Advice: Building a New Computer
polycounter lvl 6
I've been feeling a little limited with my current computer. I have been considering how soon I should upgrade. I would like to have a machine that lasts me a few years.
Software wise my most demanding software is 3ds Max, Zbrush, Photoshop, etc.
I also play a fair bit of games.
At the moment I am looking at:
Intel Core i7 3770K Unlocked 4-Core 3rd Gen Processor
ASUS Sabertooth Z77 Motherboard
Samsung 840 Pro Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive/SSD
Corsair Vengeance CMZ32GX3M4X1600C10 32GB (4x8GB) DDR3
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional DVD SP1 64-Bit
Corsair GS-700 V2 80 PLUS Bronze Power Supply
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At this point in time I've not selected a video card yet. I have been looking at the HD7970 or something similarly priced from the nvidia 600 range. I have only had nvidia cards in the past so I am a little unsure about changing. I have also been told that the 600 series has double precision compute issues.
I have considered waiting to get a 700 series video card and a 4th generation processor....which will lead to needing a newer motherboard from my understanding.
So recommendations on video cards (and everything else) would be great.
Software wise my most demanding software is 3ds Max, Zbrush, Photoshop, etc.
I also play a fair bit of games.
At the moment I am looking at:
Intel Core i7 3770K Unlocked 4-Core 3rd Gen Processor
ASUS Sabertooth Z77 Motherboard
Samsung 840 Pro Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive/SSD
Corsair Vengeance CMZ32GX3M4X1600C10 32GB (4x8GB) DDR3
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional DVD SP1 64-Bit
Corsair GS-700 V2 80 PLUS Bronze Power Supply
_______________
At this point in time I've not selected a video card yet. I have been looking at the HD7970 or something similarly priced from the nvidia 600 range. I have only had nvidia cards in the past so I am a little unsure about changing. I have also been told that the 600 series has double precision compute issues.
I have considered waiting to get a 700 series video card and a 4th generation processor....which will lead to needing a newer motherboard from my understanding.
So recommendations on video cards (and everything else) would be great.
Replies
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Do you plan on overclocking? If not, get the non K 3770 and save a few bucks. I7's automatically overclock so there really isn't much need to OC.
Pick up a 5 series nvidia card if you're worried, a 560Ti or 580 are both good value these days. Don't go crazy with the GPU, the price/performance curve over $200 or $250 is retarded.
You could easily save $50-100 on the motherboard. Is there a a reason you're going with that one? Looks like its really being marketed to overclockers, again if you're not ocing you can pick up a normal mobo.
I wouldn't worry about waiting for the next CPU. Theres always something new to wait for. The 3770 will last 3-4 years easily, at which point your next upgrade will be a full cpu/ram/mobo upgrade anyway, so motherboard compatibility shouldn't really be a factor.
Most of my advice here is to save you a bit of money, if you're well under budget I wouldn't worry about it, but really, jsut try to think about what you're actually getting performance wise when you go from 16 to 32gb, a standard mobo to an "overclocker" mobo, etc etc. If you chopped down to some more reasonable components you could probably afford a decent monitor instead.
The RAM was a bit of an over reaction to my current situation. I have been maxing out my RAM a lot. I will cut down to 16gb.
Over clocking was an option, do you think that it is unnecessary for what I would be doing?
The motherboard was one that I was recommended when helping someone else build a machine. I liked some of its features and I was considering over clocking but I guess I might not need to.
I guess I wont wait much longer I will just have to make a few decisions first.
I also think I was just trying to push at mu budget as hard as I could. That probably wasn't the best way to go about it.
i7's really don't really need to be overclocked, so if you go for the 3770, get the non-K version. Overclocking CAN lead to shorter cpu life if you're not careful with heating.
Because you don't need the overclock, get a cheaper mobo, either a z75 chipset or an h75 or 77 chipset. This will save you a good couple dollars.
If you just want to overclock for the sake of it, get an i5 of one K variaton or another. They clock better apparently, as far as money to overclock ratio goes. But this will require a nicer mobo.
GPU's depend on what you intend to do. The nvidia 600 line is a good line, but a little more expensive than the comparable 7xxx line. However, some applications seem to work better with nvidia cards. Photoshop can be accelerated with CUDA, marmoset and maya have had some trouble with ATI and tesellation/some dx11 features (some of that is heresay, and you'll hear the same thing about Nvidia and the GTX line), and some GPU renderers will only work with nvidia cards (I'm thinking of Octane).
16GB should be fine for now, but you can always go 32 in the future, it's really not that expensive. Get 1600 ddr3, and get 8gb pairs.
Pcpartspicker.com is your friend. It'll help you find deals, measure your (estimated) power consumption, and check parts for compatibility.
reddit.com/r/buildapc is your other friend. There is a lot of knowledge there, if you don't know something ask, and they'll get you sorted.
