Engineering Student Build

[TheUglyPlum]

Hello all,

 

I should start with an introduction I suppose. I've been watching all of the LMG channel's videos for years, and I've gotten a lot of inspiration from the many videos to go ahead and build one for myself. I've been running an Alienware M14X R2 as a desktop PC for 5 years now. It has served me well (while also providing heat for my apartment). But it has come time to put it to rest, as it has become much too outdated for the tasks I need to perform. I am planning for the build to be used for the various 3D modelling software that I use in my Computer Engineering program, along with my various personal hobbies. I enjoy my fair share of pc gaming, and as of lately, I've gained interest in the world of video game creation.

 

TL;DR: I need an even mixture between a workstation and gaming rig. I want to set a budget of $1700 CAD and that isn't including any peripherals, monitors, etc. Just the build itself. If possible, I'd like to purchase all parts from a single source, preferably NCIX. I'll include parts I have picked out right now, I am open to all suggestions.

 

https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/3ph2Z8

Along with this, I have cable mods black and white cables which are $40 and cable mods 60cm white leds which are $30.

[3 Lions]

Get a Z270 motherboard. 

[The Sloth]

7700k build https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/ymxTVY 

get a cheap thinkpad with a Nvidia gpu as a school laptop you can get them from ebay, that's what i did when i got my engineering degree. 

[TrYeX]

That case dosent support e-atx btw. (fixed it for you https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/2w7M2R )

[TheUglyPlum]

The board is ATX, I think you're mistaking the E in "Z170-E"

[PCGuy_5960]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor  ($512.95 @ shopRBC) 
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler 
Motherboard: ASRock X99 Extreme4 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard  ($331.00 @ Vuugo) 
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($159.99 @ Amazon Canada) 
Storage: Kingston HyperX Fury 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($107.00 @ Amazon Canada) 
Storage: Toshiba 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($59.99 @ Newegg Canada) 
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6GB SSC GAMING Video Card  ($349.00 @ Newegg Canada) 
Case: Corsair Carbide Series 300R Windowed ATX Mid Tower Case  ($89.99 @ NCIX) 
Power Supply: Corsair CXM 650W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($94.99 @ Amazon Canada) 
Total: $1704.91
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-02-18 15:04 EST-0500

[TheUglyPlum]

4 minutes ago, nerdslayer1 said:

7700k build https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/ymxTVY 

get a cheap thinkpad with a Nvidia gpu as a school laptop you can get them from ebay, that's what i did when i got my engineering degree. 

Would it be better for me to order the parts from different websites as the website suggests and have to pay all of the different shipping costs or try to get all the parts from one website?

[The Sloth]

2 minutes ago, PCGuy_5960 said:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor  ($512.95 @ shopRBC) 
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler 
Motherboard: ASRock X99 Extreme4 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard  ($331.00 @ Vuugo) 
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($159.99 @ Amazon Canada) 
Storage: Kingston HyperX Fury 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($107.00 @ Amazon Canada) 
Storage: Toshiba 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($59.99 @ Newegg Canada) 
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6GB SSC GAMING Video Card  ($349.00 @ Newegg Canada) 
Case: Corsair Carbide Series 300R Windowed ATX Mid Tower Case  ($89.99 @ NCIX) 
Power Supply: Corsair CXM 650W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($94.99 @ Amazon Canada) 
Total: $1704.91
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-02-18 15:04 EST-0500

 

1070 with a 7700k would be better for his use 

[The Sloth]

1 minute ago, TheUglyPlum said:

Would it be better for me to order the parts from different websites as the website suggests and have to pay all of the different shipping costs or try to get all the parts from one website?

 

try to find the best deals, order many things as you can from one website. 

[PCGuy_5960]

2 minutes ago, nerdslayer1 said:

1070 with a 7700k would be better for his use 

Isn't 3D Modelling more CPU intensive?

[TheUglyPlum]

2 minutes ago, nerdslayer1 said:

1070 with a 7700k would be better for his use 

I probably will be using it more for gaming than for rendering and whatnot, so is it better for me to go for higher clock speeds and less cores?

[The Sloth]

1 minute ago, TheUglyPlum said:

I probably will be using it more for gaming than for rendering and whatnot, so is it better for me to go for higher clock speeds and less cores?

