marcos9999 Posted June 26, 2013 Share Posted June 26, 2013 So I got this book: "Building the Perfect PC" I need a PC for computer graphics, 3D, lots of rendering, not motion though. This book looks good but it's 3 years old. Can any of you speak for or against any of these items listed? I'm sure this will be a great computer (compared with what have). Are there any other components you would change, and why, in this list, anything new which is just out? Thank you so much for your advice! http://www.amazon.com/Antec-Current-HCP-850-CrossFire-Modular/dp/B004GHBRRI/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=2S5RC51DFY3FQ&coliid=I18XTKTZJEQA6M http://www.amazon.com/Antec-Twelve-Hundred-V3-Gaming/dp/B004INH0FS/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=2S5RC51DFY3FQ&coliid=I4DQGBJGRIHAT http://www.amazon.com/Intel-Extreme-Triple-channel-CrossFireX-Overclocking/dp/B001ISJONM/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=2S5RC51DFY3FQ&coliid=ICXJN3Y8C94Z0 http://www.amazon.com/Intel-Core-i7-3770-Quad-Core-Processor/dp/B007SZ0EHE/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=2S5RC51DFY3FQ&coliid=I1UEJY7B090XLP http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-Ballistix-DDR3-1600-Memory-BL3CP25664BN1608/dp/B0021AEN64/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=2S5RC51DFY3FQ&coliid=I3HS9JN734VCNS http://www.amazon.com/EAH5450-SILENT-DI-512MD3-LP/dp/B004Z9XRX4/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=2S5RC51DFY3FQ&coliid=I1IMRL66NTBNWB http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-128GB-2-5-Inch-9-5mm-CT128M4SSD2/dp/B004W2JKZI/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=2S5RC51DFY3FQ&coliid=I29JAMZSI14MQ5 http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Barracuda-7200RPM-Cache-3-5-Inch/dp/B002RWJHBM/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_S_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=2S5RC51DFY3FQ&coliid=IJ11VOCFQMFW http://www.amazon.com/Sony-SATA-Internal-Drive-AD-7260S-0B/dp/B003MRHOQG/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_S_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=2S5RC51DFY3FQ&coliid=I1Y95QNJ7ZX7QH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted June 26, 2013 Share Posted June 26, 2013 I would get 12-16 GB RAM on a machine like that ever without the rendering, if I were buying it. But that's just me. I would also get the 256GB SSD it's only a few bucks more and well worth it. Depending on the amount of rendering you are doing, event that size may be too little -- ah, I see you will be using both SSD and SATA for storage. Still would get the bigger SSD for the $80 more, if you can. OK, so I am drooling over the rest of the specs! Maybe someone else would have some other suggestions as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcos9999 Posted June 26, 2013 Author Share Posted June 26, 2013 Thank you Banbi. Yes I like the idea of 256GB SSD, I didn't think about that. 16 GB RAM sounds good too since my main axe is ZBrush a complete RAM hog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 Happy to be of help. Should be a great system when you get it put together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goretsky Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 Hello, That's an Socket-1366 older motherboard, and I think you are paying a premium for it because of its age, given the specs. And it doesn't work with the CPU (Socket-1155) you picked out. What is the budget for your new system build? Regards, Aryeh Goretsky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abarbarian Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 Haven't the time to click on all the links. However in my opinion you would be better of buying a Corsair PSU. 5 year guarantee, legendary reliability and power usage, what more could you want This one has modular cables and is cheaper than the Antec. You would need to check out if it has enough cables for your useage. I have only ever bought two psu's for myself in the last 12 years and they are both still running and they are both Corsairs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mac Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 Aryeh's spot on with his comment on the motherboard. You will need a MB similar to this to match the i7 LGA 1155 CPU: http://www.amazon.co...tel Motherboard It will handle up to 32GB of RAM. Also note on the same page you can get two kits of 8GB Corsair RAM for $120, which is a good brand of RAM memory. On the power supply, an 800W PSU is overkill for what you are building. You might need a more powerful PSU like that if you were going to be using a much more powerful graphics card like one of the upper end Radeon (HD7990) or nVidea (GTX780) GPUs. For your needs I would choose a 600W like the PC Power and Cooling at Amazon for $89: http://www.amazon.co...III Series 600W . I have a 750W PCP&C in my 5 year old build that still performs flawlessly. Speaking of graphics cards, I would look at a GPU like the AMD HD7770 which is reasonably priced, about $100, for the performance it offers, and only requires a 500W PSU: http://www.amazon.co...