Workstation build under $1600

[poormansbuild]

hey guys, im new to this forum, but i have been watching linus tech tips and ncix for a while now.

i am currently building a workstation/gaming pc and i really need some advice on the components i need to put in it.

my overall budget is $1600 and i need at least a 6core cpu to help me render faster with vray for sketchup since vray for sketchup uses cpu for rendering.

 

heres my initial build:

 

cpu:          intel® Core™ i7-4930K Processor    

                                                                                          

mobo:      GIGABYTE GA-X79-UP4 LGA 2011    

                                                                                                

HDD:       WESTERN DIGITAL 1TB GREEN

                                                         

SSD:       KINGSTON HYPER-X 3K 120GB

                                                               

VC:         R9-270X 4G GDDR5 256BIT DUAL-X & OC / R9-270X 2G TOXIC EDITION BY SAPPHIRE 

                                                                            

case:      STORM SCOUT II BLACK   or CORSAIR GRAPHITE 600T white         

                                                                                             

cooling:    CORSAIR HYDRO SERIES H100I 

 

PSU:       Corsair 750w modular psu          

 

i already have ram modules. but i plan on getting those wonderful corsair dominators in the future.

my main concern is whether i should go for an r9-270x or a more expensive nvidia gtx760, since i will be using google sketchup software and i am not sure whether amd or nvidia is the best road to go.

also if you guys could recomment a cheaper psu prefferably modular and also a cheaper cpu cooler, since i wont be doing any extreme overclocks(this will be my first overclock, im afraid to push it very far, probably wont even oc it yet).

your comments and suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

thanks and god bless:)

 

ps: in the future i plan on getting a second graphics card and maybe another hard drive                                                                 

[Real_PhillBert]

I have never used google sketchup but I kinda doubt that program would require a 2011 CPU. Save a small boatload of money and go 1150.

[theroflcopta]

Both AMD and Nvidia are fine at this task really. I would drop the h100i pick up a hyper evo 212 and spend the money you save on either a r9 280 or 280x. The CPU won't be under too much strain at this operation and you will see a lot of benefit from having a much more powerful GPU like the r9 280/280x then having a slightly cooler CPU. The PSU is fine especially if you take the 70 bucks you saved from cooler and reinvest it into the GPU. That's the only think I could see that would be a huge improvement. : D

[theroflcopta]

Dont get a western digital green get atleast a caviar blue it will be much faster. Also look into some seagate hybrid drives they are much faster than standard hard drives and are much cheaper than ssds

I agree with him about getting rid of the green. You can get a 1 TB WD black for 10 bucks more, but I wouldn't get the SSHD over a hardrive and SSD combo. Yes it is cheaper but is slower and all your data will be stored on the harddrive which will have degrading performance as time goes on. 

[GloriousPain]

hey guys, im new to this forum, but i have been watching linus tech tips and ncix for a while now.

i am currently building a workstation/gaming pc and i really need some advice on the components i need to put in it.

my overall budget is $1600 and i need at least a 6core cpu to help me render faster with vray for sketchup since vray for sketchup uses cpu for rendering.

 

heres my initial build:

 

cpu:          intel® Core™ i7-4930K Processor    

                                                                                          

mobo:      GIGABYTE GA-X79-UP4 LGA 2011    

                                                                                                

HDD:       WESTERN DIGITAL 1TB GREEN

                                                         

SSD:       KINGSTON HYPER-X 3K 120GB

                                                               

VC:         R9-270X 4G GDDR5 256BIT DUAL-X & OC / R9-270X 2G TOXIC EDITION BY SAPPHIRE 

                                                                            

case:      STORM SCOUT II BLACK   or CORSAIR GRAPHITE 600T white         

                                                                                             

cooling:    CORSAIR HYDRO SERIES H100I 

 

PSU:       Corsair 750w modular psu          

 

i already have ram modules. but i plan on getting those wonderful corsair dominators in the future.

my main concern is whether i should go for an r9-270x or a more expensive nvidia gtx760, since i will be using google sketchup software and i am not sure whether amd or nvidia is the best road to go.

also if you guys could recomment a cheaper psu prefferably modular and also a cheaper cpu cooler, since i wont be doing any extreme overclocks(this will be my first overclock, im afraid to push it very far, probably wont even oc it yet).

your comments and suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

thanks and god bless:)

 

ps: in the future i plan on getting a second graphics card and maybe another hard drive                                                                 

Corsair RAM is horrible it has very high RMA rates >.< it's all flash and no bang.  a r9 280 is cheaper than the 760 but better than both the 270x and 760 more comparable to a GTX 770 and google sketch up should actually be fine google's decently neutral between the AMD and NVIDIA...With mild overclocks a stock cooler should work upgrade that later get OC's that work now upgrade like throw in an extra graphics card and a new cooler later RE overclock the CPU, and with the double graphics power should leave you smelling like roses.

