice would be well appreciated.



PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (£233.99 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler (£56.85 @ Ebuyer)
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V DELUXE ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (£180.40 @ Dabs)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£70.00 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Intel 520 Series Cherryville 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£104.06 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£57.59 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Corsair 400R ATX Mid Tower Case (£78.89 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £781.78
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-28 21:38 GMT+0000)



I am certain about the CPU, Mobo and RAM above.


CPU Cooler: (Noctua NH-D14) has gotten great reviews, however I am concerned about its size and would it fit into the case

Storage: Would the 120GB be enough for th OS and numerous 3D packages? Would I be better with more?
boulbox recommended theCrucial M4 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk. On reading reviews alot of people were saying it was unreliable as a boot drive so Im a bit weary

Case: Has gotten great reviews. The 500R is also an option here

GPU: A bit of a blurry area...not 100% sure of what to go for here


This was a bit of inspiration I found :)
http://forum.corsair.com/v3/showthread.php?t=109513

 

boulbox

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If your budget is €3,000, go for the i7 3930k, it is stronger than the i7 3770k but it does cost a whole lot more. If you want to save money then yes go with the i7 3770k but if you want the strongest, get the 2011 platform

 

boulbox

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Also the M4 works fine as a boot drive, don't listen to the newegg ratings and find a better site that does professional testing on the components themselves.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($317.26 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($80.77 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme6 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($151.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Kingston Black 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: OCZ Vertex 4 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($212.95 @ Mac Connection)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: PNY Quadro 4000 2GB Video Card ($699.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair 500R White ATX Mid Tower Case ($101.93 @ Mac Connection)
Power Supply: Corsair Professional 750W 80 PLUS Silver Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB/RSBS DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1842.85
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-28 17:35 EST-0500)

for GPU, either get a professional card(if you are going to do 3D work most the time, the card i put inside is a bit strong so you can go for the cheaper ones if you would so desire) or a 670(if you want to game a bit and do some professional work, of course this card is meant for gaming and the other is meant for professional work)
 

daawaa

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Thanks for that boulbox.

Just wondering why you went for the ASRock Z77 Extreme6 over the Asus P8Z77-V DELUXE?

With regards to the graphics card, yes I hope to do a lot of 3D work (particles,fluid,fume etc,) TBH I have to do more research here with regards to how the 3D programs utilize the graphics hardware.
 

boulbox

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ASrock will have all the things you will ever need(unless you need more ports for HDDs) it can OC like a beast it has a lot of features in the box and out of it.
 
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/AhoO
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/AhoO/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/AhoO/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-C12P SE14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($119.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory: Kingston Black 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($68.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: Kingston Black 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($68.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Kingston HyperX 3K 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Kingston HyperX 3K 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 670 4GB Video Card ($419.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($94.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 850W 80 PLUS Silver Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($122.75 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB/RSBS DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Dell U2713HM 60Hz 27.0" Monitor ($649.99 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Keyboard: Cooler Master Storm QuickFire Rapid Wired Gaming Keyboard ($72.00 @ Mechanical Keyboards)
Mouse: Logitech Performance Wireless Laser Mouse ($82.99 @ Adorama)
Total: $2373.60
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-29 11:34 EST-0500)

Base Total: $2490.87
Mail-in Rebates: -$30.00
Total: $2460.87

should do the trick.

only advantages with the 6core intel is faster rendering times. but thats about it.

 

daawaa

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I think because this is my first build and considering that the budget has to cater for peripherals that includes two monitors and software I think I will go for the 3770k. (I also want to budget for a kick ass executive arm chair :))
 

daawaa

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Hey iceclock :)

Liking your build too, a few questions for you actually on it:

- I see you went for the ASRock Z77 Extreme mobo aswel. I'm looking into this now and comparing this with the Asus P8Z77-V (Pro/Deluxe)

- Why two Kingston HyperX 3K?
 

boulbox

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not true at all, many cases of this kind of scenario, the 240GB SSD wins.

You will see raid do a difference when you do it with HDDs. Other than that, SSD raid has little to no performance boost and sometimes deactivates TRIM which keeps the SSD in check to keep up to speed.
 

daawaa

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Wow, this is an area I was never aware of...pairing up 2 SSD's.

This site I think explains it well

Would a setup like this be absolutely necessary for me? It seems RAID can either be used for data backup/ faster data transfer or both