=dp_ob_title_ce HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcos9999 Posted June 27, 2013 Author Share Posted June 27, 2013 Hello, That's an Socket-1366 older motherboard, and I think you are paying a premium for it because of its age, given the specs. And it doesn't work with the CPU (Socket-1155) you picked out. What is the budget for your new system build? Regards, Aryeh Goretsky All components, about $1400. Can you recommend another board? Haven't the time to click on all the links. However in my opinion you would be better of buying a Corsair PSU. 5 year guarantee, legendary reliability and power usage, what more could you want This one has modular cables and is cheaper than the Antec. You would need to check out if it has enough cables for your useage. I have only ever bought two psu's for myself in the last 12 years and they are both still running and they are both Corsairs. Any particular model? There are so many... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcos9999 Posted June 27, 2013 Author Share Posted June 27, 2013 Aryeh's spot on with his comment on the motherboard. You will need a MB similar to this to match the i7 LGA 1155 CPU: http://www.amazon.co...tel Motherboard It will handle up to 32GB of RAM. Also note on the same page you can get two kits of 8GB Corsair RAM for $120, which is a good brand of RAM memory. On the power supply, an 800W PSU is overkill for what you are building. You might need a more powerful PSU like that if you were going to be using a much more powerful graphics card like one of the upper end Radeon (HD7990) or nVidea (GTX780) GPUs. For your needs I would choose a 600W like the PC Power and Cooling at Amazon for $89: http://www.amazon.co...III Series 600W . I have a 750W PCP&C in my 5 year old build that still performs flawlessly. Speaking of graphics cards, I would look at a GPU like the AMD HD7770 which is reasonably priced, about $100, for the performance it offers, and only requires a 500W PSU: http://www.amazon.co...=dp_ob_title_ce HTH! Hey thanks a bunch...already added all these new items to my wish list! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcos9999 Posted June 27, 2013 Author Share Posted June 27, 2013 (edited) Aryeh's spot on with his comment on the motherboard. You will need a MB similar to this to match the i7 LGA 1155 CPU: http://www.amazon.co...tel Motherboard It will handle up to 32GB of RAM. Also note on the same page you can get two kits of 8GB Corsair RAM for $120, which is a good brand of RAM memory. On the power supply, an 800W PSU is overkill for what you are building. You might need a more powerful PSU like that if you were going to be using a much more powerful graphics card like one of the upper end Radeon (HD7990) or nVidea (GTX780) GPUs. For your needs I would choose a 600W like the PC Power and Cooling at Amazon for $89: http://www.amazon.co...III Series 600W . I have a 750W PCP&C in my 5 year old build that still performs flawlessly. Speaking of graphics cards, I would look at a GPU like the AMD HD7770 which is reasonably priced, about $100, for the performance it offers, and only requires a 500W PSU: http://www.amazon.co...=dp_ob_title_ce HTH! The board you recommended is much cheaper then the one I had but does it have 2 RAM slots? With the saving should I install 2x16 RAM from Corsair?. I wonder if this would be a good idea? http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Vengeance-Channel-Memory-CMZ16GX3M4A1600C9B/dp/B004RFBIUU/ref=sr_1_7?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1372354290&sr=1-7&keywords=corsair+16+Mb+RAM Edited June 27, 2013 by marcos9999 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abarbarian Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 It seems that ZBrush is able to use your graphics card to help with some of the computing. So it may pay to check out which cards in which combination give you the best bang for the buck. There are plenty of comparisons done on graphics card performance with charts detailing performance with specific tasks which should help you decide. That is if you are buying a consumer grade card as opposed to the expensive pro cards. http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/349097-33-help-choosing-graphic-card-maya-photoshop-gaming http://forums.cgsociety.org/archive/index.php/t-1055503.html As to psu's. On another well respected forum the thinking is that it is always better to slightly over provision with a psu. As it will always be running a well below full flow. This means that you get a very stable supply and the psu is not heating up as much. Giving longevity and a quieter environment as the fan is running slower. This calculator will help in showing how much a certain system will need in watts. http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/psu-manufacturer-oem,2729.html#xtor=RSS-182&foo=Who%27s%20Who%20In%20Power%20Supplies:%20Brands,%20Labels,%20And%20OEMs%2011-14-2010 http://www.silentpcreview.com/article699-page1.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amenditman Posted June 28, 2013 Share Posted June 28, 2013 Aryeh caught the MOBO/CPU mismatch already. For $1400 you can have a really fantastic system. Are you dead set on having an Intel processor. They average about $100 more than a comparable AMD, and there is no option to buy one without integrated graphics. (Which you don't need with a powerful dedicated graphics card. Give me an hour or so and I will spec you out what I would build for friends/family at that budget. All components, about $1400. Can you recommend another board? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amenditman Posted June 28, 2013 Share Posted June 28, 2013 The board you recommended is much cheaper then the one I had but does it have 2 RAM slots? With the saving should I install 2x16 RAM from Corsair?. I wonder if this would be a good idea? http://www.amazon.co...rsair 16 Mb RAM I would almost always use a board that has 4 RAM slots, personal preference. (I also only ever use full ATX, have had really bad luck with micro ATX, mini-ITX and a few others). