A Rig for 3D Animation?

[EpsilonRising]

Hello everyone!

 

So the aim of the build was to build something to build a computer that would be able to handle programs such as Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, After Effects, Autodesk Maya, Mudbox, and a few others for 3d rendering. I'm just about finished doing my research and I'm ready to go out and purchase the parts. I'm working with a budget of about $1300 to about $1400. My current rig is reaching the end of the road and can't really keep up. It's nearly five years old and I can't push it as hard as I'd like to. It handled some tasks like a champ, but now that times clearly passed.

 

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/vtYBJx

Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/vtYBJx/by_merchant/

 

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($324.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($28.98 @ NCIX US) 

Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($139.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Memory: Corsair Vengeance Pro 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($109.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($106.52 @ Amazon) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($85.83 @ Amazon) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($85.83 @ Amazon) 

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 2GB SuperSC ACX 2.0+ Video Card  ($199.00 @ NCIX US) 

Case: Antec Three Hundred Two ATX Mid Tower Case  ($61.99 @ Micro Center) 

Power Supply: Cooler Master VSM 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($89.99 @ Micro Center) 

Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer  ($18.98 @ Newegg) 

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($86.89 @ OutletPC) 

Total: $1338.98

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 

 

I'm thinking about front-loading all of my heavy-use programs and my O/S onto the SSD and keeping the rest of my storage as to use as intended.

 

Some notes on the CPU/GPU/Motherboard: I probably could have settled for a Xeon E3 1231 processor, but I wanted to leave myself the option of overclocking despite my reluctance to do so. I probably could spring for a GTX 970, but I don't know if I'll see much of an increase in performance as applications don't necessarily perform using consumer-grade cards. I can't afford a mid-range Quadro and since I'm not making money from this at the moment, there's no need to splurge on the card. As for the motherboard, I read a ton of reviews, articles, listened to several different youtubers and decided that the Asus Maximus Hero VII was not for me. I'm fine with a Z97-A. It does everything I want for less. 

 

I've worked very hard to compile the list and I'm curious to know your thoughts on what I'm proposing for a build. I'm open to feedback and happy to hear any tips that could help me build a better machine.

 

[Killswitch49]

 

Hello everyone!

 

So the aim of the build was to build something to build a computer that would be able to handle programs such as Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, After Effects, Autodesk Maya, Mudbox, and a few others for 3d rendering. I'm just about finished doing my research and I'm ready to go out and purchase the parts. I'm working with a budget of about $1300 to about $1400. My current rig is reaching the end of the road and can't really keep up. It's nearly five years old and I can't push it as hard as I'd like to. It handled some tasks like a champ, but now that times clearly passed.

 

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/vtYBJx

Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/vtYBJx/by_merchant/

 

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($324.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($28.98 @ NCIX US) 

Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($139.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Memory: Corsair Vengeance Pro 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($109.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($106.52 @ Amazon) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($85.83 @ Amazon) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($85.83 @ Amazon) 

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 2GB SuperSC ACX 2.0+ Video Card  ($199.00 @ NCIX US) 

Case: Antec Three Hundred Two ATX Mid Tower Case  ($61.99 @ Micro Center) 

Power Supply: Cooler Master VSM 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($89.99 @ Micro Center) 

Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer  ($18.98 @ Newegg) 

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($86.89 @ OutletPC) 

Total: $1338.98

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 

 

I'm thinking about front-loading all of my heavy-use programs and my O/S onto the SSD and keeping the rest of my storage as to use as intended.

 

Some notes on the CPU/GPU/Motherboard: I probably could have settled for a Xeon E3 1231 processor, but I wanted to leave myself the option of overclocking despite my reluctance to do so. I probably could spring for a GTX 970, but I don't know if I'll see much of an increase in performance as applications don't necessarily perform using consumer-grade cards. I can't afford a mid-range Quadro and since I'm not making money from this at the moment, there's no need to splurge on the card. As for the motherboard, I read a ton of reviews, articles, listened to several different youtubers and decided that the Asus Maximus Hero VII was not for me. I'm fine with a Z97-A. It does everything I want for less. 

