So, my budget isn’t the most (around $1k) but here’s what I’ve got specced from pcpartpicker.com:
http://pcpartpicker.com/user/CypherShock/saved/cjpmP6
What do you all think? I’m not doing school or anything just yet but I figure this gets me a half decent system to run Adobe Cloud suite, Blender, Lightwave on it. And I can upgrade the ram to 32 gb if needed. Sticking with Windows 7.
Check the recent thread on use of Intel or AMD CPUs
http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?f=23&t=1197827&page=1&pp=15
If you still want the AMD CPU you should still cut down on the PSU, it is way over board. Chances are the system would run on a <600W PSU.
32 GB…hmmm…not sure why? I’ve got a beast of a process or and graphics card. 16 GB of Ram should do it, until I get into bigger projects (remember I’m just starting out). My plan is to have Adobe Creative Cloud Suite, Lightwave, Blender, an Intuos pro tablet and perhaps zbrush.
Why that cpu cooler? youre spending 60% the price of your cpu on a heatsink which tends to only be used for enthusiast overclocking. If youre looking for more performance then you shouldnt get going with amd to begin with.
Regarding ram, 16 is fine. More can have a use, but people often overestimate what they need, that or they work inefficiently.
Fair question. I had thought anything to help keep things cool would be a plus. But if I don’t need it, I’ll axe it. As far as AMD v. Intel, AMD is a bit cheaper and I’m trying to keep the build from going over $1500. With 8 cores AMD can’t be total crap right? However, I’m not stuck on AMD by any means. Intel suggestions similar to it?
I am curious though as to whether or not I really need that 4gb graphics card. Could I possibly get away with an nvidia gtx 750ti? And if I don’t need the cooler, would I need extra fans? Guess I should show the case I’m looking at too:
http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=6_112&item_id=070273
And the power supply: http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=33_1238_443&item_id=063129
For 3D work the roughly equivalent Intel CPU to the FX8350 (non overclocked) would be a current i5. If you overclock the equivalent is an also overclocked two years old i7-3770K.
Persoanly i would get a more current CPU than that though, a 4770K will leave both CPUs behind easily.
With modern CPUs the energy consumption is not as bad as many think, you can get away with a bog standard cooler if you don’t overclock.
For personal work with Cinema 4D i use a 750ti. Fast and big enough for me, it also does not overheat easily.
You dont need to concern yourself with any special cooling measures unless you plan to overclock things significantly, the stock cooler that comes with the cpu works perfectly fine, thats why it comes with it. There are cooler and quieter options out there but I wouldnt bother with them on a budget build. Especially when you consider you could take that $100 saved and just get a better cpu to begin with. For fans, so long as you have one on the cpu and 1-2 case fans then you have all you need.
The 8 core amd cpu is a bit of a marketing gimmick. You dont get 8 full cpu cores, you get 8 which share a few components. In reality theyre no faster than a 4 core system + hyper threading.
The 760 geforce is nice and not too expensive, but if youre looking to save a bit more then yes, the 750Ti (the Ti bit is important!) is a great card for the money, Im running one myself. It has enough kick that it wont likely be the bottleneck in your system which is really the aim. Its not amazing for GPU-based render engines, but im assuming youre not using them.
Hmm…is it essential to have hyperthreading? I couldn’t find the 4770 on pcpartspicker.com but did find this: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor and Asus Z87-Pro (V Edition) ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
I also switched out the earlier card for the Asus GTX 750ti (question, why is the ti important?). I realize I could go nuts with this, I just want to make sure I don’t end up with something that’s not scalable over time. I really don’t want to have to buy a brand new system every couple of years.
Just curious: Talking with one of the in-store techs he mentioned that if I AM going to go AMD I should stick with a Radeon (in this case he suggested a 270x). I would figure either nvidia or radeon would work? I know that Nvidia does have the Phys-X, but beyond that, not sure the difference. I’ve had good luck with Nvidia cards anyway.
Hyperthreading is nice, its a 10-20% boost when rendering, but dont worry if the i7 is too much.
The Ti version of the gfx card is newer and runs much cooler, pulling less power, its worth the small extra amount just in electricity savings.
Theres no reason to pick any particular gfx card based on the cpu you use.
That person has not the faintest clue if he suggests that because you have an AMD CPU you should go with a Radeon.
The differences are more than physX, which is largely irrelevant to the world in general, but whether they matter to you depends on what you will be doing with it.
If GPU rendering (Redshift, Octane etc) are of any importance, nVIDIA is a mandatory choice, as all of that relies on CUDA, which is propietary to nVIDIA.
As Mash says, the 750ti is the most modern card out there. While it’s under the guise of a 7xx, which were Kepler CPUs (current gen), the 750ti is the first Maxwell GPU out there (next gen), and nVIDIA’s way to test waters for drivers and other things.
It’s good value for money, but again, depending on what you will be doing with it, it might or might not be a good pick.
Personally I wouldn’t buy a 750ti if I could stretch things to a 760, the difference in memory bandwidth alone is immesne, but that goes for me and what I do. In example, if you cared about the DirectX 11.2 feature set and literally less than half the power draw, the 750ti comes out on top.
That’s quite the blanket statement. 32GB aren’t strictly needed for a lot of stuff unless you seriously crank on sims or memory hungry renders.
Windows 7 below professional doesn’t even support it to begin with, it caps at 16GB, so choice of OS plays a part too if you can’t get a relatively cheap 7pro or are willing to go with 8.1
I have 32GB, and it’s exceedingly rare I get to use more than half of it. It takes a considerable load and res to “need” it.
Buying 16 in the right size to expand later if you find you need to is certainly viable, and for someone on a budget probably better to begin with.
Thanks ThE_JacO! Yeah I’m just starting out not pro by any means. I know I’ll be using the full adobe suite, Lightwave (as that’s one I’ve got in an older version and it “clicks” with the way my brain works), zbrush for sculpting and Blender, because well, I’d been meaning to get into it. As far as OS, Windows 7 Ultimate. Am I still ok with 16 gb to start? I’ve managed so far to keep everything around $1k with room to add another graphics card and double the ram. Using the AMD FX 8350 processor.
You’ll be OK with 16GB and leaving yourself space to upgrade only if needed.
Adding a second GFX card though would be largely pointless for anything except rendering, so if and when the time comes yours will struggle with where you will be at it’ll most likely be a case of replacing it.
SLI (linked multiple video cards) sort virtually no effect in any mainstream DCC app outside of GPU rendering, and GPU rendering tends to first and foremost be bottlenecked by RAM amounts (which is mirrored, not doubled in SLI) so it’s generally considered pointless to double up on low or mid-end videocard rather than upgrading them to a higher bracket model.
If you’re just starting you’ll be perfectly fine with that lot.