Build for professional 3D($600-800 aprox.)

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Raja_Jester

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Mar 7, 2014
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After months of searching and freelancing, I've landed a job with a game company as an Asset Modeler/Texture Artist! And unfortunately my envy m7 is just not up to snuff. So here are my parameters:

Approximate Purchase Date: ASAP

Budget Range: $600-800, flexible

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Sculpting/Modeling, Image Editing/Photoshop, Gaming

Are you buying a monitor: No

Do you need to buy OS: Yes, Windows 8 is preferred by the company

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: No preference.

Location: N/A

Parts Preferences: Nvidia GPU is preferred.

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: No.

Your Monitor Resolution: 1280X1024 or higher.

Additional Comments:

-I'm creating assets in Zbrush
-We are using the UDK Engine
-I was able to pull an EVGA 660ti from an abandoned machine at work(sooo much luck), but I need to record my process to pass down the pipeline to our Modular Dev team, so let me know if it won't deliver.
-an optical drive isn't necessary, everything will be on the office network
-I will need to be able to run different builds of the game throughout development, which means it will be severely un-optimized. If the 660ti wont take it, let me know.

I'm ecstatic to see what you can do. After lurking on the forums for years, reading recommendations for others, it will be great to see what would fit me. Any positive suggestions are appreciated. I came up with this on my own:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($109.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: SilenX EFZ-92HA2 54.0 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler ($10.98 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock 980DE3/U3S3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($69.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (4 x 2GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.94 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($259.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $780.85
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-07 22:50 EST-0500)
 
Solution
bambiboom
Raja_Jester,

Overall, I think you'd have good results.

1. The FX-8350 performance is about 12% better than the FX-8320 but costs almost 30% more so the cost / performance of the 8320 is better.

2. The 660ti is a good card, $215 is inexpensive for one, and the ASUS version appears to have a very robust cooling system.

3. The one item that you might review is the power supply. If this were a home system for pumpin' the Intertubes and writing emails, yes, but keep in mind long, continuous running under full load. For example >

SeaSonic S12II 520 Bronze 520W ATX12V V2.3 / EPS 12V V2.91 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply > $60

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151094

On Passmark...
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zemiak

zemiak

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Nov 19, 2013
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Do this and pull the GTX 660 Ti from the abandoned machine. Preferably for video editing you want an i7 processor, although it is also $100 more than an i5. I chose a LGA1150 socket so if you ever feel the need to upgrade to an i7, you can. Another thing to invest in is an SSD for another $60 - $80 and it will make everything faster overall.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($30.98 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD4H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($159.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($144.00 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($57.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec TruePower Classic 650W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($15.99 @ Microcenter)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $818.91
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-08 02:30 EST-0500)
 
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bambiboom

bambiboom

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Apr 7, 2012
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Raja_Jester,

Here's an idea that I believe could have quite good performance> high clock speed, 8- cores for rendering, and the new GTX 750ti is supposed to be quite good. The AMD FX-8350 has among the best cost/performance ratios of any CPU. With the power supply, keep in mind the long periods of continuous running. There are a couple of options, the first of which I would recommend is having 16GB of RAM. I think it would be worth trying the GTX 660ti before buying another graphics card and taking part of the savings to have 16GB of RAM and possibly a 990 motherboard.

BambiBoom PixelPusher GrapharificcadorendaBlaze iWorkPlay 8350 £®©™?^(SM)©__REV 3.8.14

1. AMD FX-8350 Vishera 4.0GHz (4.2GHz Turbo) Socket AM3+ 125W Eight-Core Desktop Processor > $200

2. Cooler Master Hyper TX3 - CPU Cooler with 3 Direct Contact Heatpipes > $23

3. GIGABYTE GA-970A-DS3P AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard > $85

3A. ASRock 990FX EXTREME3 Socket AM3+/ AMD 990FX/ AMD Quad CrossFireX& nVidia Quad SLI/ SATA3&USB3.0/ A&GbE/ ATX Motherboard > $120 (If you use the GTX 600ti, consider changing to this faster motherboard)

4. 8GB Kingston HyperX Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model KHX1600C9D3B1K2/8GX > $57 (Again, if budget permits, make this 16GB)

4A. 16GB ADATA XPG V1.0 (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model AX3U1600W8G9-DB > $132 (Recommended to be able to run more applications at once]

5. GIGABYTE GV-N75TOC-2GI GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB 128-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 Video Card > $170

5A. AMD 100-505649(100-505844) FirePro V4900 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 Workstation Video Card > $155 (= --$15) (If you need a workstation graphics card that can run viewports > Maya)

5B. Reuse GTX 660ti > = -$170

6. WD Blue 1 TB Desktop Hard Drive: 3.5 Inch, 7200 RPM, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64 MB Cache - WD10EZEX > $60

7. CORSAIR CXM series CX500M 500W ATX12V v2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply> $60

9. Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case > $55

10. Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)[/url] ($89.99 @ NCIX US)

_________________________________________________________

TOTAL= $799 [ + $35 for 990 motherboard, +$75 for 16GB RAM, --$15 for Firepro V4900, --$170 Reuse GTX 660ti]

Overall, I would suggest reusing the GTX 660ti, having the 990 motherboard, and 16GB RAM, in which case
TOTAL = $739

Cheers,

BambiBoom


 
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Raja_Jester

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Mar 7, 2014
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Thanks,

Turns out the 660ti wasn't snatched up for a reason and is non functioning. The Firepro looks ok, but I've been wary to stray from Nvidia cards since I've been able to use the GPU for viewport rendering in Blender Cycles. I'm going low poly on the assets thanks to Zbrush's retop features. Do you think the 750ti could really cut it? I'm kind of nervous when it comes 60W cards. If not, I noticed the 660ti is around $220 as of now.

