Stick with GTX 1080 or go for TWO cards ? 3D Render/Design PC BUILD

[Helferi]

I'm building a PC for 3D rendering and design. It will also be used for gaming, digital art, animation, and video editing. I may be doing two things at once on this pc if that affects any considerations.

Programs: maya, zbrush, mudbox, OCTANE, blender, cad, and ect.

Budget is around $3000 Canadian.

I need help with the graphics card selection. I know for programs like Octane, multiple can be utilized so two may be better than one. Is the GTX 1080 fine by itself, and if so- which model of the 1080 is best (as I see three listed on partspicker) ?

Anybody think I should go for more SSD storage ? As I will be putting quite a few programs on this pc.


Here is the current build list:

[PCPartPicker part list](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/7FJ6BP) / [Price breakdown by merchant](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/7FJ6BP/by_merchant/)

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/product/tdmxFT/intel-cpu-bx80662i76700k) | $439.98 @ DirectCanada
**CPU Cooler** | [Noctua NH-D15 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/product/4vzv6h/noctua-cpu-cooler-nhd15) | $99.89 @ Newegg Canada
**Motherboard** | [Asus MAXIMUS VIII HERO ATX LGA1151 Motherboard](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/product/tBZ2FT/asus-motherboard-maximusviiihero) | $266.98 @ DirectCanada
**Memory** | [G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/product/7cqbt6/gskill-memory-f43200c16q32gvkb) | $199.99 @ Newegg Canada
**Storage** | [Samsung 850 EVO 500GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/product/VrH48d/samsung-internal-hard-drive-mzn5e500bw) | $194.98 @ DirectCanada
**Storage** | [Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/product/CbL7YJ/seagate-barracuda-2tb-35-7200rpm-internal-hard-drive-st2000dm006) | $88.98 @ DirectCanada
**Video Card** | [MSI GeForce GTX 1080 8GB GAMING X 8G Video Card](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/product/XC648d/msi-video-card-gtx1080gamingx8g) | $879.99 @ NCIX
**Case** | [Corsair 750D ATX Full Tower Case](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/product/BKW9TW/corsair-case-750d) | $177.99 @ PC Canada
**Power Supply** | [EVGA G2L 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/product/jLcMnQ/evga-g2l-850w-80-gold-certified-fully-modular-atx-power-supply-220-gl-0850-x1) | $199.99 @ Newegg Canada
| *Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts* |
| Total (before mail-in rebates) | $2568.77
| Mail-in rebates | -$20.00
| **Total** | **$2548.77**
| Generated by [PCPartPicker](http://pcpartpicker.com) 2016-10-20 22:01 EDT-0400 |

(There's no OS listed as I can get it for free)

 

[Trafalgar747]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6800K 3.4GHz 6-Core Processor ($568.50 @ shopRBC)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U12S 55.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($77.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Motherboard: Asus X99-PRO/USB 3.1 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard ($249.99 @ Memory Express)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($179.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Samsung 950 PRO 256GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($234.98 @ DirectCanada)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 8GB Superclocked Gaming ACX 3.0 Video Card ($839.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Case: Corsair 750D ATX Full Tower Case ($177.99 @ PC Canada)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA P2 750W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($149.99 @ NCIX)
Total: $2479.42
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-10-21 08:40 EDT-0400

An i7 6800k will be alot more suited for the kind of work that you want to do than an i7 6700k.

 

[Helferi]

The i7-6800 is worth the upgrade I suppose, the price difference isn't huge. I've seen a lot of people recommend the 950, apparently it's pretty good. Do you think the 256 will be enough though, I don't see a hard drive listed in your build ?

What's the difference between the mobo, cooler, and power supply suggested. Is it compatibility, price, or are they better in someway? Because if it's price, it's okay to be closer to $3k if there will be improvements.

 

[Helferi]

Also I didn't mean to click solved, as I'd still love more feedback from people. ( If anyone can undo that for me, I would appreciate it. )

 

[Trafalgar747]

I honestly forgot to include a hard drive in that, the 2TB Seagate Barracuda is that you mentioned in your post is good.

Processor like the i7 6850k (barely and difference than the 6800k), the i7 6900k, or i7 6950x, they may have better performance than the i7 6800k, but cost a huge amount more for a not so large improvement, which you may not even be able to notice in your work.

I changed the motherboard cause processors like the i7 6800k, 6850k,6900k, 6950x run on the LGA2011-3 socket, and the i7 6700k and lower run on the 1151 socket, so the i7 6800k will need a X99 chipset motherboard unlike the Z170 chipset of the i7 6700k.

As for the cooler, i included it rather than the D15 because it can cool well when overclocking the i7 6800k, and cost cheaper than the D15. The D15 performs better than the U12S, I replaced that to try and compensate for the extra cost of the i7 6800k from the i7 6700, if you want the D15, by all means get it. The power supply i suggested is Platinum efficiency rather than gold, and 750w is more than enough for your system, even if by any chance you wish to add another 1080 in the future, if you want to heavily overclock 2 1080's in SLI, get the 850w version of the EVGA PLatinum.