workstation Generalist workstation for 3D animated movie production

[OnlyProduct]

Hey there!

 

I'm a technical cinematic artist for games by trade, formerly a compositor and 3D artist for film, and I would like to get my own workstation/"studio" going at home to make my own shorts.

 

I'm looking to get a pc built for me by a company, where I choose the parts and they do the building. I've been reading up a lot on different parts and such but since I'm a newbie at pc building and never built one myself I thought that I'd ask around some more to get some further insight. Of course the company will have their insight as well but I'd like the opinions of someone who hasn't got a skin in the game.

 

Budget:
~70000SEK max
Location:
Sweden

 

Aim:
Work:
Generalist workstation for making rendered shorts in Unreal Engine - being able to go through full pipeline from preproduction through postproduction. Modelling, rigging, animation/mocap/cleanup, VFX/simulation, 4k 10 bit editing, compositing, music production, etc.
Also might want to dabble in machine learning and 3D printing in the future.
Personal:
Single player gaming (mostly CPU heavy games like Cities skylines, Rimworld, Factorio - with hundreds of mods), VR gaming, and not to forget browsing with 250+ tabs open.
Software:
UE5, Blender/Maya, Substance Painter/Designer, Marvelous Designer, Zbrush, Houdini, Davinci Resolve + Fusion, Ableton Live, etc.

 

Monitors:
I'm looking at buying the BenQ PD3220U 4k 60hz to be my main screen (not included in budget). Also have an existing Philips 1440p 60hz screen that I might upgrade to a 4k 60hz screen in the future as well as maybe adding up to two additional 1080p/1440p screens. So that's four in total.

 

Here's what I'm thinking:
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/zRkg9r

 

CPU: 13900k

Contact frame: Thermal Grizzly Intel 12th Gen
CPU Cooler: EK-Nucleus AIO CR360 Lux D-RGB
GPU: MSI Gaming Trio RTX 4090
MB: Asus ProArt Z790-CREATOR WIFI
RAM: Kingston Fury Beast 64GB (2x32) DDR5-5600 CL40
Storage: Samsung 990 Pro 1TB (OS and software), WD Black SN850X 4TB (Projects), WD Black SN850X 1TB (Scratch disk), Samsung 980 Pro 2TB with updated BIOS (Games)
Case: Lian Li O11D EVO (with front mesh)
Case fans: 13x be quiet! Silent Wings Pro 4 120mm (side intake push/pull for AIO, EK fans from AIO moved to front mesh)
PSU: MSI MEG Ai1300P PCIE5 1300W
UPS: CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD

 

I was looking at a DDR4 build before to be able to get 128GB RAM for Houdini. Also asked Asus and Corsair if I could use the new DDR5 96GB kits with this motherboard, but Asus said no and Corsair didn't answer. In the end I settled with 64GB to instead get more useful connectivity options through the motherboard, like Thunderbolt.

 

On another note I've had lots of problems with Gigabyte components in the past and have a minor personal bias against them at the moment.

 

Looking to pull the trigger during next week. Would really appreciate to hear your thoughts on if this seems like a good build and let me know if I missed anything.

 

Thanks a bunch!

 

[Dr0idGh0sT]

44 minutes ago, OnlyProduct said:

Samsung 990 Pro 1TB

Don't get this, it's reportedly dyeing, it offers nothing much anyways, so get SN850x something else, I don't understand why there is such a mix of drives, Get 2TB NVMe and get 4TB, need more storage? Get another 2TB or 4TB, still not enough? Get 8TB one instead of lower capacity. 

 

For example go for those 3. 1TB more storage, all fast Gen 4 drives and similar price as your config (Fury renegade is as good as SN850X or 980 Pro)

 

Kingston Fury Renegade 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  (kr2090.00 @ Webhallen) 
Kingston Fury Renegade 4 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  (kr4879.00 @ Amazon Sweden) 
Kingston Fury Renegade 4 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  (kr4879.00 @ Amazon Sweden) 
Total: kr11848.00

 

Your case needs more parts.

 

RAM is very slow.

 

Also this clearly looks like a ~4000$ build, I don't see where that extra 3000$ is?

 

List should look like this if prices listed on PCPartPicker is accurate. I added non RGB good AIO, But u can decide what you want from AIO, just don't pay over 2K in it. 

