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$2,000 Monster Build

A

ApoxOnYou

n00b
Joined
Aug 4, 2010
Messages
6
Hey guys. Not sure if it's kosher to make my first post here a call for help, but if it matters, I have been a lurker for years and years and you guys always deliver.

So earlier today, my 4 year old machine died a horrible, horrible death and I figure it's time to get with the times.

I have been researching for the last few hours to get back up to speed with all the new tech, but as you can imagine, I can only learn so much in 4 hours. I have a basic idea of what I need/want but I'm sure you guys will have much better suggestions.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc

3D modeling, texturing and photorealistic rendering (3d Studio Max)
Digital Sculpting (ZBrush & Mudbox)
After Effects, Heavy Photoshop, etc…

Let’s just say I need to run everything in the Adobe CS 5 Master suite at maximum.

Massive Gaming (Ex. SC II at full settings). I need to be able to put this thing through the paces.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?

$2000. I can go to $2,500 with all the shipping included as a max price.

3) Where do you live?

Albuquerque, New Mexico

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.

Motherboard, CPU, RAM, GPU, HDD, Power Supply, Case and OS

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.

Only the Monitor, Keyboard, Mouse

6) Will you be overclocking?

I would like to OC the CPU a TAD but that is up in the air if I want the stress of doing it with my primary work machine

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?

I have 2x 24” screens that need to work in multiple setups (dual screen, split, vertical etc)

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?

ASAP…4 hours ago would have been good

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.

I need at least 2x onboard Firewire ports and support for at least 12GB of RAM upgradable as high as possible for future use.

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? 32bit or 64bit?

No. I was on Vista but that machine took a dive a few hours ago. Looking for Win 7


I managed to cobble together some good suggestions from here today and came up with a few pieces of hardware that I think will be good, but feel free to laugh, call me names and suggest something better.

MB: GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R LGA 1366
CPU: Intel Core i7-930
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 12GB (3 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
HDD: Western Digital VelociRaptor WD6000HLHX 600GB 10000 RPM

For graphics cards, I used an old Quadro for a while before changing it to an actual gaming card. The performance change in applications NOT dealing with my 3d programs was substantial and I think I need to go with a gaming card again. Not sure if the advances in the workstation cards (Quadro, FireGL) have made them work well outside of those applications or not. I'm reading up on it.

Cases and Power supplies I am clueless on. I read the links in the FAQ here on power supplies and they made me feel very old and very out of touch. I am assuming I am going to need a fairly large case and a beefy PS.

Thanks a ton for any help.
 
Ditch the VRaptor drive. Not worth the price at all considering that many consumer class drives provide roughly 90% of the performance of a VRaptor but at 30% of the costs. You're better off with a SSD and a fast 1TB drive:
$225 - Intel SSDSA2MH080G2R5 2.5" 80GB SSD
$75 - Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

You get a significant performance boost over a single VRaptor drive with the SSD. Keep the OS and critical apps on the SSD. Keep games on the 1TB drive.

For gaming, Quadro and FireGL cards are out. There's no hardware limitations preventing many Quadro or fireGL cards from being a good gaming card. However both AMD and Nvidia only have drivers that's specifically geared towards 3D apps and such. Those drivers are pretty shitty for gaming. However, gaming cards don't have as much of a major performance hit in 3D apps as a workstation card in games.

I recommend GTX 460 1GB SLI for your setup.

PSU wise, I recommend this PSU:
$150 - XFX XPS-850W-BES 850W Modular PSU

Case wise, choose your own case. I recommend this cases (yes they'll all fit the above hardware):
$70 - Cooler Master RC-590-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$80 - Cooler Master RC-690-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$70 - Cooler Master CM690 II ATX Case
$90 - Cooler Master HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$100 - Lian Li PC-7B Plus II ATX Case
$100 - Lian Li Lancool PC-K7B ATX Case
$90 - Cooler Master HAF 922M RC-922M-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$110 - Lian Li PC-E8B ATX Case
$110 - Lian Li PC-7FN ATX Case
$120 - Velocity Micro GX2-W Silver Classic Aluminum Case with Side Window
$120 - Thermaltake ElementS VK60001N2Z ATX Case
$130 - Cooler Master Storm Sniper ATX Case
$150 - Antec P183 ATX Case
$140 - Cooler Master HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$170 - Cooler Master Cosmos S 1000 RC-1100-KSN1-GP Full Tower ATX Case
$180 - Cooler Master ATCS 840 RC-840-KKN1-GP Full Tower ATX Case
$180 - Lian Li PC-B25F ATX Case
$210 - Silverstone FT01-B ATX Case
$220 - Lian Li PC-A71F Black ATX Case
$240 - Lian Li PC-V1200A Plus II ATX Case
$300 - Corsair Obsidian Series 800D CC800DW Full Tower ATX Case
$330 - Silverstone Temjin SST-TJ07B Full Tower ATX Case

Oh and you shave off $16 by getting the GPU + mobo in this combo link:
$485 - Intel Core i7-930 CPU + Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R X58 ATX Motherboard Combo

OS, definitely get Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit.
 
