First build computer for 3d model rendering (RHINO/VRAY)

[boblybell]

HI, Dear community,
I would like you to listen to your comments over the combinations below.
My goal is to have a desktop for 3d rendering, such as in rhino, vray, etc. but the budget is around $1000. And taking suggestion on using a better graphic card, i choose ATI firegl V7700. if anyone has use this GPU before, very appreciate to hear from ur feedback!!!
the shopping list below plus shipping costs total $1100.

i7 860 2.8GHZ CPU

Sony Optiarc 24X DVD/CD Rewritable Drive Black SATA Model AD-7240S-0B - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118030

RAIDMAX SMILODON Extreme Black ATX-612WEBP 1.0mm SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Foldout MB Computer Case With 500W Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811156098

Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319

SAMSUNG SYNCMASTER 943SWX High Glossy Black 18.5" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001327

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBRM - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231303

ASUS P7P55D-E Pro LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131621

ATI 100-505505 FireGL V7700 512MB PCI Express 2.0 x16 Workstation Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814195061

thanks a lot!!!!

 

[belial2k]

You will probably want to max out the memory to 8gb. Rendering and video editing will use as much memory as you can give it. I'm not sure at this price point you are really gaining much by going with a workstation video card. At the high price points they can make a difference, but at the lower points they will usually perform worse than their gaming cousins. You might consider getting a 1gb version of the 4670, the extra video ram is useless when gaming, but your apps can probably make use of the extra ram and give you a better overall performance than the 512mb workstation card.

 

[boblybell]

thanks for your instant reply!!
I guess i would need 8gb ram , and it's easy to add another 2x2gb later which costs around $100.
and for the GPU, it is said that the firegl series of ATI graphic card is particularly designed for 3D modeling, that's why i am wondering this workstation video card might be better than those in the radeon series with similar prices. hope i can get a clearer distinction between the firegl and radeon series soon!

 

[belial2k]

The main difference between workstation and gaming cards are the drivers and support that goes along with the cards and drivers. The actual hardware is very similar. The reason I said you might be better off with a 1gb mainstream gaming card is because until you hit the high end of workstation cards (usually cards over $1000 by themselves) the gains you make are not worth the extra price you have to pay for them for similar performance from a gaming cpu that supports open gl.

 

[megamanx00]

Just so you know that V7700 is based of the old Radeon 3870. Of course, anything faster than that will cost you more than twice as much as far as professional rendering cards go. As beial said, workstation cards have better support as well as drivers that are optimized for professional applications compared to their gaming counterparts. You can have an issue, make a phone call, and have a custom tweaked driver the next day. Still a desktop card like the Radeon 5770 or the 4870 may serve you better for your intended use. Of course, before you go out and buy a desktop card I advise you to research it prior to make sure there are no issues with it and the programs you intend to use.

 

[Shadow703793]

Over all, looks good.

HOWEVER, DO NOT use the PSU that comes with that case. It is cr@p. Get a quality PSU from Corsair, Antec, OCZ,etc.

Anyways,

+1 for getting 8GB RAM (reduce swap file to 3GB in Windows)

Get the Samsung F3 which uses 500GB platter making it a bit faster than the WD.

Since this is a workstation build consider going the LGA1366 route so you'll be able to get an i9 down the road.

Consider this case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119197&cm_re=HAF_922-_-11-119-197-_-Product

or an Antec 300 Illusion: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129066&cm_re=antec_300-_-11-129-066-_-Product

 

[megamanx00]

The PSU in that Raidmax should be fine for this build. At least so long as it's not the light up PSU as those seem to have a higher failure rate .

 

[Shadow703793]

^ Are you serious?!?! That thing's only got 22A MAX on the +12 rail. Given that and the checkered history of Raidmax PSUs I'd be weary of trusting that to power my rig.

Here is a list of tried and true PSUs: http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=589708

At least so long as it's not the light up PSU as those seem to have a higher failure rate

Care to back that up?