Pc build help for a noob
polycounter lvl 7
Hi, i have a 3D background but would love to move into the games industry. I feel like the Oculus Rift will revolutionize how games are played and ad experienced.
I'm currently in the market for a new PC and i'm honestly a hardware noob. Could someone direct me to a good build possibly on newegg? Something unedr $1000 would be great (no monitor included). An intel i5 and gtx 680 seems decent. but im unsure of parts compatibility. I would attempt to build it myself rather than receive it pre-built.
Thanks for any help.
I'm currently in the market for a new PC and i'm honestly a hardware noob. Could someone direct me to a good build possibly on newegg? Something unedr $1000 would be great (no monitor included). An intel i5 and gtx 680 seems decent. but im unsure of parts compatibility. I would attempt to build it myself rather than receive it pre-built.
Thanks for any help.
Replies
Aldo, whats the most important componet when creating 3D? like GPU or CPU? i'd like to run Photoshop, mamoset and maya at the same time without suffering much lag.
Cheers
GPU = Better performance in game engines, faster viewport performance.
Nvidia drivers tends to behave with 3d applications a bit better, and they have CUDA acceleration. ATI cards have better performance for the price in most cases, but I still avoid them.
Hi. This is the build a very helpful person listed for me on reddit. I would just like to get more opinions on whether this is the best setup for 3D work?
Any help would be appreciated!
That build from reddit seems solely focused on gaming performance.
Upgrade to the i7 3770. Forget the K, it's useless if you don't plan to overclock.
Get an aftermarket cooler. Hypercooler is cheap and keeps my rig running very cool even in my poorly vented office.
Get 16 gigs of Ram. I max out as is when Zbrush, Maya and Photoshop are open. This happens enough that I am considering going to 32GB.
SSD drives give better performance during boot, and read write. If you have enough RAM, then you wont need to worry about Cache operations. I'd say get a standard HDD and spend the extra money other places. Or get a smaller SSD for your boot drive, and have a larger HDD for saving etc.
That MOBO is a good one.
Go with a GTX 6xx, a 660 or above. You probably wont be able to afford a decent 7xx with the budget you have, but the 660 and up are great cards and will do whatever you need. The Nvidia line I have found to be much superior to ATI for graphics work because of the CUDA support, better drivers, and more compatibility with software. In the past they would glitch with Maya, but not anymore. Some of that is personal opinion though.
Good luck.
We can buy 2 ssds of 256 gb (550mb/s) for the price of one ssd of 512 gb, in raid 0 the speed is insane (10 times faster than a hdd), and for security of files, raid 5 (total cost = 400€).
With the 760s out there, i would wait for the Ti OC versions, but if not, go for a 660 OC. The difference between a 660 Ti version is not that great like to pay more. Save money.
I use to OC my cpu in winter to 4,5 GHZ for bakes, render with some apps like modo. All the enconding i do is with CUDA, so the cpu power for me is useless (1hour+ of video 1080p is less than 20 min with a 680 OC). And for rendering in general, i'm using more Cuda renderers like Octane, or Vray RT. For that reason i prefer to invest more in the gpu than in the cpu. So i would go for a cheaper i5 cpu instead of a i7.
Thanks for the help so far guys! I roughly have 2 months to create a reel by the time i receive my PC so waiting for newer parts isn't really an option. I would mainly use the PC to create 3D models and run game engines(such as unreal or unity) rather than rendering or overclocking.
SO far i have:
I'm unsure if i should get a 1tb HDD (maybe get another one later) and get a smaller SSD.
Is this a good heatsink? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103057
How much of a power supply will i need to run this all.
Also will this fit all the components?
aaaaand is there anything i'm missing?
In the end this seems like a lot of workfor a subject i have no idea on. Perhaps i could just get a list of the parts you used YSALEX?
Thanks for your expertise guys, i feel confident i can get into the 3D industry.
That heat sink is a decent deal.
The ASUS gpu is probably going to be a bit quieter, the reviews are pretty similar.
Any normal case should fit everything easily.
Brand for ram doesn't really matter, pick the cheapest one with decent reviews and performance, make sure it's compatible with your motherboard.
CPU - i7 3770 ) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116502 )
Memory - 16 gigs of Ram ( i assume 2x 8gb= 16gb corsair should be fine http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145345
Motherboard - ASRock Z87 Extreme3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157372&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID= )
GPU - EVGA 02G-P4-3660-KR GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card (Decided on TI)( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130809 )
Case - COOLER MASTER Storm Scout SGC-2000-KKN1-GP Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Power Supply - COOLER MASTER eXtreme Power Plus RS700-PCAAE3-US 700W ATX 12V v2.3 Active PFC Power Supply ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171054&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&PageSize=10&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&IsFeedbackTab=true#scrollFullInfo )
I decided to add a monitor in ( LG 27EA33V Black 27" 5ms HDMI Widescreen LED Backlight LCD Monitor, IPS-Panel ) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824005419
[COLOR="rgb(154, 205, 50)"]Heatsink - [/COLOR]( COOLER MASTER Hyper N 520 RR-920-N520-GP 92mm Sleeve CPU Cooler Compatible with Intel 1366/1155/775 and AMD AM3 )
Total is so far is $1,207.92, i wonder if i should just buy a package like this? http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1295465
Man, so tedious.