[asquirrel]

So...overclocking the CPU will be extremely beneficial to your render times. That said, you'll be hard pressed to get a good OC with the H100i. Why? Surface area. The STOCK TDP of the CPU is 130 watts, by the time you throw a 40% OC on it (~4.5 GHz) you will be generating at best 40% more heat (assuming you give it 0 volts extra power) and at worst ~75% more heat (assuming you give it .15 extra volts). Asking a 240mm radiator to get rid of 231 watts of heat (worst-case) is really pushing the limit of what that radiator could do. Nevermind it isn't filled with distilled water, the pump is weak...and a few other things that make AIOs worse than custom loops and...yea, your temps will struggle. {how to calculate TDP http://www.ehow.com/how_6402697_calculate-cpu-wattage.html}

 

That said, overclocking will TOTALLY be worth it for you. It will reduce your render times, possibly drastically. I built a PC for a friend who did video editing, and her render times went from about 4 hours to around 3 when the CPU was overclocked from 2.6 to 3.6 GHz, and that was back in the quad-core days.

 

IMO, buy a Samsung SSD, preferably in the 250-500GB range. I know it's a bit more expensive, but the performance is worth it, as is Samsung's engineering.

 

Seasonic and Corsair both make good PSUs with lower wattage ratings. Just pick any of them. They are built, more or less, the same (from wattage to wattage) so you don't really need to worry about the 500w version being shit where the 600w version is wonderful. Both should come with modular designs once you are above 400W or so.

[poormansbuild]

Wow guys, you are a great deal of help:) i appreciate your inputs.

Your points and suggestions will be greatly considered in building my pc.

 

I'll probably change my hard drive to either a black or a blue one. 

 

And i will get a decent r9-280x. Just not sure for now what manufacturer i will choose.

 

And i will replace my corsair h100i with a decent air cooler for now, after a year or so maybe ill build a custom water cooling loop and change my case to a larger one. One thing i have against air coolers, but is not yet confirmed, is if a heavy fin stack will cause strain on my motherboard and will someday cause the motherboard to break, is this true or am i just a little paranoid?

 

As for the cpu, i think i will stick with the 4930k since vray renderer for sketchup uses all the cpu cores for rendering so more cores = faster render times, im just not sure how hyper threading will benefit me in this situation. The additional ram slots for future upgrades in the 2011 platform will also be a +1 for me since other programs i use will heavily rely on my ram. Also my current pc is a core 2 quad q8400 running at stocks so ill probably be surprised as to how fast 4930k's 6 cores will render.

 

Thank you for your guidance and help guys.

[brob]

Wow guys, you are a great deal of help:) i appreciate your inputs.

Your points and suggestions will be greatly considered in building my pc.

 

I'll probably change my hard drive to either a black or a blue one. 

 

And i will get a decent r9-280x. Just not sure for now what manufacturer i will choose.

 

And i will replace my corsair h100i with a decent air cooler for now, after a year or so maybe ill build a custom water cooling loop and change my case to a larger one. One thing i have against air coolers, but is not yet confirmed, is if a heavy fin stack will cause strain on my motherboard and will someday cause the motherboard to break, is this true or am i just a little paranoid?

 

As for the cpu, i think i will stick with the 4930k since vray renderer for sketchup uses all the cpu cores for rendering so more cores = faster render times, im just not sure how hyper threading will benefit me in this situation. The additional ram slots for future upgrades in the 2011 platform will also be a +1 for me since other programs i use will heavily rely on my ram. Also my current pc is a core 2 quad q8400 running at stocks so ill probably be surprised as to how fast 4930k's 6 cores will render.

 

Thank you for your guidance and help guys.

 

If you plan to oc X79 stick with a liquid cooler. According to Asus, air towers like the Hyper 212 EVO tend to interfere with the extra memory sockets and beefier power distribution components on X79 motherboards.

 

X79 motherboards have a base plate on the underside of the motherboard which provides support for air tower coolers.

 

You might want to consider a larger ssd. And, take a look at the Crucial MX100 series. Good performance and very good pricing.

 

When you buy new memory make sure you get a 4x kit, not two 2x kits. Take a look at G. Skill Trident modules - good specs, good pricing, good quality.

 

Need to know what model psu you are considering before a good but less expensive one can be suggested. (Corsair makes several 750W modular units.)

[WoodenMarker]

And i will replace my corsair h100i with a decent air cooler for now, after a year or so maybe ill build a custom water cooling loop and change my case to a larger one. One thing i have against air coolers, but is not yet confirmed, is if a heavy fin stack will cause strain on my motherboard and will someday cause the motherboard to break, is this true or am i just a little paranoid?

