• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

[Build] 3D Animating & Video Editing System. $5000 Budget.

C

Coldkilla

Diamond Member
Hi guys,

Over the next 3 days, I hope to have a solid build spec'd out to recommend to my boss. I've done some research, and came up with this current build.

I currently have 3 monitors, KB/Mouse. We do not have extra internal system cables, so all contents will need to be retail instead of OEM.

The programs I currently use: Adobe CC17: After Effects, Premiere Pro, Photoshop. My job intends to have me get into Cinema 4D in the near future, and may invest in OctaneRender. We currently have an unlimited Google Drive cloud server that syncs all local files to the cloud, so I am not as concerned with drive failures & raid. My boss wants all components listed from a single retailer, and unfortunately due to a proxy issue, I cannot access PCParksPicker so if you do post links, I cannot access that website. I could use some advice and tips. The $5,000 number is not a target, it is simply our cost ceiling. Ideally it should be lower than that.

Thank you all for your patience and understanding.
 
Last edited:
Go buy a Dell or HP workstation, the best you can afford. Perhaps buy the GPU yourself if you really insist, but that should be about the extent of your involvement in building this machine. Spend the money to get support for 3 years or however long you'll be stuck with this machine.

You do not want to be the one supporting this machine and the one on the hook when you can't work because your workstation is broken, and you do not want to be the guy who comes after you and inherits your DIY project.

One more thing - Don't be scared off by the web pricing of the workstation stuff, nobody pays that. Work with a reseller and get proper discounted quotes.

Viper GTS
 
+1 to workstation. You don't want to put a home-built machine in a corporate environment - it's asking for all sorts of headaches. Offload the responsibility to someone else, avoid dealing with individual RMA processes (imagine the downtime if you had to RMA anything), and get something specifically designed for your use case.

Here's an example that includes 3 year next-day on site support (As Viper GTS mentioned, go through a reseller - nobody pays list price) Add an archive/cache disk if the SSDs don't have enough room:

mGe17W5.png
 
You guys have not worked with out IT department. The reason for this post was exactly because we worked with HP and got a workstation. Here is the PC Mark [Score: 6,153] on that. However, every single bit of research I've done on this screams: The Quadro graphics cards do not have much higher performance than the consumer cards, and the high end consumer i7's are more effective at running applications like After Effects, Premiere, and Cinema4D. To top it off, I even compared the new $12,000 system (after discount, $9,000), to my 5-year old system and video render times were only 2.3% faster. Here is the PC Mark [Score: 5,327] on the old system. It took our IT department 11 months to order and deliver this new system, 3 months to order a laptop, and their emails take ~3 weeks to get responses. My boss and I am excited to deal with RMA processes at this rate.
 
Just bypass your IT department, if they're that slow.
There may soon be (desktop) Kabylake Xeon CPU's:
http://wccftech.com/kaby-lake-xeon-e3-1200-v6-lineup/
If you can get by with a normal consumer grade GPU, and non-ECC system memory, then why not just get a custom built Dell, Lenovo or HP business grade machine, and have their support be available to drive over to your office location, if your own company IT department can't find a way to officially support it.
 
Last edited:
vailr said:
Just bypass your IT department, if they're that slow.
There may soon be (desktop) Kabylake Xeon CPU's:
http://wccftech.com/kaby-lake-xeon-e3-1200-v6-lineup/
If you can get by with a normal consumer grade GPU, and non-ECC system memory, then why not just get a custom built Dell, Lenovo or HP business grade machine, and have their support be available to drive over to your office location, if your own company IT department can't find a way to officially support it.
Click to expand...

Yep, if ECC memory isn't important (which is presumably the case, given the consumer-grade board and GPU selected in the OP), that's certainly a viable (and cheaper) option.

I would not want to run any home-built machine in a production environment. If the stakes are low enough, (i.e. if it breaks, nobody loses money), maybe it doesn't matter.
 
Coldkilla said:
Hi guys,

Over the next 3 days, I hope to have a solid build spec'd out to recommend to my boss. I've done some research, and came up with this current build.

I currently have 3 monitors, KB/Mouse. We do not have extra internal system cables, so all contents will need to be retail instead of OEM.

The programs I currently use: Adobe CC17: After Effects, Premiere Pro, Photoshop. My job intends to have me get into Cinema 4D in the near future, and may invest in OctaneRender. We currently have an unlimited Google Drive cloud server that syncs all local files to the cloud, so I am not as concerned with drive failures & raid. My boss wants all components listed from a single retailer, and unfortunately due to a proxy issue, I cannot access PCParksPicker so if you do post links, I cannot access that website. I could use some advice and tips. The $5,000 number is not a target, it is simply our cost ceiling. Ideally it should be lower than that.

Thank you all for your patience and understanding.
Click to expand...

Before I begin, I want to stress that you really shouldn't be building your own workstation. Something's gonna not work, you're going to have to go to your IT dept, and they're going to be pissed at you for going off the reservation, then coming back with IT herpes.

Having said that...
This isn't a l33t gaming PC, so you aren't overclocking, you don't need LED garbage, and you don't need liquid cooling. This isn't a VM workstation, so I would question the need for so much RAM, but if you insist on 128GB of it, at least make it something less extreme.

Here:
CPU: If primarily single-thread application: i7-7700 ($315), if multithreaded: E5-2660 ($850).
GPU: If you're going to insist on not using a Quadro card (this is the *exact scenario for one*), at least get a cheap 1080, you won't notice the difference. There's an MSI one on newegg for $590.
RAM: G.Skill has some well regarded 16GB sticks for $200/32GB, if you get a 4 slot mobo that gives you 64. If you find a nicer server-grade one (2011 for that xeon for instance) you could take that to 128GB for about $800.
Mobo: I'd honestly go for a 1151 instead of that for an i-7, it'd be fine for a xeon though.
OS: Company doesn't have Windows licenses? You have to buy this?
SSDs: You might be able to skip the cache ssd entirely, with a 500GB main drive. I'd also scrap the mx300 entirely and get another Samsung, that's just me though. Also get a Pro, not an Evo.
HDD: Is this needed? Is there no shared storage/file services at this workcenter? Do you need 6TB on this workstation (potentially not being backed up)?
Case: The 300Q looks more professional (no gamery-bits viewable from outside).
Power supply: Mysteriously left out? Find a well reviewed 500w in the $150 range so it doesn't collapse in a year.
Sink/fan: Get a Noctua or something, don't go overboard. You won't have overheating problems.
Paste: Skip it, the fan should come with some on it.

Price: Somewhere between $3k and $4k depending on components chosen. Still not worth it vs buying a workstation from Dell though.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top