Architecture Workstation

[TheHel1x]

My girlfriend is in architecture school at RPI and is finding that her school provided XPX laptop (i7 - 1050) isn't really as efficient as she would like for rendering. I am also in need of a new workstation. We are thinking we could build a new one with the power shes going to need and we can split the cost. I've put together a hardware list that I think will be adequate for what she needs.

 

Software she is running is VRay, Rhino, Auto-CAD, Adobe CC products and Photoshop.

 

The GTX 980ti I have selected is in my current PC and we would just swap it over to the new system. Will the 980ti be good enough for now or should we not even consider it?

What monitor setup should we go with? Dual 4K 27"s or a 4K ultra-wide?

Can you make any suggestions for what we should get for CPU (especially if you are in the architecture business or have experience in 3D modeling and rendering)?

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/TheHel1x/saved/F2GYrH

[Electronics Wizardy]

Are you using CPU or GPU rendeirngon in VRay?

 

If your doing gpu rending, a 8700k will be fine, If  your doing cpu id probably go 1950x.

 

 

[TheHel1x]

42 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

Are you using CPU or GPU rendeirngon in VRay?

 

If your doing gpu rending, a 8700k will be fine, If  your doing cpu id probably go 1950x.

 

 

She is using GPU rendering for VRay.

[Electronics Wizardy]

1 hour ago, TheHel1x said:

She is using GPU rendering for VRay.

Then Id go 8700k, faster in most of those programs, and the cores aren't need for rendering.

 

 

[TheHel1x]

On 3/6/2018 at 6:17 PM, Electronics Wizardy said:

Then Id go 8700k, faster in most of those programs, and the cores aren't need for rendering.

 

 

Hmmm, as I understood it, more cores is always better for rendering. Even if the programs I listed don't render on CPU, others in the future might.

[Electronics Wizardy]

40 minutes ago, TheHel1x said:

Hmmm, as I understood it, more cores is always better for rendering. Even if the programs I listed don't render on CPU, others in the future might.

If your doing gpu rendering, the cpu won't matter really at all. There is basically no difference between gpu's

 

Also the 8700k is faster in most realtime uses due to the their clock and newer architecture.

 

ANd the 8700k really isn't bad with cpu rendering either.

[brob]

1 hour ago, TheHel1x said:

Hmmm, as I understood it, more cores is always better for rendering. Even if the programs I listed don't render on CPU, others in the future might.

The current trend is away from cpu rendering. All the major rendering engines have or soon will have gpu and hybrid (cpu & gpu) rendering.

 

Rhino, AutoCAD, and Photoshop are very lightly threaded applications. For the most part they use a single core. This means that they perform better with more powerful cores rather than more cores. This makes the i7-8700K one of the best choices.

 

Vray and Rhino support gpu and hybrid rendering. Rendering could be faster with more cores, but the trade off would be poorer performance doing anything else. Better rendering performance would be achieved by using a more powerful gpu.

 

Unless there is a need for the particular features of Windows 10 Pro, the Home version is perfectly adequate.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i7-8700K 3.7GHz 6-Core Processor  ($329.00 @ Amazon) 
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG - H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler  ($34.89 @ OutletPC) 
Motherboard: Asus - Prime Z370-A ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($149.99 @ Newegg Business) 
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 64GB (4 x 16GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($713.99 @ Newegg Business) 
Storage: Crucial - MX500 1TB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($249.89 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: Crucial - MX500 1TB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($249.89 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: Zotac - GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Video Card  (Purchased For $250.00) 
Case: Fractal Design - Define C ATX Mid Tower Case  ($87.11 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Plus Gold 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($83.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home Full 32/64-bit  ($119.00 @ Newegg Business) 
Monitor: Asus - PA328Q 32.0" 3840x2160 60Hz Monitor  ($931.99 @ B&H) 
Total: $3199.74
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-03-27 18:41 EDT-0400

[TheHel1x]

So basically, get a good CPU but focus on saving for a Quadro car in the future?