Help Build a PC for an Architect

[emka]

Hello everyone,

I am planning to build a custom PC that I will use for architecture/design related projects. Specifically, I need to be able to 3D render quickly (with VRAY for 3DS Max & Rhino for example), multi-task with various design software programs and animate and edit videos videos. I am not knowledgeable about computer hardware AT ALL so would love an advice about the build. My budget is around $1,300. So far, the list below outlines the specifications that I have researched that might fit my purpose. Please, help me out! Would you recommend going with these specs? Is there anything I can save on? Or maybe I should invest in something else?

Processor
Intel Core i7-4770K
Motherboard
ASUS Z87-A
RAM
16 GB 1600MHz DDR3 (I haven't decided on brand yet)
Video Card
NVIDIA GTX 660 1020MHz
Power Supply
Corsair CX600W
SSD
120gb (something that would cost me no more than $150)
HD
1 terabyte

I am not sure I will need a water cooler either. Is it necessary?

Any thoughts/advice on this list & the build overall would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Omga4000]

- Water cooling would get you better cooling and therefore higher OC to the CPU, though not neccesery and can be replaced by an air-cooling system.
- Avoid the CX series if possible
- A 250GB SSD fits perfectly in this build. You can replace it if you want to.

Here's the best thing for you (with water cooling):

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($334.96 @ Outlet PC)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($144.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($162.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 500R White ATX Mid Tower Case ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Professional 750W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer ($15.99 @ Microcenter)
Total: $1303.86
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-04 22:00 EDT-0400)

Or with air cooling:

CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($78.74 @ Amazon)

Good luck,
Omga4000

 

[TheBigTroll]

how i would do it
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1A6az

-no need for cheaply built liquid coolers.
-a high end board is definitely not needed. any board will overclock the same. overclocking is highly dependent on the CPU nowadays
-any brand that is 1.5v 1600mhz and is in a 2x8gb kit will be suitable. no need for fast ram here as well
-upgraded to the 760 just to keep up with the generational increases although a 660 is fine for most
-a large psu is not needed

 

[Omga4000]

- The H100i is definitely not cheapy!
- I see almost no reviews on the motherboard you chose, but I'll take your word for it.
I would still go for an ATX sized motherboard just for the sake of it being an ATX and everything is not "compressed".
The ASRock Z87 Extreme3 is also good..
- Not when it comes to editing. Having a higher MHz means having more buffer which is very very helpful in any sort of editing (music, video, etc..)
Not to mention the the difference is only around 10-15$.
This is very very useful for programs such as he mentioned.
- In editing the only use of a GPU is VRay and adding a 100$ for the 760 is useless.
- Agreed.

- The SSD you chose uses a SandForce controller which is not recommended at all.

Updated build:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($334.96 @ Outlet PC)
CPU Cooler: NZXT HAVIK 120 75.8 CFM CPU Cooler ($45.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($162.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 500R White ATX Mid Tower Case ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($44.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer ($15.99 @ Microcenter)
Total: $1179.86
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-05 04:35 EDT-0400)

Or with the H100i:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($334.96 @ Outlet PC)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($162.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 500R White ATX Mid Tower Case ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($44.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer ($15.99 @ Microcenter)
Total: $1243.86
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-05 04:36 EDT-0400)

Good luck,
Omga4000

 

[TheBigTroll]

not cheap? if it was properly built, it would have a much stronger pump, proper fittings and proper tubing, the option to refill the thing or take it apart, a proper high density copper radiator, and a proper waterblock and high density microfin arrays for the contact block.

there is nothing compressed about matx. the top part is the same. the only thing matx changes is the amount of slots which in reality, a work build will never use more than a single GPU. and no, the z87 extreme3 is crap. d-pak mosfets are as cheap as mosfets get and they run the hottest and the least efficient. if it was 5 years ago, they would have been mainstream, but now its just plain cheap. the quality starts to get better however at the extreme4

yeah it made no difference when i was using. i have a kit of 1866mhz (when it was cheaper than 1333) and overclocked it to 2133mhz. made like a seconds worth of a speed increase which is essentially nothing

 

[Omga4000]

not cheap? if it was properly built, it would have a much stronger pump, proper fittings and proper tubing, the option to refill the thing or take it apart, a proper high density copper radiator, and a proper waterblock and high density microfin arrays for the contact block.

there is nothing compressed about matx. the top part is the same. the only thing matx changes is the amount of slots which in reality, a work build will never use more than a single GPU. and no, the z87 extreme3 is crap. d-pak mosfets are as cheap as mosfets get and they run the hottest and the least efficient. if it was 5 years ago, they would have been mainstream, but now its just plain cheap. the quality starts to get better however at the extreme4

yeah it made no difference when i was using. i have a kit of 1866mhz (when it was cheaper than 1333) and overclocked it to 2133mhz. made like a seconds worth of a speed increase which is essentially nothing

You can't say that the build quality is bad because you can't refill it or take it apart.
It's like saying that a bike isn't built well because it doesn't have LED lights, leather seats and 1300CC engine.
Does this mean the bike will fall apart? No. It just means it doesn't own all of the qualities available - which costs more.
You can recommend a different water cooling - I'd love to hear about a better one

After reviewing the MX I can say that is indeed better.
And FYI, it supports SLI as well.

