graphic design Opinions on First time build - Graphic Design, Content Creation & Stuff, NOT gaming

[marlene]

Hey guys,

 

I am a newbie in building PCs. I have never made a build or choose parts by myself but now I need to make a PC for my own (I am a graphic designer, digital & marketing specialist). This is the first time I chose parts for a build and I want to be sure it will work fine & without any problems. That's why I need your advice.

 

I need the PC mainly for graphic design & content creation except the regular stuff (browsing, documents creation & managing, watching movies, listening music and etc., but NOT gaming). Programs that will need to be work with on regular basis on the machine:

- every day - mainly Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, After Effects, Corel DRAW, Adobe Bridge & some printing software;

- weekly or monthly (with an intention to be more often) - Solid works, 3D max, Fusion, Realflow, Xara, Blender 3D and some other for video editing, 3D and animation.

 

This PC will be used for over 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. It is needed to be stable, really fast and secured machine for some more years from now on (I will probably not have the opportunity to change it after 2-4 years as I need other equipment to get in addition as drawing tablet, laptop for meeting with clients, etc.). I tried to choose trusted producers for the each part and make a balance build as currently I have a limited budget. In future I intend to upgrade it through adding a second monitor, more RAM (about 32GBs), a second SSD and may be an additional traditional HDD.

 

These are the chosen parts https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/user/marlene/saved/mcrf8d except the monitor. It will be chosen in addition. If you have any recommendations for a monitor I will be happy if you share such. Budget for monitor is limited to 350$ (US) / 230 £.

 

I have read a lot about each of the parts but I am afraid of missing anything. So I will really appreciate any opinion, help, suggestions & recommendations for the build.

 

Thank you in advance!

 

Edit: Probable light CPU overclock in future.

[QuantumBit]

Get a 1600 instead, maybe downsize ram and get a 1700.

[MyRigsBetterThanUrs]

downgrade the gpu unless you know for a fact that your workflow can be accelerated by CUDA and you arent gaming so a 1050 would be more than enough, then get a 1700.

[SilkyDistress]

1 hour ago, marlene said:

-snip-

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 1700 3.0GHz 8-Core Processor  (£244.99 @ CCL Computers) 
Motherboard: ASRock - AB350 Pro4 ATX AM4 Motherboard  (£75.44 @ Ebuyer) 
Memory: Team - Vulcan 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  (£183.42 @ CCL Computers) 
Memory: Team - Vulcan 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  (£98.99 @ Overclockers.co.uk) 
Storage: Samsung - 960 EVO 250GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive  (£106.97 @ Amazon UK) 
Storage: Western Digital - Red 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  (£70.00 @ Aria PC) 
Video Card: Zotac - GeForce GTX 1050 2GB Mini Video Card  (£110.98 @ AWD-IT) 
Case: Corsair - 200R ATX Mid Tower Case  (£57.71 @ More Computers) 
Power Supply: Corsair - RMx 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  (£85.10 @ Box Limited) 
Total: £1033.60
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-01-23 12:43 GMT+0000

 

I think this build is gonna threat you pretty well, it has R7 1700 which pretty strong on productivity side with 24 gb's of ram that will help you a lot.

[pcnoob27]

Maybe as monitor the Lg 29Um58-p 

In my country it costs about 200 EUR and its well known that its good for editing etc. 

https://www.amazon.com/LG-29UM58-P-21-UltraWide-Monitor/dp/B01B67KAQ4

[marlene]

21 hours ago, QuantumBit said:

Get a 1600 instead, maybe downsize ram and get a 1700.

I choose the highest possible (acc to my budget) GHz for the CPU as more of the Adobe solutions I am often using are single threading oriented not multicore. So I suppose 6-core 3.6 GHz will be better than 8-core 3.0 GHz, right?

 

By downsizing the RAM you mean to lower the speed to 2400 Hz or to get 2x8 GB volumes?

[marlene]

21 hours ago, MyRigsBetterThanUrs said:

downgrade the gpu unless you know for a fact that your workflow can be accelerated by CUDA and you arent gaming so a 1050 would be more than enough, then get a 1700.

Do you think that GTX 1050 instead of 1060 will be enough for video editing and rendering? Or you mean to get a 1050 with more than 3 GB vram?

