Hey guys, I've assembled a parts list and I was wondering if you think my build will be good for the reasons I mentioned in the title. I want to bring my CGI and Animation to a freelance-usable level, which is probably the most important thing. I'll be using these renderers: Indigo, Furryball, Vray, and Iray when it comes out.
Here's the full list for those who find links too obtrusive to browsing continuity: Intel Xeon E5-2630 V3 2.4GHz 8-Core Processor Noctua NH-D15 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler Asus X99-E WS SSI CEB LGA2011-3 Motherboard A-Data XPG Z1 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory Samsung 850 Pro Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive Cooler Master Cosmos II (Black) ATX Full Tower Case EVGA 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer Microsoft Windows 8.1 OEM (64-bit) Creative Labs Sound Blaster Zx 24-bit 192 KHz Sound Card Gigabyte GC-WB867D-I 802.11a/b/g/n/ac PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter BenQ GW2765HT 60Hz 27.0" Monitor
All advice and suggestions are really appreciated!
Edit: I've updated the parts list to reflect the opinions of responses I've got from you guys.
http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/YHLGFT So I really centered this build around the workstation needs rather then gaming stuff. Parts like the 144hz 1080p monitor and Titan X just don't keep up in a Workstation environment. I opted for the 8 core Xeon instead of the 6 core, just because all of your programs really benefit from more cores. When this Xeon turbos to like 3.1 to 3.0 on all cores, it is a beast. The cpu cooler is much more geared towards the lowest possible temperatures while maintaining near silence. The H100i you chose is a good cooler, but it louder and hotter running then the noctua. Its a popular pick because of aesthetics, but in performance it simply doesn't keep up. It is also $20 more expensive, which is small in comparison to your budget but hey, $20. Next is the AMD FirePro W8100. This card destroys the Titan X in any productivity. Its workstation class drivers and features simply cannot be matched by the Titan X. Previous Titan's had the Double Precision required by these programs to really run to there fullest potential, but this was omitted from the Titan X. If you wanted gaming performance and Double Precision performance you could buy a couple Titan Blacks off eBay, but you'd lose the driver support which I value more then the Gaming potential of the Titan line. The SSD was a no-brainer. Its a Samsung pro series. Its got better components then the Evo, mainly the flash being the notable part. I omitted the sound card because an external dac+amp is a much better solution for the price, and I also feel that sound cards don't really have an advantage over 99% of good motherboards built in audio. I went with a 1440p monitor because a single 1080p is not enough for your needs IMO. Those extra pixels will be a god sent for you, trust me.
Goodness, man. Thank you so much for taking the time to make an entirely new build for me to look at like that, and providing all the explanations you did in your response. I think I'll go with your build when I buy it, and just build a separate, smaller computer for games later.
No problem man, I like doing large build outs like this. Something I would definitely consider is getting this motherboard and case instead of the case and motherboard I had in the original build: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/Dcygqs Your getting a better motherboard in terms of compatibility with this Asus WS board. Now that I'm thinking of it, there is a chance the MSI I put in there might have some problems with the Xeon I included in that build. Some X99 Boards are squirrely with Xeons, so to air on the side of Caution I'd prefer that board over the original one.
Oh, alright. I'm curious as to what tipped you off that the old mobo might not work; I don't know much about compatibility other than what pcpartpicker tells me won't work. Also, since the case I (really) wanted won't fit with the new mobo we picked for this build, I've opted for the....(dubstep drop occurs) Coolmaster Cosmos II. It's monstrous! But yes, if you could tell me why the old mobo might not work I'd appreciate the shared knowledge.
Some vendors support Xeons better in their mainstream boards then others. Asus has basic Xeon support in everyone of their X99 boards, although the X99 WS has the most complete support. MSI has been weird with their support. Some skews they support and sometimes one or two are omitted. I like to just recommend Asus when it comes to Xeon support. They advertise that they support all the Xeons on their X99 boards and I know they do because its been tested. There isn't this kind of information really available surrounding MSI and Xeons. 90% chance it does support that Xeon, but I just don't know for certain. You can get any X99 board from Asus and it will support all Xeons to some extent, so I air on the side of the known quantity.
Coordinated by BananaPI´s on a Cisco Hub. Question: Can a compute Stick drive a W9100?
The W8100 looks like a solid choice for Maya, gaming can get interesting. Keep us up to date! I know my W8100 with the Fury rocks some games without my CPU reaching 15% load.
