~$1500 New 3D modeling / gaming rig...look good?

[MPiland]

I'm building a new PC for 3D modeling primarily and some gaming. My budget is rougly $1500. I'm sticking with Intel/Nvidia for this one due to the Nvidia's superior open GL compatibility with Maya, Houdini, 3DS Max, etc. I'm in the US and prefer to shop in the US due to shipping costs. My friend is giving me an 850W SLI ready PSU and dual GTX 560ti cards. I don't need any peripherals, I already have 2 x 24" Asus Monitors so I'll be running both those at 1080 resolution. I'll be OCing the CPU. I'm going with IB because I have the time to wait so I'll be buying the i7-3770k (need HT for 3D modeling apps).

This is what I have pieced out so far and I don't think I'm missing anything?? I want to know if you all think this will be a good build? Eventually I will upgrade to the GTX 680 (possibly 2), but right now I think the dual 560s should run just fine, right?

SSD Mushkin Enhanced Chronos MKNSSDCR120GB 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

HDD Seagate Barracuda ST2000DM001 2TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

DVD LG Black 12X BD-R 2X BD-RE 16X DVD+R 12X DVD-RAM 10X BD-ROM 4MB Cache SATA 12X Super Multi Blue with 3D Playback & M-DISC Support WH12LS39 LightScribe Support - OEM

COOLER CORSAIR H80 (CWCH80) High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler

MOBO This is what I'm looking at right now...ASUS P8Z77-V LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Intel Motherboard or ASUS P8Z77-V DELUXE LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Intel Motherboard, although not exactly sure that I NEED the extreme lol

OS: Windows 7 Ultimate

THERMAL PASTE Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM

RAM G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-1600C9D-16GXM

CASE: Corsair Carbide Series 500R Mid Tower Gaming Case CC-9011012-WW

 

[dmoney1980]

I can't comment on the SSD since I dont have much experience with the SF controller or that brand, but I would not recommend paying $100+ for that CPU cooler. Dont get me wrong, the H80 is a nice cooler, but you could do better for under $100

Like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608018

 

[MPiland]

I thought about getting that cooler, but I'm concerned if it will fit in the 500R and I read that it blocks some of the ram. With the ram I'm using, that could be a problme seeing as how big they are.

 

[dmoney1980]

if you're getting 2 sticks of RAM, you could move them over to the further RAM slots. You may be right though, it may not fit in the case. For $100 though, you might as well get the Corsair h100 - it's $100 today on newegg!

Or, go out and get the Coller Master 212 EVo (or the plus) and buy 2 good fans and still spend less than $75

 

[MPiland]

I was thinking about going with a fan instead of the liquid cooling, but honestly, I think I'm going like the cooler better. But I'm not completely set in stone on that, I'm still shopping around while I have time. I need to decide what board I want, though. I'm not sure if I want the Asus z77-v pro or deluxe...hmm...

 

[mfenn]

- SSD : The Chronos is probably fine, but the SF-2281 controller still worries me from a reliability point of view. Personally, I would go for the M4 128GB.
- HDD : Fine
- ODD : Fine if you need Blu-ray
- HSF: I'm with dmoney, get a good air cooler instead like the U12P or Mugen 3. Either will fit fine in a 500R.
- Mobo: Both of those are too expensive for what they are. The ASRock Z77 Extreme4 looks to be good for your needs.
- OS: Why pay extra for Ultimate over Home Premium?
- RAM: Waaaaay to damn expensive. Get two of these Mushkin kits instead (will run at 9-9-9 1.5V).
- Case: Fine

 

[MPiland]

- SSD : The Chronos is probably fine, but the SF-2281 controller still worries me from a reliability point of view. Personally, I would go for the M4 128GB.
- HDD : Fine
- ODD : Fine if you need Blu-ray
- HSF: I'm with dmoney, get a good air cooler instead like the U12P or Mugen 3. Either will fit fine in a 500R.
- Mobo: Both of those are too expensive for what they are. The ASRock Z77 Extreme4 looks to be good for your needs.
- OS: Why pay extra for Ultimate over Home Premium?
- RAM: Waaaaay to damn expensive. Get two of these Mushkin kits instead (will run at 9-9-9 1.5V).
- Case: Fine

I like that SSD, I might switch to that. I've been looking at the air coolers, I just don't like how big they are. I'm sort of an aesthetics man myself and the H100 is only $99 right now. It's not that bad for my budget. As far as the ram, I'm doing 2 x 8GB because later I'm going to add another 2 sticks and run it with 32GB. Thanks for the reply and the link on that SSD!