[marlene]

20 hours ago, SilkyDistress said:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 1700 3.0GHz 8-Core Processor  (лв 547.47 @ CCL Computers) 
Motherboard: ASRock - AB350 Pro4 ATX AM4 Motherboard  (лв 168.58 @ Ebuyer) 
Memory: Team - Vulcan 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  (лв 409.88 @ CCL Computers) 
Memory: Team - Vulcan 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  (лв 221.21 @ Overclockers.co.uk) 
Storage: Samsung - 960 EVO 250GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive  (лв 239.04 @ Amazon UK) 
Storage: Western Digital - Red 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  (лв 156.43 @ Aria PC) 
Video Card: Zotac - GeForce GTX 1050 2GB Mini Video Card  (лв 248 @ AWD-IT) 
Case: Corsair - 200R ATX Mid Tower Case  (лв 128.96 @ More Computers) 
Power Supply: Corsair - RMx 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  (лв 190.17 @ Box Limited) 
Total: лв 2,309.74
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-01-23 12:43 GMT+0000

 

I think this build is gonna threat you pretty well, it has R7 1700 which pretty strong on productivity side with 24 gb's of ram that will help you a lot.

I choose the highest possible GHz for the CPU (acc. to my budget I couldn't get a 1800x) as I read more of the Adobe solutions I am often using are single threading oriented not multi-core.

So wouldn't 6-core 3.6 GHz be better than 8-core 3.0 GHz in my case?

Can you please help me understand why you recommend RAM that is 2x8GB + 2x4GB of DDR4-3000 (24GB total) instead of 2x16GB-2666 (32GB total)?
I was told that I will not benefit significant difference if I use 2400 vs 2666 Hz DDR4.

And as I read the mobo I choose do not support regularly 3000 Hz, but only when overclocked.

 

In regard to the SSD - 960 EVO vs 850 EVO I was recently told that in regard to their speed
850 EVO = 560 MB/s Read, 510 MB/s Write speed
960 EVO =Sequential Read Speed Max 3,200 MB/sec & Sequential Write Speed Max 1,900 MB/sec too?
the 960 EVO's speeds are just a marketing trick and I can benefit the difference only if I often transfer large files as 10+GB.
If 850 EVO is better choice I can get a ~500GB (I read bigger volumes )... What is your recommendation?
 

Do you think that GPU GTX 1050 2 GB instead of GTX 1060 3GB will be enough for video editing and rendering too? 

[marlene]

18 hours ago, pcnoob27 said:

Maybe as monitor the Lg 29Um58-p 

In my country it costs about лв 391.86 and its well known that its good for editing etc. 

https://www.amazon.com/LG-29UM58-P-21-UltraWide-Monitor/dp/B01B67KAQ4

thanks for this recommendation  

Have you any experience in using this display for design that requires printing?

Or have you heard it is good not only for digital work?

[Kinda Bottlenecked]

I know rendering in blender cycles can be very vram intensive with more complex scenes

 

Will you be doing alot of that?

[SilkyDistress]

2 hours ago, marlene said:

I choose the highest possible GHz for the CPU (acc. to my budget I couldn't get a 1800x) as I read more of the Adobe solutions I am often using are single threading oriented not multi-core.

So wouldn't 6-core 3.6 GHz be better than 8-core 3.0 GHz in my case?

You can go for Intel that has security issue atm and you don't want it right ? You can without any problems overclock your processor to higher clocks with stock cooler.

2 hours ago, marlene said:

Can you please help me understand why you recommend RAM that is 2x8GB + 2x4GB of DDR4-3000 (24GB total) instead of 2x16GB-2666 (32GB total)?
I was told that I will not benefit significant difference if I use 2400 vs 2666 Hz DDR4.

Ryzen is very RAM speed depended in those tasks and you can save up some money with going 24 GB route, due to high prices in RAM market.

2 hours ago, marlene said:

In regard to the SSD - 960 EVO vs 850 EVO I was recently told that in regard to their speed
850 EVO = 560 MB/s Read, 510 MB/s Write speed
960 EVO =Sequential Read Speed Max 3,200 MB/sec & Sequential Write Speed Max 1,900 MB/sec too?
the 960 EVO's speeds are just a marketing trick and I can benefit the difference only if I often transfer large files as 10+GB.
If 850 EVO is better choice I can get a ~500GB (I read bigger volumes )... What is your recommendation?

