Help with new Graphics and Gaming PC

[Bigmixer]

Looking to build a PC for light graphical work: After Effects, Cinema 4d, Maya, Photoshop, ETC…
Also for some light gaming: Far Cry, Assassin’s Creed, Dying Light

My main issues/questions are with the motherboard, RAM, and video card. I may do light overclocking on the RAM and CPU

Here is what I have so far:
Approximate Purchase Date: Over Next month and a half

Budget Range: $1,000-$1,200 Before Rebates; After Shipping

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Looking to build a PC for light graphical work: After Effects, Cinema 4d, Maya, Photoshop, ETC…
Also for some light gaming: Far Cry, Assassin’s Creed, Dying Light

Are you buying a monitor: Yes

Parts to Upgrade: New Build
Do you need to buy OS: No

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Best Price

Location: East Tennessee
Parts Preferences: None

Overclocking: Yes - light

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe - doubtful

Your Monitor Resolution: purchasing – 1920x1080 minimum

Additional Comments: My main issues/questions are with the motherboard, RAM, and GPU. I may do light overclocking on the RAM and CPU

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: least aged PC is i5-2400k or A10



PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2600X 3.6GHz 6-Core Processor ($209.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock - Fatal1ty AB350 Gaming K4 ATX AM4 Motherboard ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill - Trident Z 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($164.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung - 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($0 @ Already own)
Storage: Toshiba - 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($76.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: XFX - Radeon RX 580 8GB GTS Black Core Edition Video Card ($319.99 @ Amazon)
Case: NZXT - S340 (Black/Red) ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ B&H)
Monitor: Asus - VS278Q-P 27.0" 1920x1080 Monitor ($172.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1,164.72
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-06-14 12:20 EDT-0400

Other Motherboards considered:
Gigabyte - X470 AORUS ULTRA GAMING ATX AM4 Motherboard $140
Asus - PRIME X370-A ATX AM4 Motherboard $124
Asus PRIME B350-PLUS $90

RAM: Best recommendation
GPU: R9 580 8GB or GTX 1060 6GB Best recommendation - Tell me why - I looked at ASUS DUAL Models as well.

Monitor recommendations are also very needed, and any other recommendations are very welcome.

Thank you.

 

[profoundnoah]

As someone who has worked with CAD before, I can testify to the benefit of having a dual monitor setup. Do you already possess a single monitor or no? For Maya, you'll want to stay away from AMD cards, as they draw a fair bit of power, and plenty of bugs have been reported with their hardware. You are grounded in going for the 2600X, it is the highest clocked 6-core AMD has to offer as of now, which is great for single-core intensive tasks.

You WILL need a cooler for it. As someone who uses a 2700X (which mind you comes with a higher quality stock cooler), I can easily say these things won't be tamed within your comfort zone, at least by the stock cooler.

Another issue with your build is that you're running the new CPUs on old boards, and depending on the board, you might not even be able to boot up successfully without updating the BIOS, which usually requires a CPU of the older generation. Unfortunately, as x470 is the only next-gen chipset out right now, you will have to shell out a fair bit more to ensure compatibility. The same goes for the RAM. As a matter of fact, I myself bought that VERY SAME kit of RAM, hoping to use it in my build, but to no avail. Thankfully, my brother's computer is on a Z170 platform, so he ended up getting a free upgrade. Look for a higher clocked kit of the same build https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820232501&ignorebbr=1&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-PC&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-PC-_-pla-_-Memory+%28Desktop+Memory%29-_-N82E16820232501&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIj4CE1erT2wIVyiSBCh0M6QcXEAkYCyABEgKzpfD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

STAY AWAY FROM THAT PSU. At first, it might look like a GREAT deal, but trust me when I say that the componentry in the NEX series is a fair bit...suspect. Go with a SeaSonic Model, it's got FAR higher quality components, despite having a lower efficiency.

As for the monitors, it REALLY depends on how much wiggle room you have for the future. If you're alright with only one panel, that Asus one is probably your best bet. However, if you're willing to stay with one monitor for a bit, then save up a little bit more change to put into another panel, I'D HIGHLY RECOMMEND looking into two of these monitors from acer, or their equivalents. They have IPS, which is an added bonus. https://pcpartpicker.com/product/dYH48d/acer-monitor-umqx2aa001

Do note that with the cooler I provided, you MAY have to retain your proof of purchase of the board and CPU, so just be sure to screenshot/document everything in case the cooler doesnt come with the AM4 bracket.

