Looking into building a new custom rig, suggestions?

mdeforge · Jun 2009

Hey everyone,

I'm thinking about getting a new computer because my laptop just isn't cutting it for the higher end apps and rendering these days. I've custom built computers in the past and really enjoy doing it, but I've been out of the technology loop for a little while. Before I start my hours and hours of research and comparing, I was just curious what sort of specs you have that are working really well for you now, and/or specs that you wish you had to make your working at home easier.

Damien_B · Jun 2009

Bought a box from newegg for 500 bones and it works better than the box at work. Not much of a techie but, I bet you can get a good running box really cheap (500 bones) that'll do you fine?
Dual core 5000+ 2.60 ghz
4 gigs of ram

pior · Jun 2009

Here's the boy im building as we speak, specs have been put together by a pro IT guy. I told him : the best possible, silent, heavy 3D and 2D, under 1000$.

144.99$ Case: Antec P182,
279.99$ Chip: Intel Core i7 920
239.99$ Motherboard: Asus P6T
94.99$ Memory: G.Skill DDR3-1600 6GB
89.99$ Hard Disk: Western Digital 1TB (1,000GB)
28.99$ DVD-R Samsung 22x
149.99$ Nvidia Geforce 9800GT

Total 1033.93$

Vidcard alternatives if going for the best on the market :
264.99$ Nvidia Geforce GTX 275
or
249.99$ ATI Radeon 4890

mdeforge · Jun 2009

Wow, thanks for posting your new specs pior, that should save me a good amount of time! I'll probably get a cheaper case though, $144 is steep! The Antec P182 does look awesome though. However, I wonder if I could find a better price/performence processor. I don't know. If I'm going to build it, I want to future proof it for a while. I can't keep reinvesting every few years like this. Might as well blow out on something good now while I can.

@Damien: I'm looking to invest a bit more than $500. I definitely need more RAM than I do now though. I'd probably take 6 gigs instead of 4.

Jeremy Wright · Jun 2009

I noticed Pior didn't mention the power supply (maybe the case comes with one): I just wanted to say that one should get a power supply that exceeds the minimum requirements of the graphics card.

You won't find a newer/better processor than the core i7.

Justin Meisse · Jun 2009

the Antec P182 is the sexiest case I ever worked with, good choice!

Mark Dygert · Jun 2009

And its quite and its easy to work on. You can pay a little less for a heavy metal shoebox that rattles so much that you pitch it in the river. Monitors, cases and tablets are things that I don't mind spending a little more on, considering they last a few system if you buy right.

Watch out for noisy power supplies or cheap case fans. You have a limited window to return those kinds of items and don't think "its ok, I like jet engine white noise, its soothing... or I can drown it out with music". A few weeks of that nonsense and you'll cringe every time you push the power button.

Also make sure to pick the right power supply, pay attention to just how much power you need and buy appropriately. Buy too big and it will generate a lot of heat, noise and run up your power bill, for no reason. MAWR power isn't always the perfect solution.

Justin Meisse · Jun 2009

hey, what kind of power does this new fangled stuff need? I'm running one of these right now and thinking of doing the mobo/cpu/ram upgrade mentioned here.

cptincognito · Jun 2009

Well, the Ars Technica hot rod build claims a system like this can be run for 350Watts.

I'm currently trying to decide on a build (Maya/Modo/Mudbox/PS). 1k will buy the core i7 build, or I could drop a mere 400 and get an AMD Phenom II x4 based system. Some of the benchmarks I've seen put the i7 at about 20% more speed, and hopefully a 1366 based mobo will have a long lifespan.

Anyone here have any insights into the amd x3/x4 w/ ddr2 800 vs an i7 ddr3 build?

EarthQuake · Jun 2009

Pior i am ashamed, only 6 gigs of ram?

Jeremy Wright · Jun 2009

Justin_Meisse wrote: »

hey, what kind of power does this new fangled stuff need? I'm running one of these right now and thinking of doing the mobo/cpu/ram upgrade mentioned here.

Your best bet is to track down the specs of whatever graphics card you plan to install and look for the min power requirements. You should try to exceed those min requirements due to all of your other components power needs.

The real issue isn't just the overall watts, but the amps on the +12v rail. Not enough juice delivered to the card and you'll get wonky artifacts.

mdeforge · Jun 2009

Hey guys, here's my build so far. Let me know what you think of the case and power supply. I was trying to find ones under $100 that did as good a job as the ones above. I'm hoping to get a cheaper power supply yet, anyone know of any that does good? The Hot Rod article mentioned above (very helpful!) cited this power supply: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151032, but I have no idea how that is even close to being up to snuff for the i7 and the graphics card.

COOLER MASTER Centurion 534 RC-534-KKN2-GP Black Aluminum & Mesh bezel / SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM

EVGA 896-P3-1170-AR GeForce GTX 275 896MB 448-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

OCZ StealthXStream OCZ700SXS 700W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply - Retail

Patriot 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model PVT36G1333LLK - Retail

ASUS P6T LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920 - Retail

EDIT: I wonder if this power supply would be better? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817702008&Tpk=BFG%20LS-550

mdeforge · Jun 2009

Sorry for the double post.

