Blender Editing/Rendering Computer

[nexgenskydiver]

Building new computer with primary focus on Blender for design and rendering. Planning on investing a decent amount into the system to get it started and up and running, but will be adding on and upgrading as i complete projects and create some revenue. I was planning on AMD Ryzen 9 3900X or 3950X, since AMD plans on keeping the socket around and would allow me to possibly upgrade in the future. Also, for the high core count to help with render times. I currently currently own the Lian Li PC-011 case, would like to make a full liquid cooled loop in the future. Also, already own the Samsung 970 Evo, which I will store my OS and software on. I plan on using the PCIe 4 for a NVME drive which i will store my working files on. Have some 4TB hard drives for storing old files on, thinking RAID configuration possibly?

 

PCPartPicker Part List:

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 9 3950X 3.5 GHz 16-Core Processor
CPU Cooler	Corsair H100i RGB PLATINUM 75 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler	$129.99 @ Amazon
Motherboard	Asus ROG Strix X570-E Gaming ATX AM4 Motherboard	$315.99 @ SuperBiiz
Storage	Samsung 970 Evo 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive	$89.99 @ Amazon
Case	Lian Li PC-O11 Dynamic ATX Full Tower Case	$128.99 @ Adorama
Power Supply	Corsair RMx (2018) 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply	$119.99 @ Newegg
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$784.95
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-11-21 13:04 EST-0500

 

CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 3950X 3.5 GHz 16-Core Processor 
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i RGB PLATINUM 75 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($129.99 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: Asus ROG Strix X570-E Gaming ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($315.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Storage: Samsung 970 Evo 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($89.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: Lian Li PC-O11 Dynamic ATX Full Tower Case  ($128.99 @ Adorama) 
Power Supply: Corsair RMx (2018) 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($119.99 @ Newegg) 

 

Questions:

1) Recommendation on GPU/GPUs. Would it be better to run (2) 1660 series or a single 20 series card?

2) Currently would like to get 2 x 16GB of ram, was thinking 3200 cl16, or maybe a higher frequency would be better. This will allow me to add 2 more sticks in the future. Should I just bite the built and go 64gb from the beginning.

 

Thank you for your time and any help in this process.

[Jurrunio]

28 minutes ago, nexgenskydiver said:

1) Recommendation on GPU/GPUs. Would it be better to run (2) 1660 series or a single 20 series card?

single 20 series

 

28 minutes ago, nexgenskydiver said:

2) Currently would like to get 2 x 16GB of ram, was thinking 3200 cl16, or maybe a higher frequency would be better. This will allow me to add 2 more sticks in the future. Should I just bite the built and go 64gb from the beginning.

next step up will be 3600 CL16, but for both frequencies it's cheaper per GB to get 64GB from the beginning.

 

Maybe cut back on the board? MSI X570 Unify is cheaper though only 4 SATA ports (3 M.2 slots however). Asrock X570 Taichi has 8 SATA but BIOS isnt friendly (tho you're not really gonna visit it for many times after the setup and maybe overclocking), Gigabyte Aorus Ultra is just a Pro with extra M.2 slot, so feature set isnt as great (i.e. I/O)

 

Also the PSU, I dont see the point of going with more than 750w without going to X299 or X399 or TRX40

[nexgenskydiver]

Jurrunio,

   Thanks for the reply. Will look into the motherboards. Just went with the Asus as it seemed to have a friendly BIOS.

    Will look into 64GB 3600 kits to start with from the beginning.

 

Thanks

[Mateyyy]

1) It's always been smarter to go with a single stronger GPU rather than with two lower-end ones, and especially now, as SLI is pretty much becoming obsolete in most use cases.

2) I think 32GB will be plenty for your use case at the moment. Regarding frequency, some say that 3600MHz is "required" to unlock Ryzen's full performance, but from my knowledge, the difference in real-world performance between 3200 and 3600MHz is pretty much negligible. So I wouldn't worry about it, maybe look for kits with tighter timings, such as CL15/14, sometimes you may find kits for nearly the same price as a CL16 kit, but it's not a necessity.

 

I think you're overspending on the motherboard, something like a TUF X570-Plus (also from ASUS) will have pretty much the same basic capabilities for a way lower price, for example. You could also look for boards from other brands such as Asrock or Gigabyte, as you might be able to get better value in some cases by going that route. Unfortunately though I'm way more familiar with ASUS' line-up of boards rather than ones from other manufacturers, so I can't really suggest you an exact model, but you could check out the forum's motherboard tier list, as that could certainly help you make your choice.

 

You really don't need 850W for that system (also including a GPU). You'll be fine with a high quality 550W unit, but I'd personally go with 650W for the extra headroom. 

 

Also, I would suggest considering an air cooler for your CPU, as overall they offer better reliability and during long workloads (rendering is a good example), they might offer better performance compared to AIO liquid coolers. Something like a Noctua NH-D15s or be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 will be plenty for a 3950X.

[tankhunter8192]

wouldn't in Blender multiple GPUs be better (no SLI) that each renders one part.

Like in GamersNexus in a video showed how the rendered the Intro.