Here's your build, specced for compatibility and performance:

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/Wx7VFt

PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/Wx7VFt
Price breakdown by merchant: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/Wx7VFt/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2600X 3.6GHz 6-Core Processor ($209.89 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG - H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($34.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI - X470 GAMING PLUS ATX AM4 Motherboard ($129.99 @ B&H)
Memory: G.Skill - Flare X 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($169.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung - 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (Purchased For $0.00)
Storage: Toshiba - P300 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($74.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus - GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6GB Dual Video Card ($284.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Phanteks - ECLIPSE P400 ATX Mid Tower Case ($61.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - EVO Edition 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.90 @ B&H)
Total: $1026.62
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-06-14 15:13 EDT-0400

 

[Bigmixer]

As someone who has worked with CAD before, I can testify to the benefit of having a dual monitor setup. Do you already possess a single monitor or no? For Maya, you'll want to stay away from AMD cards, as they draw a fair bit of power, and plenty of bugs have been reported with their hardware.You are grounded in going for the 2600X, it is the highest clocked 6-core AMD has to offer as of now, which is great for single-core intensive tasks.

I don't already have a monitor. My current PCs are used as HTPCs and connected to televisions. I am actually converting a bedroom to an office now because I have been asked to create graphics and videos for people. I haven't used Maya yet, but I am looking into it. I am mainly using After Effects/Premiere Pro and Cinema4d at the moment. From all my reading, the 2600x and 580 GPU seemed the best for the tasks, but I haven't purchased a card since a R9 380X (which is not well utilized by graphics programs as far as I can tell.)

You WILL need a cooler for it. As someone who uses a 2700X (which mind you comes with a higher quality stock cooler), I can easily say these things won't be tamed within your comfort zone, at least by the stock cooler.

The 2600X comes with the Wraith Spire which is the same as the 2700x except for LED, I have read (again, take it with a grain of salt) that the Spire is at least as good as aftermarket Hyper EVO 212. That is why I eliminated the H7 from my list originally.

Another issue with your build is that you're running the new CPUs on old boards, and depending on the board, you might not even be able to boot up successfully without updating the BIOS, which usually requires a CPU of the older generation. Unfortunately, as x470 is the only next-gen chipset out right now, you will have to shell out a fair bit more to ensure compatibility.

I thought that was the case.

The same goes for the RAM. As a matter of fact, I myself bought that VERY SAME kit of RAM, hoping to use it in my build, but to no avail. Thankfully, my brother's computer is on a Z170 platform, so he ended up getting a free upgrade. Look for a higher clocked kit of the same build So]https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820232501&ignorebbr=1&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-PC&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-PC-_-pla-_-Memory+%28Desktop+Memory%29-_-N82E16820232501&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIj4CE1erT2wIVyiSBCh0M6QcXEAkYCyABEgKzpfD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds.

So are you saying look for something higher clocked than the 2400mHz you linked to, or just overclock the 2400mHz?

STAY AWAY FROM THAT PSU. At first, it might look like a GREAT deal, but trust me when I say that the componentry in the NEX series is a fair bit...suspect. Go with a SeaSonic Model, it's got FAR higher quality components, despite having a lower efficiency.

I like Seasonic and for some reason didn't see that one until you linked.

As for the monitors, it REALLY depends on how much wiggle room you have for the future. If you're alright with only one panel, that Asus one is probably your best bet. However, if you're willing to stay with one monitor for a bit, then save up a little bit more change to put into another panel, I'D HIGHLY RECOMMEND looking into two of these monitors from acer, or their equivalents. They have IPS, which is an added bonus. I]https://pcpartpicker.com/product/dYH48d/acer-monitor-umqx2aa001

I wasn't planning on doing two monitors because of the gaming requirement (my kids - not me). I would need to find monitors with smaller bezel and better response rate wouldn't I?

Do note that with the cooler I provided, you MAY have to retain your proof of purchase of the board and CPU, so just be sure to screenshot/document everything in case the cooler doesnt come with the AM4 bracket.