Thanks for the help and info guys! You'll be seeing alot more of me around here.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130938
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130934
Both cheaper and faster than what you have selected.
About the monitor, i would recomend a benq GW2450 over an ips. that LG you have chosen have too many issues, and the glow effect is very noticeable like the back light bleeding. the benq uses a VA panel and it has 8bit color (the same as the lg) and better contrast. 27" with 1080p is not nice, and with the benq you save money.
Your mobo election is very very expensive, are you going to do a triple sli? :S. Buy a cheaper micro-atx mobo instead and save money, and if you are not going to do OC, don't buy a Z77 mobo (they are more expensive).
Those memories you linked are good but pretty expensive for only 8GB, i bought 16GB G-Skill cl9 (8x2) for 74€ (it would be 74$ because here 1$=1€).
for the psu i recommend the corsair AX760, more than a 90% of perfomance at a 50% of use, it's silent (the fan is stopped almost all the time), and with a high use, it only produces 24db as much. The unique thing i hear in my system is the GPU
1200 dollars is very expensive, and more without new HDDs, SSDs, CPU cooler, silent fans for the case, etc.
It's a bit over $1000, but if the quality of the pieces is worth it then i'm happy to pay for that. But if i could get a little bit cheaper prices for relatively same parts that would be preferable.
At this moment i dont really have an interest in gaming, i just want to create great game assets and run them in unreal engine (hopefully udk4 in the future) without taxing my PC.
ALso i only plan to run 2 monitors at the most.
Anyway i've finished the build! Does this looks good?
Or like i said, should i get this
Sorry to have a disgruntled tone, but i don't really have much time to decide on these factors. My aunt is going to kick me out if i dont have a reel done within 2 months.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131832
Get this ram (same as in the bundle link, but point is to get 16gb of decent ram rather than 8gb)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231489
In your set of parts I don't see a hard drive or ssd, but this is a good reliable ssd
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147193
The power supply seems like overkill, but it could come in useful in your next build, but you can get it for $10 less at amazon
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Professional-Modular-Platinum-AX760/dp/B00A0HZMEM"]Amazon.com: Corsair Professional Series 760 Watt ATX/EPS Modular 80 PLUS Platinum Power Supply AX760: Computers & Accessories[/ame]
Unfortunately Newegg is out of stock of the samsung SSD so i guess i would order that from Amazon. ( [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Electronics-Series-2-5-Inch-MZ-7PD256BW/dp/B009NB8WRU"]Amazon.com: Samsung Electronics 840 Pro Series 2.5-Inch 256 GB SATA 6GB/s Solid State Drive MZ-7PD256BW: Computers & Accessories[/ame] )
I'll also get the PSU from amazon. ( [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Professional-Modular-Platinum-AX760/dp/B00A0HZMEM/"]Amazon.com: Corsair Professional Series 760 Watt ATX/EPS Modular 80 PLUS Platinum Power Supply AX760: Computers & Accessories[/ame] )
Is there anything else that i really need to have?
Can i get some other voices confirming that this is the best build?
I'd avoid RAM with huge heat spreaders as they tend to make fitting the CPU heatsink a soul sucking chore.
I recommend: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231606
Do you think i should continue to pick and choose based on others opinions (which tend to vary) or that i should buy a combo deal like this one? any reason why choosing parts is better than something like this?
Honestly i know these PC building things take time and im impatient, but i would like to get started as soon as possible on creating a reel.
Also, will any of these parts or that combo be detrimental to the Occulus Rift or Razer Hydra?
Should i tough it out and keep getting suggestions on builds or do you think that combo would suffice my needs or is there any reasons that combo i linked is detrimental to 3D modelling/texturing/zbrush sculpting/running in Unreal Engine 3 or 4?
In this particular case, the PSU is overkill (by about 200W), the 3770K is unnecessary if you're not planning to overclock, the SSD is out of stock (also, it's overpriced), and it doesn't include a heatsink. Stock coolers work adequately under ideal conditions (i.e. an industrial air-conditioned office). There's no build charge listed, so you're going to have to assemble it yourself anyway. So you might as well get exactly what you want instead of letting the store decide for you.
Also: So, they don't even test these combos, which means they might not even work or be a huge pain to assemble. Does the motherboard support the CPU without a BIOS flash? Is the RAM compatible? Are there sufficient I/O connections for your devices? Does the case let you route cables efficiently? Will your PSU fit the case and not block fans, drives, or the GPU? If you build your own, you can make certain you're getting compatible components.
Listen to recommendations, do some research/shop around, but make your own choices. The "logical increments" site offers some good advice to help you get started.
In that combo you don't have the screen, nor the cpu cooler, and considering it's a pc aimed for "OC" (looking at its components), it would be bad if you plan to replace the cpu cooler (the intel standard cpu cooler is quite easy to replace, but the installation of a cpu cooler like a noctua may be a bit difficult). So you have the cpu version for OC, K, a mobo for OC (Z77), two great things, but... a worse graphic card. The best part is the ssd and the deal.