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Thanks a ton Danny. Quick question though.

The reason I didn't pick a SSD for critical apps right off the bat is because my "critical apps" will far exceed 80GB. After the OS I have Adobe CS5 Master, 3d Studio Max 2010 and dozens of other programs with TONS (over 50GB) of plugins, scripts etc. I was always under the impression that for performance, I needed to have all of them on the same partition as my OS. Is that incorrect?
 
Well you have a larger budget so you can get a larger SSD:
$350 - OCZ Vertex 2 OCZSSD2-2VTXE120G 2.5" 120GB SSD
$425 - Intel X25-M Mainstream SSDSA2M160G2XXX 2.5" 160GB SSD

To answer your question though, I don't know the answer to be honest. I've never ran into a person with over 50GB worth of plugins and scripts.
 
ApoxOnYou said:
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?

ASAP…4 hours ago would have been good
Click to expand...

Haha, sorry, funniest thing I've read all day... (Granted the day's only ten minutes old...)




Danny Bui said:
You're better off with a SSD and a fast 1TB drive:
$75 - Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

OS, definitely get Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit.
Click to expand...

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name...-F3-HD103SJ-1TB-SATA2-7200rpm-32MB-Hard-Drive
$65 for that drive at eWiz (unless eWiz is to be avoided?)

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1523275
$50 Windows Vista Home Premium Retail
(Just in case Vista might suffice...)

Just trying to save a few bucks... If either suggestions sucks, that wasn't my intent...
 
Tolyngee said:
http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name...-F3-HD103SJ-1TB-SATA2-7200rpm-32MB-Hard-Drive
$65 for that drive at eWiz (unless eWiz is to be avoided?)

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1523275
$50 Windows Vista Home Premium Retail
(Just in case Vista might suffice...)

Just trying to save a few bucks... If either suggestions sucks, that wasn't my intent...
Click to expand...

Got no problems with either recommendations. Ewiz is an ok site to order from (not so good for CA residents since eWiz is CA based). I've also bought an OS disc/key off the forums before and wasn't that much of an issue.
 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226158 - If you must use 4GB sticks of RAM, then this mushkin kit has tighter timings (7-8-7 vs 9-9-9) than the g.skill for only a slight price premium.

If you can use 2GB sticks, then the G.skill eco cas7 DDR3 1600 (4GB, 2 x 2GB) kits are $105 each (I've seen them as low as $100). The attraction is that they are low voltage kits, which should also decrease temps slightly in the CPU core's Integrated Memory Controller. However if you wish to bump up the voltage, they are also among the best overclocking options at 1.55v+.

I 2nd the Samsung F3 1TB drives. I have 4 of them, and I prefer them to my WD drives (of which I have almost all varieties now (black, blue, green)).

Edit: And if you're doing single-screen gaming, then 1 GTX 460 1GB or HD5850 (both overclocked) may suffice. If you exceed 1920x1200 pixels, then GTX 460 1GB SLI. My friend just got this setup with an i7 930, and it's just kicking ass. The latest [H] review illustrates this clearly, but after overclocking, the results are even more pronounced.
 
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FYI, Micro Center now has the Samsung F3 1TB HDD for $65. I believe that will be the new price for it, for now.

Is there any reason why 4GB sticks are a must, instead of, say, three 2x2GB kits?
 
tiraides said:
Is there any reason why 4GB sticks are a must, instead of, say, three 2x2GB kits?
Click to expand...

My thoughts were that due to the usage scenario that the OP described, he might have been aiming for an eventual 24GB of RAM setup.
 
Danny Bui said:
My thoughts were that due to the usage scenario that the OP described, he might have been aiming for an eventual 24GB of RAM setup.
Click to expand...

Yup:

ApoxOnYou said:
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.

I need at least 2x onboard Firewire ports and support for at least 12GB of RAM upgradable as high as possible for future use.

Click to expand...
 
Danny Bui said:
I've never ran into a person with over 50GB worth of plugins and scripts

...he might have been aiming for an eventual 24GB of RAM setup.
Click to expand...


After 12+ years of 3d and design work you end up with a LOT of little odds and ends you can't live without, hence the size of my extras. I am going to opt for the larger SSD.

On the RAM issue, one of the first things I will be doing in the next few weeks is putting the RAM at 24GB.

Is it worth the extra $40.00 for tighter timings on the Mushkin RAM?

So here is what I got right now.

$483.99 - GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R LGA 1366 + Intel Core i7-930 Bloomfield 2.8GHz
$449.99 - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 12GB (3 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
$459.98 - 2x Gigabyte GeForce GTX460-1 GB DDR5
$349.99 - OCZ Vertex 2 OCZSSD2-2VTXE120G 2.5" 120GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
$59.99 - SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM
$149.99 - XFX Black Edition XPS-850W-BES 850W
$169.99 - COOLER MASTER ATCS 840 RC-840-KKN1-GP Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower
$99.99 - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM

$2,232.60 With Shipping

Updated with 2x GPU's. I thought it was a little too close to my original price.
 