Made a second difference when doing what?

 

[TheBigTroll]

thats actually pretty easy with the swiftech h220. its built better in pretty much every way.

i render hd videos and once in a while something on vray. faster ram makes near zero difference (or enough of a difference)

 

[coastie65]

I doubt if OCing is necessary as the i7 4770k will be more than adequate. It is also multithreaded which should be good for that operation. As for 3D rendering, a workstation card ( Nvidia Quatro ) would probably be better suited, but they are pricey. As for water cooling as opposed to air cooling, air cooling is fine and cheaper. I can't say as I have seen anything in the comparisons between the two that has gotten me excited about water cooling. I am using air cooling and have the i7 4770k OC'd to 4.6 Ghz and my temps are fine. I went from 1600 Mhz to 2133 Mhz when I upgraded in June. It made zero difference from all I've seen. Just looks good on paper. Although Corsair makes some very good PSUs, the CX series is not one of them from what I've seen.

 

[g-unit1111]

thats actually pretty easy with the swiftech h220. its built better in pretty much every way.

i render hd videos and once in a while something on vray. faster ram makes near zero difference (or enough of a difference)

The bad thing is the Swiftech H200 is a better unit but it's the subject of patent lawsuits here in the states. It pretty much uses the same radiator the H100 does but it's definitely better constructed.

I definitely agree with everyone that the CX series PSUs and Sandforce SSDs are not good choices. I would go with something like this. I use Revit and ACAD on a daily basis.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($339.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($42.98 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($144.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($63.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($255.66 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1075.57
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-05 15:58 EDT-0400)

 

[TheBigTroll]

the h100i still uses a aluminum fin array vs the copper. if you hold it in your hand, you can easily tell the difference between the 2. swiftech also makes the triple rad edition for a extra 10 bucks. sucks not being in the US, but otherwise, it is the best AIO unit out there

 

[emka]

ahh..Thank you all so much for all this info. I am a bit overwhelmed…and was trying to put everything together based on your advices and prices that are available to me in Canada (which are so much higher then in US for some reason!). Here is what I ended up with (total of $1300 based off of ncix.ca, newegg.ca and amazon.ca) What do you think? Based on this now…if I could save on something, what parts would it be OK to sacrifice? I got the impression that the CPU, motherboard and the graphic card I picked are the optimal options for me, so I kept those and tried to save on the rest a bit.


CPU
Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor

Motherboard
ASRock Z87 Extreme4 ATX LGA1150

Graphic Card
EVGA GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card

Cooler
NZXT HAVIK 120 75.8 CFM CPU Cooler

Storage
Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive

Power Supply
XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply

SSD
Samsung 840 Series 120 GB 2.5" Solid State Disk

RAM
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-1600C9D-16GXM
OR
Kingston Technology HyperX 16 GB Kit, 4 x 4 GB Modules 16 Quad Channel Kit 1600
(since it sells for only $118 CAN at the moment on amazon)

Case
Fractal Design Arc Midi R2 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case

Optical Drive
LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer

 

[TheBigTroll]

damit. if you are in canada, post that you are in canada in the first place.

get this
http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/1AyuB

-CPU cooler is 50 bucks at ncix
-price match the CPU, hard drive, motherboard, SSD, GPU, and dvd drive

if you live in toronto or vancouver, good for you as you can do this instore and get the sales rep to take off another 100-150 dollars.

if you live in markham, even better. next week saturday there is a warehouse sale and even though the things are either refurb or open box, the prices are halarious with a arc midi r2 for around 25-50 bucks and hard drives and coolers for dirt cheap

 

[emka]

I know..I should have mentioned it but I had no idea the prices differed so much. Sucks! And yes! I live in Toronto, so I will definitely hold up and will wait until the warehouse sale to see what I can get. Which items are ok for me to purchase refurbished or open box? Only things that you, BigTroll, have mentioned? Or other items as well?

At the moment, the only things I am not sure about is whether it is ok for me to go with Gigabyte GA-Z87MX-D3H vs. ASUS Z87-A or ASRock Z87 Extreme4. I know you guys have discussed it quite a bit but will it really make a noticeable difference for the things I want to do?

Also, is there a difference between the ASUS and the EVGA versions of the 660 and 760 graphic cards?

And when judging the tower cases, is there something specific to look for, in case I see ones that haven't been listed here on sale at NCIX?