 

i guessed that, a 7700k will do just fine for all the use case you are going to have in the future. 

[PCGuy_5960]

2 minutes ago, TheUglyPlum said:

I probably will be using it more for gaming than for rendering and whatnot, so is it better for me to go for higher clock speeds and less cores?

Depends on which games you play... But for most games, yes.

[The Sloth]

2 minutes ago, PCGuy_5960 said:

Isn't 3D Modelling more CPU intensive?

he is not going to use it fully, a 7700k will be just fine for him, games will also run better. 

[PCGuy_5960]

2 minutes ago, nerdslayer1 said:

he is not going to use it fully, a 7700k will be just fine for him, games will also run better. 

Except for BF1 and Watch_dogs 2

[The Sloth]

1 minute ago, PCGuy_5960 said:

Except for BF1 and Watch_dogs 2

bf1 is good optimized game, watchdog 2 is a really shitty game. my 1070 sli has problem running that. OP get a 7700k with a 1070 it will be perfect for your school and personal life. if you don't mind me asking what discipline are you studying? 

[TheUglyPlum]

1 minute ago, nerdslayer1 said:

bf1 is good optimized game, watchdog 2 is a really shitty game. my 1070 sli has problem running that. OP get a 7700k with a 1070 it will be perfect for your school and personal life. if you don't mind me asking what discipline are you studying? 

Computer Engineering. I originally planned to do Civil tech through college but I realized I was much more passionate about electronics and computers. I'm only in my first year at university but it seems like a great program, 10/10

[brob]

NCIX sourced build below.

 

300R case is not that pretty and a 240mm radiator is quite snug. There are better and less expensive psu. Less expensive and good quality ssd and memory.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-7700K 4.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($464.99 @ NCIX) 
CPU Cooler: NZXT Kraken X61 106.1 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($144.98 @ NCIX) 
Motherboard: Asus PRIME Z270-P ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($180.98 @ NCIX) 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($160.98 @ NCIX) 
Storage: Crucial MX300 275GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($130.98 @ NCIX) 
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($73.98 @ NCIX) 
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6GB 6GT OC Video Card  ($355.98 @ NCIX) 
Case: NZXT S340 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($83.98 @ NCIX) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic G 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($104.98 @ NCIX) 
Total: $1701.83
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-02-18 16:44 EST-0500

[AnonymousGuy]

Am an engineer.  You wont' be doing anything at a college level that is actually taxing for a system.  You're basically aiming for any sort of generic gaming machine.

 

Drop to a 7600k and up to a 1070.

[Mark77]

If you want to get through "Computer Engineering", ditch the gaming, ditch the fancy graphics card, get yourself a solid desktop machine with a non-k processor, or even build yourself one of those E5-2670 specials.  Load Linux on it, and go on your merry way.  Make a VM or something for those rare times you actually need Windows for things like Matlab and/or the other design packages.

 

I'm serious.  Gaming is a colossal waste of time if you're trying to master this stuff.  3D modelling software, really?

 

 

[TheUglyPlum]

14 hours ago, AnonymousGuy said:

Am an engineer.  You wont' be doing anything at a college level that is actually taxing for a system.  You're basically aiming for any sort of generic gaming machine.

 

Drop to a 7600k and up to a 1070.

I'm at university level, not going through college. I'm only in a generic first year before I choose my discipline and we've already begun using SolidWorks and AutoCAD. But I want a rig that I can use for both gaming and for my school work. Hence why I asked for peoples insight on a good mixture of both.

[TheUglyPlum]

12 hours ago, Mark77 said:

If you want to get through "Computer Engineering", ditch the gaming, ditch the fancy graphics card, get yourself a solid desktop machine with a non-k processor, or even build yourself one of those E5-2670 specials.  Load Linux on it, and go on your merry way.  Make a VM or something for those rare times you actually need Windows for things like Matlab and/or the other design packages.

 

I'm serious.  Gaming is a colossal waste of time if you're trying to master this stuff.  3D modelling software, really?

 

 

The entire point of this post was that I could get advice for how to find a medium between both. Thank you for the advice but I'm not looking to build a system solely for it. Plus, to my knowledge, it won't just be software engineering, I believe that it's both software and hardware so yes, I will have to use and am using 3D modelling software.