Need help with college PC build

[Akutsukun]

im looking in building a PC that can use applications like AutoCAD, 3D Studio Max/Maya, Solid Works etc. with no problems.

I'm looking also to be able to sneak in some game play =). I haven't touched computers in almost 3-4 years? Last PC I built for myself was a long time ago. I haven't been on top of "things" these past years because of college, but yeah. It'd be nice to have a real nice PC.

Budget: 1,500 - 2,000!


I was thinking of going Intel and Nvidia? Is that a good combo?

 

[silent-circuit]

As of right now, with a budget above say, $1000, yeah, Intel and Nvidia it is.

A build for you:
CPU: Q6600 -- $300
HSF: Sunbeam Tuniq Tower or Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme and a Scythe S-Flex fan -- $55-70
Motherboard: Abit IP35-E or IP35
------(look at features, see which you want) $120 or $150, respectively
RAM: 4GB DDR2-800 -- $250
Video: eVGA/XFX/OCZ/BFG Geforce 8800 GTX -- $550
PSU: Corsair 620HX -- $125
Case: Antec P180B -- $130 - $50 MIR = $80
Fans: 4x 120mm Yate Loon fans -- $20
HDD: 500GB Seagate 7200.10 -- $110
Optical: LiteOn 20X SATA DVDRW -- $33

Comes to around $1725 + S/H, and you'll get $50 of that back from the case rebate.

Might want to add a second optical or HDD. Don't know

Make sure to look around and price hunt, not ordering everything from Newegg can save you a good bit in the end..

 

[engiNURD]

Thats a great budget... but a couple questions...

o you plan on overclocking? If not, you really should, lol. If so, great!

Does that budget include a monitor? If not, what size monitor do you currently have? silent-circuit's build is a great starting point, and you could probably even fit a monitor in there since your budget reaches 2k, if need be.

Do you need an OS? If so, which one will you be using? Do you get a student discount from the university? Most universities have a deal with M$, giving the students either ridiculously priced Windows Licenses or even free. Check it out.

 

[Akutsukun]

It doesn't include a monitor and yes don't need an OS.

I'll also be able to get a good deal on all Intel CPU's 50% off.

 

[silent-circuit]

It doesn't include a monitor and yes don't need an OS =). Get it for free (Windows Vista Ultimate I believe?)

I'll also be able to get a good deal on Intel CPU's 50% off @ the University =). So I can get the latest and greatest for half =O.

Between those two you could have a SLI'd 8800 Ultra machine with the Q6600 for within budget, just about.

 

[Akutsukun]

I don't plan to overclock.

So Quad-Core is good for what I plan to be doing (workstation & gaming)? Do games & programs utilize quadcore? If not, will it hinder me and I should go with a core 2 extreme?

Is Corsair still good when it comes to ram?

If I went SLI Ultra what would be a good video card to do it with (and do graphics programs like 3d max utilize SLI)?

 

[silent-circuit]

I don't plan to overclock.

So Quad-Core is good for what I plan to be doing (workstation & gaming)? Do games & programs utilize quadcore? If not, will it hinder me and I should go with a core 2 extreme?

Is Corsair still good when it comes to ram?

If I went SLI Ultra what would be a good video card to do it with (and do graphics programs like 3d max utilize SLI)?

Well, by "SLI'd Ultras" I meant two Geforce 8800 Ultras (around $600 each) in SLI, which would require a 680i motherboard -- in which case I'd recommend the eVGA 122-CK-NF68-A1 680i SLI motherboard, at around $200.

There is pretty much no reason not to OC Core 2 processors -- it's far easier than with just about any chip previous, they run plenty cool (with the possible exception of the quads, which do get hotter faster than the duals when overclocked) and respond well to it. There are pretty much no reports of dead Core2 chips that weren't run at crazy high (1.6+) vcore, so keeping vcore at stock or just slightly above, it's very safe. I've been running my E6420 C2D that's stock rated at 2.13Ghz at 3.2Ghz with a very small vcore bump rock solid stable and cool since I built my machine. Others are going on a year now without issue. Spending the money on a an Extreme edition chip is a really poor plan -- it can be far better spent elsewhere in your build.

For a workstation, yes, quad is the way to go. Many 3D modeling programs are multi-threaded, so you should notice a performance improvement over a dual core in very intensive tasks. On the gaming front quads are still under-utilized, but Epic says that the Unreal 3 engine can make use of multiple cores, so that should change in the near future, and considering it's all of $100 different when compared with a similarly clocked Core 2 Duo, I think it's money well spent. I now wish I'd gone Quad when I built a couple of months ago, if that tells you anything.

With RAM there's really no reason to be brand loyal aside from maybe warranty, in which case I believe OCZ has the best there is -- so long as you stay within their allowable voltage range they'll replace it if it ever goes bad, pretty much. OCZ, G.Skill, GEIL, Corsair, Crucial, Muskin, PQI, Patriot. All good RAM. Get the cheapest CAS 4 (4-4-4-12 or thereabout) DDR2-800 (PC-6400) you can find from any of the above companies and you'll be good.

