Need a new PC

Why are you apologizing? That was very informative.

edit: nvm only saw this post before the previous.

Okay so I use a 780 in my workstation at work, and a 570 in my home box. At work I have 2 workstations alongside each other, the one with the 780 is the one I use most, the other has a Quadro K5000, I've opened the same heavy 3ds Max scenes on both and checked framerates, the 780 matches or outperforms the Quadro in most situations. There may be some situations where the Quad is superior and I just haven't noticed it, but for that much more $$ I don't think so.

  On 11/3/2014 at 11:05 PM, Croeso i Croton said:

It depends if this is more a student or junior designer/artist's home pc to learn on and maybe do preliminary renders on vs. a truly "professional grade" system that's going to be under stress 5 days a week for a couple of years. Adieu, check this video, notice he mentions error correction (ECC) and more software-specific drivers. BTW this enterprise grade stuff applies to other components not to just the GPU. It can probably be more of a longer term investment, but in the end it's certainly not mandatory.

 

 

Lopez, this isn't a must right away but at some point it will really be a good idea to buy a serious UPS for the desktop because no matter what you end up doing, even if you have a top of the line psu, you have to brave unexpected outages, brownouts, voltage fluctuations and if you're working on something critical it will be beyond shit to lose something or corrupt files.

this very much this - which is why I think the quadro k620 or something is my speed - I need this to work, and work well, but I don't need it to scream and be under the gun 5 days a week - i think hordorsbn's set up is out of my needs and price range. thank you for all the help guys!

edit: u 3d modelers and such - monitor recommendations?

hey friends - here is what i'm thinkinabout going with - not a budget computer by any means but I want this to last and get me through grad school in a few years

Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor

Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard

Crucial 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory x4 (32gb)

NVIDIA Quadro k620

Corsair 750D case

Samsung SSD 120GB

WD 2TB black

Dell E27" monitor

Thoughts? Should I splurge for the Quadro k2200? I've read a lot about these guys from Rhino and V-ray users and it seems like most of the muscle for working in Rhino comes from the processor and ram, it's not about polygon speed like games, the video card is basically to display it well on the screen. Since i'm not using multiple displays or really a high resolution/color accurate display (i don't care about color accuracy or sharpness i just need screen real estate) I think the 2GB k620 is best and can put the money towards RAM and the CPU.

ANYWAY thanks for the tips guys

Hi, seems alright from a brief look over. I don’t think splurging on the better quadro is too important. If you were going to get a better card (possibly non quadro) then I would probably consider a 6core cpu too.

Just need to add a power supply, Id say 500w +; I think there may be some wattage calculation sites out there.

+ windows (if you plan to buy a copy and/or not use linux which Im guessing autodesk et al. don’t support)

+ data cables to connect hard drives to the motherboard and monitor to gpu

I might compare some more ram choices considering I didn’t see too many reviews on those in particular. Also that motherboard supports faster ram clock speeds if you’re willing to adjust a setting in the board’s BIOS, but it’s technically considered overclocking the ram. However, other than those 2 things they appear to be fine from a compatibility standpoint.

Lastly you could add a cheap optical drive and you may want to swap the stock case fans/cpu heatsink for aftermarket better ones but neither is critical. As far as internet connectivity, if you want wireless in addition to ethernet you can add a wireless usb dongle/card, some of which Ive found tend to be temperamental, Ive had better luck with the usb type.

  On 11/8/2014 at 5:45 PM, dr lopez said:

hey friends - here is what i'm thinkinabout going with - not a budget computer by any means but I want this to last and get me through grad school in a few years

 

Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor

Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard

Crucial 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory x4 (32gb)

NVIDIA Quadro k620

Corsair 750D case

 

Samsung SSD 120GB

WD 2TB black

 

Dell E27" monitor

 

Thoughts? Should I splurge for the Quadro k2200? I've read a lot about these guys from Rhino and V-ray users and it seems like most of the muscle for working in Rhino comes from the processor and ram, it's not about polygon speed like games, the video card is basically to display it well on the screen. Since i'm not using multiple displays or really a high resolution/color accurate display (i don't care about color accuracy or sharpness i just need screen real estate) I think the 2GB k620 is best and can put the money towards RAM and the CPU.

 

ANYWAY thanks for the tips guys

So I went through and built your pc based on the things you mentioned. I added things I think you need. I upgraded the monitor to a higher resolution. I upgraded the mobo to have built in wireless networking, bluetooth, and auto-overclocking. I couldn't add the k620 so I added a similar card and adjusted the price. I added case fans as that is how many you can put in the case I recommend. I added the 650w version of my psu, because it works like a charm. I've even surged it several times installing custom electrical, and my components are all 100%. I have the 1000w version. Personally, yes, I would buy a better video card because the k620 seems extremely under-powered.

Displays aren't really my thing so I added a high resolution one. I wouldn't buy Dell anything personally, and I would recommend really shopping your monitor because it's an important part of your work. It shouldn't be hard to find a high resolution with good contrast ratio and color for a similar price at that size.

You could shop the PSU as well, and find a highly rated one at a lower wattage per pcpartpicker. I recommend evga and corsair.

The mobo also has onboard video so you could potentially run extra monitors that don't require a lot of power off the mobo and save some horsepower for your main monitor. I'm theorizing this is possible, so you might want to double-check.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/6NQLf7

I didn't look into your RAM quality at all. You might want to check that.

Also, I added a water-cooled cpu cooler. It's simple to install, and your mobo will auto overclock your cpu. Having the water-cooling will help. Just a note. I have the same auto-oc software for my mobo and it oc'd my cpu a little too high for stable performance. I had to set it about 2ghz lower than what it chose. Mine is at 4.3 ghz right now, but it's stock 3.7. Yours may be capable of 4.5, but I wouldn't cross that threshold. If you get BSOD or crashes just dial it down 1ghz until it stops happening.

