Going to build a computer for 3D work/rendering/gaming, need help choosing CPU (and some other stuff)

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Hi!

I'm going to build a new computer in the near future. I do alot of 3D-modeling/rendering and also some gaming. My old computer has an i7-2600K Quad 3.4 Ghz. It's pretty old and I'm surprised that the new CPUs isn't much better... Intel processors has just increased to 4 Ghz, some AMD has 4.7 Ghz. I find single processor speed to be important, but also the amout of cores, from what I know this increases the speed of rendering. So you have any suggestions what CPU I should get? I can't find any octacore CPUs with good Ghz. In fact my old one seem to be able to compete with them, many new CPUs doesn't even reach above 4 Ghz.

I know this is the CPU part of the forum, but I'd like to ask some questions regarding the rest of the computer as well.

My old computer has this GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti
Do you have any suggestion for a good GPU for CGI work and gaming? Note: I'd like to be able to have 3 monitors. The old computer also has 16 Gb ram, could I go for 32 or more?

My budget would be somewhere between $1500 to $3500, but I rather know what my best options are before deciding my budget, because if there are any extremly good CPU that will be released in the coming months I might wait a bit and increase the budget for it.

Another quick question would be: is there any point in getting a laptop instead of a desktop when my main priorities are CGI work and gaming? Some people say that there's so much freedom having a laptop that you can move around but I suspect it will be a bottleneck, since I'm going for performance.

Thanks in advance! :)
 
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If you're going into that stuff, get the i7 5930k or something along it's lines. It's pricier than the standard i7, but it has more cores which will probably benefit you quite a bit.

You could go to 32gb ram if you have the money. Otherwise 16 should still be fine I think, just probably get faster ram.

GPU wise, 980Ti if you want to go high end and have the money to. otherwise the 960 or 970 would do fine. depending on budget.

Get a SSD for your applications and then HDD for your storage. I'm not sure if having a single one vs multiple hard drives is better for your case, that'll be your decision.

As for the laptop thing, if you're looking for performance. Laptops will not have as much power as a desktop in 95% of the cases. There's probably a few laptops out there that might actually have the power that you're looking for, but most likely at that point, you might as well get a desktop.

If you want something to start with, there is no case or windows so you'll probably have to include that into the budget on the side. Peripherals will also need to be in the budget if you plan on getting those too:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-5930K 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($554.98 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($26.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock X99 Extreme4 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard ($185.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws 4 series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($111.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 Pro Series 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($244.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 4TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($201.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Superclocked ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($669.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($116.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $2113.91
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-06 05:15 EDT-0400


Just mingle around with the options. I suggest maybe sticking with the i7 5930k though, just for the extra cores. I believe in the future there might be cpus with more cores if you want to hold off a little bit longer, I'm not sure how much longer it'll be before something new is released. But Still... something to at least start with for consideration and what not.
 
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Thank you very much for your answer! :) But the CPU only has a 0.1 Ghz increase compared to my old one, 3.4 Ghz -> 3.5 Ghz. Is there any option that gives me at least 4 Ghz? Perhaps octacore with 4 Ghz? AMD has 4.7 Ghz CPUs, I don't know if there are any that are faster than that.
 
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0.1ghz increase and you gain 2 extra cores. Plus hyper threading. 6 cores => Effectively 12 threads if i'm not mistaken. (i7 5930k)

Sure AMD has 8 cores. I have the fx 8350. It's great, but compared to the i7, the i7 will come out on top most if not all the time. Especially with the 5930k.
 
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Ok! I'm no expert at hardware so I always just look at the numbers; amount of Ghz and number of cores. ^^ What's the best i7 I can get right now, if I have unlimited money? Also I could perhaps look into overclocking? (As long as it doesn't break anything)
 
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In that case I would perhaps have to look at overclocking, as long as it doesn't break anything.
But if hyperthreading means you get 2 threads for each core, then a Intel Core i7 4790K 4GHz, which is quad, still gives me 8 threads? I wonder if 4 Ghz quad is better than 3.5 Ghz octa in my case...
 
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Mmm... Overclocking isn't a hard thing. It's fairly simple, just time consuming. There's a quick and dirty way, and it's not a hard process either.

Either you go slowly go up or you make big jump and then work your way down slowly.
 
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I'm thinking about 2 SSDs, one for windows + a few programs, the other for all other programs, then some HDDs.
Do you guys know if it's overkill to buy two GPUs? Some games might use them both, I'm not sure if the 3D programs will.
 