I'm definitely going to keep people posted and may even do a review because information on rendering card performance, whether on games or on workstation stuff, is intensely lacking. Especially in non-synthetic benchmarks. I'm curious though! What games do you play, and what kind of fps do you get and on what settings?
I have a w8100 and its sucks - well the drivers do. I get allot of vertex fighting (you won't see a difference in your renders). I also have a K5000 that has had no issues out of the box
Also if you get a w8100 dont bother with a blue-ray player because it can't play blu-rays as its not hdcp complaint
Not that big of an issue because its a workstation - but its something to think about
you also dont need new thermal paste for your H100i if your still going for it the difference in temp wont be noticeable. but you will want new thermal paste a year down the road when you re-build/clean your system of dust
Don't buy 4 sticks of memory buy 8 fill all your slots
you also dont need that sound card - you wont notice a difference in sound from the one on the mother board. If you want cleaner or better sound you will want to get a dac or an amp that can take an digital output like audio fiber or usb
wi-fi adapter - I would go with a cheap dongle then a internal (but thats a personal preference because I have to move my systems around allot and having to unattached cord after cord gets annoying)
Hey there, I couldn't find any official information about the w8100's hdcp compliance so I'm gonna' take your word for it. What would your GPU recommendation be? And since I'm getting conflicting opinions on the GPU for the system, could you add an explanation as to why you think another GPU would be best? All information like this is greatly appreciated because this is my first build like this and I'm not terribly tech-savy yet with the intricacies of hardware. I can't really afford to buy a $1300 card and have it not work. Further input is incredibly helpful and ultimately appreciated Cavemanbangs. Also! I've updated my parts list, perhaps you'd like to have another look at it.
the w8100 will suit your "needs" .. but you will find draw backs like the lack of hdcp and strange vertex anomalies - i didn't mean to give you the impression that it "dose not work"
"gpu would be best" - you need to look at your needs - such as when I was just modeling all I needed was a beefy gaming graphics card with sizable ram
-> when i had a project that required physics particles and onthe fly rendering I found that having the extra driver support of the workstation cards helped
so you need to look at your work flow and ask yourself if you need a workstation card or dose buying a gaming card make more sense.
I know allot of professionals that get by just fine on a gaming graphics card my ( my next build will probably be a gaming card because I don't do allot of physics stuff anymore *thank god)
you can save allot of money by switching to a fractal design case - by brother has a version of the case you picked out and it is crazy heavy
still wouldn't buy a sound card ..personally I'm thinking about buying a Sound Blaster X7
I would also stick to just a 6 core xenon with higher 3 ghz vs an 8-core 2 ghz .. only because unless your rendering you wont ever see the use of the extra cores. (maybe you have a heavy rending work flow - so ignore this)
my only advise would be to double think what you truly need now vs what you want (workstation cards are worth the money - if they are going to be used)
Thank you for your clarification about the card, and about all the rest of your information. I do intend to do the particles and VFX-heavy work; I had fun with it when I played with it in Blender so your information here was invaluable. I definitely render a lot (personal interest in the creative part of architectural design) so your information/experience helps me here.
The sound card...I agree with you entirely, though I do dabble in music production which requires such a card. I didn't mention it in the description as I didn't want to focus on it, it's just in the build so it's all organized.
For a near 5000$ PC you really should consider renting a power drill with a long drillbit and laying down some ethernet cable. All the components of yours are chosen for reliability and then you rely on wifi?
For heavy rendering with Maya go with the W8100 instead of any gaming-card because of features like GeometryBoost (renders Polygons as one up to a degree, gaming cards are only capable of rendering simple objects like planes and cubes at once). If you use video encoding, going the workstation way will also give you an edge. Go with the 8-core xeon over the 6-core, Maya will be happy to use all the available recources to their maximum.
You don't need an 14cm cooler for a 85w cpu,12cm coolers will be just as cool and quiet but they will be smaller and lighter
Don't need to spend that much on mobo if you aren't gonna get a server one and use ecc
Cheapest 8x8 2.4k ram
256gb 850 pro main drive, cheapest 120gb ssd with micron controller, move page file and the tmp folder to this disk and your maya will have a scratch disk like photoshop. Reds are the best low rpm drives and aren't expensive
Don't need a huge and expensive case. R5 is spacious, quiet, easy to build in and only 100ish
Psu efficeny is important for rendering, seasonic is a top brand, 860w is plenty
Cheapest blu-ray writer
Widest Adobe RGB and sRGB coverage 1440p in sub 1k price range
Intel pci-e wifi card
Spend the rest of your budget on the best gpu you can buy