$2500 Blender Build ONLY for Blender

[fallingleaves123]

Hi everyone:

I am looking to spend around $2500 to build a computer that will be used solely for Blender.

I am going to be creating models, animations, and rendering them. That's basically it.

What are your thoughts on a dream build for this budget? I have received some good advice but am still not sure on what would be best. Thank you in advance for your help!

 

[Gate9er]

Take a look at this:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3mc9C

 

[ak47jar3d]

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3mgKI
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3mgKI/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3mgKI/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Xeon E5-2620 2.0GHz 6-Core Processor ($404.98 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master RR-T4-18PK-R1 70.0 CFM Rifle Bearing CPU Cooler ($19.99 @ Micro Center)
Motherboard: ASRock X79 Extreme4 ATX LGA2011 Motherboard ($205.91 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($76.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($76.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate 1TB 2.5" 5400RPM Hybrid Internal Hard Drive ($95.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: ATI FirePro V7900 2GB Video Card (2-Way CrossFire) ($649.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: ATI FirePro V7900 2GB Video Card (2-Way CrossFire) ($649.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 400R ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX TS 550W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $2424.79
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-05 02:35 EDT-0400)

 

[fallingleaves123]

Thank you both for your replies.

ak47jar3d, do the firepros work as well as the nvidia cards with Blender?

and why the Xeon over the i7-4930k?

 

[Gate9er]

The 4930K is an excellent 6-core choice which outruns many xeon cpu's. You will also have the room for overclocking. Look ay some benchmarks. The only xeon cpu's which outbid the 3930K/4930K are in the $1000+ range which you won't be going that high.

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcdn.macrumors.com%2Farticle-new%2F2013%2F08%2Fxeon_e5_2697_v2_blender.jpg&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.macrumors.com%2F2013%2F08%2F14%2Fupcoming-12-core-xeon-cpu-destined-for-apples-new-mac-pro-posts-impressive-benchmark-scores%2F&h=392&w=450&tbnid=bKQxXGRAtR6NpM%3A&zoom=1&docid=YBbtww9Xg5kAGM&ei=TwlAU-XAJefA7AaPw4GIDA&tbm=isch&ved=0CF4QhBwwAg&iact=rc&dur=261&page=1&start=0&ndsp=34

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.xbitlabs.com%2Fimages%2Fcpu%2Fcore-i7-3770k-i5-3570k%2Fblender.png&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.xbitlabs.com%2Farticles%2Fcpu%2Fdisplay%2Fcore-i7-3770k-i5-3570k_7.html&h=323&w=546&tbnid=OQUavqApmQwbnM%3A&zoom=1&docid=LNYs9OHKfEScrM&ei=TwlAU-XAJefA7AaPw4GIDA&tbm=isch&ved=0CGEQhBwwAw&iact=rc&dur=490&page=1&start=0&ndsp=34

http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Xeon-E5-2620-vs-Intel-Core-i7-4930K


Also it is best to go for 2400Mhz RAM modules since you will be needing them for faster computation times. Also, I wouldn't go for a firepro Crossifre X config. First of all, they only have 2GB of VRAM compared to the titan black which has 6GB. Also a dual card config has, almost always, data travel latency from one card to the other, resulting in slight performance reductions. Workstations are exclusively based on higher VRAM/RAM, CPU power and Frequency features. By taking those things out, you are dropping performance out of your system.

http://www.game-debate.com/gpu/index.php?gid=1582&gid2=635&compare=geforce-gtx-titan-vs-firepro-v7900

http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/video_lookup.php?gpu=FirePro+V7900

Take a look at this as well:

http://www.blender.org/download/requirements/

 

[ak47jar3d]

Yeah, FirePro are designed for modeling and various other type of content creation. I believe firepro is a pure workstation card and Titan is not. Similarly, Xeon processor are meant to facilitate work in the work place as well with 15 mb of level 3 cache. I suppose the difference wouldn't be great between Xeon and i7 4930k, but there designed a bit differently with Xeon being designed for professional usage and i7 being the better all around processor with high clock speeds