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunrat Posted June 28, 2013 Share Posted June 28, 2013 I agree with the others on getting a better graphics card. Also check out the review of OCZ Vector SSD at Tom's Hardware. I've got one on the shopping list even though I already have an older SSD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amenditman Posted June 28, 2013 Share Posted June 28, 2013 Here are a couple of crazy machines for that budget. One AMD and one Intel. No OS as I hope you will be installing Linux on it (or at least OSX). AMD option is $1314 Intel option is $ 1431 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119213 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233239 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148529 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148907 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139010 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130826 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136259 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820223109 INTEL Parts http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116501 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157293 AMD Parts http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113284 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128514 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcos9999 Posted June 28, 2013 Author Share Posted June 28, 2013 (edited) Here are a couple of crazy machines for that budget. One AMD and one Intel. No OS as I hope you will be installing Linux on it (or at least OSX). AMD option is $1314 Intel option is $ 1431 http://www.newegg.co...N82E16811119213 http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820233239 http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820148529 http://www.newegg.co...N82E16822148907 http://www.newegg.co...N82E16817139010 http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814130826 http://www.newegg.co...N82E16827136259 http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820223109 INTEL Parts http://www.newegg.co...N82E16819116501 http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813157293 AMD Parts http://www.newegg.co...N82E16819113284 http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813128514 Hey amanditman thanks, I really like the system you put together. I like the MB, I was a little concerned that the LGA 1155 only has 2 RAM slots, I like the board you suggested and I'm glad we're in the same page for the processor. The only thing I might change is the graphics card. I hear the Nvidia quadro are optimized for 3D graphics and rendering. I'm sure the card you suggested is plenty good for my needs, but the renderings and the huge files get heavy very fast and I wouldn't care to spend a little more on it. 16 GIG of RAM is a good idea, I don't think I need 32 even though ZBrush is a complete hog but my work is not the size of a planet anyway. Anyway compared with what I have right now (and I'm working) it's a world apart. For the Linux, sorry I'm a window's man..sold out sucker, can't help. Edited June 28, 2013 by marcos9999 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mac Posted June 28, 2013 Share Posted June 28, 2013 The board you recommended is much cheaper then the one I had but does it have 2 RAM slots? With the saving should I install 2x16 RAM from Corsair?. I wonder if this would be a good idea? http://www.amazon.co...rsair 16 Mb RAM The Intel BOXDH77KC MB has 4 RAM slots, and is a full size ATX board. So you could go with the less expensive 4X8GB RAM kit to get a total of 32GB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abarbarian Posted June 28, 2013 Share Posted June 28, 2013 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147192 The above Samsung 840 Pro is only $5 more than the M4. Has a 5 year guarantee as opposed to a 3 year for the M4.Also it has twice the write speed of the M4. One thing to note about SSD drives is the bigger the capacity the better the performance. So a 256 GB drive will perform much better than a 128 GB drive. With that in mind you may be better of buying this 256 GB SSD http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147193 Also do you really need 3 TB of storage ? You may be better of buying a faster HD like this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533 Which has a 5 year guarantee as opposed to the 2 year offered on the Seagate. $159 for a case ! Did you win the lottery ? Try these, $89 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147107 $89 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811353010 $49 or with 2 extra fans about $68 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147153 Are you using ZBrush 4 or 5 ? It seems ZBrush 4 is a 32 bit program. http://cghub.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12175 It's all about organizing in zbrush...It's still a 32bit software and GPU don't play an important role. But memory management and core setup can surely help.-Work with different sub tools and when finished with that subtool, try to save each at the lowest sub-division. -When working with a high poly model always try to work on parts and selected areas and Solo that file only when working. -Go to render settings and turn off "Shadows" also -Increase the memory to something suitable and try to allocate the suitable options in poly count to 15million or something. HD sculpting options can help you reach a billion polygons and bake that detail onto the mesh. Also working with better topology helps in putting more details in selected areas.