New PC Rig thoughts please :)

[Jay007]

Hey Guys...looking to build a new today as im in a mad rush for a new one as my current pc after 6 years cant quite cope with the demand of Zbrush, 3ds Max and Photoshop any longer! You might of read about the video games studio Eurocom going down in some gaming websites and I was one of the Artists laid off and in need of a pretty powerful pc to get cracking on a portfolio. Just wanted to get thoughts as Im so out of the loop in terms of hardware and such. It will be used gaming too!

This is what Ive dished together? Any noticeable issues? I wasnt too sure on whether to get the i7 SB-E or IV but went with the IV.



Any replies will be really appreciated.

[Pob255]

PSU a bit OTT, not sure about the TT cooler it might be decent but I don't think they've released anything great for a long time, I'd probably look at the antec or corsair instead

case is a rather personal thing, you could shave a bit of cost there, I'd look at the fractal design Arc http://www.scan.co.uk/products/fract...e-case-w-o-psu

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I would go with a better SSD,which can handle incompressible data beter,ie, a Crucial M4 or a Samsung 830. I would look at this HD7970:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/3gb-g...i-hdmi-2x-mdp-

Motherboard looks nice,but is very expensive IMHO. I might consider something cheaper:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/gigab...dvi-d-hdmi-atx

Are you going to get dual cards though?? In that sense you need to consider the cooler on the GPU too,and also TBH I do think a 650W to 750W PSU should be enough - I would check reviews to see how power much a pair of HD7970 cards consume at the wall.

Another thing,for pure gaming,IB is better than SB-E,but socket 2011 will be around for a while. Not only does SB-E have an upgrade path to six core CPUs,but also to IB-E too.

As a developer,I don't know how multi-threaded your tools are,but TBH looking at how multi-threaded the newer games engine can be,perhaps this is something you need to consider??

[Willzzz]

Get the Gigabyte 7970 instead, cheaper, better, more reliable.

[Pob255]

For 3ds max you want full cores (not hyper threaded) granted the complexity of the render scene will impact it, if you're just making individual models to be used within a game engine then the demand drops a lot.
And a pro card, while very expensive, can be more useful than excess cpu (you still want a good chunk of cpu power) if you working on individual models not scenes

[Jay007]

Thanks for all the advice guys! Really is appreciated

Ive come back now with 2 set ups..one is SB and the other IB. 3ds max will be used a fair amount but mostly with individual models but they will go into the millions in terms of polygons. I had a look at the Pro cards but the expense takes it way out my budget. Its something I think I can live without. Ive gone for a mid tower case too but not the fractal as Im not so keen on the look.

Heres the SB



And heres the IB

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I would get this SSD:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/128gb...b-s-256mb-cach

I would get this cooler:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/corsa...m3-fm1-and-fm2

I would go for one of these motherboards too:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/intel...-cache-130w-re

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/gigab...-%28x16%29-atx

It will be easier to increase the amount of RAM.

Regarding the CPUs,the Core i7 3770K is a bit quicker than a Core i7 3820. However,the Core i7 3770K is the best CPU for socket 1155 which you will be able to get AFAIK.

For the socket 2011 build,at a later date you could get this six core CPU:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/intel...-cache-130w-re

IB-E will also be out next year,so you could plonk in a six core IB-E CPU when you have dosh available.

[Jay007]

Ok so with the knowledge that I Could get a 6 core IB-E Next year ill stick with the IB for now as its a bit quicker. Was there a motherboard you recommend for the IV? Ive gone for a Gigabyte GA-Z77X UD5H



Also just gone with the i7 3770 instead of the K as its unlikely ill ever OC it so save the £30. I also wasn't sure to get the GTX 670 or the HD 7970 but went with the AMD due to the games you got free! It seemed from reviews that it was the better choice in most games.

[Willzzz]

Also just gone with the i7 3770 instead of the K as its unlikely ill ever OC it so save the £30. I also wasn't sure to get the GTX 670 or the HD 7970 but went with the AMD due to the games you got free! It seemed from reviews that it was the better choice in most games.

Might as well save some cash on the CPU cooler then, you don't need an H80i for a stock 3770.

Free games? I thought this was a serious professional PC!!

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Socket 2011 can only take six core CPUs. IB-E will only be on socket 2011 which is what the SB-E Core i7 3820 is on. Sorry if I have confused anyone!!

Socket 1155 is more or less a dead end now,ie,the Core i3 3770K is the fastest CPU for the platform,and socket 1150 is replacing it.

[Jay007]

Haha...Erm it is of course professional..I'd mearly be playing other games for professional reasons! Need to check out he visual competition with my work!

Ok Ive gone back to socket 2011 with the i7 3820! With the thought of upgrading to a 6 core IB-E in the future. The whole IB SB thing is a little confusing as I lack any research..I though IB was newer and be the socket they would continue with! Bless this forum!

Ok here is what will hopefully be the final spec though the case is now bothering me a little so may change that!



Would that be the best motherboard choice or would this slightly cheaper one be fine?

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/gigab...e-30-(x16)-atx

As for the CPU Cooler, I'll stick with that as its only a little bit more and I may tempt OC'ing in the future. Though its annoying its not in stock!

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The UD3 only has 4 RAM slots and the UP4 has 8,meaning you can add another 16GB of RAM at a later date if required.

Haha...Erm it is of course professional..I'd mearly be playing other games for professional reasons! Need to check out he visual competition with my work!

[Domestic_Ginger]

IMO the 3820 offers nothing over the i7 1155. If you are upgrading later to a hex core (over three months) then I would go 1155 and sell board and CPU to go 2011 at ht esame time. The overhead on the motherboards is crazy. an alternative to the non-k 3770 is the E3-1230 (v2) maybe.

[Jay007]

UP4 it is then

Thanks a lot guys, think im pretty chuffed with that set up..Just need to dwell on the Case a little and find something I like!

[Jay007]

Domestic has just thrown a spanner in the works... If the 3820 and 3770 offer pretty much the same performance wouldn't it be best to get the 2011 now and save the hassle of selling the 1155 later and losing money off its value and just do a CPU upgrade??

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

OTH,you are doing work on this PC too,so you need to consider a IB-E upgrade at most would require a BIOS update of your current motherboard,and there should be less downtime than rebuilding your system and then reinstalling everything again.

You could get away with a B75 or Z77 ATX motherboard and a Xeon E3-1230 V2,but I am not sure if rebuilding your system is worth the hassle.