Desktop build for 3D building rendering

[buggerbuggerbrinjal]

Hi guys, I need to buy a system for working with 3D building/architectural models.

Recommended specs are:

• i7-3770 or higher
• GTX 660 or higher
• 8GB RAM or more
• SSD
• 1Gb Ethernet

I'll probably be buying from my usual shop, Tradepac, and get them to assemble for me. Budget is not fixed, just want something comfortably better than the recommended specs, highly reliable, and power-saving when idling.

Stability and reliability are very important so I don't think I should overclock. I'm thinking of getting an i7-4771.

For mobo, I'm thinking of going for a B85 or H87 mobo instead of the Z87. Can I get a B85 mobo, since the H87's caching isn't very useful for me? What mobo do you guys recommend? I would like good, reliable components, but can't really tell which boards are good from my research. I read that the Gigabyte H87-D3H has "all Japan electrolytic capacitor, IOR mosfet, Digital CPU VRM and USB fuses", vs the B85M-D3H "with all Taiwan cap, low ESD mosfet...not so good as H87-D3H."

Will this work?:

Intel Core i7 4771 & Gigabyte H87-D3H / B85M-D3H / ASRock B85 Killer ~ $?
G.Skill DDR3-1600MHz 8GB (2X4GB) ~ $77
Gigabyte R9 280X 3GB Winforce OC ~ $449 or Gigabyte GTX 760 2GB Winforce OC ~ $409
Plextor M5 Pro Xtreme 256GB or Samsung SSD 840 Pro 256GB or OCZ Vector 150 240GB
Samsung SATA 24X DVD Rewriter ~ $24
Superflower HX 600 ~ $110
Ikonik EN2 ~ $55

Can the PSU handle the i7-4771? No problem right?

Thanks bros!

 

[bloo1998]

Hi guys, I need to buy a system for working with 3D building/architectural models.

Recommended specs are:

• i7-3770 or higher
• GTX 660 or higher
• 8GB RAM or more
• SSD
• 1Gb Ethernet

I'll probably be buying from my usual shop, Tradepac, and get them to assemble for me. Budget is not fixed, just want something comfortably better than the recommended specs, highly reliable, and power-saving when idling.

Stability and reliability are very important so I don't think I should overclock. I'm thinking of getting an i7-4771.

For mobo, I'm thinking of going for a B85 or H87 mobo instead of the Z87. Can I get a B85 mobo, since the H87's caching isn't very useful for me? What mobo do you guys recommend? I would like good, reliable components, but can't really tell which boards are good from my research. I read that the Gigabyte H87-D3H has "all Japan electrolytic capacitor, IOR mosfet, Digital CPU VRM and USB fuses", vs the B85M-D3H "with all Taiwan cap, low ESD mosfet...not so good as H87-D3H."

Will this work?:

Intel Core i7 4771 & Gigabyte H87-D3H / B85M-D3H / ASRock B85 Killer ~ $?
G.Skill DDR3-1600MHz 8GB (2X4GB) ~ $77
Gigabyte R9 280X 3GB Winforce OC ~ $449 or Gigabyte GTX 760 2GB Winforce OC ~ $409
Plextor M5 Pro Xtreme 256GB or Samsung SSD 840 Pro 256GB or OCZ Vector 150 240GB
Samsung SATA 24X DVD Rewriter ~ $24
Superflower HX 600 ~ $110
Ikonik EN2 ~ $55

Can the PSU handle the i7-4771? No problem right?

Thanks bros!

Tradepac doesn't sell 4771 anymore

 

[buggerbuggerbrinjal]

Tradepac doesn't sell 4771 anymore

But their pricelist still has 4771 on it...Out of stock or discontinued or what? Isn't 4771 current gen?

Buy 4770 still worth it?

 

[Alternative X]

Revised Prices(Based on Tradepac's latest price list with some estimates due to Tradepac's LOLPricelist(What is OFFER/ASK?))