If the 750ti can deliver and I don't need the Firepro, then that would bring your build to $644, am I correct?
 
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Raja_Jester

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Mar 7, 2014
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Can you tell me why you suggested the i5? Also, the 660ti is botched. Any build including a card that will be closer to 700?
 
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bambiboom

bambiboom

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Apr 7, 2012
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/quotemsg]

Thanks,

Turns out the 660ti wasn't snatched up for a reason and is non functioning. The Firepro looks ok, but I've been wary to stray from Nvidia cards since I've been able to use the GPU for viewport rendering in Blender Cycles. I'm going low poly on the assets thanks to Zbrush's retop features. Do you think the 750ti could really cut it? I'm kind of nervous when it comes 60W cards. If not, I noticed the 660ti is around $220 as of now.

If the 750ti can deliver and I don't need the Firepro, then that would bring your build to $644, am I correct? [/quotemsg]

Raja_Jester,

It's a pity about the GTX 660 as that a good card. The Firepro V4900 was suggested as it is an economical way to be able to use the workstation drivers for certain Autodesk and Adobe. There are some applications that having a workstation card allows 128X anti-aliasing. I have used Quadros since 2002 and in general, in the workstation realm, there are quite few important applications that benefit from CUDA accleration, plus Quadros are extremely reliable- under less stress than GTX. In fact, all the Quadros I've had were used and I never had a failure. Of course, the GTX uses CUDA also.

I don;t know a lot abut the GTX 750ti as it is so new, but the the performance is said to be noticeably above the 650ti and the specifications are better. To some degree, the choices are limited by the budget. Of course, a GTX 760 would be a better performer, but it is also nearly $90 more than than the 750ti - that's something like +50%. Still, it is probably a better tactic to start with the better graphics card and save on other enhancements such as the 16GB RAM.

Sorry, the options made the total cost a bit confusing. The total of $799 includes the Gigabyte 970 motherboard, GTX 750ti, and 8GB RAM. If the $800 is not absolute, I would suggest having the ASRock 990 board as it has a faster chipset, plus a better array of PCIe slots, bringing the cost to $834.

On the subject of CPU's, I prefer Intel, but personally, I would not use i5 in this use as it is not hyperthreading. At the lower end of LGA1150, instead of an i5, it would better to use Xeon E3 (E3-1230 and above), which is hyperthreading. A Xeon E3-1230V3 is 3.3 / 3.7Ghz at about $250. In this case, the AMD FX 8350 has higher clock speeds for $50 less and the task here was to have he highest performance within the price limit. If your budget was about $1050-$1100, you could have a very respectable Xeon E3 system, but I believe the FX 8350 system with a 990 board would still outperform it for $200 less.

Cheers,

BambiBoom

 
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Raja_Jester

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Mar 7, 2014
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4,510
Thanks Bambi,

So with everything you've given me I was able to string something together that I think reflects your recommendation but with a purchased 660 ti and the lower FX-8320. I would like your feedback on it, if you don't mind.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($152.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper TX3 54.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($20.58 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($89.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory: Kingston Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB Video Card ($214.99 @ Microcenter)
Case: NZXT Source 210 Elite (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($45.99 @ Mwave)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($15.99 @ Microcenter)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $780.49
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-09 03:01 EDT-0400)
 
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bambiboom

bambiboom

Splendid
Apr 7, 2012
2,450
5
21,965
Raja_Jester,

Overall, I think you'd have good results.

1. The FX-8350 performance is about 12% better than the FX-8320 but costs almost 30% more so the cost / performance of the 8320 is better.

2. The 660ti is a good card, $215 is inexpensive for one, and the ASUS version appears to have a very robust cooling system.

3. The one item that you might review is the power supply. If this were a home system for pumpin' the Intertubes and writing emails, yes, but keep in mind long, continuous running under full load. For example >

SeaSonic S12II 520 Bronze 520W ATX12V V2.3 / EPS 12V V2.91 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply > $60

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151094

On Passmark Performance Test, an FX-8320 system with an ASUS 970 motherboard, 16GB RAM, a GTX 660ti and mech'l HD, had a rating of 2751, with a 2D score of 512 and a 3D score of 5006- an impressive 3D score.

Yes, I think it's a good approach- very good performance for the cost.

Cheers,

BambiBoom

 
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