With your latest build, you could drop the price changing the mobo with this one, or another H77 model (if you are not going to do OC):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157301
And you forget to add the psu: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341018
this one is cheaper than the one used in the combo, and enough good.
With screen, adding the psu and changing the mobo, it should be cheaper. But i think there isn't a great difference in price if you add the same ssd of the combo. Just compare.
I'll definitely write off the idea of getting a combo.
Can i pull my aunt's DVD drive out and plug that in to install windows 7 on to my new PC?
I've changed the MOBO and the PSU around, unfortunately the SSD is out of stock.
Do SSD's just load up programs quicker? i mean, if i we're to install windows, zbrush, maya, ndo2 etc, on on the SSD would a SSD benefit me? I don't know if all those programs would fit on a SSD?
Should i get: It seems like a large price , is there any other SSD's that are reliable and cost effective?
Also, i have an old HDD, can i just plug that in to my new PC for my files like music, pictures etc? Or is there certain requirements that my HDD has to meet?
Thanks for your assistance, this is really giving me confidence in my future career.
And of course, you can use old HHDs (like SATA2) in any new PC with SATA3.
Don't consider a ssd with such high price. If the samsung model is not on sale, there are another good choices like any ocz vector or vertex 450 (both with more than 500mb/s of perfomance). For the price of a 512GB model, is better to buy 2 ssds of 256GB and use a raid 0 or raid 5. With a raid 0 you will get more than 1GB/s of perfomance. But if you don't want to waste too much money, you can buy 2 ssds of 128gb
Just watch some youtube videos with ssd raid 0 and judge
Do yourself a favor and just get a DVD drive. They're very cheap these days and come in handy for burning backups.
If you want fast reads you should get two smaller drives that are inexpensive and put them in a RAID 0 configuration. Very fast. Two 128 GB SSD's, even if they're slower, will be faster in a RAID 0 (striping) than a single 256 GB SSD with faster I/O speeds for about the same price.
Get a couple of these: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148442
You'll get ~1 GB/s reads. You can load anything in the blink of an eye.
Your old HDD will work if it has SATA. Sometimes the newer motherboards still have IDE, but they are rare. If not, start burning DVD's or get an external enclosure for the HDD. Or, you could just network the drive and copy the files with file sharing.
Edit: Ha, Blaizer beat me to it.
I was just wondering if this build is great for 3D work?
Anything bottlenecking or redundant? anything not suitable for 3d or is this a good build?
I really just want to order the parts as soon as possible so that i can get a reel together quickly. Also will this build be able to run UDK4?
:an intel i5
:a gtx 680
:2x 8gb = 16gb ram
:600-700 PSU
I'm so tired of building a pc full of parts i barely know anything about. People just keep telling me i should get this and that, but it seems like their intentions are to build a rad gaming pc.
I just want to be able to run several programs at the same time (maya,zbrush, photoshop) and then import those into Unreal engine.
Is the build i listed in the previous post overkill for my purpose or is it a good choice? Honestly i'd love to get an Oculus Rift and a Razer Hydra, But this newegg build is pretty damn expensive already.
Could i get some sage advice on what kind of computer i NEED to achieve my goals rather than dive into hardcore overclocking gaming. Extra points to someone who can list the extra parts that a re compatible to the ones i listed at the start of this post.
Thank you very much.
Sorry im a dummy, forgot to link it http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=22496572
Then why did you start this thread? You asked for recommendations and you got what you asked for.
The build you posted is just fine for what you want to do, although most any recent multicore CPU will be adequate for the job. Intel i5 and i7, AMD 6 and 8 core will do just fine. If you want to save some money, switch to an i5 and spend it on an SSD. The folks here are not trying to push you towards a gaming PC, though they tend to end up being both gaming and dev in the end; the defining characteristics of a good 3D dev machine is CPU, GPU, RAM. CPU and GPU drive the rendering and baking. The RAM makes sure you have enough room to run everything without constantly closing and opening applications.
The PSU is fine as well. I don't know what those people are doing to kill their PSU so completely. I have the predecessor to that PSU (OCZ700WSXS) and I've had it for about 4 years. It's never once given me any grief. Besides, the PSU isn't the most expensive component in a PC and it's probably the easiest to replace.
If you don't know anything about the parts you're putting into your PC, it might serve you to do some research and find out why people are giving you the recommendations they are. Knowledge is power. These guys have been putting thousands of hours on this hardware doing exactly what you're trying to do. They know what works and what doesn't. Check out some tech sites like Tom's Hardware, HardOCP, Anandtech, and so on. Those sites have many articles about building a custom PC. You can learn basic PC architecture here and here to get a better understanding of GPU's. Read the tech review articles on CPU's and GPU's. Look at their benchmarks. Learn about 80 Plus and why it's important.
The only sage advice any of us can give is to educate yourself. The rest is just tips.
Very well said, sorry, i was just getting impatient because i was receiving conflicting part suggestions and my budget seemed to be escalating (i originally wanted to spend under 1k) I'll read those sites you listed, but daaaamn, this stuff is so far over my head, but i'll give it a try.