Graphics Build Please Help

[JayDee17]

First off I live in Canada and while I'm not rich I know these things aren't cheap. I would like to build from scratch a computer I can use for programs such as After Effect, Photoshop, zBrush, Cinema4D and programs alike. What I want is a PC that can handle the rendering and what not without exploding or catching fire. I don't care what it looks like as far as a case. I want something that will do the job and do it in a timely manner. If someone could give me an idea of cost and some parts i definitely need or want it would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
John.

[mjkovis]

Originally Posted by JayDee17 If someone could give me an idea of cost and some parts i definitely need or want it would be much appreciated.

First off, we need to know what kind of budget do you have in mind? $500? $1000? Less than $800? When we know that, people have a better idea of what they have to work with to fit your needs.

[JayDee17]

I would like to spend as little as possible really. I mean i know i wont get much for 500 bucks nor 700 for that matter. Id prefer to stay under 2000 really if it possible to get something powerful enough to run my programs and run them smoothly and in a timely fashion.

[mjkovis]

Originally Posted by JayDee17 I mean i know i wont get much for 500 bucks nor 700 for that matter. Id prefer to stay under 2000 really if it possible to get something powerful enough to run my programs and run them smoothly and in a timely fashion.

You would be surprised at what people have come up with around here for around $500-700. My workstation that I use for web design cost me less than $1000 and it included 2 very good 22" monitors and peripherals.

That being said, preference at all? AMD or Intel?

[JayDee17]

no real preference. but i mean if i can get something to do what i need for around 1000 that would be awesome. I will say i would love to be able to use eyefinity so i can watch my course video while working on the project at the same time. But i know that we cant all have everything lol.

[mjkovis]

Originally Posted by JayDee17 I will say i would love to be able to use eyefinity so i can watch my course video while working on the project at the same time.

Are you going to playing any games on this rig? How many monitors are you going to be using?

A workstation card would suffice, if you don't plan on gaming with this PC.

[JayDee17]

No gaming really. I have a PC for that already. My main concern is graphics and modeling programs (zBrush)

[birddog_61]

Case: Newegg.ca - LIAN LI Lancool PC-K7B Black Aluminum/ SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 80$

PSU: Newegg.ca - Antec EarthWatts EA-650 GREEN 650W ATX12V v2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Certified 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply 86$

Motherboard: Newegg.ca - ASUS P8Z68-V LX LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS 130$

CPU: Newegg.ca - Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 BX80623I72600K 330$ (20$ more than the non K version, but the ability to overclock if you ever need/want to is worth it.)

RAM: Newegg.ca - CORSAIR XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMX8GX3M2B1600C9 46$

HDD:Newegg.ca - HITACHI Deskstar 7K1000.D HDS721010DLE630 (0F13180) 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive 123$

SSD: Newegg.ca - Intel 320 Series SSDSA2CT040G310 2.5" 40GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) - Internal SSD 92$ (set as cache with with z68 board)

Graphics: Newegg.ca - EVGA 012-P3-1570-AR GeForce GTX 570 (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card 350$ (make sure you register the card on EVGA website to take advantage of lifetime warranty, I went nvidia because of cuda technology that some of your programs use.)

DVD: Newegg.ca - ASUS 24X DVD Burner - Bulk 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS - CD / DVD Burners 19$

Thats 1256$ and will be blazing fast. If you feel like you need to bump up to 16gb of ram just buy another kit matching the one listed. I only listed one HDD because of the way prices are right now, however if you don't want to format a scratch disk partition into your main drive feel free to buy a second drive of whatever size you would like to use.

How many monitors do you plan on running? If its just 2 then this card is fine, if you have to have 3 then I would suggest switching to ATI and taking the hit of no cuda support.

[JayDee17]

Awesome, Thanks for the info. With the GTX 570 will i be able to run dual screens showing different things, like a DVD on one side and a project on the other. It isn't a huge deal i just want to know if i am looking for 2 decent sized screens or 1 awesome screen lol.

Thanks,
John

[birddog_61]

Originally Posted by JayDee17 Awesome, Thanks for the info. With the GTX 570 will i be able to run dual screens showing different things, like a DVD on one side and a project on the other. It isn't a huge deal i just want to know if i am looking for 2 decent sized screens or 1 awesome screen lol. Thanks, John

You can run 2 screens no problem, nvidia just doesn't support 3 on one card at this time.

[mjkovis]

Forgot an operating system...

If you aren't going to be gaming there is no reason to spend that much money on a powerful video card such as the one he listed. Why not go with a workstation card? The card below supports up to 3 monitors (with different settings) or you can use the eyefinity technology.

Newegg.ca - ATI 100-505606 FirePro V4800 1GB GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 Workstation Video Card - $159.99 + shipping

The PSU he listed is HUGE, unless you plan to overclock. If you drop down to this workstation card you can drop down on the size of your PSU. You could probably go down a little lower.

Newegg.ca - Antec BP550 Plus 550W Continuous Power ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply - $69.99 + shipping

The case is purely your preference.

[birddog_61]

Originally Posted by JayDee17 First off I live in Canada and while I'm not rich I know these things aren't cheap. I would like to build from scratch a computer I can use for programs such as After Effect, Photoshop, zBrush, Cinema4D and programs alike. What I want is a PC that can handle the rendering and what not without exploding or catching fire. I don't care what it looks like as far as a case. I want something that will do the job and do it in a timely manner. If someone could give me an idea of cost and some parts i definitely need or want it would be much appreciated. Thanks, John.

