Best (from scratch) build for $2500 AUD?

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eripiomundus

Feb 28, 2018
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Sorry for dumping this question on the forum in my first post. Normally I'd do the research myself, but I need this PC fast and don't have time.

I'm looking for pure performance. Aesthetics are not even remotely important - if I had a dented, abraded, dirt-smeared tower case I'd clean it up with a rag and use it (I'm totally willing to get one second hand, but this is my first build and I'm not sure if I need a certain case to suit specific compononents or whether they're all much the same).

Looking to come in at around $2500 AUD (about $2000 USD). What I'll be doing with it:
>Animation, rendering, 3D manipulation etc in MAYA, as well as other imaging/rendering software
>Gaming
>Streaming in 4k
>Audio composition in programs like Ableton
>General purpose

Any help much appreciated, and thanks in advance.

 
Solution
A



Yes, you will need an aftermarket CPU cooler for the 1700x, it does not come with a cooler.

I was reading up and saw that Audio Works and some 3D programs like CAD and one more don't have the greatest compatibility with Ryzen. Not too sure how true but saw it in many sources.

Here is an Intel Build, which should do what you asked good enough. However, I doubt Streaming in 4k. Do you mean the streaming of video games on twitch or streaming videos to watch in 4k?

PCPartPicker part list: https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/NQ6FTB
Price breakdown by merchant...
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Overclocked the cpu to 3.9-4.0 ghz :

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 1700 3.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($406.00 @ Shopping Express)
Motherboard: ASRock - X370 GAMING X ATX AM4 Motherboard ($165.00 @ Umart)
Memory: G.Skill - Sniper X 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($283.00 @ Skycomp Technology)
Storage: Samsung - 960 EVO 500GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($314.00 @ Shopping Express)
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($109.00 @ Shopping Express)
Video Card: GALAX - GeForce GTX 1070 Ti 8GB EX-SNPR WHITE Video Card ($739.00 @ PLE Computers)
Case: Deepcool - KENDOMEN Red ATX Mid Tower Case ($65.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Power Supply: XFX - XTR 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($119.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($124.00 @ Shopping Express)
Sound Card: Asus - STRIX SOAR 24-bit 192 KHz Sound Card ($119.00 @ Umart)
Total: $2443.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-03-01 15:15 AEDT+1100
 
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Instead of getting windows straightaway, invest in a better power supply as you will need it to overclock a ryzen 1700, you can use the free version of windows until you save up for a license. (The free version is basically the same as paid except for a small watermark in the bottom right hand corner saying "activate windows", which you can do at any time).

Seasonic FOCUS 650w 80+ GOLD Certified Fully-Modular Power Supply: Powerhttps://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/WrNypg/seasonic-focus-plus-gold-650w-80-gold-certified-fully-modular-atx-power-supply-ssr-650fx
 
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No, but if you're willing to overclock they will likely perform the same.
 
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Yes, you will need an aftermarket CPU cooler for the 1700x, it does not come with a cooler.

I was reading up and saw that Audio Works and some 3D programs like CAD and one more don't have the greatest compatibility with Ryzen. Not too sure how true but saw it in many sources.

Here is an Intel Build, which should do what you asked good enough. However, I doubt Streaming in 4k. Do you mean the streaming of video games on twitch or streaming videos to watch in 4k?

PCPartPicker part list: https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/NQ6FTB
Price breakdown by merchant: https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/NQ6FTB/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel - Core i7-8700K 3.7GHz 6-Core Processor ($499.00 @ Shopping Express)
CPU Cooler: Corsair - H100i v2 70.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($138.00 @ Shopping Express)
Motherboard: MSI - Z370-A PRO ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($179.00 @ Umart)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws 4 Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($255.00 @ Umart)
Storage: Kingston - A400 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($99.00 @ Centre Com)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Video Card: Zotac - GeForce GTX 1080 8GB AMP! Edition Video Card ($869.00 @ Scorptec)
Case: NZXT - S340 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($101.00 @ Skycomp Technology)
Power Supply: Corsair - RMx 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($154.00 @ Shopping Express)
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($124.00 @ Shopping Express)
Total: $2477.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-03-02 00:05 AEDT+1100

Includes the OS. Do you need monitor and peripherals? Also note that prices are stupid right now, and there might be a release for new GPU's right around the corner so you might want to wait. But if you cannot, this will serve you well for quite some time.
 
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Solution


Why? That XFX PSU is a pretty decent unit and should provide for solid overclocking. That whole free Windows thing is generally never advised. Now you could drop the expensive and unnecessary sound card and invest in a better PSU - that would be much wiser.
 
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The XTR series is very good , I run a 650w in one of my setups.
 
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The XFX XTR is essentially a Seasonic G series which is the predecessor to the FOCUS. There is really nothing at all wrong with it, and the system has more than enough headroom to overclock all he wants with it. He is gaining nothing by doing this except having to spend more money on an already good setup.