DO NOT cheep out on the PSU. Get a well rated brand. A dying PSU's has the potential to kill anything they are directly connected to, which in most cases is the MOBO and the GPU. Consider Corsair or Seagate, but do your research on the specific models. Get at least 1/3 more than your estimated requirements. They put out less power as time goes, and you never know when you might want to upgrade the GPU or ram, or add something else that could be drawing power.
If you live near a microcenter, go there to purchase your CPU and Mobo. They drop the prices on those to get people in the door, and will give you a 50$ discount on the MOBO when you purchase the CPU. i7 3770's can be sometimes found in the low 200 range.
That's about all I can think of. Good luck.
If you were to wait for a processor, yes, most likely; no necessarily the GPU.
Some great advice in here. I would recommend an SSD, like a Samsung 840. Run a search and see if the software you use uses CUDA. If it does, stick with nVidia. You could also just build this unit now and get a 700 series when they come out. It will be a fair while though, like Autumn.
Yeah I have been looking into over clocking and I have figured I can probably do without it. That will save me a little bit.
I will probably go for a 600 series card.
I have been looking at a corsair PSU and I was going to go a little bigger than I needed anyway...so at least I was heading in the right direction there.
Unfortunately I live in Australia, so there are no Microcenters here.
I was also looking at getting a Samsung 840 250GB, so that is another thing I think I was heading in the right direction with.
I will check out the sites you linked.
Thanks again, all of you.
Samsung 840 Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive/SSD
Intel Core i7 3770 4-Core 3rd Gen Processor
Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H Motherboard
Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2x 8GB) DDR3 RAM CMZ16GX3M2A1600C9
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional DVD SP1 64-Bit
EVGA GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card
Corsair GS-700 V2 80 PLUS Bronze Power Supply
Corsair 200R Carbide Case
LG GH24NS95 24x Internal SATA OEM DVD Burner Drive
Is anything there still overkill/unnecessary? I figured with the PSU to be safe rather than sorry even though a calculator I used figured I only needed a 550w PSU. I still need to add a keyboard/mouse to that but I will likely get something fairly cheap. I will also be getting a new pair of monitors, but I might leave tat a little while first. I would like to get both at the same time so that they have matching aspect ratios (unlike my current pair). Whether they are both good ones, I will have to look into but I would like to get at least one nice primary monitor.
Thanks Tekoppar, I will look into a modular PSU.
Also is it likely that I will need to buy more fans/ different heat sink or will what comes in the boxes be fine?
If your are buying one of the best SSDs out in the market, you should buy a better psu. The AX series are silent.
A 660 Ti OC performs better than a stock GTX 670, you can save money there unless if your 670 of choice has OC. For just one graphic card, i don't recommed you to buy an EVGA with the "standard brick cooling". Buy instead one with 3 fans, they are better. Gigabyte has very good models.
And, if you are not going to render o video encode/edit, a i5 3570 is the proper cpu. These i7/i5 are hotter than the previous ones, so i recommend you to invest in a nice silent cpu cooler (the stock cooler is very bad).
-Get a decent/midrange cpu cooler that is silent/cools good at lower rpm's.
-Get 2 good casefans to replace the ones already in there (same as above on the silent part).
If you still have money to spend, get another 2 and put them in the top of the case.
It basicly comes down to your budget, but if you have the money to spend, the noise level between the stock coolers and some better ones will be quite a difference (and the same time will actually cool better).
edit: and I agree with blaizer on the corsair AX, they have a fan, but don't actually spin untill you are on really heavy loads.
So most of the time they are 100% silent.
I really appreciate all of the help.
I think I have enough information now to build this machine.
Like a lot more. I would like one myself but they are pricey.
Earthquake, if you are going non-K, is it possible to switch to a H77? Or does a locked 3770 still use the resources of a Z77?
I went with a H77 board for my 3770 non-k without any issues. But I'm not an expert on all the h/z/etc mobo types.
Its a old setup i have but imo its best stuff you can get now for much less (apart from new Nvida and PSU) it costed me £1300 total witch Coolermaster HAF9 case. Sort of a slap to kids who buy Alienware for much more and still have no juice ( memory or graphics)
Again you need it for 3d art work etc, so my friend the field we are in is like a black hole you keep putting juice in and still you ll be behind unless you have access to Hollywoods renderfarms from ILM
An 800 watt PSU is overkill for any single GPU system. The only reason you would want 800 watts is if you are running two or three GPUs. It's a waste of money. For most single GPU systems, 500-600 watts is perfect. You'll never need more than 600. The i7 920 is not worth it when you can have an i7 2600K, which will wipe the floor with that 920 and it's at least the same price.