new computer build for 3d modelling

[biglokii]

Hey guys,

I havent' bought or upgraded my computer since 2008 Currently I've got a Intel Core 2 Quad 2.83GHz, 4gb ram, gtx 280 system. Its not able to run some programs I want to get into, like Unreal 4, so I think its time to upgrade. I mainly use my computer for 3D modelling, Zbrush, game development and gaming. I

I've been out of the loop on computer parts for a long time so i'm trying to figure out what I need. Here's what I've got so far, is there anything I've overdone or underdone (cpu fan?) with this build?
Not sure for the GPU if I should SLI two 970s or go for the 980.

http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/Bbyf23


Approximate Purchase Date: Hopefully within the next couple weeks

Budget Range: $2000-3000

System Usage from Most to Least Important: 3dsmax/Unreal 4/Photoshop/Gaming/streaming movies/web browsing

Are you buying a monitor: Eventually, but not this year

Parts to Upgrade: buying new system

Do you need to buy OS: Yes

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: canadacomputers.com (we can get a company discount)

Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Parts Preferences: Intel, Asus

Overclocking: No

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe, if you think it'll benefit the type of work I want to do

Your Monitor Resolution: 1600x1200

Thanks for any advice you can give me

Cheers,

 

[LostAlone]

Do you work professionally with 3dsmax or game development? Or is it more of a hobby/study thing? I ask because these are the some of (surprisingly few) tasks that will totally skew your build in one direction or another. If you make your money doing either of these and you want a new machine to work on that achieves faster render runs etc, then that's something you certainly can do but it will greatly effect your machines ability to do the other things you want.


I can't say I know 3dsmax all that well, but I believe it's a CPU bound task with little chance to use GPU power to speed it up. But unless you are making a lot of money doing design work throwing all your money at a ludicrous CPU won't be good value for you because you want other things too. If you are teaching yourself or working on small projects for free in your spare time, then you're likely to best off with just a balanced system build that will let you do everything you want at a good level.

 

[biglokii]

I do work in game development professionally, but have an office computer for all that. This computer would just be for home use, messing around with creating scenes for my portfolio and trying out new software in my spare time. Nothing that would be time intensive, very casual work. I don't plan on making any money from any work I do on it.

As far as I know you're right about 3dsmax (and zbrush) being CPU bound. They use the CPU/RAM more than the GPU. The balanced system you mentioned would probably work best. Since I work in the game industry I want something that'll play new games well so I can see what other studios are producing

 

[k1114]

Max is not cpu bound like zbrush. Max viewports is mostly gpu with very little cpu usage. In fact the viewports are single threaded. The only times cpu is really used is for rendering (which I'd recommend gpu anyways since it comes with gpu renderers and are 5-10x faster) or baking (again go with a gpu renderer). So it's mostly all about gpu. Zbrush on the other hand is cpu based. Neither of these software use multiple cards for viewports so go with a single 980. The majority of companies afaik use similar setups for the majority of their artists: mainstream i7 with a single top end gpu. The higher end game engines like ue4 don't even bake lightmaps anymore, it's all realtime from the gpu. Essentially nowadays, if your pc can play that game, you can make that game.

 

[biglokii]

Thanks k1114, that helps alot. I was debating getting a 2011 board for the 6-core processors, but it sounds like it won't benefit me if max is single threaded. Which works since those builds get pricey.

 

[logainofhades]

This build is up near the upper end of your budget, just to give you some ideas. For sure I would go with the slightly cheaper 2x 512gb SSD's in Raid 0. They would be faster than a single 1tb drive. Changed your storage solution, also. I would put the 3tb in raid 5. This is just if you are concerned of losing any of the work you do at home. Or you can go with 2x3tb in Raid 1, if 3tb will be enough storage for you. If none of that matters to you, a single 3tb is fine.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($364.98 @ Newegg Canada)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H110 94.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($108.98 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-Gaming 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($164.99 @ Canada Computers)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($299.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Crucial MX100 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($222.98 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Crucial MX100 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($222.98 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($108.95 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($108.95 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($108.95 @ DirectCanada)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($408.95 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($408.95 @ Vuugo)
Case: Corsair 730T Black ATX Full Tower Case ($130.77 @ DirectCanada)
Power Supply: EVGA 850W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($84.98 @ DirectCanada)
Optical Drive: LG UH12NS30 Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($44.99 @ Canada Computers)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($112.41 @ DirectCanada)
Total: $2902.80
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-06 10:53 EDT-0400