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Get a 250GB Vertex 1 instead of a smaller Vertex 2. You will NEVER notice the difference (I have both) and I got two 250GB Vertex drives (one for HTPC and one for Laptop) for around $350 each on ebay. Best purchase I've ever made in computing hardware.
 
I'll differ from the rest an say go with 24GB of RAM and some RAMdisk software to make CS5 fly. This can make up for the difference in speed between the SSD and the HDD...you can always add a SSD later but those 1TB drives aren't slouches and a RAMdisk will just fly. Comes out to $2000 give or take. I don't normally chime in on these so be kind if I overlooked something!

$150 - XFX Black Edition XPS-850W-BES 850W
$230 - GIGABYTE GV-N460OC-1GI GeForce GTX 460
$230 - GIGABYTE GV-N460OC-1GI GeForce GTX 460
$60 - SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB
$300 - OCZ Reaper Edition 12GB (3 x 4GB)
$300 - OCZ Reaper Edition 12GB (3 x 4GB)
$290 - Intel Core i7-930
$210 - GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R
$1-200 - pick your own case
$100 - pick your OS

-$15 Combo Savings
-$30 - RAM rebate
 
vsboxerboy said:
I'll differ from the rest an say go with 24GB of RAM and some RAMdisk software to make CS5 fly. This can make up for the difference in speed between the SSD and the HDD...you can always add a SSD later but those 1TB drives aren't slouches and a RAMdisk will just fly. Comes out to $2000 give or take. I don't normally chime in on these so be kind if I overlooked something!
Click to expand...

I thought about that but since I am going to be upgrading the RAM to 24GB at the end of September, I figured it would be easier to just add more RAM rather than reinstall every one of my programs on a new SDD. Rebuilding a drive or formatting an OS is an event at my place.

One last question. Can you guys recommend a good CPU fan/HS setup as well as some good case fans(unless the ones in the case are good enough). I am still up in the air about OC it but I know I will be doing some 24+ hour renders and I want it to stay very cool.
 
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I will always recommend doing extensive research of all your parts before building. We can list you a bunch of stuff but it's up to you how to use it. What works for us may be useless to you. Start with the PC case, motherboard, CPU and Video Cards. Make sure the items fit your needs before proceeding with the other parts of the build.
If you still want my two cents, I will start with:

Cooler Master HAF X or Silverstone FT02/Raven RV02
ASUS Rampage III Extreme
Intel i7 930 CPU
Nvidia GTX 460 1GB x2 SLI (For Nvidia Surround)
Corsair AX850 (Now at Newegg)
Muskin RedLine 6GB 1600MHz Cas 6 (12GB for the person below me)
Prolimatech MegaShadow CPU Cooler or Corsair H70 CPU Cooler
Western Digital 1TB SATA 3.0 Hard Drive
24X DVD Burner
Corsair Force 60GB SSD or OCZ Vertex 2 60GB SSD
Third 24" monitor
 
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WorldExclusive said:
What? An extra 6GBs? I just have it all wrong. smh. Read first line of post.
Click to expand...

From the OP:

ApoxOnYou said:
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.

I need at least 2x onboard Firewire ports and support for at least 12GB of RAM upgradable as high as possible for future use.

Click to expand...

From another post by the OP clarifying the first post:

ApoxOnYou said:
On the RAM issue, one of the first things I will be doing in the next few weeks is putting the RAM at 24GB.
Click to expand...
 
"Muskin RedLine 6GB 1600MHz Cas 6"

I believe we was reffering to the CAS speed...... If I was going with 24GB's of ram stability would be key, there is a reason all the 4gb sticks still have higher timings.

A kit with slightly slower timings 7-8-9 range is fine for this build.
 
ApoxOnYou said:
[/COLOR]9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.

I need at least 2x onboard Firewire ports and support for at least 12GB of RAM upgradable as high as possible for future use.


MB: GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R LGA 1366
Click to expand...




So you know not all Firewire is created equal & whats on taht motherboard is not the best. An Add-In card would be better if you actually use Firewire alot since you can get 1394b as well as 1394a unlike what most motherboards will come with.
 
ApoxOnYou said:
One last question. Can you guys recommend a good CPU fan/HS setup as well as some good case fans(unless the ones in the case are good enough). I am still up in the air about OC it but I know I will be doing some 24+ hour renders and I want it to stay very cool.
Click to expand...

for price to performance, I can't recommend the cogage true spirit more. I just installed one of these in my old lga 775 boards (upgrading from an old closed loop water cooler) and the thing is just amazing for $40 + the cost of the bolt through kit.

I got it from frozencpu.com and it was a newer model with the rev. 1 thermalright bolt through kit for the lga 1366 which is a huge improvement over the old push-pin kit it use to have. the fan it comes with is very nice for a stock fan, the only upgrade here would really be 2x scythe gt ap-15 in push-pull. the only negatives I have to say about the true spirit is that you will want to lap the contact surface as it does come with a pretty pronounced convex bow, but for about half the price of the high-end coolers you get about the same performance when finished, which is almost unheard of.

edit: I probably wouldn't buy the lapping kit from frozencpu though, the one that was sent to me was quite small and for the same price you could probably get something a bit nicer at your local hardware store.
 
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