You can always go 500 GB 850 EVO which I would recommend in your case scenario.

2 hours ago, marlene said:

Do you think that GPU GTX 1050 2 GB instead of GTX 1060 3GB will be enough for video editing and rendering too? 

GPU prices have completely skyrocketed last few weeks due to stupid cryptocurrency mining. You can go for 1060 3 GB cause Adobe absolutely loves more CUDA cores.

[pcnoob27]

5 hours ago, marlene said:

thanks for this recommendation  

Have you any experience in using this display for design that requires printing?

Or have you heard it is good not only for digital work?

I am buying this monitor in about 2-3 weeks and i literally have seen every unboxing etc of this monitor

[iskander87]

for your work and stability I would highly go with the intel/nvidia path

gtx 1060 6gb at least, and if you can grab the 1070 better

Vray RT can use both your cpu and gpu at the same time for render, I was told Final Render now can do it too, and almost all processional software likes cuda 

the ssd/ram I would go for the cheapest option of a good brand... crucial MX500 + the cheapest gskill/corsair/etc available or so, it would make not difference

I work with adobe AE/PS and 3ds Max in a daily basis 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ivpstudios/

now if it were a pc only for render, then R7-1700 + 1070 and a board with lots of pcix16 to add more cards in the future 

[marlene]

23 hours ago, Pohernori said:

I know rendering in blender cycles can be very vram intensive with more complex scenes

 

Will you be doing alot of that?

I don't think I will be doing this daily...probably it will be weekly or monthly.

[Colty]

8700k (better in every way than R7 1700), added a liquid cooler, got rid of the extra 8GB of RAM, if this is necessary later, wait for a sale on RAM prices. 

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/zrgQ3F

[marlene]

 

Quote

 

On 1/24/2018 at 11:28 AM, marlene said:

I choose the highest possible GHz for the CPU (acc. to my budget I couldn't get a 1800x) as I read more of the Adobe solutions I am often using are single threading oriented not multi-core.

So wouldn't 6-core 3.6 GHz be better than 8-core 3.0 GHz in my case?

You can go for Intel that has security issue atm and you don't want it right ? You can without any problems overclock your processor to higher clocks with stock cooler.

 

Yes, Intel has more issues, even hardware ones, that cannot be repaired by patches & updates.

I also do multitask work while work on a computer in which Ryzens are better.

 

Quote

 

On 1/24/2018 at 11:28 AM, marlene said:

Can you please help me understand why you recommend RAM that is 2x8GB + 2x4GB of DDR4-3000 (24GB total) instead of 2x16GB-2666 (32GB total)?
I was told that I will not benefit significant difference if I use 2400 vs 2666 Hz DDR4.

Ryzen is very RAM speed depended in those tasks and you can save up some money with going 24 GB route, due to high prices in RAM market.

 

Ryzen 5 supports max 2666 Hz RAM. That's why I wanted to get 2x 16GB on 2666 Hz and upgrade with 2 more of the same later. Whould you recommend it or I should use 2x8GB + 2x4GB of DDR4- 2666?

[marlene]

20 hours ago, pcnoob27 said:

I am buying this monitor in about 2-3 weeks and i literally have seen every unboxing etc of this monitor

Thanks! I'll be happy to hear about your experience when you get it. I am not sure if I will choose and get any for me till then.   

[marlene]

8 hours ago, iskander87 said:

for your work and stability I would highly go with the intel/nvidia path

gtx 1060 6gb at least, and if you can grab the 1070 better

Vray RT can use both your cpu and gpu at the same time for render, I was told Final Render now can do it too, and almost all processional software likes cuda 

the ssd/ram I would go for the cheapest option of a good brand... crucial MX500 + the cheapest gskill/corsair/etc available or so, it would make not difference

I work with adobe AE/PS and 3ds Max in a daily basis 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ivpstudios/

now if it were a pc only for render, then R7-1700 + 1070 and a board with lots of pcix16 to add more cards in the future 

Thanks for the comments!

Have you try Ryzens for your work PC? Do you think a 6-core & 3.6 GHz are enough for my case? Have you overclocked?

 

Unfortunately, cannot afford a 1070 GPU. 6 GB of 1060 is also very expensive  

Have you tried using a GPU with 3 GB in you work ? Is it a torture vs GPU with 6 GB or a normal work process?