Intel Core i7 4790 & Gigabyte H87-D3H / B85M-D3H / ASRock B85 Killer ~ $547/$516/$512
G.Skill DDR3-1600MHz 8GB (2X4GB) ~ $102(ValueRAM?)(Estimate, Item not on Tradepac pricelist.)
Gigabyte R9 280X 3GB Winforce OC ~ $489(Estimate) or Gigabyte GTX 760 2GB Winforce OC ~ $388
Plextor M5 Pro Xtreme 256GB($290) or Samsung SSD 840 Pro 256GB($268) or OCZ Vector 150 240GB($319)(Estimate, item not on Tradepac pricelist)
Samsung SATA 24X DVD Rewriter ~ $22
Superflower HX 600 ~ $108
Ikonik EN2 ~ $?(Item not on anybody's pricelist)

Comments:

1) What 3D rendering program are you using? Any special characteristics that you can think of?(ie. Works better with CUDA, processor oriented performance etc.)

2)Motherboards nowadays tend to be quite reliable, you will only get picky about motherboards when doing OC. You should be fine with the B85 chipset.

3) Must the motherboard and GPU be Gigabyte? Gigabyte stuff tends to be a bit expensive.(Cannot be compared with Asus though.) There are cheaper alternatives out there.

4) You are rendering 3D building models, get more RAM (16GB/32GB) for faster rendering.

5) No one sells the i7-4771 anymore, try the i7-4790 for a superior alternative.

6) The HX-600 is perfectly sufficient for your build.

7)I do not think anyone sells the Ikonik EN2 anymore, try looking for suitable alternatives.

8)Unless you are supervising the build, don't ask Tradepac to build for you. Go to PC Care & Solution at #02-32 and ask Nigel to help you assemble for a fee.

 

[buggerbuggerbrinjal]

Woah, thanks Alternative X, brilliant reply!

1) What 3D rendering program are you using? Any special characteristics that you can think of?(ie. Works better with CUDA, processor oriented performance etc.)

We've never used it before, it's called CostX from an Aussie company called Exactal. I could only find the recommended specs, which I posted in the first post. It's quite specialised software and I haven't found much discussion about it online. So it's hard to say.

2)Motherboards nowadays tend to be quite reliable, you will only get picky about motherboards when doing OC. You should be fine with the B85 chipset.

3) Must the motherboard and GPU be Gigabyte? Gigabyte stuff tends to be a bit expensive.(Cannot be compared with Asus though.) There are cheaper alternatives out there.

I see, thanks. Doesn't need to be Gigabyte, just want reliable.

4) You are rendering 3D building models, get more RAM (16GB/32GB) for faster rendering.

5) No one sells the i7-4771 anymore, try the i7-4790 for a superior alternative.

Roger. I just saw 4771 was the highest end on the Tradepac pricelist so I assumed that was the best available.

6) The HX-600 is perfectly sufficient for your build.

7)I do not think anyone sells the Ikonik EN2 anymore, try looking for suitable alternatives.

Cool, I'll see what else has been suggested.

8)Unless you are supervising the build, don't ask Tradepac to build for you. Go to PC Care & Solution at #02-32 and ask Nigel to help you assemble for a fee.

I've gotten many computers built with Tradepac over the years; not had much trouble so far. What goes wrong with them?

I'm now looking at Dell PCs because I've realised it's probably important to have warranty and on-site repair coverage.

edit: Looks like Dell doesn't even offer desktops with the R9 280X...and I can't customise parts anymore. WTF

 

[Alternative X]

1) After some research, I was unable to find much online discussion on your software and the CostX support forums is only avaliable to members only.However, some research into the professional GPU market reveals this:

AnandTech Portal | The AMD FirePro W9000 & W8000 Review: Part 1
Workstation report - Jon Peddie Research Publications

It seems that the workstation GPU market is dominated by Nvidia with an approx 85% market share, hence I fear that the software may be optimised for CUDA, which is only found in Nvidia GPUs. NOW, if only they are more based on OpenCL(which is a open standard)........... (You may want to double check with the software vendor on that though.) This means unfortunately, it might be a safer measure to use Nvidia GPUs for your build. This is bad as at higher performance levels, Nvidia GPUs offer bad value for money.( You do get more stable drivers though.)

2) Suggestions for B85 mobo alternatives:

i7-4790+

MSI B85-G41 PC Mate(494)
Asus B85 Plus(525)
MSI B85-G45 Gaming(540)

Note: these are ATX motherboards. You may want to go m-ATX to save some money.