 

[retro]

Maya, like pretty much most other professional 3D modeling and animating software doesnt support SLI, so you'd be better IMO with a single card, highest end you can justify. However silent-circuit is correct, when rendering, these programs will use as many cores as you tell them to. So a quad core cpu would be by far the best way to go, CPU wise.

And if you dont mind me asking, what do you do exactly with Maya & 3DSM? I'm a graduate of the Toronto Film School and am currently working on a commercial proposal for Lotus Motors. It's nice to see fellows Maya men around here.

 

[silent-circuit]

Maya, like pretty much most other professional 3D modeling and animating software doesnt support SLI, so you'd be better IMO with a single card, highest end you can justify. However silent-circuit is correct, when rendering, these programs will use as many cores as you tell them to. So a quad core cpu would be by far the best way to go, CPU wise.

True, but I /think/ he may be able to use CUDA in the future to allow both cards to help with render load. It's a guess, it's not possible right now, but his budget will allow the second card without a problem and it will definitely make games fly in the mean time.

 

[Akutsukun]

Okay, I bumped my budget up to $2,000+.

Okay how does this look:

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16819115017

CORSAIR XMS2 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820145176

EVGA 768-P2-N881-AR GeForce 8800Ultra 768MB 384-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814130090

Antec Performance One P180B Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel for durability through the majority of chassis 1.0mm cold rolled steel around the 4 x HDD area ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16811129017

CORSAIR CMPSU-620HX ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 620W Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CUL, CE, CB, FCC Class B, TUV, CCC, C-tick - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817139002

Do you think I should get 1,000 watt power supply?

SILVERSTONE OP1000 ATX12V / EPS12V 1000W Power Supply 100 - 240 V - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256010

EVGA 122-CK-NF68-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188013

 

[silent-circuit]

This 750 watt Silverstone single rail PSU will be plenty. $158 + S/H.
http://deadeyedata.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=33_36_41&products_id=190

Much better deal than the Corsair, really.

Price on the Quad should come down a bit in the next few days.

Could get 2 sets of 2x1GB for much, much less.

No reason not to go SLI with a $200 budget. Even a single Quadro based on the G80 architecture would be like... $2500+.

 

[retro]

True, but I /think/ he may be able to use CUDA in the future to allow both cards to help with render load. It's a guess, it's not possible right now, but his budget will allow the second card without a problem and it will definitely make games fly in the mean time.

Does CUDA use nVidia own propietary rendering engine? If so, its good n all, until you want to use a more professional package like Renderman.


And Akutsukun, I know you've probably heard this before, but the gains in the 8800Ultra arent really worth it over the GTX for the cost. But either way, I like seeing people go nuts with builds, so lets see you get on this!

 

[silent-circuit]

Does CUDA use nVidia own propietary rendering engine? If so, its good n all, until you want to use a more professional package like Renderman.


And Akutsukun, I know you've probably heard this before, but the gains in the 8800Ultra arent really worth it over the GTX for the cost. But either way, I like seeing people go nuts with builds, so lets see you get on this!

I don't know many specifics about CUDA, but it sounds like a good thing if and when it starts actually being used.

As for the Ultra and gains, the revised core is worth the average $50 price premium now over a GTX, so I'd say it makes sense for him. I mean, an eVGA 8800 GTX is $516 - $30 MIR = $487 right now, an Ultra is $609 - $30 MIR = $580. $90 different. I'd personally look around other places beside Newegg and see if you can get an eVGA, XFX, or BFG branded Ultra for less elsewhere. Granted, if you don't plan to OC the Ultra at all, go with the GTX. The performance is /very/ close, and the A3 core only really shines when OC'd.

In fact, here you go. XFX 8800 Ultra, $600 - 50 MIR (Expires 7/31) free shipping. $550 after rebate. http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10005187

 

[retro]

I don't know many specifics about CUDA, but it sounds like a good thing if and when it starts actually being used.

As for the Ultra and gains, the revised core is worth the average $50 price premium now over a GTX, so I'd say it makes sense for him.

Didn't realize the premium was that low, so then Ultra it should be!

And I just called my course instructor on that CUDA topic, and he says that it's wont be compatible with professional packages, nor with most built in rendering packages that come with maya and 3dsm. however, if they revise or rework their code base, then who knows.

But since its not my money, I say go for SLI anyways for the e-penis factor, and when the games truly need SLI 8800Ultras, then it'll be well worth the investment.

 

[InorganicMatter]

I was thinking of going Intel and Nvidia? Is that a good combo?

GREAT combo. E6450 + 8600GTS = win. I wouldn't spend more than $1000 on the computer itself, but that's just me. Overclocking cheap parts FTW!!!

 

[silent-circuit]

GREAT combo. E6450 + 8600GTS = win. I wouldn't spend more than $1000 on the computer itself, but that's just me. Overclocking cheap parts FTW!!!

Eh. The machine he's looking at will last a lot longer than that setup and perform vastly better. Yes, it will cost more, but I think in his case, using it as a workstation as well, the cost is worthwhile.