Originally Posted by mjkovis Forgot an operating system... If you aren't going to be gaming there is no reason to spend that much money on a powerful video card such as the one he listed. Why not go with a workstation card? The card below supports up to 3 monitors (with different settings) or you can use the eyefinity technology. Newegg.ca - ATI 100-505606 FirePro V4800 1GB GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 Workstation Video Card - $159.99 + shipping The PSU he listed is HUGE, unless you plan to overclock. If you drop down to this workstation card you can drop down on the size of your PSU. You could probably go down a little lower. Newegg.ca - Antec BP550 Plus 550W Continuous Power ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply - $69.99 + shipping The case is purely your preference.

That card is cheaper, however its slower, doesn't have a lifetime warranty, and most importantly doesn't have cuda technology.

[mjkovis]

Originally Posted by birddog_61 That card is cheaper, however its slower, doesn't have a lifetime warranty, and most importantly doesn't have cuda technology.

Indeed in comparison that card is slower... Although, it is overkill. The card I listed is more than enough to do what he needs it to do.

[JayDee17]

I dont know nearly enough about computers to get into overclocking and what not. I just really need something that will allow me to use multiple monitors for different tasks while still giving me a clear and professional looking render.

[mjkovis]

Originally Posted by JayDee17 I dont know nearly enough about computers to get into overclocking and what not. I just really need something that will allow me to use multiple monitors for different tasks while still giving me a clear and professional looking render.

If you will not be overclocking or gaming I would suggest going with the workstation card and the smaller PSU. It will save you a few dollars and you will still get the performance you need.

As mentioned before, the case is purely your preference. Although, the case he listed above is an excellent case, but Lian-Li is expensive. If you want to save a few more dollars search through Newegg.ca's computer cases below.

Newegg.ca - ATX Computer Cases, ATX Mid Tower, ATX Mini Tower, ATX Desktop Computer Case, Computer Case with Side Panel

[JayDee17]

Thanks for all the help guys, im assuming windows 7 is my only option now?? I personally love windows 98 lmao but again some things aren't an option lol.

John

[mjkovis]

Originally Posted by JayDee17 Thanks for all the help guys, im assuming windows 7 is my only option now??

Yep. You could still go with XP, but Microsoft is beginning to stop offering support for that OS... I would suggest going with Win7 Pro 64-bit. The professional version offers you the ability to use Win7 in XP mode to run software that may not be completely compatible with Win7. Unless you DON'T need that feature, then you can get away with Home Premium 64-bit.

Originally Posted by JayDee17 I personally love windows 98 lmao but again some things aren't an option lol.

Didn't we all?

[Nuclear Krusader]

Go with the Pro version of Windows 7: in addition to the XP mode it gives you more and better control of the OS, which is useful when you need to troubleshoot something.

[JayDee17]

ok, so im about to put in an order for most of the parts listed however just to be clear is there going to be a noticable difference for me modeling and what not using either the workstation or the gtx 570?? which will also then depict the PSU i will buy.

Thanks,
John

[mjkovis]

Originally Posted by JayDee17 just to be clear is there going to be a noticable difference for me modeling and what not using either the workstation or the gtx 570??

The video card I recommended is an entry-level 3D graphics card for workstations, such as you will be building. It is a very strong card for what you will be doing.

If you want to spend the $200 extra for the GTX 570 (or another high-end gaming card), that is up to you. A lot of what you will be doing will rely on RAM and the CPU speed, which if you go with the components listed, you will have plenty of power.

Along with the extra money saved by going with the workstation card, I would also recommend purchasing another pair of the RAM listed to give you 16GB total.

[Rev_pizzaguy]

I would go with this:

Antec Sonata III

Western Digital Black 1.5TB

Corsair Vengeance LP 16GB DDR3 1600

Ditch the SSD for caching, the extra ram is your "cache" anyway.

[JayDee17]

Originally Posted by birddog_61 Case: Newegg.ca - LIAN LI Lancool PC-K7B Black Aluminum/ SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 80$ PSU: Newegg.ca - Antec EarthWatts EA-650 GREEN 650W ATX12V v2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Certified 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply 86$ Motherboard: Newegg.ca - ASUS P8Z68-V LX LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS 130$ CPU: Newegg.ca - Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 BX80623I72600K 330$ (20$ more than the non K version, but the ability to overclock if you ever need/want to is worth it.) RAM: Newegg.ca - CORSAIR XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMX8GX3M2B1600C9 46$ HDD:Newegg.ca - HITACHI Deskstar 7K1000.D HDS721010DLE630 (0F13180) 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive 123$ SSD: Newegg.ca - Intel 320 Series SSDSA2CT040G310 2.5" 40GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) - Internal SSD 92$ (set as cache with with z68 board) Graphics: Newegg.ca - EVGA 012-P3-1570-AR GeForce GTX 570 (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card 350$ (make sure you register the card on EVGA website to take advantage of lifetime warranty, I went nvidia because of cuda technology that some of your programs use.) DVD: Newegg.ca - ASUS 24X DVD Burner - Bulk 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS - CD / DVD Burners 19$

So I went with all of this with the exception of changing out both the power supply and the GTX 570 for the workstation. I already have a couple screen with HDMI outputs on them, as well as the mouse and keyboard so the only extra i had to get was the Windows 7 64 bit. all in all it came to about $1550 with shipping and taxes, which in comparison to my gaming rig is an awesome price lol.

Thanks for the help guys,
John