This is what I have so far (adjusted after the previous posts and based on prices I found online):

CPU
Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz ($340 NCIX )
Cooler
NZXT HAVIK 120 75.8 CFM ($50 NCIX)
Motherboard
Gigabyte GA-Z87MX-D3H Micro ATX LGA1150 ($135 NCIX)
Memory
Kingston HyperX 16 GB Kit, 4 x 4 GB, KHX1600C9D3K4 ($118 amazon)
SSD
Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5in SATA3 MDX ($103 NCIX)
HD
Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($72 NCIX)
Video Card
EVGA GeForce GTX 760 or ASUS equivalent (~$270/280)
Case
Zalman Z9 ATX Mid Tower Case ($65 NCIX -not sure if this is a good case to go with although the price seems great)
Power Supply
XFX 550W PRO550W Core Edition Single Rail ATX 12V 44A ($60 NCIX)
Optical Drive
LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Write OR Samsung SH-224DB ($20 CANADA COMPUTERS)

 

[TheBigTroll]

most of the cases at the warehouse sale are open box (they should be fine other than the screwed up looking cardboard box), the drives there shouldnt provide any issue as they are refurbs (if there is an issue, you have 7 days), the GPUs are tested if open box or refurb, and CPU coolers shouldnt be a problem either way

there is no major difference between the boards. you get better software with the asus and better hardware with the gigabyte.

as for the build
-for sure get rid of the 4x4. go look in my parts list for the cheapest 2x8gb kit.
-no reason to pay more for a lower performing SSD (although the differences are minimal, still shouldnt pay more for nothing)
-the 760 is 244 at canada computers, you can get that price matched or wait for the warehouse sale and you should be able to pick up some 670s or 7950s for less than 200 dollars
-for sure do not get that case when the arc is so much bett6er

if the warehouse sale has some i7 3770ks lying around for cheap, pick those up and find a good z77 motherboard (such as a the z77x-ud3h from gigabyte which tends to be 70-80 dollars or the z77-v LK from asus which also should be around the same price)

 

[emka]

Hi! I went to the warehouse sale. Thanks for the heads up..I couldn't find much there except for a cheap case since the line-up was crazy long. I am very close to completing my build however. This is the video card that I got: http://ncix.com/products/?sku=85651&promoid=1307 but I am considering getting Intel core i7-4770, 3.4ghz instead of the 4770K since I believe I won't be needing the overclocked feature on it. Would it be alright to just go with the 3.4? (I am asking this because I am totally unsure about how the compatibility varies when you get one hardware that is superclocked or overclocked and the other that is not...Is it fine that I have a superclocked graphics card and the regular 4770?)

 

[TheBigTroll]

its fine to go with a 4770 instead, but then drop the motherboard to something like a h87ma-g43 and the CPU cooler. you wont be needing a z series as it is for overclocking and you wont be needing a CPU cooler as you cant overclock

the superclock cards are a joke. they are barely overclocked

 

[emperorsoon]

but since he is getting an overclocked graphics card doesn't he have to go with an overclocked CPU as well?

 

[TheBigTroll]

no. they are not corresponding. i can have a beastly overclockable GPU on a locked down i5 platform and there is literally nothing about the CPU being locked down affecting the GPU

generally speaking, you wont even see a benefit in gaming when you overclock it. its the GPU where it counts

 

[emka]

no. they are not corresponding. i can have a beastly overclockable GPU on a locked down i5 platform and there is literally nothing about the CPU being locked down affecting the GPU

generally speaking, you wont even see a benefit in gaming when you overclock it. its the GPU where it counts

So, at the moment I have purchased everything except for my CPU.. based on sales that I found online..and in the heat of the moment (i.e. the crazy warehouse sale). I know some of these were mentioned as unnecessary (like the PSU) but here it is:

CPU
-
Cooler
NZXT HAVIK 120 75.8 CFM ($50 NCIX)
Motherboard
ASRock Z87 Extreme4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
Memory
Kingston HyperX Black 16 GB Kit, 8 x 2 GB
SSD
Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5in SATA3 MDX
HD
Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Video Card
EVGA GeForce GTX 760
Power Supply
Fractal Design Tesla R2 800W 80Plus Gold
Optical Drive
LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD
Case
SilverStone KL02 Case (was super cheap (20$) so i decided to grab it anyways, even if I won't be able to use it, so I could give it to someone but my question is..with the items that I listed, do you think it is alright to just go ahead and use this case even if it is a super old model? would it be ok? I am not sure whether the fact that the PSU is on top makes a difference either)

And if I buy the 3.4Mhz CPU, is it worth just returning the cooler?

 

[TheBigTroll]

-you dont buy asrock boards in canada given the stupid 40 dollar MIR and espeically not considering how the gigabyte is a superior board while being cheaper. its 194 before a MIR and at that price i can get a z87x-ud4h which is better in every way 2x over
-there are cheaper SSDs that i mentioned and i have no idea why you would pay more for an inferior product
-drop the huge psu. its a complete waste of money.

you dont buy a cheap case when you wasted money on unnecessary and overpriced components