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i9-13900K 3 GHz 24-Core Processor  (kr7303.00 @ Proshop) 
CPU Cooler: Fractal Design Celsius S36 87.6 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  (kr1368.27 @ Amazon Sweden) 
Motherboard: Asus ProArt Z790-CREATOR WIFI ATX LGA1700 Motherboard 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR5-6600 CL32 Memory  (kr4328.42 @ Amazon Sweden) 
Storage: Kingston Fury Renegade 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  (kr2090.00 @ Webhallen) 
Storage: Kingston Fury Renegade 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  (kr2090.00 @ Webhallen) 
Storage: Kingston Fury Renegade 4 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  (kr4879.00 @ Amazon Sweden) 
Storage: Kingston Fury Renegade 4 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  (kr4879.00 @ Amazon Sweden) 
Video Card: MSI GAMING TRIO GeForce RTX 4090 24 GB Video Card  (kr33001.48 @ Amazon Sweden) 
Case: Lian Li O11 Dynamic EVO ATX Mid Tower Case  (kr2090.00 @ NetOnNet) 
Power Supply: Silverstone HELA 1200R 1200 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  (kr4332.00 @ Computersalg) 
Case Fan: be quiet! Silent Wings Pro 4 83.9 CFM 120 mm Fan  (kr367.00 @ Amazon Sweden) 
UPS: CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD UPS 
Total: kr66728.17
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-03-17 19:50 CET+0100

[OnlyProduct]

Regarding storage it's not just for added storage, it's about use case for that specific drive, and also bandwidth. I need 1GB for OS and software, and I want to keep this kind of low so that I can make regular backups. The other 1TB is for temporary files and cache files - it needs to be fast and be isolated in case it dies from rough usage. I'll have a look at the Kingstons though as I haven't looked at the Renegades. The KC3000 lacked encryption though if I'm not mistaken - is that the case for the Renegades?

 

Other than looking at Corsair's 96GB memory I've been a little hesitant from hearing both good and bad things about them. Kingston I've only heard good things about when talking content creation, hence why I chose them. Also as I understood it you don't need the fastest RAM for content creation - I'm willing to be corrected.

 

That AIO is on sale for 1700kr where I'm buying from right now, but I'll have a look at the Celsius.

 

The price goes up a bit further with added case fans. Also I'll update the budget with SEK to not confuse myself or others, but 70000kr max is what I had in mind.

 

Thanks for the input!

[Dr0idGh0sT]

14 minutes ago, OnlyProduct said:

That AIO is on sale for 1700kr where I'm buying from right now, but I'll have a look at the Celsius.

If it's below 1700 sek it's decent. 

14 minutes ago, OnlyProduct said:

Other than looking at Corsair's 96GB memory I've been a little hesitant from hearing both good and bad things about them. Kingston I've only heard good things about when talking content creation, hence why I chose them. Also as I understood it you don't need the fastest RAM for content creation - I'm willing to be corrected.

They had bad DDR4 kits, but their current kits are decent. Well, you don't need fastest RAM for content creation, but slowest also affects performance in a bad way and 5600MHz CL40 is basically slowest. This G.skill will be good middle ground, but with your budget I would go for 6600MHz since it ain't very fast considering 16GB modules go up to 8000MHz. 

 

Also I would suggest you to get better monitor. 

[OnlyProduct]

Interesting, thanks!

 

Do you have a suggestion for what kind of monitor that would be, and what is lacking from the one I've chosen?

[SorryBella]

5 hours ago, OnlyProduct said:

Interesting, thanks!

 

Do you have a suggestion for what kind of monitor that would be, and what is lacking from the one I've chosen?

The entire lineup of ProArt monitors. Yep, thats pretty much my answer. Theyre factory callibrated and verified to hit the entire rec.709 color gamut even on the lowest end. And their flagship, PA32UCX, comes with internal storage for callibration data and even included its own colorimeter for free in certain region.

[brob]

While the i9-13900K is less expensive than the 7950X, it also has slightly lower performance in UE and Blender. WiFi budget permits you might consider the 7950X. https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/13th-gen-intel-core-processors-content-creation-review-2369

 

Samsung had issues with a recent firmware release that affected a wide variety of SSD models. The latest firmware has correct the issue. If you get the otherwise excellent and expensive 990 Pro, one of the first things that must be done is upgrading the firmware if necessary. Your builder should be able to easily take care of this.

 

Consider using the same brand NVMe drives.

 

A 1000W PSU is more than sufficient.

 

Changing fans on an AIO changes performance significantly. Consider instead using an AIO with non-RGB fans and getting a 3nfan A-RGB fan kit for the front. I wouldn't bother with push pull. Most studies I've seen suggest 1 - 3 degree improvement with matched fans.

