2.5K build for 3D animator/digital design

[davidthemaster3]

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.

This is a build for my girlfriend (she's paying lol). She will be using it for schoolwork and gaming with some streaming.

Her schoolwork is mainly 3DS Max modeling and rendering, Zbrush, Photoshop and 3D animations, game engine and simulations. For gaming, she's really into Ark, but she's also into Skyrim (lots of mods), Borderlands and a few Wii games on Dolphin Emulator.

She also has a Wacom Cintiq 13HD drawing tablet and draws alot on it for her art page.

She really wants a white case with pink leds... Currently planning on getting the leds from icemodz (~50$).
Keyboard and mouse would be nice if they fit with the white pink build like the pink Azio HUE, but wired.
For the monitor, she told me she wants one as good as her Oneplus One ... which is IPS, but I guess one with better color calibration would be better?


2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread
2300$ max with taxes and shipping

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
Canada

4. IF you're buying parts OUTSIDE the US, please post a link to the vendor you'll be buying from.

http://www.memoryexpress.com/ -> prefered for Uber price match
http://www.canadacomputers.com/ -> can do in store pickup
http://www.newegg.ca/

5. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc.

No brand preference, but no Seagate ever.

6. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
Yes, a 500Gb Samsung 850 Evo SSD and a newly purchased refurbished Sapphire 290 Tri-X.
The Samsung 850 Evo is in her laptop, so the HDD below will be going in her laptop.

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
very light overclocking planned

8. What resolution, not monitor size, will you be using?
Screen resolution : 1080p
FPS: 30 fps to whatever the refresh rate of the monitor she gets.
Game Settings: Highest possible ... she prefers eye candy to FPS

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?
Note that it is usually not cost or time effective to choose your build more than a month before you actually plan to be using it.
Before school starts in ~ 1 week

10. Do you need to purchase any software to go with the system, such as Windows or Blu Ray playback software?
The school provides the software, including OS.


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor ($489.99 @ DirectCanada)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($38.98 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: Asus X99-A ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard ($294.99 @ DirectCanada)
Memory: A-Data XPG Z1 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($129.99 @ Memory Express)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (Purchased For $0.00)
Storage: Western Digital Black 500GB 2.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($67.58 @ DirectCanada)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 290 4GB Tri-X Video Card (Purchased For $311.90)
Case: NZXT S340 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($94.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Power Supply: Rosewill HIVE 650W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($84.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Monitor: *AOC I2421VWH 60Hz 24.0" Monitor ($212.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Keyboard: Cooler Master CM Storm Devastator Gaming Bundle Wired Gaming Keyboard w/Optical Mouse ($34.99 @ DirectCanada)
Total: $1761.36
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-22 12:55 EDT-0400

 

[Ketchup]

Based on what I have read, Nvidia is the GPU you want for 3DS Max. Here is one thread on the topic:

http://forums.autodesk.com/t5/insta...ia-gpu-for-3ds-max-revit-autocad/td-p/5705002

 

[davidthemaster3]

I know Nvidia GPUs are better in 3DS Max ... however it is hard to find any information or benchmarks with consumer cards. I have found this article which explains that Nvidia GPU helps for rendering, but not much else (well maybe viewport, but that's with professional cards I think). Since she won't be rendering often and has access to computers at school, or my own computer, with said Nvidia GPUs, I went for an AMD card for the best bang for buck for all other tasks.

For a 100$ more, I could have gone with a 970, but she only did one rendering scene last year, because her program is gaming oriented, so they try to keep everything real time to better prepare them.