3d Game design

[riaz_malek]

Hi Guys i am looking to build my son an entry level 3d design pc. The budget is $1000.00.
Can you pls advise on the best value for money hardware i could use for this.
Thanks

 

[Why_Me]

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/gigabyte-nvidia-sli-motherboard,7463.html <=== Gigabyte: Enable SLI On X58 Boards

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042 $59.95 Free Shipping*
Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341022 $69.99 ($44.99 after $25.00 Mail-In Rebate)
OCZ Fatal1ty OCZ550FTY 550W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128375 $199.99 ($184.99 after $15.00 Mail-In Rebate)
GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=I7-920 $265.99 Free Ground Shipping
Intel Core i7 Processor i7-920 2.66GHz 8MB LGA1366 CPU, OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185093 $31.99
Scythe MUGEN-2 SCMG-2000 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835154003 $4.99
Tuniq TX-2 Cooling Thermal Compound - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150357 $129.99 Free Shipping*
XFX GS250XYDFC GeForce GTS 250 512MB Core Edition 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
Free Call of Duty: World at War w/ purchase, limited offer

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231247 $89.99 Free Shipping*
G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

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Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

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LG Black 22X (CAV) DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X (CAV) DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD±R DVD Burner - OEM

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Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit for System Builders - OEM

Total: $1,052.85 | $1,012.85 w/rebates *not including shipping

 

[Outlander_04]

Hi Guys i am looking to build my son an entry level 3d design pc. The budget is $1000.00.
Can you pls advise on the best value for money hardware i could use for this.
Thanks

do you already have a monitor/keyboard/mouse/speakers/windows

or are you starting from scratch ?

 

[xthekidx]

You should either be looking at getting a workstation GPU or a gaming GPU that can be softmodded to use WS drivers.

 

[r_manic]

Hey riaz, I have some experience with Maya, 3D modeling and animation software. Why_Me has a pretty good setup going, because it provides a powerful enough CPU for all the required processing (especially rendering!)

I'd wish a workstation-quality graphics card would be part of the build, but we have your budget to work with, and that kind of hardware is expensive. The GTS 250 is strong enough for most tasks anyway... just make sure your son doesn't play too much games!

The only issue I have with Why_Me's setup is that it doesn't leave room for a monitor. Your son will probably appreciate a large-sized display, since it will let him manage all those necessary windows and toolbars properly.

Why_Me, may I suggest riaz use this build you made last week?

 

[warezme]

If I could I would recommend spending a little extra on either GTX 260 or 275, as the core architecture of these two are of newer generation and not based on the older G9x core that was just relabeled.

If you want to save a couple of hundred dollars you could still opt for a 775 socket motherboard and Penryn quadcore chip would save about $75-$100 on the mobo, about $25 - 50 on the chip and $50 - $65 on the mem and still offer very good performance especially if its lightly OC'ed to 3.2Ghz or so.

Unless you have a "free" copy, Studio Max 9 is about $3,500.

 

[riaz_malek]

Thanks guys, Yes i do have a keyboard, mouse, monitor and OS already.

 

[riaz_malek]

You should either be looking at getting a workstation GPU or a gaming GPU that can be softmodded to use WS drivers.

What are WS drivers?

 

[xthekidx]

WS=Workstation

 

[r_manic]

So have you settled on anything riaz?

lol at "free" warez... there's a student edition of 3DS Max that's "only" $100, AFAIK: http://www.studica.com/products/product_detail.cfm?productid=56253&storeid=2

Maya btw costs at least $2000...

 

[warezme]

So have you settled on anything riaz?

lol at "free" warez... there's a student edition of 3DS Max that's "only" $100, AFAIK: http://www.studica.com/products/product_detail.cfm?productid=56253&storeid=2

Maya btw costs at least $2000...

I noticed the student edition puts a watermark on renders. Unless its a small unobtrusive watermark I don't think I would deal with that but as a learning student its a good price just to learn with.

 

[riaz_malek]

I am currently pricing the parts here in australia, i am having to make some changes as some parts are not in stock. Will post when i am close to having all the prices and component choices.

 

[riaz_malek]

Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem CPU $434
Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R-SLI i7 $369
6Gb Triple DDR3 1333 Memory $134
GeForce GTS250 16X PCI-E 512M $239
Pioneer DVR-216 Black SATA DVD $28.90
Antec Three Hundred Tower $109
650W CoolerMaster Extreme ATX $129
This is the pricing and build i am currently looking at, I am trying to play 2 hardware dealers off each other at the moment so wish me luck.

 

[xthekidx]

Get a different PSU, the only ones from Coolermaster worth looking at are the Real power Pro series and UCP series. Look at a corsair 650tx or 550vx, those should do well.

 

[specialk90]

Corsair or PC Power & Cooling PSUs are great.

For 3D work, stay away from regular video cards. TomsHardware just released an article testing the much more powerful GTS 280 against Workstation cards. The $150 ATI V3600 smokes the GTS 280. You can save a lot of money and get a 775 based setup with the Q8300 + ASUS P5Q Pro ($300 or less in US for this combo). The most significant impact on performance will be the Video card. If you can get your hands on a Nvidia 8800GTS 640MB, you can "Soft-mod" it to a FX4600. The 8800GTS is a little older but can provide the largest performance increase per Dollar. Or the ATI V5600($350 US) is very competent too.

For the CPU, you can easily overclock the Q8300 from 2.5GHz to 3.2GHz, which is faster than the i7 920 at its stock 2.66GHz. Most rendering is done overnight, so a 5-10% reduction in rendering times is not really worth an extra $300-400. Take that extra $300 and put it towards a Workstation card which will provide a real-time performance increase while working in 3D programs.

Take a look at these 2 articles and the pages that come up in the links:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/quadro-fx-4800,2258-10.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/amd-firepro-v8700,2154-10.html

The ATI 4870 is more powerful in 3D programs than the GTS 280. Look for this comment in the ATI FirePro article,

"We also decided to investigate if there were visible differences in picture quality between the two models. On a basic Windows desktop we discovered no discrepancies, but as soon as you load a professional graphics application such as Maya or 3ds Max and import a complex 3D model, things change completely. When using the Radeon, you simply have to accept that wire frames will peek out of shaded surfaces all over the place, and that significant clipping occurs as numerous objects are viewed or animated. These phenomena simply don't occur when using the FirePro. Bottom line: those who seek to be frugal with expensive workstation applications should not fall prey to false economies. "

 

[r_manic]

Great stuff specialk90

And good luck with your haggling riaz. Those prices are a bit ouch-inducing

I agree with thekid, CORSAIR PSUs are considered better, and you might save a bit if you opt for a 550W power supply.