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Consumer applications don't take advantage of multiple GPU's. I'm sure that there are plenty of them out there that are developed in house, but not available to us. Games however, tend to scale well. Most of the time there are SLI profiles available close to or at launch of a new title, so that is good. But you really want to focus on balancing your whole system, if youre serious about this. If you arent super serious, then just get 2 drives, 1 SSD, 1 HDD, and spend the rest on RAM (depending on how large projects are), and CPU. Majority of money should go towards the GPU, always in a gaming system, even if it's a hybrid video/rendering machine as well.
 
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Probably wont be worth getting 2 GPUs at the moment, I'm not a hard core gamer, but I play games and want good graphics. And since most 3D apps wont support 2 GPUs at the moment (perhaps it will change in the future) I'll go for one. But, do you think it's worth to get a motherboard that supports 2 GPUs in case? I'm serious, 3D not just a hobby for me so I want to go for the best right from the beginning. I can probably spend $1000 in a few months again if I'll need additional parts then.

If I'd get super rich I'd try to build a small render farm, but that ain't gonna happen soon so I must make sure this build can render fast, handle really heavy models and also good graphics when gaming.

I'm still confused regarding the modern CPU Ghz though. I think I will need 4 Ghz minimum, since single core speed is important, but I also need many cores for rendering. If I get an octacore i7, and if I overclock it, what Ghz do you think I could reach?
 
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Well, the problem people usually face are the settings, meaning they slow themself down, not utilising what they got. Talking about files you work with, and how you export them. You shouldn't have any trouble working with 3d models with a 1k+ setup. And keep in mind that even super heavy projects, are still hammering big companies such as Pixar, Disney, DreamWorks, etc. Can take a full day to render just a couple of FRAMES. You should not worry about a building a render farm. Start by balancing your system. :)

Regarding overclocking, it's a lottery. You will be able to overclock any K series processor, but that doesn't mean they'll all run at the same voltage/settings, stable. Overclocking should be ignored while using it as a workstation PC, mainly because the amount of load youll put on it while rendering is going to push it to the limits, meaning lots more heat than while playing games. I suggest the 5820k, it's a 6 core CPU, and is going to be more than enough for your needs. Regarding CPU frequencies, Intel (depending on architecture) is faster than previous generations, if they run at the same speeds.
 
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If you're gaming and doing a lot of 3d rendering, might not be worth the multigpu board. But if you're going toward the 8c i7, then you'd be getting that feature regardless if i'm not mistaken.

A single card setup is generally better than a multicard set up anyways. Some games won't even utilize the second card. If there' still money in the budget after all the hard drives, cpu, motherboard, psu. Get 32gb ram just to give you more room to work with. 16gb will probably be enough, but it never hurts.
 
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What about a dual CPU setup? Perhaps dual i7 6700k CPUs? I've heard about Xeon processors, they are expensive, but have alot of cores, and pretty low single core Ghz. So an alternative would perhaps be dual 6700k, then I would get 8 cores with 4 ghz? I've heard that Cpu is very good, but dunno what mother board that is required. Is it possible to get a motherboard that supports two 6700ks and also a dual GPU, I wont get two GPUs anytime soon but perhaps in the future
 
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These are my options right now:

i7 6700K Quad 4Ghz Socket 1151
i7 5930K Hexa 3,5GHz Socket 2011-3
i7 5960X Octa 3,0GHz Socket 2011-3

Socket 1151 is the newest one, so it should let me upgrade to newer CPUs when they are released. 2011-3 might be a dead end, in case all new CPUs uses the newest socket? 6700K has the fastest single core, but according to this:

http://www.nordichardware.com/Processorer-Recensioner/intel-core-i7-6700k-och-core-i5-6600k-vi-testar-intels-entusiastversioner-av-skylake/Test-GTX970-Cinebench-R15.html

... the 5960x is way better at rendering thanks to octa cores. But its single core speed is quite slow compared to the 6700k... If I was just going to render, then the octa would be a good choice. But I'm going to do much more than that, so perhaps single core speed is also important for me. One way of dealing with this could be to overclock the octa core. Or I could go for the hexa core and get the best of both worlds (quite good single core speed and 2 extra cores) but then again, I wont have the latest socket...

What do you guys think? I'm looking forward to your answers :) Thanks in advance
 
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