 

Some suggestions:

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 7950X 4.5 GHz 16-Core Processor  (kr7390.00 @ NetOnNet) 
CPU Cooler: Deepcool LT720 85.85 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  (kr1530.00 @ CDON SE) 
Motherboard: Asus ProArt X670E-CREATOR WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard  (kr5952.20 @ Amazon Sweden) 
Memory: G.Skill Trident Z5 RGB 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR5-6000 CL32 Memory  (kr3883.00 @ Proshop) 
Storage: Western Digital Black SN850X 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  (kr1090.00 @ Amazon Sweden) 
Storage: Western Digital Black SN850X 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  (kr1090.00 @ Amazon Sweden) 
Storage: Western Digital Black SN850X 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  (kr2184.00 @ Amazon Sweden) 
Storage: Western Digital Black SN850X 4 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  (kr5475.39 @ Amazon Sweden) 
Video Card: MSI SUPRIM X GeForce RTX 4090 24 GB Video Card  (kr24626.00 @ Computersalg) 
Case: Lian Li O11 Dynamic EVO ATX Mid Tower Case  (kr2090.00 @ NetOnNet) 
Power Supply: MSI A1000G PCIE5 1000 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  (kr2393.00 @ Amazon Sweden) 
Case Fan: Deepcool FC120-3 IN 1 61.91 CFM 120 mm Fans 3-Pack  (kr428.00 @ Amazon Sweden) 
Case Fan: Deepcool FK120 68.99 CFM 120 mm Fan  (kr174.00 @ Amazon Sweden) 
Case Fan: Deepcool FK120 68.99 CFM 120 mm Fans 3-Pack  (kr399.00 @ CDON SE) 
Case Fan: Deepcool FK120 68.99 CFM 120 mm Fans 3-Pack  (kr399.00 @ CDON SE) 
UPS: CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD UPS 
Custom: LIANLI O11DE-4X O11 Dynamic EVO Front Mesh Kit (Black) - O11DE-4X  (kr385.00) 
Custom: ElecGear AMD CPU Anti-böj Fixeringsspänne för Ryzen 7000 Zen4-serien, Aluminium Kontaktram ILM för AMD AM5 LGA1718 Sockel och Skyddsskydd för Termisk Pasta  (kr279.00 @ Amazon Sweden) 
Total: kr59767.59
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-03-18 05:04 CET+0100

[OnlyProduct]

15 hours ago, SorryClaire said:

The entire lineup of ProArt monitors.

Cool, thanks! Will se what my budget permits.

 

12 hours ago, brob said:

WiFi budget permits you might consider the 7950X.

I read on the Puget site that AMD is better when compiling code and building lighting - will not be compiling much code and with Lumen being a thing I will not be building lighting either. Compiling shaders they were neck in neck. Also as I understand it Intel has slightly higher single core performance which I see as a benefit for certain tasks.

 

12 hours ago, brob said:

Consider using the same brand NVMe drives.

I'm looking at getting SN850X for all of them like you say, as the Fury Renegades that Dr0idGh0sT suggested didn't have the greatest 1TB speeds. Thanks!

 

12 hours ago, brob said:

A 1000W PSU is more than sufficient.

The reason I was looking at a 1000+W PSU was that I wanted overhead in case I wanted to upgrade to a newer GPU in a few years (and if the trend of going higher watts continue...), and my brain convinced me that having above needed resources would make the PSU more efficient anyway. Don't know if that's true or not.

 

12 hours ago, brob said:

Changing fans on an AIO changes performance significantly.

I was hoping that was true, but for the better. With the Nucleus and the LT720 having better pumps than average (is that true?) I was hoping that upgrading the fans to something with higher pressure would make them better. Are you saying there's a risk of making it worse?

[brob]

2 hours ago, OnlyProduct said:

I was hoping that was true, but for the better. With the Nucleus and the LT720 having better pumps than average (is that true?) I was hoping that upgrading the fans to something with higher pressure would make them better. Are you saying there's a risk of making it worse?

 

I was pointing out that one cannot expect performance to match reviews using different fans. Logic suggests that using fans with higher static pressure would improve cooling. What is not known is the effect on noise levels, particularly that of air movement through the radiator.

[OnlyProduct]

54 minutes ago, brob said:

What is not known is the effect on noise levels, particularly that of air movement through the radiator.

That is a good point.

[Kinda Bottlenecked]

PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/JjdJKp

CPU: Intel Core i9-13900K 3 GHz 24-Core Processor  ($569.99 @ Amazon) 
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 chromax.black 82.52 CFM CPU Cooler  ($119.95 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: Asus ProArt Z790-CREATOR WIFI ATX LGA1700 Motherboard  ($443.99 @ B&H) 
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws S5 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR5-5200 CL36 Memory  ($219.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Silicon Power A60 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($44.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Silicon Power A60 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($44.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Western Digital Black SN850X 4 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($379.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Western Digital Black SN850X 4 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($379.99 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: PNY XLR8 Gaming VERTO EPIC-X RGB GeForce RTX 4090 24 GB Video Card  ($1649.99 @ B&H) 
Video Card: PNY XLR8 Gaming VERTO EPIC-X RGB GeForce RTX 4090 24 GB Video Card  ($1649.99 @ B&H) 
Case: Fractal Design Define 7 XL ATX Full Tower Case  ($229.99 @ B&H) 
Power Supply: Super Flower Leadex Titanium 1600 W 80+ Titanium Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($314.99 @ Newegg Sellers) 
UPS: CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD UPS  ($219.95 @ Amazon) 
Total: $6268.79
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-03-18 13:32 EDT-0400

 

Here's another option for your consideration. Maxed out the budget with dual 4090s but you can remove one of those if you really don't have the need for 2. 