3) GPU alternatives:
LEADTEK GTX770 OC 2GB (468)
ZOTAC GTX770 2GB AMP O.C (498)
PALIT GTX770 2GB(Not Jetstream variant) (483)

Note: These are the more 'budget' Nvidia GPU partners in the market.
The suggestion is made based on the assumption that you have the budget for a Gigabyte R9 280X and I chose cards priced close to the card. The performance of the GTX 770 is slightly superior to the R9 280X, so you are covered in this area.

4)ATX casing alternatives (Prices are estimated due to Tradepac's LOLPricelist):

Aerocool Vs92(65)
Enermax Ostrog(79)
Sharkoon T28 (78)
NZXT Source 210 (68)
Xigametek Assassin (95)
Corsair 200R (89)
CM K-series (69)
CM N400 (89)
Deepcool Tesseract (59)

Notes: Please make sure that the case has a GPU clearance of at least 305mm. The GTX 770 non-reference designs usually have triple-fans. These cases are on the relatively cheap end. You may want to spend more money on the case.

5)I heard rumours and seen forum posts about how Tradepac builders 'eat' up spare parts and have poor wire management in their assembled rigs. Go search up this forum and see for yourself.

6) Try looking up Dell's Alienware series. Unfortunately, they only offer a GTX760, have good specs in the wrong places, and costs a BOMB.

7)Cybermind also sells Nvidia Quadro series GPU. They are pretty pricy though, with the cheapest costing $300 and the most expensive one costing about the price of 4 Titans.

 

[buggerbuggerbrinjal]

AnandTech Portal | The AMD FirePro W9000 & W8000 Review: Part 1
Workstation report - Jon Peddie Research Publications

It seems that the workstation GPU market is dominated by Nvidia with an approx 85% market share, hence I fear that the software may be optimised for CUDA, which is only found in Nvidia GPUs. NOW, if only they are more based on OpenCL(which is a open standard)........... (You may want to double check with the software vendor on that though.) This means unfortunately, it might be a safer measure to use Nvidia GPUs for your build. This is bad as at higher performance levels, Nvidia GPUs offer bad value for money.( You do get more stable drivers though.)

Nice research, quite eye-opening. I'm also leaning towards Nvidia because of CUDA. Will probably get a GTX 760. The
value-for-money isn't a huge concern since I'm not going to get a "professional" card.

2) Suggestions for B85 mobo alternatives:

i7-4790+

MSI B85-G41 PC Mate(494)
Asus B85 Plus(525)
MSI B85-G45 Gaming(540)

Note: these are ATX motherboards. You may want to go m-ATX to save some money.

Thanks, will research these guys!

3) GPU alternatives:
LEADTEK GTX770 OC 2GB (468)
ZOTAC GTX770 2GB AMP O.C (498)
PALIT GTX770 2GB(Not Jetstream variant) (483)

Note: These are the more 'budget' Nvidia GPU partners in the market.
The suggestion is made based on the assumption that you have the budget for a Gigabyte R9 280X and I chose cards priced close to the card. The performance of the GTX 770 is slightly superior to the R9 280X, so you are covered in this area.

Good recommendations, thanks. I'm already OK with the GTX 760 but the 770 is fine too.

4)ATX casing alternatives (Prices are estimated due to Tradepac's LOLPricelist):

Notes: Please make sure that the case has a GPU clearance of at least 305mm. The GTX 770 non-reference designs usually have triple-fans. These cases are on the relatively cheap end. You may want to spend more money on the case.

I didn't realise this could be a problem. Looks like I have to go do research on what cases are recommended for what GPUs. Do you have a specific case recommendation for a GTX 760 or 770?

5)I heard rumours and seen forum posts about how Tradepac builders 'eat' up spare parts and have poor wire management in their assembled rigs. Go search up this forum and see for yourself.

I think I've seen only one such claim. I'll think about it. Nigel @ PC Care & Solution is very trusted? What's his assembly fee like?

6) Try looking up Dell's Alienware series. Unfortunately, they only offer a GTX760, have good specs in the wrong places, and costs a BOMB.

Yah, looked. The $2k Alienware model with the 760Ti is almost okay but it only has 2x RAM slots. Dumb.

7)Cybermind also sells Nvidia Quadro series GPU. They are pretty pricy though, with the cheapest costing $300 and the most expensive one costing about the price of 4 Titans.

Yah, pro cards are really ex. Not needed for the software we're running.