 

[mfenn]

I like that SSD, I might switch to that. I've been looking at the air coolers, I just don't like how big they are. I'm sort of an aesthetics man myself and the H100 is only $99 right now. It's not that bad for my budget. As far as the ram, I'm doing 2 x 8GB because later I'm going to add another 2 sticks and run it with 32GB. Thanks for the reply and the link on that SSD!

Hate to break it to you, but the H100 is hardly tiny. :biggrin: It's just huge in a different spot. I also wouldn't bother with 32GB, 16GB is more than twice what you're ever likely to use.

 

[MPiland]

Hate to break it to you, but the H100 is hardly tiny. :biggrin: It's just huge in a different spot. I also wouldn't bother with 32GB, 16GB is more than twice what you're ever likely to use.

Haha I know it's not tiny, but it's not hanging the weight off the mobo like the air cooler. And I like the way it looked in my case (I did a lot of research on it). I guess, as far as performance, it's personal preference and I had the money in the budget and I liked the way it looked. As far as 32gb RAM goes, I do 3D modeling and rendering is GPU and RAM intensive, so I would use it, just not as far as gaming is concerned. But I'm not in a hurry to get it yet, just getting ready for when I am.

 

[lehtv]

I'd recommend against 500R, the only difference, compared to the $30 less expensive 400R, is the 200mm side fan. That would only be useful for dual GPU setups. If you add a second graphics card later on, you can buy a 140mm side fan for the 400R.

 

[MPiland]

I'd recommend against 500R, the only difference, compared to the $30 less expensive 400R, is the 200mm side fan. That would only be useful for dual GPU setups. If you add a second graphics card later on, you can buy a 140mm side fan for the 400R.

I actually am running dual GPUs (two GTX 560ti cards) and that's why I chose that box for the 200mm fan.

 

[lehtv]

It'd still make more sense to not pay $30 for just the fan. I'd buy a 140mm fan for $10, it should supply air directly between the graphics cards, or look for a better price/airflow case. E.g.

Cooler Master HAF 932 $120 AR (3x 230mm, 1x 140mm)
Cooler Master HAF 922 $70 AR + CM Megaflow 200mm $18 (3x 200mm)

 

[fixbsod]

The low profile of the Corsair water coolers is nice for changing out RAM and whatnot. Plus, it's much easier to ship / move your computer as you don't have like some ridiculously heavy hunk of metal on your mobo. I was able to reseat my RAM no problem as well as install an mSATA SSD cache drive without even having to WORRY about the possibility of having to resinstall a cooler. My vote goes to a Corsair -- I'm using an H60 on my 2700k and don't believe I've seen a core go above 65 / 66 celsius even using IBT max RAM (16 GB) and it is also using AVX as I have W7 Ult SP1 installed.

 

[mfenn]

I do 3D modeling and rendering is GPU and RAM intensive, so I would use it, just not as far as gaming is concerned. But I'm not in a hurry to get it yet, just getting ready for when I am.

Most renderers do not actually use the GPU at all, the final work is all done on the CPU. As for RAM size, I suppose it depends on the size of your scene. How many million polys do you reckon you push?

EDIT: Got a 3D modeler friend to pull some statistics for mudbox:

700MB at 6mil polygons
2.3GB at 24mil polygons
8.2GB at 106mil polygons

 

[MPiland]

Most renderers do not actually use the GPU at all, the final work is all done on the CPU. As for RAM size, I suppose it depends on the size of your scene. How many million polys do you reckon you push?

EDIT: Got a 3D modeler friend to pull some statistics for mudbox:

700MB at 6mil polygons
2.3GB at 24mil polygons
8.2GB at 106mil polygons

This is true. I was saying that in regards to why i would use 32GB of RAM. The GPU is more for doing just regular modeling, pre rendering. The cores plus Nvidia's awesome OpenGL software is what the cards are for.

 

[mfenn]

This is true. I was saying that in regards to why i would use 32GB of RAM. The GPU is more for doing just regular modeling, pre rendering. The cores plus Nvidia's awesome OpenGL software is what the cards are for.

Oh I completely agree that a decent GPU is required for 3D modeling. You just don't usually need a really monstrous gaming card. I honestly doubt you will see a benefit from SLI in the professional apps.

 

[MPiland]

Oh I completely agree that a decent GPU is required for 3D modeling. You just don't usually need a really monstrous gaming card. I honestly doubt you will see a benefit from SLI in the professional apps.

Lol yeah, but I'm getting those free so why not?

 

[mfenn]

Lol yeah, but I'm getting those free so why not?

Not saying that you shouldn't use them, just saying that they won't really get you any benefit over a single card.