Need advice to building my own desktop for work (3d animation)

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nathalia

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Oct 13, 2014
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Hey folks,

This thread has been created before, but they where old and technology moves way too fast. So i'm hoping i can get some advice on my project.

Us animators are quite poor, so i'm trying to get the best out of around USD 1.500,-. But if that sum is far too low, i'm open to suggestion and see what Santa's got for me.

I've been working on two monitors and on a all-in-one Dell Xps 27 for the last 4 years or so. super old and it can't handle some of my projects these days. My laptop (gigabyte p37 does better, but the screen space is too small of course). My current monitors are a 27 and 24 inch.

Is there a way i can make my all-in-one dell just a screen? to salvage some of this device? that would be sweet!

I put a 500 GB SSD into my Dell and thought i could just use that for my new work station. Is it as easy as just plugging it into the mother board to make it work?

I work with Maya Autodesk if that is important info.

i'm thinking at least 16 GB ram, 32 would be charm.

Have been on Windows 7 so far, so definitely need to upgrade to 10.

I'm also considering buying a ready to go computer (big maybe), in case i might loose too much time trying to figure it out (building the desktop myself), but i think i can get more with my budget, if i build it myself, and it actually gets my excited to do this.

I'd appreciate any advice and help.

cheers

- nat
 
Solution
Vic 40
Your budget is up to you.

Might be good to find forums that are about the programs you use and ask what they think is the right choice. You said you didn't have that much money so keep an eye on that.Can ask about what i suggested here,maybe they just say "he doesn't know what he's talking about",but those programs i just don't know. The last seems a decent mix of parts for the money looking at what those programs use.
https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/maya-forum/bd-p/area-b201
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That is more than enough for a good work pc. 😉

I used up everything,

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 1700 3.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($269.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte - GA-AB350-GAMING 3 ATX AM4 Motherboard ($84.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($369.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung - 960 EVO 500GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($234.88 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate - BarraCuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.56 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus - Radeon RX 570 4GB ROG STRIX Video Card ($229.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair - Carbide 400C ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair - TXM Gold 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($73.99 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($92.99 @ Best Buy)
Total: $1486.37
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-11-20 08:05 EST-0500

Included the M.2 ssd for putting Windows on and still having enough storage.your own ssd could be added to this build. Maybe That Maya benefits from the M.2 ssd so you could keep the already used ssd for windows and use this M.2 Samsung 960 solely for your work.
Anyway you would have to reinstall window so keep an eye on that.Why i included it here.
The extra hdd is then for "other stuff".

See sometimes mentioned than using a Nvidia gpu might benefit when being able to use that so the next migth be better,
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/pbL7YJ/evga-geforce-gtx-1060-6gb-gaming-video-card-06g-p4-6161-kr
Can use the next to counter the extra money it costs,
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/svVBD3/fractal-design-case-fdcadefsbk

Don't know Maya tbh but looking at online specs should this do well.
 
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Nice, thanks a bunch. sweet webside, i had no idea!
cheerio



 
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Have been reading more about Maya Autodesk and it seems that it might benefit from a faster single core speed for which the Intel cpu's are better (has to do with a thing called IPC) so you could look at this as well,

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i7-8700 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor ($339.99 @ B&H)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG - H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($28.90 @ Newegg Marketplace)
Motherboard: Gigabyte - Z370XP SLI (rev. 1.0) ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($129.49 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($299.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung - 960 EVO 500GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($247.88 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate - BarraCuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.56 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus - Radeon RX 570 4GB ROG STRIX Video Card ($209.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design - Define S ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair - TXM Gold 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($73.99 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($92.99 @ Best Buy)
Total: $1532.77
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-11-21 17:42 EST-0500


Looking at the AMD build has the ram in there taken a hige price boost so using the ram from this build would be fine too although the more expensive ram is proabbly working better with Ryzen since using Samsung chips.

Anyway after reading some more might Intel be better after all. Depends alot on what kind of stuff you do with Maya.Some things i found,
https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/60dcq6/for_those_of_you_considering_buying_a_ryzen_7/
http://www.hardwarezone.com.sg/feature-amd-ryzen-5-vs-ryzen-7-which-ryzen-cpu-provides-most-bang-your-buck/test-setup-performance-0
(look at Maya 04 benchmarks)
 
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I was wondering about that Ryzen, is that something new? so far i always worked on Intel, i suppose its a good idea to stick with it then. ill check out that post. I'm also working with Redshift in my work, which says, apparently it only works with nvidia.. $$$ :)




 
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Yes Ryzen is the latest cpu series from AMD which are great,especially when using programs that can utilize lots of cores.
This is where i'm a litle puzzled with that program you use. Wonder how many cores it really uses.
What cpu do you use now? And when using Maya how many cores are in use @100%? Can look with task manager.

The "Redshift" indeed seems to work solely with Nvidia,but is also working pretty much only via gpu. Why i asked the above question about the cpu and how many cores Maya uses.Maybe you could do fine with an i5 8400 which maybe giave option for a gtx 1070 which would benefit Redshift.
Was looking at more pro gpu's,but get the feeling that what you really want is out of your budget and that gaming gpu's give best price/performance.

