Convince friend of bad build

[jackkep]

One of my good friends had someone help him build a custom PC, and I think he made extremely poor build choices, I need some good, compelling arguments to show him the error of his ways.
Can someone also please make a better build for around the same price. I want good price 2 performance.


USES: Gaming as the main use
And 3D rendering as a hobby. I know this build is "okay" as is but I'm pretty sure he can do much better
TL;DR: My friend chose bad config, help me help him


http://pcpartpicker.com/p/9QHgK8

 

[jackkep]

Here you go! A pc that can play games great! I just built this piece by piece. And when i bought the parts it came out to under 1k. But now its a little over.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/QGxXdC

It needs to have some 3D rendering capability.

A computer is all you need to 3D render...however without knowing what 3D software or render engine he uses we won't know exactly how fast it would be to render. Like I said earlier, if he uses any software that utilizes CUDA cores that means he's not reliant on just the CPU to do the rendering. And the 3790K isn't a slouch either...just not as fast as GPGPU can be.

I just want a good answer to the original question. This build is Gaming 1st, 3D 2nd. This build is wayyyy to pricey for just a hobby, especially because a lower level, not $1000 i7 would suit his needs fine, the RAM and PSU are really un necessarily high. He is a gamer at heart, but also 3D Digital Robotics hobbyist. Again, this really isn't the best build for that lifestyle.

 

[jackkep]

He also does 3d rendering. Buts that's a hobby. Gaming is his true passion so this is not a good compromise between the two, the price 2 performance isn't very good and the RAM & PSU is a little excessive

I mean...if he does 3D rendering even if it's a hobby those parts actually can really help. I don't know if you know much about it, but some complex scenes and environments take tons of RAM to load more so than even the most demanding games. A top tier CPU helps out too and if he's using those CUDA cores for rendering as well, it may mean the difference between waiting 3 hours for a single frame to render or 10 minutes. I'm all for being smart about cash but if he's got the cash to burn and it's what he wants then I don't see a problem with it. Now as long as he isn't throwing his wife and kids out on the streets to afford this.

The big thing that I'm pushing is that 3D stuff is just a hobby, and it may advance in the future, but as of right now it's just a start, personally I would go with a slightly cheaper build and then move up as needed, especially with new parts getting released all the time. Something lower power but with high upgradability works fine for now, keeping in mind that if he needs new parts he can pick them up along the way, but for right now it's not an argument about whats best, just what is the best compromise between Gaming first and 3D second at the same price point.

 

[rpenri]

I just want a good answer to the original question. This build is Gaming 1st, 3D 2nd. This build is wayyyy to pricey for just a hobby, especially because a lower level, not $1000 i7 would suit his needs fine, the RAM and PSU are really un necessarily high. He is a gamer at heart, but also 3D Digital Robotics hobbyist. Again, this really isn't the best build for that lifestyle.

Then the parts redzonezzz suggested would do the trick. You have a decent CPU and a CUDA based card to do 3D renders and it will still play games well. What's the problem?

 

[jackkep]

I just want a good answer to the original question. This build is Gaming 1st, 3D 2nd. This build is wayyyy to pricey for just a hobby, especially because a lower level, not $1000 i7 would suit his needs fine, the RAM and PSU are really un necessarily high. He is a gamer at heart, but also 3D Digital Robotics hobbyist. Again, this really isn't the best build for that lifestyle.

Then the parts redzonezzz suggested would do the trick. You have a decent CPU and a CUDA based card to do 3D renders and it will still play games well. What's the problem?

The pricing is the problem. 3 grand (his build) on something (debatably) accomplishable with 1500 or even 2000 (redzone)

 

[logainofhades]

A $1025 4960x, 6 core, is crazy to buy, when you can get the 8 core, 5960x, for $1006. A 4790k is sufficient. If your friend really wants a 6 core chip, then a 5820k is good enough. Changed original build, to a 5820k, an 850w EVGA G2, and managed a 2nd GTX 980, for SLI. Not to mention it is over $200 less :lol: I do not see the need for such a build, but it does show how crazy your friend's build suggestion really is.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor ($373.95 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($94.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock X99 Extreme4 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard ($222.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($422.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($134.00 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($101.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($554.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($554.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair 750D ATX Full Tower Case ($139.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($124.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($21.00 @ Amazon)
Total: $2746.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-22 15:22 EST-0500

 

[rpenri]

I'd go with redzonezzz's solution. If I were you, that's what I'd suggest. And in fact, that's almost exactly what I'd get for my next build for gaming and rendering which I'm hoping to do in the next couple of months if my G/F can ever get her finances in order and doesn't have to keep borrowing money.

 

[mdocod]

Jackkep,

From my perspective here, it seems like you're just trying to get your friend to build a less powerful computer out of envy or something.

