Custom build or by prebuild?

[junglee]

I'm looking for a new computer for 3dmax and vray renderings.

I'll be using it all day long on architectural scenes that is not overally complicated.

 

I've been using Dell XPS which was a standard setup ($1300) from Dell for little over 2 years and had no issues (standard CPU preconfig from Dell and I upgraded with 256G SSD and 24GB of memory with some cheap GPU) which I can say is fairly comparable in speed to my office workstation which is Dell T5500 that has 3.6Ghz Xeon / 12GB Ram / 256 SSD.

 

Sometimes I find my personal computer rendering the same scene at faster speed although viewports are much slower and not so accurate because of cheap GPU.

 

So I'm trying to decide whether to stick with budget friendly Dell or build the computer for first time.

 

If I were to buy the computer from dell, config would be:

- I7-3770

- 16GB Ram 1600mhz - whch I'll be upgrading it to 32GB

- 2TB HDD

- 256BG SSD

-AMD Radeon 7770 2GB

 

Total price comes out to $1600 shipped and extra memory would cost me around $100.

 

 

If I were to build the computer on my own, config would be:

 

- Intel Core i7-3930K Six-Core, 3.20Ghz, 12MB L3 Cache

- ASUS Sabertooth X79 LGA 2011 Intel X79 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

- 256 GB SSD

- 2TB HDD

- 2x Corsair Vengeance Low Profile 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 1600MHz CL10 DIMMs (32GB Total)

- Quadro 2000

- Cooler Master CM Storm Scout 2 Black

- 850W PSU

 

Which comes out to around $2300~2400

 

Would I be looking at huge improvement in rendering speed and workflow by building the computer with 3930 CPU and quadro 2000?

Cost is not a concern as long as total price is under $3500.

I'm sure by building it on my own would ensure quality parts, but I'm not so sure if quality parts really do justice at this level of computing.

I just want to make a logical decision that can give me the most bang for the buck.

 

Please let me know of your thoughts.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

J

Edited June 6, 2013 by junglee

[Dimitris Tolios]

Comparing apples to oranges are we?

Price - wise i mean.

 

* The 3930K will be roughly 45% faster than a Quad core ivy (3770K) or 50% of a Sandy (2600/2700K). The price is almost 100% more tho for the CPU, so - as with almost everything - bang for the buck it is not better. The speed difference will be felt, but only when rendering. In many instances of lightly threaded calculations / apps a 3770K will actually be faster.

 

* If viewport performance is what you are after, I totally recomend the Quadro K2000 over the 2000. In many benchmarks it is as fast as the older Quadro 4000 - it actually out-performs the 4000 in some. Definately out-paces the 2000 and for the price difference of $50 or so, the 2000 should not be considered new. Compute performance with the K2000 is pathethic though. The Quadro 2000 is around 30% faster in compute tho much slower in viewport, and the Quadro 4000 is 100% faster than the K2000 in compute tho practically even in viewport. Even my 5650 mobile Radeon is faster in compute. Soon will publish my mini review @ pcfoo. Trying to standardize a 3DS test as there is none I can find ala SpecAPC for it.

 

Ofc the W5000 / W7000 are on sale (mail-in rebate) for US/CA and are said to be even faster, but I have no actual experience with those.

 

* 850W PSU is big for a 3930K + a low power GPU like a Quadro K2000 or even 4000. A 650W would allow you for some overclocking and a second or bigger card easily.

 

* Like the storm scout, be careful if you plan on getting a AIO cooler with 240mm rad like the H100/H100i etc (the coolermaster 240M equiv. is said to be better btw). No room to mount those as I thing the Scouts have that large 200mm fan uptop. 120mm ones (like the H80i) fit fine on the rear exchaust fan mount.

Edited June 3, 2013 by dtolios

[junglee]

Thanks for the quick reply!

What do you mean by lightly threaded calculations?

I'll be only using 3dmax(vray)/photoshop/illustrator with this computer and I'm wondering if these will benefit from higher core counts.

 

Also, is this a safe list of parts?

http://www.amazon.com/The-High-End-3D-Artist-Newest-Socket-2011-CPU/lm/REOTXTXJPEJJA/ref=cm_lm_byauthor_title_full

I'll be replacing GPU/PSU/Memory as you recommened.

 

Lastly, how's reliability of the custom built computers compared to branded ones?

Does reliability depend on person's craftmanship or is it just same plug and play for all skill levels?

I've never built one before and I'm little scared of bug nested machine.

[AlboRegency]

I'm having a hard time deciding on the gpu as well. I found a used quadro 4000 for $500 which puts it around the same price as a new k2000. What I care most about is viewport performance. I'm gonna do a 14,000 Sq. ft. home soon and am worried I might be vram constrained. The w7000 firepro is looking a little better with 4gb ram but I wonder how comparable the viewport is on max/revit/archicad. The discount, if it's actually good, levels out the pricing.

[Dimitris Tolios]

Haven't seen more than 1.4GB Vram usage myself (both for the 2GB cards and the 4GB cards I have), and again with GPUs it is hard to know what % of the RAM is pre-allocated there or actually in use.

Most games are known do that, reserving space for "immidiate availability", while there is no performance benefit out of it in real life.

 

Cards with less than 1GB of RAM do get 100% buffer usage in quite a few occasions, but I havent really pinpointed performance drops because of it.

Fast enough GPU memory bandwith and PCIe lanes allow the excange of information between main ram and GPU pretty fast.

 

HSA is a few years away (common RAM pool for GPU & CPU) and that will be a non-issue.

 

I'm having a hard time deciding on the gpu as well. I found a used quadro 4000 for $500 which puts it around the same price as a new k2000. What I care most about is viewport performance. I'm gonna do a 14,000 Sq. ft. home soon and am worried I might be vram constrained. The w7000 firepro is looking a little better with 4gb ram but I wonder how comparable the viewport is on max/revit/archicad. The discount, if it's actually good, levels out the pricing.

 

Afaik it is situational. Look at the link @ my sig and compaire 4000 and K2000 in a couple of benches. There isn't so much difference in viewport performance. A K2000 is hard to find used (I did) and it runs cooler (much cooler), quieter, doesn't need PCIe auxilary power but is very weak @ compute. Otherwise I would say it is comparable to the 4000. I own both.

 

The equally priced Wxxx Firepros are said to be much faster, but I have no direct experience. I know those are 2x faster in compute performance, but I have no real life exp. on viewport with those.

Edited June 5, 2013 by dtolios