New to this, please help with this config.

[Anand P]

Hey guys,

I am not very sure of which configuration would suit my requirements. Need your help here. Its been a long time, 2 and 1/2 years to be exact since I upgraded my system. My config. is as follows Intel Quad core 9400, ATI Radeon 4870, 4GB ddr3 RAM, 500GB hard disk. I am basically looking at a good processor and a graphics card, also adding some RAM to boost its rendering especially Vray. What do you guys suggest? I have an eye on the i7 2670 processor and the Nvidia GTX 560Ti. The cost factor is bugging me.! I have a budget of around 1520$. I am planning to reuse my monitor, UPS, hard disk, 4gigs of RAM, keyboard, mouse. I am open to other config. as well if it is good for 'Vray' stuff.! Thanks.

[Andrew Lynn]

Well, you might not be able to reuse the RAM. Get CPU-Z and use it to check the specs, then check that they'd work with the motherboard and CPU you choose. Aside from that... I think an i7-2670 is a laptop chip. What you want is a 2600, 2600k or 2700k. There isn't a heck of a lot of difference between them, unless you're an overclocker, in which case you want a K version, a web tutorial on how to do it and a very good CPU cooler.

[Dimitris Tolios]

Your budget is more than enough to buy a very potent i7 tower.
Out of the hardware you already have, I wouldn't sweat it much to "keep" anything, unless you have a really good PSU and case.

DDR3 is dirt-cheap these days, and "saving" your 2.5 year old sticks which are pretty slower than what's "standard" now for a 2600/2600K system beats the purpose.
You can get 4x4GB PC1600 kits (16GB total) for less than $90, a bit more for faster kits. Most mobos for LGA1155 max @ 4 dimm slots, so making room for your 2x old sticks will also be problematic.

Just forget it - it will be easier to sell your CPU/mobo/Ram as a set anyways.

You will need a good PSU. Nothing extreme Watt wise, as a 600-650W is more than enough for even overclocked 2600/2600K and a single (non GTX580) GPU. Go for Seasonic or Enermax as top choices (actual manufacturers), then Corsair and other re-branded quality ventors.

A i7-2600K / Z68 chipset mobo / 2GB GTX 560ti / 620+ W PSU from seasonic 80+ bronze/ CM Hyper 212 EVO cooler for some O/C / CM RC-692-KKN2 CM690 II as a decent large case (or a Fractal Design Define R3 if you want a more silent built) / 16GB corsair PC1600 / 1TB 7200rpm drive etc etc will set you back around $1100-1200 with all components coming from the most respected brands - a bit less if you settle for cheaper cases and you don't want Asus mobos etc...you can get a cheaper 1GB card too, and you will be fine. 2GB is in case you want to try VRay RT GPU a bit.

If you want to stretch the cost upwards to your budget limit, you can get the above with a GTX580 3GB (again VRay RT GPU needs Ram for complex scenes), and use a 750-800W PSU, or go for the GTX680 2GB which is not as fast as the GTX580 in Vray and has less ram (still waiting for the 4GB version tho), but is still way faster than the 560ti in VRay, and easily faster than both in games. I won't need more than a 620-650W PSU either. Actually you can do it with a proper 550W easily.
Edit: With all the above (580GTX 3GB or 680GTX 2GB) and a 850W PSU you probably won't exceed your $1500, but that's US market pricing, so it might be more outside the US.

i5 is still faster than what you have now, but for a high component quality system the only difference would be the CPU itself, so go for a 2600K - it's $90 more or so, and it does worth it. Not for games, but definitely for VRay.

[Anand P]

Thanks for the replies.

@Andrew I am not interested in overclocking. I am not very good at this.! Is the configuration good enough for Vray in your opinion.?

@Dimitrios You have clearly explained what I require.! Thank you very much. BTW, I am not planning on any games for now. So, the real deal would be the 2600k I suppose.!

Well, any other suggestions from CGArchitect members would be welcome.

[Andrew Lynn]

Sure, you can use an i7-2600 with Vray. But I'm going to agree with Dimitrios now that I look again and see you've got 4GB - get a 16GB kit, it's the cheapest way to improve system performance.

[Juraj Talcik]

Thanks for the replies.

@Andrew I am not interested in overclocking. I am not very good at this.! Is the configuration good enough for Vray in your opinion.?

@Dimitrios You have clearly explained what I require.! Thank you very much. BTW, I am not planning on any games for now. So, the real deal would be the 2600k I suppose.!

Well, any other suggestions from CGArchitect members would be welcome.

Yes, new ivy bridge is already on the market. i7 3770k costs about the same as i2600k, so buy it instead, with new Z77 chipset. Unless you want to use VrayRT on smaller scenes, buy 580GTX, if not, don't buy any dedicated graphic card, the new ivy bridge chipset has a very nice one.

Don't be afraid of overclocking, I wasn't fan either. But with new intel processors with K version, it's incredibly easy and problem-free, you adjust two values and you're set. The additional 10-20perc. of power comes handy.

[Dimitris Tolios]

Jurak is right - my proposed 2600K / Z68 is "older" but not old.

The new 3770K Ivy Bridge /Z77 chipset combo is pretty much the same CPU with the 2600K/2700K, only smaller (physical size of the silicon chip) with a much more potent video card built-in, but nothing I would think will help you accelerate your view-port in complex 3D scenes. It's just an ok GPU for 2D stuff an simple 3D games, that's all, just better than the completely outdated chip in the Sandy CPUs (2xxx series). But that's irrelevant for a 3D workstation, as I would believe the built in cards are in both cases inadequate for smooth viewport accel.

It's a bit faster in stock speeds, and uses less energy, but actually heats up pretty much the same and overclocks a bit worse - at least this far. Reason is that it doesn't like increasing the voltage after a small %, and the smaller chip means more heat has to be dissipated over a smaller surface, so the W/mm2 on the old processors allow for more O/Cing, that brings the two platforms on par performance wise.

Too technical maybe, so long story short: if you want extreme O/C Ivy is not clearly a better platform. It's a repackaged Sandy bridge that costs intel 40% less to make and sells for the same price. Tick+ my @ss. Hoping the E series Ivy will be better.

At stock or mild O/C speeds though the 3770K is as good as a 2600K pretty much, consuming less energy (and yes, it does make a difference in a home environment). So get that.

If you don't care for GPU accelerated renderings, newer AMD/ATI GPUs are actually better on PSU requirements and faster for viewport acceleration than the nvidia GTX 5xx series. Viewport accel = how smooth you orbit and move around complex models / scenes. Again, I would not suggest relying on the built-in GPUs for your workstation, but maybe I am wrong.

Also consider keeping your old PC as render node for distributed rendering if you don't plan on selling it. It might be out-dated, but it's not useless by any stretch. Make a $40-50 room in your budget for a 8GB DDR3 upgrade for that old guy and you are in business.

[Anand P]

Well, I have a few more options to choose from then.!