Semi Workstation School Computer Build Help

[Corndawg]

Hey everyone, I'm currently a Landscape Architecture student with a few years left of undergrad and graduate school ahead of me. We use a wide range of programs from AutoCAD, Adobe Suite, Sketchup, Rhino, Lumion, Unity and Unreal Engine. The last two I'll be getting into this year with VR becoming a big part of our industry and being chosen to participate in a one week VR boot camp.

 

I've been doing a lot of research in the past few months about these programs and what benefits them. From some programs favoring higher clock speeds, others favoring more cores, faster single thread performance, higher RAM speeds, and GPU's it's gotten a little confusing. I'll throw it out there I've never built a PC before but I feel I've gotten quite a good understanding. From understanding motherboard chipsets, vrms, nvme and m.2, etc. I've got a good understanding of everything that goes into a build. I guess the hardest part is picking the best hardware.

 

I'm definitely open to any opinions you all have as I'm sure most of you have first hand experience with these programs how different hardware performs respectively. So please leave any recommendations down below.

 

My goals for my build are:

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1) Be able to handle high loads of multitasking

I've used my laptop to get by in some of the lower end programs(CAD, Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and some Sketchup). However I've always had to close everything down if I were to open a large file or anything else. A lot of what we do involves using multiple programs at once, especially if anyone is familiar with using live sync between Sketchup and Lumion. 

 

2) Be able to handle anything I decide to throw at it

From video editing drone footage to rendering large graphically intensive files, I basically want to be confident in my PC's performance

 

3) Has to look good

Not that it has to be an eye turner but I'm a huge into clean color schemes and layouts, similar to this build by AK Tech&Mods. And I'm not worried about it getting stolen because no one knows students keep their desktops in these studios and there are cameras.

Budget

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My budget is around $1500 for this build give or take depending on price vs performance and if there are any good deals that I would choose to pay a few more bucks for higher end hardware.

 

Roughly, I plan on spending around:

CPU - $200-$350

Cooler - $100

Motherboard - $150

RAM - $100

Storage - $250

GPU - $400-$600

Case - $100

Power Supply - $100

CPU

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This is probably what I'm hung up on the most in my build as this will influence a lot of other parts of my build.

 

I've been leaning towards the AMD Ryzen 7 2700x for a long time. The performance per dollar is what's really enticing about it to me. However, there are some hold ups. The others I'm leaning towards are the i7-8700k and the i5-9600k. I'm kinda a sucker for the underdog which is why I'm leaning to the 2700x in addition to it's 8 cores and 16 threads and great overclocking capability. The blue team only serving up 6 cores and 6-12 threads at similar overclockability. 

 

Now the reason I'm hung up is that most 3D modeling software can't use multi-threading what so ever which is not too favorable for team red. Single threaded work loads definitely favor intel cpus. However; in the case of being able to better multitask, the 8 cores of the 2700x look a lot more favorable and from what I've found it also has a higher IPC than Intel's counterparts.

 

Basically, should I choose a CPU that favors single thread performance while sacrificing 2 cores? And if I do go with team blue, is it worth it to pay an extra $100 for the extra 6 threads of the 8700k, or go with the 6 core 6 thread 9600k.

Cooler

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Overclocking is a huge tipping point for me as well for this build and I'm leaning towards an AIO because of this. Now if I want to save a buck I don't think I'll have any problem overclocking on the stock Wraith cooler included with the 2700x(If I decide to use that CPU) but I would feel a little more comfortable with an AIO cooling instead.

 

Any tips on good coolers would be awesome. Right now I've got my eyes on the Corsair - H100i PRO 75 CFM. But I'm open to suggestions.

Motherboard

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As I've looked at getting the Ryzen 2700x I've jumped between the b450 and the x470 chipset motherboards. I definitely don't plan on running SLI/Crossfire but the better vrms/overclockablilty are a definite plus of getting an x470 motherboard. 

 

However I'm not super experience nor biased towards any of the big motherboard manufacturers so let me know what your favorite motherboard manufacturer is and if I should stick with getting the high end 'X' chipset or save a buck and get the 'B' chipset motherboards 

RAM

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This one is pretty straightforward to me. Especially since Ryzen favors RAM with higher clock speeds. 

 

I'm thinking 2 x 8GB should do the trick. And if I need more I can always add another 16GB.

 

I'm not too experienced with this but I've seen some people run 24GB of RAM as 3 x 8GB. From what I've heard, and correct me if I'm wrong, your CPU can't use 3 sticks of RAM as efficiently compared to 2 or 4 sticks. The reason I ask is because 16GB is the low end of what I would like to have so having more would keep things comfortable. So if it's a worthwhile investment I think 24GB could be the sweet spot for me.

Storage

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My vision is to have a 250-560GB M.2 to have all my frequently used programs. That way I don't have to wait through the terribly long load times of Adobe Suite programs and anything of the sort. I also plan on having a SSD that'll have all my current projects and files. Then once I'm done with a class or a project I can just transfer it to a HDD. 

 

I like to keep good organization of all my files and this setup seems to work in my head as I use the faster storage for all my current work and projects and then move it off to my hard drive for long term storage once I don't need to open the file(s) as often.

GPU

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This has been another hard one for me to decide on with a similar situation as the CPU. I definitely favor AMD for their budget options that still pack some punch. But some programs are more highly optimized for Nvidia. However, I think I am willing to spend a little more on RTX 2070. It really is a power house for not a bad price. The only downside is Lumion doesn't show any real signs of supporting Nvidia Ray Tracing and I'm not sure if Unreal Engine or Unity have the support currently. The alternative would be a Vega 56, 64 or RX 590. 

 

The one absolute thing with the GPU is 8GB or more of VRAM(6GB if I decide to cut back on my budget). Lumion uses the GPU exclusively and requires a high amount of VRAM depending on how complex you make your scene. 

 

Obviously I would want to overclock my GPU a bit just to get the most performance I can. And again I have no experience overclocking so let me know good cards like these you've had good experience overclocking.

Case

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Like I said before, I really like clean color schemes and I've taken a liking to the NZXT 500i. But let me know what your favorite looking cases are and also what do you think would be the easiest for a first time build.

Power Supply

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This one is pretty straightforward in my mind as well but then again I have no experience or preference with any brand or models.

 

I've had my eye on the EVGA Supernova G2 550 W 80+ Gold. But as I've come a little more familiar with choosing the right power supply I think I might choose a higher watt, especially if I choose to really push my CPU and GPU. Let me know what you think.

Thanks for taking the time to read all of this! I'd love to hear any feed back or tips with the best hardware for these programs. 

 

Cheers

[Oalei]

do you need it now? i mean zen 2 alreaady leaked out and E3 is gonna be more detailed as its being so hyped by AMD

[Corndawg]

4 minutes ago, Oalei said:

do you need it now? i mean zen 2 alreaady leaked out and E3 is gonna be more detailed as its being so hyped by AMD

You know, I'm not too sure about Zen 2 till it's actually released and we can see what it really does. The prices aren't that great that I would buy one. But don't get me wrong, I'm hyped to see what AMD is doing and I'm hyped to see how Navi does.

 

But this build probably won't happen till August

[Oalei]

5 minutes ago, Corndawg said:

You know, I'm not too sure about Zen 2 till it's actually released and we can see what it really does. The prices aren't that great that I would buy one. But don't get me wrong, I'm hyped to see what AMD is doing and I'm hyped to see how Navi does.

 

But this build probably won't happen till August

July 7 is the release so wait for that, Prices are the same with first gen ryzen first come out even now (without discount).