Building a PC for content creation

[luis791]

I have a buddy who is looking to purchase a new pc for content creation.  He is going to be using for drawing and animation mostly.  He is not going to be making super pro level work.  Small independent projects nothing to crazy. He might be getting a Cintiq monitor in the future. His budget is around 1000.  I build this for my self recently. If I remove the i5 for an i7, Remove both videocards and add R9280x,  No need for windows key or monitor he has that already. Would that be enough or is there another route to take?

 

Off topic how do I search the forums? I have tried looking for a way but I can not find it at all.

 

 PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($219.98 @ OutletPC) 

CPU Cooler: NZXT Kraken X31 69.5 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($69.99 @ NZXT) 

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD5H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($169.99 @ Micro Center) 

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory  ($79.98 @ OutletPC) 

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory  ($79.98 @ OutletPC) 

Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($94.99 @ Amazon) 

Storage: Western Digital Green 4TB 3.5" 5900RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($131.36 @ Amazon) 

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($51.85 @ OutletPC) 

Video Card: Asus Radeon R9 280 3GB DirectCU II Video Card (2-Way CrossFire)  ($194.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Video Card: Asus Radeon R9 280 3GB DirectCU II Video Card (2-Way CrossFire)  ($194.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($79.99 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($79.99 @ NCIX US) 

Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer  ($16.95 @ OutletPC) 

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit)  (Purchased For $0.00) 

Total: $1465.03

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-18 08:35 EST-0500

[Deserter15]

Spend the extra 2 dollars on the asus optical drive.

 

I believe that this is one of those situations where it is better to buy a single, more powerful card over the dual 280s

[WoodenMarker]

What kind of animation work is he doing and at what scale? What programs are being used?

What else is the system being used for?

Is an optical drive really necessary?

Spend the extra 2 dollars on the asus optical drive.

..Why?

[Guest]

Mehhh avoid the SLI 280. I'd recommend going for a single 290x or GTX 970.

If you still want more performance save for SLI 970.

[luis791]

The pc above I build and purchased already for myself. As to why I bought the R9 280 I purchased them when it was going to be a cheap pc for myself.  If I would waited I would have purchased something else. 

 

I was just using what I have bought to see if it was enough for him to use it has a Photoshop pc doing a lot drawing to start with. He is going to experiment with animation nothing heavy, very small things.  He mostly will be using this pc as a media pc not a gaming pc

 

From the list above I would remove:

optical drive

cooler

One or both videocards

Windows key

 

So the questions is should i use what is left and add a i7 instead of a i5?

Should I replace both video cards or just one?

A better cooler?

 

Or is there another path that I can go in with.

[Deserter15]

What kind of animation work is he doing and at what scale? What programs are being used?

What else is the system being used for?

Is an optical drive really necessary?

..Why?

The Asus optical drive is significantly quieter

[Deserter15]

 

The pc above I build and purchased already for myself. As to why I bought the R9 280 I purchased them when it was going to be a cheap pc for myself.  If I would waited I would have purchased something else. 

 

I was just using what I have bought to see if it was enough for him to use it has a Photoshop pc doing a lot drawing to start with. He is going to experiment with animation nothing heavy, very small things.  He mostly will be using this pc as a media pc not a gaming pc

 

From the list above I would remove:

optical drive

cooler

One or both videocards

Windows key

 

So the questions is should i use what is left and add a i7 instead of a i5?

Should I replace both video cards or just one?

A better cooler?

 

Or is there another path that I can go in with.

 

Now that you say that, I'd get a gtx 970 (or 2 if you want to spend that much) and an i7-5820k.  For this kind of work, more cores is more.

[WoodenMarker]

I was just using what I have bought to see if it was enough for him to use it has a Photoshop pc doing a lot drawing to start with. He is going to experiment with animation nothing heavy, very small things.  He mostly will be using this pc as a media pc not a gaming pc

It would help to know what other programs are being used. Animating with Photoshop really only needs any half-decent graphics card and some ram.

Some examples could be helpful.

 

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

[brob]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor  ($169.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U12S 55.0 CFM CPU Cooler  ($61.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus M5A99X EVO R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard  ($118.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Gaming Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($120.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk X110 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($97.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 760 2GB ACX Video Card  ($199.99 @ Best Buy)
Case: Fractal Design Core 2500 ATX Full Tower Case  ($50.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 520W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($68.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer  ($18.75 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit)  (Purchased For $0.00)
Total: $993.65
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-18 16:45 EST-0500