 

CPU: Although it doesn't render as fast as the 7950x, you're not doing that with the CPU. Animation playback in the viewer for maya and blender really favour the fast single core of the 13900k. Physics baking would also also favor fast single cores.

 

Cooler: You may wonder why the air cooler and that's because you'll probably be running this for long periods and the pump of an AIO isn't really going to hold up nor will it be the quietest in operation. Since you are unlikely to be stressing all the cores on the CPU anyway the noctua would hold up nicely.

 

Case: This case is big enough to accommodate multiple GPUs. It does also include sound dampening material in the case. So all the buzzing and coil whine from your high powered components will be less audible.

 

These are the components I'd pick for my personal workstation at home. They're chosen for minimal noise during operation and the most performance for the generalist workflow. The rest of the other builds above would be fine too.

[OnlyProduct]

1 hour ago, Kinda Bottlenecked said:

Here's another option for your consideration.

Hey, that's a neat take on it. Wouldn't have figured two 4090s fitting within that budget. Thanks!

 

Do two 4090s actually fit on the motherboard though? Are the PNYs slimmer so they don't cover the second pcie slot or would you need risers?

[Kinda Bottlenecked]

6 hours ago, OnlyProduct said:

Hey, that's a neat take on it. Wouldn't have figured two 4090s fitting within that budget. Thanks!

 

Do two 4090s actually fit on the motherboard though? Are the PNYs slimmer so they don't cover the second pcie slot or would you need risers?

 

I was thinking that the gpu would fit in the very last slot on the motherboard since even though it isn't full speed pcie gen 5, I doesn't matter because you're crunching frames and pci speed have no impact on render times. 

 

However if you do want to put them into the pcie gen5 slots, you can have a crack at this GPU: 

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Jj8bt6/pny-verto-geforce-rtx-4090-24-gb-video-card-vcg409024tfxpb1

 

Its usually cheaper since its a base model 4090. But Its a nice 3 slot card without all the rgb and a vapor chamber heatsink which the msi gaming trio lacks. The 4090 thread on overclock.net has a list of 4090s with the dimensions. You'll want one that occupies 3 slots or under.

[OnlyProduct]

Interesting. I'm pretty sure I only need one GPU, as the 40 series can't SLI and having multiple would mostly mean being able to multitask, I guess?

 

Also think I will stick with AIO cooler as the render times of UE5 that we have at work aren't that long and those are huge scenes. Haven't tried rendering with the path tracer yet though, it probably takes longer.

 

So the things taking time would be simulations, but I'll have to work around that by optimizing since I only have 64GB RAM and will have to make sure I don't go overboard with that stuff anyway.

 

Great stuff! Thanks for the food for thought!

[brob]

SLI is a gaming thing. Renderers that can use multiple GPU directly communicate with each card.

[OnlyProduct]

28 minutes ago, brob said:

SLI is a gaming thing. Renderers that can use multiple GPU directly communicate with each card.

Ah, wasn't aware. Haven't used an mGPU pipeline before that wasn't on a renderfarm.

 

It does seem like UE5 only supports mGPU use through SLI though, if I understand it correctly:
https://docs.unrealengine.com/5.1/en-US/path-tracer-in-unreal-engine/#enablingsupportformultiplegpus

[Kinda Bottlenecked]

I would advise against running dual 4090s if you're rendering solely on UE5. Dual 4090s would better prepare you for other path tracing renderers should you or your studio decide to move over to them in the future and if you need to lend some speed for production. However if you're confident that this workstation will not be rendering for long periods of time then dual 4090s would not serve much of a purpose.

 

SLI or Nvlink is not a thing in any of the new generation cards including the workstation ones. Path tracing renderers do not require them. However UE5 there really isn't a need for it. 

 

I would still stick with an air cooler because of the noise and longevity. But that is my personal preference. 

[OnlyProduct]

6 hours ago, Kinda Bottlenecked said:

I would advise against running dual 4090s if you're rendering solely on UE5.

There's editing, rendering and compositing 4k footage in Resolve/Fusion as well but I don't really forsee it being heavy enough to warrant a second GPU. But the suggestion was still a good thought experiment for me so thanks.

[OnlyProduct]

I'm marking @brob's answer as the solution as it had the most impact on my choices, but thank you @Dr0idGh0sT and @Kinda Bottlenecked for great ideas and recommendations!