 

How much RAM you can recommend for normal work? What volumes and speeds are yours?

P.S.: Rob octopus is awesome  <3 

[marlene]

24 minutes ago, Colty said:

8700k (better in every way than R7 1700), added a liquid cooler, got rid of the extra 8GB of RAM, if this is necessary later, wait for a sale on RAM prices. 

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/zrgQ3F

Thankts!
But wouldn't be a GTX 1050 2GB Mini Video Card not enough for the programs I work with?
Can you help me understand why (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory is better? Only because it is DDR4-3000? Or another reason?

[Colty]

2 minutes ago, marlene said:

Thankts!
But wouldn't be a GTX 1050 2GB Mini Video Card not enough for the programs I work with?
Can you help me understand why (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory is better? Only because it is DDR4-3000? Or another reason?

Cheaper and faster. RAM speed and latency matters less with the Intel platform though. And if the 1050 2GB won't be enough, I'd recommend a GTX 970 secondhand for £200. You can find them on eBay and /r/hardwareswapuk.

[iskander87]

5 hours ago, marlene said:

Thanks for the comments!

Have you try Ryzens for your work PC? Do you think a 6-core & 3.6 GHz are enough for my case? Have you overclocked?

 

Unfortunately, cannot afford a 1070 GPU. 6 GB of 1060 is also very expensive  

Have you tried using a GPU with 3 GB in you work ? Is it a torture vs GPU with 6 GB or a normal work process?

 

How much RAM you can recommend for normal work? What volumes and speeds are yours?

P.S.: Rob octopus is awesome  <3 

no man I haven't tried ryzen at all... now, a friend that lives in the states have the 1800x and says it's a monster for 3dsMax, for AE specifically he says he's unimpressed, some times is the same as his i7, some time's a bit faster but must of the times he feel it's really slower 

 

the ryzen you are thinking should be better than my current 6700k, I don't know a thing about OC hahaha

about GPUs... I started with a quadro 2000 1gb so... the 1060 3gb is ok... fo sure not perfect, but you can start from there, I currently have 2 1070, so with that I make up for the weak CPU 

I started with 8gb of ram, now I have 32, but it depends on your workflow, for AE try to put all the ram you can and a spare SSD for caching, for 3dsMax it depends on the size of your scenes and your textures, etc

 

thanks for the octopus! that's rendered with Final Render, a very easy to use engine, I recommend you to check it out

 

I don't understand this one... What volumes and speeds are yours?

[iskander87]

6 hours ago, Colty said:

8700k (better in every way than R7 1700), added a liquid cooler, got rid of the extra 8GB of RAM, if this is necessary later, wait for a sale on RAM prices. 

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/zrgQ3F

yes, I would choose the 8700k definitely, in fact going for the intel way you can choose whatever ram you want and don't have to worry about selected high speed ram

[marlene]

well, I have to think about the 8700K seriously now

Quote

I don't understand this one... What volumes and speeds are yours?

I meant how many GB of memory and with what speed you have but you already answered half of the question ... as you said you currently have 32 GB... so the only think i want to know is what is the speed of your current 32 GB of RAM and is it enough for a good work and speed ?
also how many GB you have for your GPUs?

 

will deffinately try Final Render thanks  

[iskander87]

20 minutes ago, marlene said:

well, I have to think about the 8700K seriously now

I meant how many GB of memory and with what speed you have but you already answered half of the question ... as you said you currently have 32 GB... so the only think i want to know is what is the speed of your current 32 GB of RAM and is it enough for a good work and speed ?
also how many GB you have for your GPUs?

 

will deffinately try Final Render thanks  

Damn! I thought I had crucial ram...  hahahaha, my ram is Mushkin Enhanced Silverline!??  4x8gb 2133 mhz for the scenes I work on mostly I really never use anything near that amount, to be able to use the gpu I need to fix it under the 8 gb of the 1070, which is really not a problem and I don't remember ever being stuck reducing textures quality or anything, but for AE... the more ram the better, although having an ssd as cache helps 

 

[iskander87]

look, if you aren't even going to game... which is a good start by itself! I would recommend you not spend a dollar in a gpu, start with the basics and put your budget in a good intel cpu, then when gpu prices fall, or at least get better, go for one, the price of the 1060 right now is crazy man, it really doesn't worth it