 

I've worked very hard to compile the list and I'm curious to know your thoughts on what I'm proposing for a build. I'm open to feedback and happy to hear any tips that could help me build a better machine.

 

If you are doing 3d rendering you ay want to get a beefier gpu. It may not seem important but if you want to do some cuda (nvidia) acceleration or open cl (amd). Also as to your comment towards the quadro they really are not a lot better than a normal gpu. They are just cherry picked, extra powerful versions of consumer cards.

[EpsilonRising]

If you are doing 3d rendering you ay want to get a beefier gpu. It may not seem important but if you want to do some cuda (nvidia) acceleration or open cl (amd). Also as to your comment towards the quadro they really are not a lot better than a normal gpu. They are just cherry picked, extra powerful versions of consumer cards.

 

I figured that a 960 would be pretty good compared to the GTS 250 I'm using right now. I spent about the same amount last time and I'm looking at getting 8 times as many CUDA cores this time around. If I saved a little more, a GTX 970 wouldn't be out of the question and I'd end up with more VRAM, 13 times as many CUDA cores and probably better support with newer versions of my applications. I'll definitely have to keep that in mind.

[Killswitch49]

I figured that a 960 would be pretty good compared to the GTS 250 I'm using right now. I spent about the same amount last time and I'm looking at getting 8 times as many CUDA cores this time around. If I saved a little more, a GTX 970 wouldn't be out of the question and I'd end up with more VRAM, 13 times as many CUDA cores and probably better support with newer versions of my applications. I'll definitely have to keep that in mind.

Srry for the late response but yes, that would be a significant upgrade, . Anyway if you can save u that little extra i think that a 970 would be a worthy upgrade. If you want to save a bit of money try getting a windows key from http://www.reddit.com/r/microsoftsoftwareswap/or g2a.com. Hope this helps

[EpsilonRising]

Srry for the late response but yes, that would be a significant upgrade, . Anyway if you can save u that little extra i think that a 970 would be a worthy upgrade. If you want to save a bit of money try getting a windows key from http://www.reddit.com/r/microsoftsoftwareswap/or g2a.com. Hope this helps

 

It's cool. I've looked at this site before, but I'm not sure if it is real. Have you personally looked at it and gotten a working Windows key from any of these vendors?

[Killswitch49]

It's cool. I've looked at this site before, but I'm not sure if it is real. Have you personally looked at it and gotten a working Windows key from any of these vendors?

I personally haven't as when i built my pc i went for a windows key lying around the house but many of my friends have. It is essentially the same as if you buy a retail version from Microsoft online. You download with the official Microsoft app after you enter your key. From there you select the download ios under the make a bootable media tab. From there use a program to make the bootable windows usb and lastly plug it in and complete normal installation method (set usb as boot and follow steps). Good luck. keep in mind you can use a multiple number of programs to make the bootable media. Here is a video tutorial if it helps 

(extra points for hot asian girl)

[EpsilonRising]

Well I have to say, it works. These guys are legit and right now I'm working on getting back to form on my new rig.Thanks for the heads up about reddit!!

[Neth]

Well I have to say, it works. These guys are legit and right now I'm working on getting back to form on my new rig.Thanks for the heads up about reddit!!

 

I have had success with reddit as well! Have you thought about moving up to a 5820k and 32gb of ram? My thoughts would be to use your old computer as a storage server and focus this build more on performance with a larger SSD more ram and a 5820k. You could always add more storage as you need it and finances become available.

[EpsilonRising]

I have had success with reddit as well! Have you thought about moving up to a 5820k and 32gb of ram? My thoughts would be to use your old computer as a storage server and focus this build more on performance with a larger SSD more ram and a 5820k. You could always add more storage as you need it and finances become available.I

I've thought about it. I'm certain that I would see a huge performance increase going from the q9400 to 5820. I, unfortunately (not really) pulled the trigger and went forward with my proposal and I can honestly say I'm ecstatic with what I see so far! It's night and day with performance. I am, however, going to expand from 16 to 32 to build upon what I've already gotten. The only gripe I have is how Newegg is offering Batman Arkham Knight with the GTX 960 just a week after I ordered my graphics card. Oh well. I'm cool with getting the Witcher 3 instead.