First Build - Gaming/3D Modelling & Rendering

[loopy654]

Hello! I'm building my first PC and need some more advice on what to get.

Approximate Purchase Date: Before the end of August (I have time), If the deals around the holidays are absolutely worth it, i can wait for November/December

Budget Range: $1000-$1300
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, 3D Design/Rendering, Web Surfing

Are you buying a monitor: I probably should, right? My current monitor is old and probably low res, i haven't seen the thing in a while (I've been using my laptop)




Do you need to buy OS: No

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com

Location: New Jersey

Parts Preferences: Intel CPU, however, I'll settle for AMD if there is a better price-performance ratio/Don't know enough about graphics cards to determine that yet

Overclocking: 90% sure I'm not going to

SLI or Crossfire: I think this has something to do with overclocking? Sorry i don't know much about this

Your Monitor Resolution: Not currently near the old monitor, it probably needs an upgrade anyway

Additional Comments: I prefer a low decibel level, I have a case picked out but I'm open to suggestions, I would like an HDD and an SSD

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: I just crawled out from under my rock and realized where technology has gone in the PC world

 

[manofchalk]

Crossfire/SLI is when you run multiple graphics cards in tandem for extra performance, you don't need it unless your running a fairly beastly display setup.

Wow, its been a while since I'v recommended an FX-8350.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($199.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($33.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD5 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($157.86 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($134.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($265.91 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus VG23AH 23.0" Monitor ($177.58 @ Newegg)
Total: $1270.28
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-07-12 10:22 EDT-0400)

The FX-8350 is what I recommend as you fall into its market niche, multi-threaded performance on a budget. You'l get better performance in your productivity applications than you would with an i5, though gaming performance wont be as strong.
The 750W PSU is a fair bit overkill, but it comes out $5 cheaper than the more reasonable 550W version so why not? It will also leave you room later on if you ever did decide to use Crossfire/SLI.
The Fractal Design R4 is a good silence oriented case, which I picked because you expressed that you wanted it too be quiet. That's also most of the reasoning behind the 212 EVO as well, far quieter than stock and will keep it cooler.
I also managed to fit a monitor into your budget, which is a fairly good 23" 1080p IPS panel.

 

[loopy654]

Crossfire/SLI is when you run multiple graphics cards in tandem for extra performance, you don't need it unless your running a fairly beastly display setup.

Wow, its been a while since I'v recommended an FX-8350.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($199.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($33.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD5 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($157.86 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($134.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($265.91 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus VG23AH 23.0" Monitor ($177.58 @ Newegg)
Total: $1270.28
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-07-12 10:22 EDT-0400)

The FX-8350 is what I recommend as you fall into its market niche, multi-threaded performance on a budget. You'l get better performance in your productivity applications than you would with an i5, though gaming performance wont be as strong.
The 750W PSU is a fair bit overkill, but it comes out $5 cheaper than the more reasonable 550W version so why not? It will also leave you room later on if you ever did decide to use Crossfire/SLI.
The Fractal Design R4 is a good silence oriented case, which I picked because you expressed that you wanted it too be quiet. That's also most of the reasoning behind the 212 EVO as well, far quieter than stock and will keep it cooler.
I also managed to fit a monitor into your budget, which is a fairly good 23" 1080p IPS panel.

When i asked other places, the recommended video card was at 4 gb of vram(?) Is what you recommended enough for 3D programs and some high-end gaming performance?

 

[manofchalk]

VRAM is tertiary to the performance of the GPU then the number of Stream Processors/CUDA cores on the card when in compute applications. Besides, at your budget 2-3GB is the most you will be able to get unless you buy the scams at the low end of the market.

Gaming at 1080p (which is the res of the monitor I included) on that rig you will be fine. Expect to be pushing high-ish settings at a decent framerate in most intensive games.
3D modelling, video editing and other such productivity, that rig is about the best you can get on your budget. The GPU can help render times and such with hardware acceleration if your applications support CUDA, though remember that its still the CPU that will be doing the heavy lifting.
If your applications only support OpenCL acceleration or can leverage it better, then I recommend you switch over to an AMD Radeon card like the HD7950 (which has 3GB of VRAM). You will get similar gaming performance on that card as you would the 760.

 

[loopy654]

I'm mainly going to be using Autodesk programs, so what you originally posted is the better choice? Also, between the FX-8350 and the i5, how much different will the gaming performance be?

 

[loopy654]

Also, would the 680 be worth the money for the upgrade? From my limited knowledge, it seems like a pricey upgrade, but a good one

 

[manofchalk]

I dont know whether the Autodesk suite leverages either CUDA or OpenCL, you will have to research into it and find out.
Depends on the game really, and whether your willing to overclock the chip.

If your willing to upgrade to a 680, then what you should really do is upgrade to a 770. It outperforms the 680 and is newer hardware (Kind of).
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125463
or the HD7970 on the AMD Radeon side.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125413

 

[loopy654]

And the 770 is cheaper too, that's something I'm considering more now. Thanks! How about the processors?

 

[loopy654]

I also noticed that there is a 770 with 4gb of memory for $50 more than the one with only 2. Does it make sense to make that upgrade?

 

[manofchalk]

An i5 and i7 perform about the same in games, so these results should be transferable.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/fx-8350-core-i7-3770k-gaming-bottleneck,3407-3.html

Games are starting to take advantage of more than 2GB of VRAM at 1080p, I see it happen when I play Crysis 3. However it will not be a huge bottleneck for a long while I think.
If you concerned, look into the HD7970 I linked before. It performs similarly as the GTX770 and has 3GB of VRAM. If your applications can leverage OpenCL, it will also far outperform any Nvidia card in that aspect as well.

 

[loopy654]

So would getting the 770 with 4gb of VRAM make sense from the gaming standpoint? It's only a $50 upgrade so I'm thinking it's a good idea.

 

[loopy654]

Is the 770 w/ 4gb of VRAM worth the upgrade over the 770 w/ 2gb of VRAM? It's not a tremendous price difference.

 

[manofchalk]

From a gaming perspective, you wont see much benefit from more than 2GB. Some games at the cutting edge can use more than 2GB at 1080p, though your run of the mill games wont be taking advantage of more the 2GB anytime soon.