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Building a system for modeling and photo editing

Post Date: 2011-06-28
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peterbz View Drop Down
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Posts: 3 		  Quote peterbz Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Topic: Building a system for modeling and photo editing
    Posted: 28 Jun 2011 at 1:34am
Budget:
$2000 (give or take $100-200)

Expectations:
I want a fast desktop for my video/photo editing and modeling work
A fast CPU is mandatory for fast render times
I'll be using 2 monitors (3 if I can fit SLI in my budget)
I don't care about the noise of the system as long as it doesn't sound like a turbine engine and quiet enough for me to sleep at night
A nice looking chassis with a small window and lighting would be a bonus, but not necessary (depends on how well the chassis fit in my budget)

Usage:
I will be doing lots of photo/video editing, modeling and of course rendering
I don't really care much about games but I play them occasionally (high to medium settings are fine)

Special Needs:
I definitely need Bluetooth for my existing Logitech keyboard and mouse
WiFi is also important because my computer desk is about 20 feet away from my router (and I don't like too many wires lying around in my workspace)
I already have existing monitors, speakers, keyboard, mouse, etc so I only need the desktop itself


I'm really new to custom desktop builds, so overclocking and liquid cooling is quite new for me.  However, it'd be nice if I could get my CPU to be OC'ed to 4.6ghz+ since that would aid a lot in my video rendering and photo editing work.  I've read about the 2600K and it's ease of OC, so would that be the best CPU for the price?

Since I'm doing modeling and video work, it would make sense to get a Quadro FX card, but it's way too expensive (as are the workstations), so that's why I'm planning to get a gaming card instead.  Not sure if SLI will help or not?  Open to suggestions.  I've seen the GTX 460 seems to be quite economic for some good performance, but not sure if that's a good option.

As for cooling, I've read the buying guide, and it mentioned that the Noctua fan would be enough.  If I want my system to OC to around 4.6ghz, would I need fancy liquid cooling?  I know it looks really cool, but it seems quite expensive ($400)

Also, would the temperature monitors be necessary if I get an OC'ed system?

I also see in pictures that many of the systems have very nice and organized wiring.  Is that included when I purchase a system from DigitalStorm, or are those wires dependent on the PSU I choose?

Also, can I remove the Operating System from the purchase (to save $100) since I already have my own copy of Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit.

Would getting 16GB RAM be unstable for overclocking?  This is important because my work requires more than 8GB of RAM.  I might be opting for 8GB RAM for the purchase and upgrade in the future, so I'd just like to know if there's any bottlenecks, etc


EDIT:
I live in Canada, so I suppose DigitalStorm will have to ship International.  Will I have to pay customs tax + brokerage fees as well?  If I do, it would mean an extra $300+ charges for me.  Are there better options offered by DigitalStorm for customers in Canada?


Edited by peterbz - 28 Jun 2011 at 2:02am
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JStones View Drop Down
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Posts: 76 		  Quote JStones Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 28 Jun 2011 at 3:38am
Hi Peter,

Let me start off by trying to answer some of your questions before I get to my recommended build.  Ill only comment on what I know.  Im gonna go in order of your post.  Know these are just my opinions, but I have been in the feature film cg industry for a while now and have used both 10k workstations and 2k home builds.

For your budget, stick with air. Yes you want the 2600k.

Sli will do nothing for you.  No pro packages can utilize it yet.  How big are your scene files typically?  Are we talking millions or billions of polys.

You will get better performance from a geforce than a quadro at your budget.  A quadro's main advantage is better support for developement and drivers.  I have the quadro 6000 now at work and my personal comps' 480 performs admirally comparativelyl.  There's also a several thousand dollar difference between the cards.

I would get as much ram as you can now, as I think if you add ram you have to redo your oc.  Someone else can chime in to verify if Im correct on that.

EDIT:  I am not sure about using bluetooth as I have never had a need so someone else will have to help you there.

Based on your budget I would get this

Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Cooler Master 942 HAF X
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i7 2600K 3.40GHz (Unlocked CPU for Extreme Overclocking) (Quad Core)
Motherboard: ASUS P8P67 Deluxe (Intel P67 Chipset) (New & Improved B3 Revision Without SATA 3G Issue)
System Memory: 16GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested)
Power Supply: 750W Corsair HX (Dual SLI Compatible)
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (1TB Hitachi/Seagate (7200 RPM) (32MB Cache)
Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks
Optical Drive 1: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 24x / CD-Writer 48x)
Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks
Internet Access: Wireless-PCI N 300Mbps (Supports 802.11n/g/b)
Video Card(s): 1x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 1.2GB (Includes PhysX Technology)
Add-on Card: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 2: Noctua NH-D14 Extreme Performance (Does NOT fit on the regular EVGA X58 3X SLI)
H20 Tube Color: - Not Applicable, I do not have a FrostChill or Sub-Zero LCS Cooling System Selected
Chassis Airflow: Standard Factory Chassis Fans
Internal Lighting: - No Thanks
Enhancements: - No Thanks
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Noise Reduction: - No Thanks
CPU Boost: Stage 2: Overclock CPU 4.5GHz to 4.8GHz (Requires Pro or Deluxe Series Motherboard)
Graphics Boost: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s)
Memory Boost: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory
OS Boost: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system

If I were to buy my ideal system today it would be this:  My work needs as much vram as possible for caching textures so I would love the 3g 580, but I deal with workflows that aren't typical.

Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Cooler Master 942 HAF X
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i7 2600K 3.40GHz (Unlocked CPU for Extreme Overclocking) (Quad Core)
Motherboard: ASUS P8P67 Deluxe (Intel P67 Chipset) (New & Improved B3 Revision Without SATA 3G Issue)
System Memory: 16GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested)
Power Supply: 750W Corsair HX (Dual SLI Compatible)
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (120GB Solid State (By: Intel) (Model: 320 Series)
Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: 1x (1TB Western Digital Caviar (7200 RPM) (64MB Cache) (Model: Black Edition)
Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks
Optical Drive 1: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 24x / CD-Writer 48x)
Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card(s): 1x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 3GB (Includes PhysX) (EVGA 03G-P3-1584-AR)
Add-on Card: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 2: Noctua NH-D14 Extreme Performance (Does NOT fit on the regular EVGA X58 3X SLI)
H20 Tube Color: - Not Applicable, I do not have a FrostChill or Sub-Zero LCS Cooling System Selected
Chassis Airflow: Standard Factory Chassis Fans
Internal Lighting: - No Thanks
Enhancements: - No Thanks
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Noise Reduction: - No Thanks
CPU Boost: Stage 2: Overclock CPU 4.5GHz to 4.8GHz (Requires Pro or Deluxe Series Motherboard)
Graphics Boost: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s)
Memory Boost: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory
OS Boost: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional (64-Bit Edition)




Edited by JStones - 28 Jun 2011 at 4:01am
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DST4ME View Drop Down
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Posts: 36758 		  Quote DST4ME Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 28 Jun 2011 at 4:39am
You can use the P8Z68-V PRO and get the same oc option but pay a little less.

Those are some nice builds.

As JStones has it in his builds make sure you go with win7 pro 64bit, the home prem has memory limitations you don't want.

Nvidia Drivers----AMD Drivers
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Posts: 2247 		  Quote Dragoonseal Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 28 Jun 2011 at 6:14am
Thanks for sticking around and always answering questions like that JStones.

I find I can never keep informed enough on media editing and rendering software to answer questions like this, so it's always incredibly helpful to have someone with experience in them pop in to help.

Hahaha
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peterbz View Drop Down
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Posts: 3 		  Quote peterbz Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 28 Jun 2011 at 6:37am
Can someone please explain why I need to OC again if I upgrade my RAM in the future?  I'm kinda new to this.


Originally posted by DST4ME

You can use the P8Z68-V PRO and get the same oc option but pay a little less.


What's the difference between the Z68-V PRO mobo and the p67 deluxe?


Edited by peterbz - 28 Jun 2011 at 6:41am
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JStones View Drop Down
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Posts: 76 		  Quote JStones Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 28 Jun 2011 at 7:20am
Hey no worries.  I learned a lot about hardware here from you, DST, kerr, ender, etc,and I just know how it actually applies to this specific need.  You all dont always agree on the best configs but I have gleamed some good info here and a couple others I frequent.

I also remember how hard it was for me to find good advice on the subject when I first started in the industry.

This is one of the forums I frequent when Im rendering or doing something else that locks up my maya, plus I like window shopping!

As to your questions Peter, someone else with more specific knowledge will have to chime in


Edited by JStones - 28 Jun 2011 at 7:27am
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Posts: 36758 		  Quote DST4ME Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 28 Jun 2011 at 7:24am
Originally posted by peterbz


Can someone please explain why I need to OC again if I upgrade my RAM in the future? 


I'm not understanding this question, upgrading ram has nothing to do with oc performance.

as far as your use is concerned, the difference between the two mobos is just price, tho the z68 might have some features that might be of use to you if you do any transcoding, but mainly I recommended it cause its still a pro mobo, and stage 2 oc needs a deluxe or pro mobo, the z68 will qualify but for a lower price, and that was why I recommended it.

Its is great to have people like JStones to help out with these types of builds with that much experience

Nvidia Drivers----AMD Drivers
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JStones View Drop Down
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Posts: 76 		  Quote JStones Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 28 Jun 2011 at 7:35am
He's referring to my statement above

"I would get as much ram as you can now, as I think if you add ram you have to redo your oc.  Someone else can chime in to verify if Im correct on that."

Forgive me if its untrue but I seem to remember reading somewhere that adding ram to an already oc'd system can require voltage tweaking.  Let me know if this is not the case
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Posts: 36758 		  Quote DST4ME Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 28 Jun 2011 at 7:47am
Yes you add ram you may have to redo your oc, but you just call DS and they walk you thru it

Its always good to learn from each-other, we are learning from you here justin always had some new about something

Edited by DST4ME - 28 Jun 2011 at 7:48am

Nvidia Drivers----AMD Drivers
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peterbz View Drop Down
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Posts: 3 		  Quote peterbz Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 28 Jun 2011 at 7:57am
Thanks for the replies

Does anyone know if the Corsair 750W PSU comes with pre-sleeved wiring?
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Posts: 36758 		  Quote DST4ME Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 28 Jun 2011 at 8:04am
looks like the mobo and atx are sleeved:




Nvidia Drivers----AMD Drivers
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