If he wants to do 3D rendering and gaming and overclocking, then the i7-5960X is a great CPU for his budget as the 5960X is well utilized in many popular software renderers including the standard renderers in popular software like cinema4D, Houdini, Maya, etc, as well as one of the most popular 3rd party renderers, Arnold.

The 5960K will of course, run games like any other haswell i7: really really well.

If your friend is NOT planning to overclock, then I think he should seriously consider shifting the whole build over to a C612 chipset build instead.

 

[Nextg_Rival]

I'm not sure why you are assuming this build is just for gaming, jackkep hasn't said anything about what the build is FOR. Even if it IS for gaming, lots of gamers with these builds use them for recording, editing, and trans-coding as well. (gota youtube that awesome moment on the battlefield!) The 5960X offers a nice advantage in lots of those areas, especially if they are going on at the same time. Benchmarks don't really paint a great picture of real world multi-tasking use anyway. On a $3000 machine, a $400 premium to add 33% more execution resources is actually a pretty GOOD DEAL from my perspective.

The architecture type is the same, but the architecture itself is slightly different, else it would be essentially the same CPU. The six core has better and faster connection between each core than the eight core does. Also, yes, I do agree that 5960X is superior in areas like video editing for example, but if it is for gaming the 5930K stomps it into the ground.

 

[Nextg_Rival]

He also does 3d rendering. Buts that's a hobby. Gaming is his true passion so this is not a good compromise between the two, the price 2 performance isn't very good and the RAM & PSU is a little excessive

I would actually say that the motherboard and RAM seem like the weirdest parts of his build. A 5960X paired with some motherboard that doesn't provide a potentional upgrade pathway (as far as I know), while having a load of RAM, which is also DDR3... Pretty weird right?

 

[jackkep]

Jackkep,

From my perspective here, it seems like you're just trying to get your friend to build a less powerful computer out of envy or something.

If he wants to do 3D rendering and gaming and overclocking, then the i7-5960X is a great CPU for his budget as the 5960X is well utilized in many popular software renderers including the standard renderers in popular software like cinema4D, Houdini, Maya, etc, as well as one of the most popular 3rd party renderers, Arnold.

The 5960K will of course, run games like any other haswell i7: really really well.

If your friend is NOT planning to overclock, then I think he should seriously consider shifting the whole build over to a C612 chipset build instead.

You are right and wrong, I have no clue what I'm talking about when it comes to 3D stuff and from what I have heard from other people is that the build could be more efficient at the same 3000 price point. I want him to ascend at the most efficient way possible. I just thought his listed build needed some work, so what is your personal opinion on that build and what he could do better.

 

[jackkep]

I'd go with redzonezzz's solution. If I were you, that's what I'd suggest. And in fact, that's almost exactly what I'd get for my next build for gaming and rendering which I'm hoping to do in the next couple of months if my G/F can ever get her finances in order and doesn't have to keep borrowing money.

But does that build have the upgradability and the same 3D rendering capability?

 

[Nextg_Rival]

Editing generally comes down to the number of threads. Since any i7 supports multithreading (multithreading means 1 core = 2 threads), the one with more cores will generally tend to be better at editing.

 

[logainofhades]

If this is the kind of money your friend really wants to plop down on a system, then this would be better for his money. It will game better, and it will render better, than his $3k proposed build.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-5960X 3.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($1006.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: NZXT Kraken X61 106.1 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($128.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI X99S Gaming 7 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard ($244.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($422.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($134.00 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($97.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($344.00 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($344.00 @ NCIX US)
Case: NZXT Source 530 ATX Full Tower Case ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($124.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $2945.87
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-22 15:50 EST-0500

 

[jackkep]

Editing generally comes down to the number of threads. Since any i7 supports multithreading (multithreading means 1 core = 2 threads), the one with more cores will generally tend to be better at editing.

What about 3D, CGI, and stuff?

 

[mdocod]

jackkep,

Performance scaling depends on software support. There's no "one size" answer to your question. In the professional arena, a true 3D creativity machine is usually supported by a totally separate render farm of GPU's or CPU's. The main editing machine doesn't do the final rendering, rather, is just used as a high performance viewport. In those cases, a 2-4 core CPU with a middle tier workstation GPU is usually best.

Sometimes, depending on the software you're using, we can "overlap" the function of the editor and the rendering machine in one. (works best with software/CPU render engines).

I like Logains 5960X build. Something like that for ~$3000 is probably the way to go here.

 

[Nextg_Rival]

What about 3D, CGI, and stuff?

Everything is important for that. You'd need a good multithreaded CPU (the i7 5930K, the i7 5960X/second one is optimal for editing... not so much for gaming/) and preferably a GTX 970 SLI over the GTX 980 - a much better performance at a far lower price. You'd also need a lot of RAM for a good editing build, so the 32 GB RAM aren't really an overkill.