The Seasonic S12 II 380W is one of the better units available in terms of quality, noise, and reliability. A 120mm fan for low noise, dual +12v rails with 17A/17A capacity (27A combined maximum), 80PLUS certification, a 5-year warranty, and a MTBF of 100,000 hours makes for a very nice feature list. 380W is about as small as high-end power supplies come, yet still provides enough headroom for a little expansion.

How does that even work with this build??? The Nvidia GeForce GTX 275 says on the spec page that it

Minimum recommended power supply with +12 Volt current rating of 40 Amps

What is going on??

PeterK · Jun 2009

My suggestion would be that you consider calling it a "computer" instead of a rig, because I clicked on this thread thinking someone was asking advice on how to setup bones in Maya or something.

cptincognito · Jun 2009

Well, they acknowledge the concern in the comments for that page and reference some bench tests... the numbers cited are a little beyond me. These guys are pretty reputable though, and they stand behind it so it's not a typo or anything.

I can see the wisdom of using a lower wattage, but more efficient high quality supply- especially if you're paying the electrical bills.

dejawolf · Jun 2009

pior wrote: »

Here's the boy im building as we speak, specs have been put together by a pro IT guy. I told him : the best possible, silent, heavy 3D and 2D, under 1000$.

144.99$ Case: Antec P182,
279.99$ Chip: Intel Core i7 920
239.99$ Motherboard: Asus P6T
94.99$ Memory: G.Skill DDR3-1600 6GB
89.99$ Hard Disk: Western Digital 1TB (1,000GB)
28.99$ DVD-R Samsung 22x
149.99$ Nvidia Geforce 9800GT

Total 1033.93$

Vidcard alternatives if going for the best on the market :
264.99$ Nvidia Geforce GTX 275
or
249.99$ ATI Radeon 4890

lol, thats my computer right now, minus the HD.

if you go for a cheaper case, you might end up having to fork out another 70$ for a new PSU, to run the geforce 9800GT without a hitch.
it requires at least 600 watts of power.

mdeforge · Jun 2009

I've never heard of this before, but apparently I may not need a higher watt PSU. Here is the response I got from Brain, who wrote that "Hot Rod" computer article.

The Seasonic S12 II 380W works fine.

Video card makers are simply covering their *sses with oversized PSU requirements in an effort to reduce support calls and to help weed out customers with $20 "500watt" power supplies and the like. We even specifically did one test earlier this year right here in the forum, I ran a Radeon HD 4870 1GB (which actually takes slightly more power than the GTX275, if memory serves) and a quad-core Q9300 off an Antec Earthwatts EA380, and it was well within the PSU's capability.

The SP500 should be fine as well. This is really a question you are better off posting in Case and Cooling rather than asking me directly. (and hopefully current Antec Smartpowers are more reliable than the previous ones...)

Thanks for reading.

EDIT: At any rate, I am thinking about waiting until October until getting this. The prices will drop, some new technology will be out, and I sort of want to wait until Windows 7 comes out. Thoughts?

Blaizer · Jun 2009

You do very good waiting, sata 3 and usb 3 are here practically, asus presented the other day a new board, and it's expected a big fall on prices.

Take in consideration to buy a mono-rail psu, multi-rail psus with wire organization have problems of electric noise with the new videocards (they demands too much energy and a 12v rail with 18 amps are not enough to have a good and stable system without noise).

arrangemonk · Jun 2009

why would one put about 150$ in a case?
im mostly going with the one from the last rig or buying a 20$ cheap thing ...

Mark Dygert · Jun 2009

PeterK wrote: »

My suggestion would be that you consider calling it a "computer" instead of a rig, because I clicked on this thread thinking someone was asking advice on how to setup bones in Maya or something.

Yea same here. It's caught me a few times and made me check if I'm in tech talk or GD, ha.

arrangemonk, It's not all about looks, if you buy right, it will have proper air flow. ASUS has started putting life spans on their parts, even if you don't overclock and have bad air flow you greatly shorten that life span.

It will be easier to work on, probably screwless and not designed in a way to be barely functional but actually helpful with a single removeable HD drive bay they all plug into and swing out mobo panel.

It will probably be light weight, will reduce noise instead of increase it and it will outlive the pieces you put in it. Putting an end to the $20 cases every time you upgrade.

Spark · Jun 2009

Wow, some nice COMPUTERS for around $1000 so I am definetely curious what I can get for under $5000? I plan on having a new desktop built for me soon, and would love to hear some opinions along with the ones already given for Stradigos.

