$3000 3D modeling/rendering workstation (ADVICE NEEDED)

[Tonez]

Hi Guys
My boss is letting me buy a new computer for around $3000
I use revit and 3D's Max 2013.
I have no Idea what I need. Any advise will be greatly appreciated.

 

[stickmansam]

That is a very large budget so I may be going a bit crazy so someone stop me if I am
OS and the apps themselves on the SSD and the data and stuff on RAID 10 HDD's to ensure no loss of data

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3930K 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor ($499.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 SE2011 CPU Cooler ($80.44 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-X79-UD3 ATX LGA2011 Motherboard ($203.55 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Patriot Intel Extreme Master, Limited Ed 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($173.79 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($135.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($135.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($135.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($135.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($219.99 @ Adorama)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 670 4GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($426.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 670 4GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($426.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: NZXT Phantom (Black) ATX Full Tower Case ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 850W 80 PLUS Silver Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($122.75 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.98 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $2928.34
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-19 00:43 EST-0500)

1155 build but with 4 SSD's as well in RAID 10

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($80.31 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($180.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Patriot Intel Extreme Master, Limited Ed 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($173.79 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($135.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($135.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($135.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($135.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: OCZ Vector Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($137.28 @ TigerDirect)
Storage: OCZ Vector Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($137.28 @ TigerDirect)
Storage: OCZ Vector Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($137.28 @ TigerDirect)
Storage: OCZ Vector Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($137.28 @ TigerDirect)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 670 4GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($426.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 670 4GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($426.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: NZXT Phantom (Black) ATX Full Tower Case ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 850W 80 PLUS Silver Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($122.75 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.98 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $2964.77
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-19 00:53 EST-0500)

Saner and more budget friendly

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3930K 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor ($499.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 SE2011 CPU Cooler ($80.44 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-X79-UD3 ATX LGA2011 Motherboard ($203.55 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Patriot Intel Extreme Master, Limited Ed 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($173.79 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($135.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($219.99 @ Adorama)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($363.98 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Phantom (Black) ATX Full Tower Case ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 850W 80 PLUS Silver Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($122.75 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.98 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $2030.42
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-19 00:56 EST-0500)

 

[djangoringo]

This will do :

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3930K 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor ($560.98 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($32.98 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock X79 Extreme6 ATX LGA2011 Motherboard ($206.50 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($144.00 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial M4 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($159.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($74.54 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($369.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Titanium Grey) ATX Mid Tower Case ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Rosewill Capstone 650W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus BC-12B1ST/BLK/B/AS Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($56.23 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($119.00 @ Amazon)
Total: $1909.19
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

You might get a lower card, for revit it's the cpu that counts so you're better off with the i7-3930k, for 3D max 2013 the cpu is stil what matters but a nvidia card with cuda support is the best option to go with it, you can get a 670 or 660 ti and it will do just fine for it, and it's inexpensive.

 

[AMD Radeon]

this build is optimized for Corsair Link V2
you can read here http://www.corsair.com/us/blog/corsair-link-v2-features-and-functionality/
thats why i put corsair case, H100i, and AX 860i

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3930K 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor ($499.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock X79 Extreme6 ATX LGA2011 Motherboard ($206.50 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($199.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($135.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($135.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($219.99 @ Adorama)
Video Card: PNY Quadro 4000 2GB Video Card ($703.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair C70 Arctic White (White/Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair 860W 80 PLUS Platinum Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($199.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.98 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $2632.35
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-19 00:52 EST-0500)

QUADRO card for optimizing 3DSmax and CAD software

 

[Tonez]

Wow, Thankyou all, youve given me a lot to think about. I'll be sure to let you know what I get in the end. Again, much appreciated =)

 

[djangoringo]

Don't forget to buy the windows 7 professional, the home premium has only support for 16GB of ram, if you're planning to buy 32GB.