Here's your build, specced for compatibility and performance:

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/Wx7VFt

PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/Wx7VFt
Price breakdown by merchant: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/Wx7VFt/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2600X 3.6GHz 6-Core Processor ($209.89 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG - H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($34.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI - X470 GAMING PLUS ATX AM4 Motherboard ($129.99 @ B&H)
Memory: G.Skill - Flare X 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($169.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung - 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (Purchased For $0.00)
Storage: Toshiba - P300 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($74.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus - GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6GB Dual Video Card ($284.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Phanteks - ECLIPSE P400 ATX Mid Tower Case ($61.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - EVO Edition 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.90 @ B&H)
Total: $1026.62
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-06-14 15:13 EDT-0400

Thank you for the information on that cooler, hadn't thought of that. Thank you for putting together the build. One question, did you change the case strictly because of color?

 

[profoundnoah]

The case I chose out of personal preference; either one will be fine for your build. Just that I've built in both and prefer the p400, mainly due to its PSU shroud design/cable management. The only reason I'd recommend the 1060 over the 580 would be for CUDA acceleration, but if your research suggests more benefits with the 580, then there's nothing wrong with going for it. Just be sure to look into user experience with Maya for that card.

My apologies, I should have chosen better wording with the RAM. Ryzen LOVES higher clocked RAM, so ideally you'd want to find a kit of the same model of RAM that runs at a higher base clock. OC'ing IS an option, especially if the price gap between the speeds is large. You can always use the stock cooler, then if you find that it's inadequate, you can always upgrade. Again, just ensure you have proof of purchase.

As for the multi-monitor setup, it will be just fine for gaming. Smaller bezels only come in when doing triple+ monitor setups, as dual screen gaming is fairly rudimentary and not recommended (just have the game open on one monitor and a chatroom like discord on the other.) Also, 4 ms response is perfectly reasonable for gaming, I myself run an X34 from acer, which also runs at 4 ms, and don't see ANYTHING wrong with it. The only scenario where your kids would notice a MINISCULE, and I'm talking planck level difference, would be in FPS games such as CS:GO.

 

[profoundnoah]

DO NOTE, there is the possibility of using AMD's Boot Kit if you want to save a fair amount of money by going with a 300 series board, but I am unsure if you want to go through the trouble or not. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epVk4mI_GSw Do note that this isn't always necessary, and depending on the board you get, it MAY support the new Ryzen Chips natively.

 

[Bigmixer]

DO NOTE, there is the possibility of using AMD's Boot Kit if you want to save a fair amount of money by going with a 300 series board, but I am unsure if you want to go through the trouble or not. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epVk4mI_GSw Do note that this isn't always necessary, and depending on the board you get, it MAY support the new Ryzen Chips natively.

Sorry for the late reply, I have been searching for the RX 580 and GTX 1060 6GB with 3d rendering issue. What it comes down to is price. What I gathered from reviews and reading: if the part of the program in use relies heavily on CUDA cores (Adobe does sometimes) then the Nvidia is the best bet. However, for some of the applications, the 8GB is better the 6GB. So it really comes down to price. I will have to look further into it.

The B350 and X370 motherboards I was considering should have updated BIOS. And from what I see, there really isn't a huge performance increase from stepping up the chain.

PROS and CONS:
x470 - BIOS will work for the 2600x, RAM maybe a little less finnicky
x370 & 470 - possible more stable voltages for overclocking
B350 - pricing is much less and seems to perform equally well as the others if it can be booted and slight overclock only - B450 release would be the answer here.

As far as the RAM - the next step up GSkill Flare is 2933mHz at $225 - so about $60 more. I guess I will continue to research these few things, but do you think the price increase is worth it here?

BTW... The monitor idea has me looking at the one you suggested and just doubling it.

 

[profoundnoah]

You've put it as it is, X470's main advantage is a few niceties such as storeMI and slightly better RAM support. B350 will STILL overclock, but you won't be able to get as much as with an x board. That shouldn't quite matter though since Ryzen chips don't really OC that far anyway. As for the RAM, the clock increase is definitely NOT worth the price increase. Looking into some other kits would take a fair bit of time if you wanted higher clocks, just to ensure compatibility.

As for the monitors, if you were to go with the b350 PC Mate from MSI and used the stock cooler, you should, in theory, have enough wiggle room to get the two monitors immediately. In total, you'd have around $20 to spare, which could be saved to later buy a more capable cooler if needed.

 

[Bigmixer]

Thanks for all your help, do you mind sharing what HyperX ram you are using in your system? Do you suggest it or G Skill?

 

[profoundnoah]

I'm using the HyperX Black 2667 Mhz Kit, I got it back when it was only $100 before the whole DDR4 shenanigans started. The only difference you'll see in it vs. G. Skill depends on the clock speeds/QVL, but both will do you just fine.