Game Design workstation PC for around $3,000-$4,000

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I'm working on what to get for a new workstation build. Here is the part list for the computer I'm thinking of putting together.
http://pcpartpicker.com/user/265lutab/saved/7hWgXL

I plan to use it primarily for game design with Unity and 3D modeling/rendering with Maya and 3DS Max. I am doing game design with Unity for work so that is top priority. I also do video work with Premiere Pro and After Effects, and use Photoshop, Illustrator and other graphics programs, but rendering times and light baking times are the main thing I want to bring down. I play some games and want this computer to handle games maxed out, but that's not the priority. I will be using it with the HTC Vive. I plan to get a 4k monitor. Probably the ASUS PB287Q for now upgrading to the Asus PA328Q when I can. I'm pretty sure I want to go with Intel for the CPU not AMD and with Nvidia for the graphics card.

I would like it to be somewhat portable so I can move it into my living room to use with the Vive, but have it set up in my room most of the time.

I have a budget of $3000-$4000 ($US I live in California.) though having some left over would be good.
I like newegg and amazon, but am open to getting parts from somewhere else if they have a better deal.
I plan to get a new monitor. I have a keyboard and mouse, but may get new ones (not expensive ones though)

I'll be upgrading from a Retina Macbook Pro. Which I do like a lot, but doesn't quite cut it for serious 3D work or rendering. Also it won't work with the HTC Vive which I will be using and developing for.

I'm not sure if I want to go with an aio water cooling system or with air cooling. I don't really plan to do much if any overclocking. I want the system to be reliable and last a long time. I'd also like it to be quiet. Though if it's easy to do and doesn't make the system unstable or loud I would be open to some overclocking.

That is what I have figured out so far. I'd love to get feedback and suggestions about it.
Thank You, Lucas

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Whatever I said on the Linus Forums

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Yeah thanks, I just figured I would get some more opinions and post on a few forms.

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I think I would want to go with air cooling for the sake of reliability.

Have you considered a RAID setup for data redundancy?

Also, might be worth it to wait for the new graphics cards if you're dead set on Nvidia.

I think the CPU might be overkill, thats a lot of extra money to spend for what might only be a marginal increase.

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http://pcpartpicker.com/p/xh7Pbv I'd go with this. Something I would do is wait for Nvidia to release their next generation of video cards, which are expected to be announced as soon as next week at gtc. There is also going to be a refresh of X99 with Broadwell-E, which may bring a 10-core extreme edition. We think the Nvidia refresh will happen next week, but that is not confirmed. When the Broadwell-E refresh will come is still unknown as well.

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http://pcpartpicker.com/p/ZGjXXL

I'd rather have this for $600 cheaper :P

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Yeah I'm going to wait till GTC to see what they announce there. I can't really wait a couple months for this system, but if they are releasing them soon enough then I'll go with pascal. I might get my card from EVGA they have a 90 day upgrade policy.

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I'm thinking about the Intel Core i7-5820K, but what I'd really like to get is a dual Xeon setup with a couple 10 core cpus I just cant afford that. If I keep going down to a little less performance and a little less performance it wont really be fast enough for what I'm doing.
Here are a few other build ideas I had.
http://pcpartpicker.com/user/265lutab/saved/Djtv6h

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/265lutab/saved/9hVxFT

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/265lutab/saved/FFQmP6

The one with the single 6 core Xeon would be later upgraded with another Xeon when I have more money.

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Regardless... get the Intel PCIE NVMe SSD over the M.2... they are basically the same price... the M.2 doesn't make any sense comparably...

And I would pencil in a 5820k or dual Xeons... the 5960X is a stupid pricepoint

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Okay thanks

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The M.2 is NVMe and has 112gb's more storage at the same price, what advantage does the Intel have over it?

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It's like 4x faster

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No it isn't
Intel 750

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167359&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-PCPartPicker,%20LLC-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

Samsung M.2

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147467&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-PCPartPicker,%20LLC-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

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didnt realize the samsung was nvme as well :P

allow me to retort

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One think I might think about doing is getting an intel 5820k now and upgrading when they release the new enthusiast cpus. They are expected to be on the same socket as far as I know.

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Broadwell is only going to be 5% faster per clock, and the 8 core stuff is still going to be like 1k per chip.

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it's hard to rationalize paying $550 for an extra i3 of performance in my mind is all... if the 5820k was still $500+ maybe but not with it @ 6700k prices

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"
like aside from the extra PCI-e lanes which the 5930K would give you, it's basically paying $700 for an i3

Very few workloads are actually going to need those 2 extra cores
"

DeJaVu

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For 3D rendering it will be using all the CPU power that is in the system. So more will be better. However I want to pick something that makes sense and isn't just a waste of money. There doesn't really seem to be a lot of options in my price range. If I go with Xeon they will be fewer cores or slow cores unless I pay thousands more and I'm not really sure I'll be happy with the speed of the 5820k. Right now I have a 2.7GHz quad core and it's not nearly fast enough. Do you think that I would be happy with a 5820k?

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More cores will negate the clock speed difference but, your going to lose out on graphics cards and storage if you go dual xeon, and the reason I vouch for the 5960x over the 5820k in this use case is because your really cpu dependent. I will try to do a dual xeon build but your going to lose some ssd space and get a tier-lower graphics card.

1 Like