 

As for the cpu, i think i will stick with the 4930k since vray renderer for sketchup uses all the cpu cores for rendering so more cores = faster render times, im just not sure how hyper threading will benefit me in this situation. The additional ram slots for future upgrades in the 2011 platform will also be a +1 for me since other programs i use will heavily rely on my ram. Also my current pc is a core 2 quad q8400 running at stocks so ill probably be surprised as to how fast 4930k's 6 cores will render.

Heavier air coolers will tend to come with robust mounting hardware. You shouldn't need to worry about strain on your motherboard.

What kind of programs are you planning to use and what could you possibly be doing in google sketchup that would need a 4930k?

What kind of dollars are you using? 

You need to quote a post or tag a member or else they won't get a notification you replied to them.

[poormansbuild]

Heavier air coolers will tend to come with robust mounting hardware. You shouldn't need to worry about strain on your motherboard.

What kind of programs are you planning to use and what could you possibly be doing in google sketchup that would need a 4930k?

What kind of dollars are you using? 

You need to quote a post or tag a member or else they won't get a notification you replied to them.

 

Thanks for the posting tips sir:)

I'm going to be rendering 3d images with Vray for Sketchup sir, which to my understanding utilizes all cores of the cpu. Also i would be modelling 3d stuff with a lot of polygons and faces.

 

Although i have been considering getting a 4790k chip instead and use the money saved on a 2nd graphics card.

I also plan on using Autocad, Revit, Adobe photoshop, After effects, and other video editing programs, and 3d studio max, but the program i will be using most will be Sketchup, with Vray for Sketchup renderer.

I am using roughly USD $1,600.00 for this build sir.

[poormansbuild]

If you plan to oc X79 stick with a liquid cooler. According to Asus, air towers like the Hyper 212 EVO tend to interfere with the extra memory sockets and beefier power distribution components on X79 motherboards.

 

X79 motherboards have a base plate on the underside of the motherboard which provides support for air tower coolers.

 

You might want to consider a larger ssd. And, take a look at the Crucial MX100 series. Good performance and very good pricing.

 

When you buy new memory make sure you get a 4x kit, not two 2x kits. Take a look at G. Skill Trident modules - good specs, good pricing, good quality.

 

Need to know what model psu you are considering before a good but less expensive one can be suggested. (Corsair makes several 750W modular units.)

 

Thanks for your suggestions sir:)

 

Im not sure as to what particular model i am going to use for a PSU yet sir but probably the Corsair TX750M 80+Bronze Modular.

[brob]

Thanks for your suggestions sir:)

 

Im not sure as to what particular model i am going to use for a PSU yet sir but probably the Corsair TX750M 80+Bronze Modular.

 

You might consider instead Corsair CS750M, XFX P1-750X-XXB9 or something a little smaller SeaSonic SSR-650RM, or SeaSonic M12II 620 Bronze.

[WoodenMarker]

Thanks for the posting tips sir:)

I'm going to be rendering 3d images with Vray for Sketchup sir, which to my understanding utilizes all cores of the cpu. Also i would be modelling 3d stuff with a lot of polygons and faces.

 

Although i have been considering getting a 4790k chip instead and use the money saved on a 2nd graphics card.

I also plan on using Autocad, Revit, Adobe photoshop, After effects, and other video editing programs, and 3d studio max, but the program i will be using most will be Sketchup, with Vray for Sketchup renderer.

I am using roughly USD $1,600.00 for this build sir.

Scale of projects? Any examples? How many polys are you working with?

Why would you need a second graphics card?

[poormansbuild]

Scale of projects? Any examples? How many polys are you working with?

Why would you need a second graphics card?

2nd graphics card for a little gaming on ultra settings maybe:) And the projects range from residential houses with trees that have lots of leaves, to stadiums with 2d entourage, to high rise condominiums and small communities.

 

My normal work roughly has 3,000,000 polys for the high end and about 800,000 polys on the low end projects.

[WoodenMarker]

2nd graphics card for a little gaming on ultra settings maybe:) And the projects range from residential houses with trees that have lots of leaves, to stadiums with 2d entourage, to high rise condominiums and small communities.

My normal work roughly has 3,000,000 polys for the high end and about 800,000 polys on the low end projects.

You shouldn't need a second graphics card--a single one will do. A workstation card won't be of much help unless for example: you're working with otherwise unstable scenes in AutoCAD that are prone to crash. 

I'd suggest something like this instead: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/PDN3mG

[poormansbuild]

You shouldn't need a second graphics card--a single one will do. A workstation card won't be of much help unless for example: you're working with otherwise unstable scenes in AutoCAD that are prone to crash. 

I'd suggest something like this instead: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/PDN3mG

Thank you for the build guide sir:)

I think i will go with your suggested parts.