Thanks for all the help man, really appreciate it.

 

[Alternative X]

1) Most GTX 760 are of a dual fan design, so a GPU clearance of 270mm should be enough.(This is not too hard for most ATX/ decent m-ATX cases to meet.) The cases that I recommended should have at least 305mm GPU clearance, which covers all GPUs in the market.( You might want to double check the casing specs, just in case.)

2)Nigel's assembly fee is more of whatever amount you wish to pay him, though I elect to pay him the approx standard rate of $30.(He has a living to make, you know)

3) Wait till you check out the Alienware Aurora for the ultimate BOMB.

 

[buggerbuggerbrinjal]

1) Most GTX 760 are of a dual fan design, so a GPU clearance of 270mm should be enough.(This is not too hard for most ATX/ decent m-ATX cases to meet.) The cases that I recommended should have at least 305mm GPU clearance, which covers all GPUs in the market.( You might want to double check the casing specs, just in case.)

2)Nigel's assembly fee is more of whatever amount you wish to pay him, though I elect to pay him the approx standard rate of $30.(He has a living to make, you know)

3) Wait till you check out the Alienware Aurora for the ultimate BOMB.

1. I'm checking already. Picking this stuff is time-consuming man...

2. Got it. Will definitely consider him. If Tradepac doesn't have some parts, what shops are good to check prices with?

3. I already looked at it, a bit pointless overkill

 

[Alternative X]

PC Themes, Infinity, Laser

 

[bloo1998]

1. I'm checking already. Picking this stuff is time-consuming man...

2. Got it. Will definitely consider him. If Tradepac doesn't have some parts, what shops are good to check prices with?

3. I already looked at it, a bit pointless overkill

Just go with 4790
And tradepac service sometimes is they really too busy, so they have no choice but to rush it (cannot blame them )

 

[angy]

If you want to do 3D rendering for building design, you need either Quadro or AMD Firepro card.

 

[buggerbuggerbrinjal]

@Alternative X: Thanks man, your advice has been super helpful!

@bloo1998: I was asking what cases were recommended for a GTX 760 or 770. Cases got too many choices lol. (And yup, I'm used to slow service at Tradepac...but so far they seem to assemble my PCs okay.)

@angy: I've read detailed discussions on forums about Revit, etc., and the conclusion is that consumer cards give much better performance for the money than the pro cards. So I don't think pro cards are needed, even if Autodesk only endorses pro cards. Thanks for the opinion though!

 

[angy]

Check this out

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kl4yNCgD3iA

 

[Kalikway]

3d building. autocad? No intention to explore NVidia quadro series as they are more for professional level when comes to 3d rendering.


Quadro Professional Workstation Solutions | NVIDIA

 

[buggerbuggerbrinjal]

Check this out

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kl4yNCgD3iA

Interesting, but the uploader of the video himself says this:

For OpenGL viewports, quadro and firepro workstation cards are much faster due to drivers.

Basically the advantage lies in driver optimisations for OpenGL viewports. But I have no technical details about the program I'm using (CostX) - they only recommended GTX 660 or higher - so I'm guessing they don't rely on OpenGL. I'll write to the company to confirm.

Other similar architectural software like Revit doesn't benefit from pro cards, so I don't think CostX will need Quadro. Quotes from a Revit forum:

The only place where Pro cards destroy Gaming cards is with certain OpenGL tasks/apps (at least in benchmarks).

We're running Consumer Grade Dell Precision 9010 workstations, 32GB of RAM, i7's, and a 1GB AMD Radeon HD7570. They run like champs on models up to 700 MB, with intense detail, and two monitors at 1920x1280.

Its long sense been known Revit doesnt use the Video Card for much. It needs "enough" to function well, anything more is superfluous.

Considering the cost of the pro cards, I'd much rather stick to consumer cards if they work as well. Will confirm with the company.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[davidktw]

I have been using quadro 600 for solid works. Unfortunately there is reason for the quadro. Whether u find value with such pro cards is ur calling, generally the OpenGL drivers are better implemented for Quadro cards. GeForce is still very much a gaming card where the drivers are more optimised for D3D.

Some features will only show when using quadro cards.

For final rendering, CPU is still the way to go. Having good GPU are more for the fluid realtime animation during 3D scene building