To give an idea of what i'm at now,

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i5-8400 2.8GHz 6-Core Processor ($199.89 @ B&H)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG - H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($28.90 @ Newegg Marketplace)
Motherboard: Gigabyte - Z370XP SLI (rev. 1.0) ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($129.49 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($299.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung - 960 EVO 250GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($127.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Toshiba - P300 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($62.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1070 8GB SC GAMING ACX 3.0 Black Edition Video Card ($429.89 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design - Define S ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA G2 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($92.99 @ Best Buy)
Total: $1502.01
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-11-23 15:54 EST-0500

The i5 8400 would be able to run at 4ghz max which is very fast,but you cannot overclock it and unlike the 8700 (can also not overclock this one,but max turbo is 4.6ghz) it has no hyper threading,but it still has 6 cores.
Used a lower capacity M.2 ssd to make the gtx 1070 possible together with the i5.
Problem with the i5 8400 right now is availabilty to mention,it's very hard to get.
 
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Your budget is up to you.

Might be good to find forums that are about the programs you use and ask what they think is the right choice. You said you didn't have that much money so keep an eye on that.Can ask about what i suggested here,maybe they just say "he doesn't know what he's talking about",but those programs i just don't know. The last seems a decent mix of parts for the money looking at what those programs use.
https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/maya-forum/bd-p/area-b201
 
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Solution
Thanks guys! you inputs helped a lot. i did went to pcpartpicker.com and took your ideas and went from there. i put a system together then im happy with.

Cheerio!



 
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Thank you.:)



It's the latest in the Intel series cpu's so see no reason why it wouldn't come back in stock again. It's just in very high demand. 😉

 
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Makes sense. So "When" is the big questions. i do need this in the last week of Dec. Thats when i got some time off and put this baby together.

these two im considering als alternative at the moment

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA0ZX5N34079&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-PCPartPicker,%20LLC-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIAEPG68K0782&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-PCPartPicker,%20LLC-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=



 
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What are you willing to spend on the cpu? Right now the 8700K (the unlocked version of what you are looking at) is available at Newegg,but pretty expensive,
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117827

The ones you mentioned aren't bad,but just looking at those would the 6700K be the best choice,it's just the newer version of the two and cheaper as well. I do recommend to wait for the 8700/8700K if possible.
 
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My husband convinced me to invest into a proper cpu, given this is our work. So im willing to invest that little extra penny for a good one, but i would like to stay under 400$
 
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what would be the difference of your link to one that has 6 core with hyper threading? like this
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Td98TW/intel-cpu-bx80671i76800k
 
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With hyper threading one core is used as two if circumstances alllow it,mostly they do, this is extra strain on the cpu cores causing extra heat and takes often just abit away from the performance. A real quadcore will do better than an i3 with hyper threading (still four,but virtual cores) for instance.
The cpu you ask about and the next one do mostly use more expensive motherboard which makes them in the end more expensive options.
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117793
The one asked about (6800K) by you also wants quadchannel ram so four sticks for best performance,but this might be an advantage too. Cheapest motherboard actually isn't that bad for price btw and does support over 64gb for ram (most "Z" boards don't) ,
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/4qRFf7/asus-x99-e-atx-lga2011-3-motherboard-x99-e
You also want a very good cpu cooler with this one since a 140watt tdp. The TDP has to do with power usage combined with what heat can be dissipated under normal usage (~out of my head).

You could as well look at the i7 7700k if wanting hyper threading,
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/VKx9TW/intel-core-i7-7700k-42ghz-quad-core-processor-bx80677i77700k
the predecessor of the i7 8700K.The imo better choice if looking at the slightly older series,but has less cores than the 6800K which in some applications will make it perform less.For motherboard could you for instance get these,
https://pcpartpicker.com/products/compare/z4wqqs,gGtWGX,B2Z2FT,z2Z2FT/
the cheapest has even a rebate now. I think not the best vrm but i don't even know if you will overclocking (?) and the 7700K has already a nice turbo speed of 4.5ghz which should be fine at that board with that Cryorig H7 cooler.

The I7 8700(K) is just so much better so try to keep an eye out for that one. Of course keep an eye on your budget as well. 😉

Ashame that i don't know how Ryzen performs with Maya,might give new options,but Intel seemed preferred.Will look for more info about that.Here they use Autodesk Maya,but the 2013 version for a comparison,
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/amd-ryzen-7-1800x-cpu,4951-9.html
don't know how much Maya has been optimized since then since there's a 2018 version by now.Then here's one who uses Maya 2018 where the Ryzen actually does well (don't know if this is what you do),
https://www.google.nl/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&ved=0ahUKEwjn1Yf3p4LYAhUJYlAKHXIzCIwQtwIIRzAD&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D4b36xcv9pEc&usg=AOvVaw2ozIPnodvZc1Xn_n5bIH5j
Look from min. 2.55
 
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