I don't think that cpu's generally come with stock coolers anymore. Mine did not and I purchased it in may 2014. It should say in the specs if it does.

I agree with most of the above.

It looks like the 4790k does come w/ a stock cooler but I would second the recommendation to go for the liquid-cooled type. I use one too and they work well. With psus I can't seem to see a specific model on Adieu's link, I would recommend one which is at least 80 plus gold efficiency spec and I like those which have a fully modular cable layout, which imo makes it much easier to hook everything up. Something like:

EVGA SuperNOVA 750 G2 220-G2-0750-XR 750W

It's not going to pull the entire wattage spec in case energy consumption is a concern. I believe they only pull what the computer draws (which will be like 200-300w stock), plus a little extra percentage due to their inefficiency. It's always reassuring to have headroom, especially if you go with the better version board and overclock as Adieu suggested and/or if you go for a higher spec'd gpu.

That motherboard with onboard wireless etc. is definitely a smart upgrade. I was saying the boards can overclock the ram speeds higher than 1600 MHz and the cas latency on the ram sticks could be better too. It's like $40-50 more, it's not going to make a massive difference, but I would go with two 16gb kits, something like:

G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 Memory

or

G.Skill Trident X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2400 Memory

good luck!

I made some changes. Added a beast card.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/CKxWyc

  On 11/11/2014 at 11:56 AM, Croeso i Croton said:

I agree with most of the above.

 

It looks like the 4790k does come w/ a stock cooler but I would second the recommendation to go for the liquid-cooled type. I use one too and they work well. With psus I can't seem to see a specific model on Adieu's link, I would recommend one which is at least 80 plus gold efficiency spec and I like those which have a fully modular cable layout, which imo makes it much easier to hook everything up. Something like:

 

EVGA SuperNOVA 750 G2 220-G2-0750-XR 750W

 

 

It's not going to pull the entire wattage spec in case energy consumption is a concern. I believe they only pull what the computer draws (which will be like 200-300w stock), plus a little extra percentage due to their inefficiency. It's always reassuring to have headroom, especially if you go with the better version board and overclock as Adieu suggested and/or if you go for a higher spec'd gpu.

 

That motherboard with onboard wireless etc. is definitely a smart upgrade. I was saying the boards can overclock the ram speeds higher than 1600 MHz and the cas latency on the ram sticks could be better too. It's like $40-50 more, it's not going to make a massive difference, but I would go with two 16gb kits, something like:

 

G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 Memory

 

or

 

G.Skill Trident X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2400 Memory

 

 

good luck!

The only issue I have with the evga psu is the included cables suck ass. I ended up paying $100 bucks for their custom cable set. It's soooooo much nicer. If you aren't OCD, and you aren't trying to do anything super intense then you can probably be satisfied with the included cables.

http://www.evga.com/Products/ProductList.aspx?type=10&family=Power+Supplies&chipset=+Power+Supply+Cable+Set+(Individually+Sleeved)

I added a 32gb kit. @ 2133 speed with latency of 9 which is a good speed and latency combo imo. One thing to mention is that with RAM you always want to buy all your RAM in one kit. Ideally. I have 2 different kits in my pc and it runs fine, but it is prone to causing problems.

I also removed the monitor, because that is something you should invest some time into researching, reading reviews, etc. Then find the one that you feel most comfortable with. I also think it's good to try to look at it in the store before you purchase.

I added a GTX 780, because it's beast as fuck and your machine will be roaring, but I totally get if you choose to downgrade it, and go with one of the quadro cards. I will say though, the quadro cards that I saw in your price range were all pci 2.0 which is a generation or two old, and all have WAY less cuda cores. Those two things alone make them seem like they are probably under powered. But this is one of those areas I'm note experienced with firsthand.

I have the 770 version of the gfx card I listed and it's a good card. The clock and core speeds are high. 3gb of ram. 2304 cuda cores, and a max resolution of 4096 x 2160.

might want to take a look at the new 970 and 980 though, especially if you ahve a budget that high ( or even SLI'ing two 770s/760s )

http://www.logicalincrements.com/

I made one more change. Changed the 120gb SSD to 250gb, because I think 120 is just a little on the low end. I had it on one of my work pc's when SSD was a lot newer, and it was really easily to fill it up just with work related programs. The 250gb for only 22 bucks more or something gives you a lot more space for programs.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/JvYbcf

  On 11/11/2014 at 10:11 PM, isaki said:

might want to take a look at the new 970 and 980 though, especially if you ahve a budget that high

Yeah, I'm not quite convinced about the differences. The 980 seems superior in some ways, the the 780 ti seems superior in others. Overall, probably the 980 is better, but only minimally so. You'll also have to spend about $70-80 more to get a 980/780 ti over a 780, and he probably doesn't need that much power. I assume a 970 would be ideal for his build because it would give him enough money to buy a monitor as well and stay on budget.

I still think you should go with a socket 2011 v3 build, because it's supposed to be designed for this type of work more so than the 1150.

I updated the build again to reflect the gpu changes.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/LDX33C

looking good. will you be paying someone to build it? I wouldn't.

And if you want to see what it looks like I would to have 2011 v3 I built a new version.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3Lnjbv

  On 11/11/2014 at 10:11 PM, isaki said:

might want to take a look at the new 970 and 980 though, especially if you ahve a budget that high ( or even SLI'ing two 770s/760s )

 

http://www.logicalincrements.com/

The wattage requirement differences between the 970 vs the 780 are impressive. Looks like they did some architecture upgrades that really improved the efficiency. Supposedly the 980 is similarly power efficient.