Spark

P.S: Edited as I do not want a big RIG truck, or a animation RIG built:)

kite212 · Jun 2009

arrangemonk wrote: »

why would one put about 150$ in a case?
im mostly going with the one from the last rig or buying a 20$ cheap thing ...

you never want to skimp on airflow, as vig said you will greatly shorten the life span of your parts if you dont have proper airflow. the cheapest i normally go on a case is 80. i just upgraded my mobo and added a sound card. fyi dfi used to rock, my new asus board is amazing. but with the new components i had to remove a pci exhaust fan and greatly raised my temps, so now to balance my airflow im going to cut holes in the side panel and adding 2 120's to the side, you can never have too much airflow. Also intel released their new core i7's www.tomshardware.com has reviews, and they also just did a system builders marathon

Slum · Jun 2009

I have nothing useful to contribute to this thread, but I do agree with some of the statements regarding terminology... something that has always bugged me as well.

mdeforge · Jun 2009

289 Pages.

^Toms Hardware

Rig is a reasonable term. "PC Rig" produces 38,800 search results on google with the websites being pretty accurate: http://lmgtfy.com/?q=%22PC+Rig%22. Whether or not it was the best, well known, choice for use in a thread title, maybe, maybe not. It's a pretty well known term, and definitely not the only one with multiple definitions, even slang ones. Well, I guess you learn something new every day right?

@Spark: Geesh! Wish I had that sort of money

Anyway, the article I'm following to help build this (the one posted above) also has another more advanced system configuration than the hot rod. Link: http://arstechnica.com/hardware/guides/2009/04/ars-technica-system-guide-april-2009-edition.ars/3. That sucker is priced at $12,000, but you can work backwords and cut a lot of their crap out. Check out Tom's Hardware too, he usually posts a lot of good system builds (New term anyone!?). There's more than this, but here is a nice article: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/micro-atx-sff,2311.html

@Blaizer: Thanks for the advice, I think I will wait then. Any idea when this new stuff is due out exactly? October is such a long way away

Hopefully that P182 case price will go down too by then.

Ride · Jun 2009

Im also building a new one right now. Pretty sweet rig if might say so myself :poly121:

Chassi - ZALMAN EXTREME HYBRID LQ1000 (Integrated water-cooling) - $678.99
Video Card - BFG GEFORCE GTX 295 H20C (Water cooled/overclocked edition) - $958.83
Motherboard - ASUS RAMPAGE II EXTREME - $399.00
Processor - INTEL CORE I7 965 EXTREME 3.2GHZ - $1171.89
Processor Watercooling block - ZM-WB5 Plus - $49.95
Memory - 6GB DDR3 XMS3 INTEL I7 PC10666 1333MHZ - $119
HDD (main) - WESTERN DIGITAL VELOCIRAPTOR 300GB 3.5# 10K RPM SATA/300 16MB - $265

Total - $3642.66 + a few hundred

Haven't received the PSU yet, and i've forgotten which one i bought, so i left that one out. But anyway, im hoping this rig will last for some time. Also ofc running on vista 64bit and later on windows 7 64-bit.

Ryno · Jun 2009

Ouch. that's a hefty pricetag for bragging rights. In reality you could have a machine that would give you 95% of the performance for most day-to-day tasks as that setup for a third of the price.

An i7 920 and a GTX 260 will handle almost anything you can throw at it with no problem. For that matter the Asus P6T is a fantastic board for about half that price.

I mean if it's really worth it for the extra bit of power, and money's no concern, why not? But we all know that there will be something faster in 6 months anyway. Call me a cheap bastard but for me it just isn't worth the tier 1 premium procs and cards due to the inflated price point. I'd prefer to just go with second-best equipment and fund my retirement, personally.

Murdoc · Jun 2009

a 1000 dollar video card? seriously, what does it do hand out blowjobs?

Jeremy Wright · Jun 2009

Spark wrote: »

Wow, some nice COMPUTERS for around $1000 so I am definetely curious what I can get for under $5000? I plan on having a new desktop built for me soon, and would love to hear some opinions along with the ones already given for Stradigos.

Off the top of my head:

three way SLI (x16/x16/x16).
24 gigs of RAM.
Liquid cooling.
Solid state harddrives.

'Edit'

...or you could scale back the pc and buy a cintiq to go with it if you don't have one. Just a thought.

Ride · Jun 2009

Ryno wrote: »

Ouch. that's a hefty pricetag for bragging rights. In reality you could have a machine that would give you 95% of the performance for most day-to-day tasks as that setup for a third of the price.

An i7 920 and a GTX 260 will handle almost anything you can throw at it with no problem. For that matter the Asus P6T is a fantastic board for about half that price.

I mean if it's really worth it for the extra bit of power, and money's no concern, why not? But we all know that there will be something faster in 6 months anyway. Call me a cheap bastard but for me it just isn't worth the tier 1 premium procs and cards due to the inflated price point. I'd prefer to just go with second-best equipment and fund my retirement, personally.

I know

Altho, it's not for bragging rights. The integrated watercooling + the video card and such makes for a VERY silent high-end pc, which is good since im strangely sensitive to fan noises.

Also, money right now isn't an issue for me. It's a long story but i pretty much had around 5k that i could spend on pc hardware only.

Justin Meisse · Jun 2009

+1 for cintiq recommendation, i want to buy another one for home!

Looking into building a new custom rig, suggestions?

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