(So keep that in mind as well). Zbrush 5 will be a 64 bit version and then you can surely upgrade Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted June 28, 2013 Share Posted June 28, 2013 (edited) Yep, I knew you'd get all the help you'd need beyond what I posted - didn't even look at the CPU and motherboard tie in. Was too busy with the more obvious items LOL! Edited June 28, 2013 by LilBambi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcos9999 Posted June 28, 2013 Author Share Posted June 28, 2013 http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820147192 The above Samsung 840 Pro is only $5 more than the M4. Has a 5 year guarantee as opposed to a 3 year for the M4.Also it has twice the write speed of the M4. One thing to note about SSD drives is the bigger the capacity the better the performance. So a 256 GB drive will perform much better than a 128 GB drive. With that in mind you may be better of buying this 256 GB SSD http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820147193 Also do you really need 3 TB of storage ? You may be better of buying a faster HD like this http://www.newegg.co...N82E16822136533 Which has a 5 year guarantee as opposed to the 2 year offered on the Seagate. $159 for a case ! Did you win the lottery ? Try these, $89 http://www.newegg.co...N82E16811147107 $89 http://www.newegg.co...N82E16811353010 $49 or with 2 extra fans about $68 http://www.newegg.co...N82E16811147153 Are you using ZBrush 4 or 5 ? It seems ZBrush 4 is a 32 bit program. http://cghub.com/for...ead.php?t=12175 Thanks Barbarian. Great tips here, will definitely see about the drives, it makes sense. Love the T1 concept and it's a great price. Still not sure about the case, I hear there are some issues with cases as far as assembling the components so I like to stay with the more expensive one in hopes it will deliver what it promises. I use ZBrush 4 but will upgrade to 5 eventually. Everyone say it doesn't take much computer power and that is true to a point. Some projects will make your computer stall like a mule on mud. Any tips on a killer gr card that wont break the bank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcos9999 Posted June 28, 2013 Author Share Posted June 28, 2013 Thanks for everyone who replied to this post! Wow there was a lot great feedback. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abarbarian Posted June 29, 2013 Share Posted June 29, 2013 The Rosewill’s BLACKHAWK wil be a very easy to work with case. Allowing for various configurations and also includes dust filters. As to a graphics card you need to do some research on whether Zbrush 5 utilises the computing power of the gpu. If it does not then any modern card will do and they range in price from £30 to £400 on the consumer side. £1.000 and upwards for pro cards. I suggest you e-mail ZBrush support and ask them the Q. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcos9999 Posted June 29, 2013 Author Share Posted June 29, 2013 The Rosewill’s BLACKHAWK wil be a very easy to work with case. Allowing for various configurations and also includes dust filters. As to a graphics card you need to do some research on whether Zbrush 5 utilises the computing power of the gpu. If it does not then any modern card will do and they range in price from £30 to £400 on the consumer side. £1.000 and upwards for pro cards. I suggest you e-mail ZBrush support and ask them the Q. I'll look into the BLACKHAWK, yes I'm into saving money. Yes the card is the only item I still debating but I'll go pretty much with the card you recommended, I was looking at Nvidia quadro since I hear is designed for 3D graphics but I think it will be an overkill ($200 more). I'm not sure about ZBrush 5 computational needs, however it's a very smart application that doesn't need much computer power at all but lots of RAM. Right now I have produced some amazing work using a pedestrian Dell core duo with 3GB RAM! So I should be doing just fine, we're splitting hairs here. I do however plan to get more professional soft like Maxwell rendering and maybe a better card will come handy but I'm not rendering animations so it's only one frame...no problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
securitybreach Posted June 29, 2013 Share Posted June 29, 2013 Well I personally would get another motherboard since that one only supports up to 16gb of ram. Nowadays 16gb is not that much ram especially since you will be working with video rendering and such, I would suggest getting one that can support 32gb of ram. Here is the motherboard I got last year and its only $101: Gigabyte Intel Z77 LGA1155 AMD CrossFireX/NVIDIA SLI DVI/HDMI Dual UEFI BIOS mATX Motherboard GA-Z77MX-D3H Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcos9999 Posted June 29, 2013 Author Share Posted June 29, 2013 Well I personally would get another motherboard since that one only supports up to 16gb of ram. Nowadays 16gb is not that much ram especially since you will be working with video rendering and such, I would suggest getting one that can support 32gb of ram. Here is the motherboard I got last year and its only $101: Gigabyte Intel Z77 LGA1155 AMD CrossFireX/NVIDIA SLI DVI/HDMI Dual UEFI BIOS mATX Motherboard GA-Z77MX-D3H Thanks and yes, using ZBrush there is never enough RAM. I will add that to my list 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 Good recommendation on getting a motherboard that supports more RAM for future expansion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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