 

[Amencerment]

What I have noticed with running programs like Autodesk, Maya, 3dMax, Softimage, and Adobe Master collections is making sure you have a enough power under the hood to run 3-6 of these programs at one time. This is to jump from program to program to edit the media at different levels. This is why studios have these beautiful workstations running with 256gb of RAM and up to 4 Xeon CPU's to crank out stellar animation.

The "at home artist" normally does not have the $$$ to drop 20K on a nice animation workstation.

This is a working station built for the home. It is not cheap but it will run just about anything. Now you can drop some serious $$$ if you change 3 main things the CPU / Program SSD's/ DATA HDD's but it will not work as efficiently with heavy rendering. You could drop the CPU to the 6 core, use 1 SSD for the OS, 1 for the programs, and use regular 7200rpm drives for the data.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/CGg8xr
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/CGg8xr/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Xeon E5-2650 V3 2.3GHz 10-Core Processor ($1199.99 @ Newegg) <<< This has the power to push the programs to their highest without the need of 2 processors.

CPU Cooler Swiftech H240x ($149.99) <<< Will be the best cooling option for a 10 core beast. You could go custom loop but it will cost much more. Yu can also go air, but with this size of CPU the air will be around the same price.

Motherboard: ASRock X99 Professional EATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard ($347.98 @ Newegg) <<< Best MOBO to get that can go up to 128g in RAM

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-2666 Memory ($599.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-2666 Memory ($599.99 @ Newegg) <<< With 64g you'll be able to produce allot and keep all vital programs open at the same time with little slow down when switching. You also have the ability to expand another 64g. The more RAM the smoother the animation programs will run.

Storage: Samsung 850 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($118.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Samsung 850 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($118.98 @ OutletPC) <<< Run in RAID 0, these smaller drives are only for OS and monitoring software. Do not have any programs on this RAID 0 drive.

Storage: Samsung 850 Pro Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($187.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Samsung 850 Pro Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($187.98 @ OutletPC)<<< Run in RAID 0, this is only for your programs, do not save any data to these. I run mine in RAID do to the constant read/write with the programs. That is the only reason. Having SSD's in RAID 0 will not make the program run any faster, but it does help with data transfer.

Storage: Western Digital VelociRaptor 1TB 3.5" 10000RPM Internal Hard Drive ($209.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital VelociRaptor 1TB 3.5" 10000RPM Internal Hard Drive ($209.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital VelociRaptor 1TB 3.5" 10000RPM Internal Hard Drive ($209.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital VelociRaptor 1TB 3.5" 10000RPM Internal Hard Drive ($209.99 @ NCIX US) <<< Run in RAID 10. This is where it gets pricey, but it is for good reason. Due to the amount of data you will be transferring back and forth, I never use SSD's for my work data drives. I only use 10K drives and I run them in a redundant array built for performance at the same time. For me this is a must have as if you have any data loss with products there is a backup. The use of the 10K drives gives me the speed needed when dealing with larger working files. Primarily you will notice this as you switch from Photoshop, Maya, Softimage, AutoDesk, and Illustrator when they are all running at the same time. These drives are not for long term storage, just working project storage.

Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 295X2 8GB Core Edition Video Card ($906.50 @ Newegg)<<< The best graphics card for the money you can get your hands on. You can go to FirePro or Quattro cards but they will cost a bit more for the performance boost, so $$$ for GPU power this is a hands down choice in my eyes.

Case: Corsair 900D ATX Full Tower Case ($314.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 1300 G2 1300W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($179.99 @ NCIX US) <<< All the power you could need for expanding is need be.

Optical Drive: LG WH16NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($49.99 @ Micro Center)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 Professional (32/64-bit) ($170.99 @ Adorama)

Total: $5974.28

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-29 15:18 EDT-0400