I agree with G-unit however, that Sound card is a waste of money, the onboard sound is just as good.
 
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Do you really need a sound card? And that is the really the case you're going with?
 
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Thanks heaps to everyone for helping out.

@Lucky_SLS: Thanks for al that. I really like the Ryzen 7 1700x, and I like that it's using the AM4, which will keep me "in the loop" for a fair while - one of my aims in this is to produce something that, apart from potential component failures and damage etc, will keep me in the game for as long as possible without having to upgrade anything. My only problem with a ryzen 7 over an i7 is that not that many applications use 16 simultaneous threads, so are they wasted? Does it mean you can run more simultaneous programs (RAM permitting)?

@Lewis02: thanks for the tips.

@Architsahu: I think you might be right about the ryzen series. The rendering aspect of what I'll be doing won't be as common as the 3D modelling, which would be less core/thread intensive run smoother on an i7. If rendering takes a bit longer it's not that crucial because it won't be done that often (at least in MAYA - and I don't think photoshop or krita would prove too onerous even if I'm rendering more often. To answer your questions about peripherals and monitor: yes, I'll need them all. I'm currently just using a notebook. I've added the monitor and peripherals in PCPartPicker - the price rose to just over $3000 by the time I was finished, but that's not so bad.

Would I be right in assuming I can just use PCPartPicker to build a PC and it will tell me if, for instance, a motherboard is incompatible with a CPU?
 
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Yes, pcpartpicker tells you that.

Great. So with my build it goes to $3000 with peripherals? Okay, let me try to see if I can make it a bit cheaper (by choosing cheaper peripherals, not changing the build parts):
PCPartPicker part list: https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/ZZMxr6
Price breakdown by merchant: https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/ZZMxr6/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel - Core i7-8700K 3.7GHz 6-Core Processor ($499.00 @ Shopping Express)
CPU Cooler: Corsair - H100i v2 70.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($138.00 @ Shopping Express)
Motherboard: MSI - Z370-A PRO ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($179.00 @ Umart)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws 4 Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($255.00 @ Umart)
Storage: Kingston - A400 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($99.00 @ Centre Com)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Video Card: Zotac - GeForce GTX 1080 8GB AMP! Edition Video Card ($869.00 @ Scorptec)
Case: NZXT - S340 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($101.00 @ Skycomp Technology)
Power Supply: Corsair - RMx 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($154.00 @ Shopping Express)
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($124.00 @ Shopping Express)
Monitor: BenQ - GL2760H 27.0" 1920x1080 60Hz Monitor ($280.00 @ Centre Com)
Keyboard: Logitech - G810 Orion Spectrum RGB Wired Gaming Keyboard ($138.00 @ Shopping Express)
Mouse: Corsair - M65 PRO RGB FPS Wired Optical Mouse ($77.00 @ Skycomp Technology)
Total: $2972.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-03-02 10:37 AEDT+1100

The monitor is something I have never tried, but I can vouch for those peripherals. They are really good.

Also, what about your streaming? Is it streaming videos in 4k or streaming games on twitch in 4k?
 
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@ g unit : I chose the kendomen cuz of its inbuilt 5 fans and cheap price. I know it's not great designwise, but adequate in performance for the part list. Also, op didn't seem interested in aesthetics XD

I chose the sound card Cuz after reading the post I though Maya, rendering and ableton works were having an equal if not higher priority than gaming. I also had no idea about op's music instrument catalogue. So was saving the trouble if he needed it later. This is also the reason why I included 32gigs of ram and 512gb of nvme awesomeness.

For gaming? Intel is the way to go, but when it includes rendering and multitasking with a strict budget, I chose 1700. If I had like a 150-200 bucks headroom, I would suggest a nice 8700k build.
 
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It's not even about PSU quality. If you want to overclock an 8 core CPU from 3GHz to 4GHz, you're going to want more than 550 watts, especially when you have a graphics card that recommends a 500 watt PSU.
 
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No, thats excessive. Recommended PSUs from GPU manufacturers are always excessive, due to the assumption that most people don't have a good quality PSU. The XFX XTR can more than handle it. That system not overclocked won't even use 400w on a spike. Overclocking does not cause a massive wattage increase.
 
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Thanks for the ongoing help everyone. Have looked into whether I'll need a sound card or not - still not sure. I'll be recording into Ableton Live and I need clean static-free recordings, so electrical interference with the motherboard's inbuilt sound might be an issue (then again electrical interference with an internal sound card isn't out of the question either), but for now I think I can drop the sound card and see how it goes without (if there are issues I can still use my notebook for Ableton until I save enough for a decent sound card).

So I think the i7 8700k build by Archtisahu (thanks heaps) might be the best way to spend the money. Thanks to all who contributed their thoughts. Much appreciated.
 
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