Spec me a build for 3D modeling/video

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mo-deep

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I'm going into my final year at design school and need a system that can handle the pressure. I thought building a PC would be a good summer learning exercise but soon realized that I know my tools but know nothing about hardware selection, so I'm calling for help.

The tools I use:
AutoCAD – Documentation
SketchUp – Modeling
V-ray – Rendering (stills & animation)
Photoshop – postproduction
After effects – composition

I don't intend to play games on this machine; it just needs to be a workhorse. Also I would like the build to be flexible for upgrades as I intend to do some freelancing work from home after finishing school.

My budget is $1500 to $1700 including monitor(s), keyboard and mouse. The lower the price the better as this is coming out of my student loan. I will be purchasing at the end of May from a Canadian retailer unless you can recommend one in the states that ship up here.

Is there anything else you need to know?

Any and all advice will be greatly appreciated.
 
You didn't say please :( A canadian should be able to help you further as newegg canada apparently is awful for shipping costs but wait a min and I will spec you some parts for a provisional price:

Newegg.ca - Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops
Newegg.ca - ASUS P6T SE LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards
Newegg.ca - Patriot 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory
Newegg.ca - Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives
Newegg.ca - PC Power & Cooling S61EPS 610W Continuous @ 40°C EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply compatible with core i7 - Power Supplies
Newegg.ca - NEC Display Solutions LCD225WXM-BK Black 22" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 1000:1 Built in Speakers - LCD Monitors


Tell me what kind of cases you like gaming style (antec, thermaltake) or sleek lines (Lian li, silverstone) and will add a optical drive, cpu cooler and the case. Secondly if you are wanting a seriously powerful CAD then this taking you over budget most likely so as your a student on a budget this is probably more appropriate and not too shabby. Finally on the mouse and keyboard probably best to go to your local computer store and wrap your hands around some see how they feel, CAD nor Photoshop are particularly demanding mouse or keyboard applications.


As a designer you will probably find this and this website intriguing.
 
Which version of Photoshop are you using? If its CS4, that might change my possible recommendation
 
Saltynay - Sorry for not saying please but I've been a student for far too long. It's all take, take, take.

But in all seriousness, a big thank you for the replies thus far. And thanks for the links. I was aware of yankodesign.com but notcot.org is new to me. Looks good.

As far as cases go I like the look of the Lian li's. I'm not going to be staring at my case so the blue glow aesthetic doesn't matter here. I'm more 1920's than 2020.

It's going to take me a while to review the spec you listed, bear with me, I'm sure I'll have a bunch of questions later tonight.

Vernnog1992 – I'm using cs3 at the moment but if school upgrades over the summer so will I. Let's assume that I'll be using cs4.

I've searched a few threads and come up with these Canadian suppliers:
Buy Computer Parts, Computer Hardware, PC Parts at Best Online Computer Shop - DirectCanada
NCIX.com - Canada's Premier Computer Store - Great Technology, Service and Selection.
Newegg.ca - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!
Can anyone share their experiences regarding price, service, shipping etc.
 
If you do use CS4.. it'd be a good idea to get an nVidia that is 8 series or higher card, because those do CUDA
 
Yanko design is brilliant I love it and notcot is more oriented towards products already available rather then concept designs but it is a good thing to look for inspiration from and if you post any of your designs on their you will get expert feedback just make sure you patent before posting it publicly ;).

If you do use CS4.. it'd be a good idea to get an nVidia that is 8 series or higher card, because those do CUDA

True but vern he is not a gamer so he might aswell go for a workstation card which has the optimised drivers for cad applications and both the card I said are based on 8 series and up chips I believe although with the cheaper one I may be wrong and got my series numbers mixed up.
 
if you can run like a workstation card and a like 8600 or 8500 or something like that just for CUDA that might be worth looking at.
 
Yanko design is brilliant I love it and notcot is more oriented towards products already available rather then concept designs but it is a good thing to look for inspiration from and if you post any of your designs on their you will get expert feedback just make sure you patent before posting it publicly ;).



True but vern he is not a gamer so he might aswell go for a workstation card which has the optimised drivers for cad applications and both the card I said are based on 8 series and up chips I believe although with the cheaper one I may be wrong and got my series numbers mixed up.

But there are those Geforce 8100/8200 chipsets that could fit his need.. and he can always throw in a Quadro card that can alternate between each...
 
I've been trawling through your recommendations and below are my questions and comments on the spec. The more I look, the more I get confused. So may options!

Newegg.ca - Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops $355 – OK

Newegg.ca - ASUS P6T SE LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards $270 – Seems a popular choice

Newegg.ca - Patriot 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory $105 – Did anything other than budget drive this selection?

Newegg.ca - Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives $90 – OK

Newegg.ca - PC Power & Cooling S61EPS 610W Continuous @ 40°C EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply compatible with core i7 - Power Supplies $120 – Is 610W enough? Are there any benefits to buying separately opposed to a case with built in supply?

Newegg.ca - NEC Display Solutions LCD225WXM-BK Black 22" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 1000:1 Built in Speakers - LCD Monitors $265 – Seems expensive compared to other 22's ie Samsung. What features make this model a standout?

Newegg.ca - PNY VCQFX1800-PCIE-PB Quadro FX1800 768MB 192-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 Workstation Video Card - Workstation Graphics / Video Cards $520 Newegg.ca - PNY VCQFX580-PCIE-PB Quadro FX580 512MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 Workstation Video Card - Workstation Graphics / Video Cards $215
Is it better to buy the cheaper card now and add another later or shell out for the expensive one off the bat? I presume I'll get better performance with the dual card option. Am I right?

Could you spec out some options on the optical drive, cpu cooler and case?
Saltynay – were you speaking from experience about the patent issue with notcot?
Thanks again for all your help.
 
The ram was chosen because patriot is a reliable company the speed and the timings are good so its an excellent buy whether on a budget or not.

PC power and cooling are the best psu manufacturers out there simple as and atm there mid range psu's are bargains. Ones included with cases are normally complete crud added to entice customers, the psu is the MOST important part it supports all other components if a psu blows then it can knock out all the rest of your comp. Think of it like the foundations of a house without sufficient finance for materials and design of the foundations what you build on top doesn't matter, your tempting fate eventually it will fall down.

NEC is renowned for its picture clarity an used by lots of designers, the Samsung is directed at gamers and are also very good screens however in your situ I would lean towards the NEC.

Dual cards actually gets you lower performance normally depending on the cards in question, I haven't done any research into using quadro cards in sli but suspect it can be done. With dual cards you get 60-70% performance increase for 100% of the cost over a single card in gaming I am not sure about design work as I stated never interested me to look it up.

Notcot mainly posts design/art/architectural products which already exist. It is run by a Filipino/ Singaporean lady who now lives in LA (that is the info I have skimmed from her articles although I may be wrong), she has a strong interest in the area and does articles for lots of products which she personally finds appealing. She has a few associates but most of the articles are written by her on the main site. She also trawls all the designer blogs, stores, ect. so I find it an excellent way to keep up to date with what is happening in the design world.

Yanko is mainly concept designs with some patented some not, that is the website I am warning ou about not posting publicly any ideas without having your name clearly on it. Of course it doesn't matter for designs that you do in your free time and are brain farts rather then something you believe to be highly profitable. There is a strong community on there so once you have patented I would post the design on there to get some expert feedback.

Final design recommendation from me is halfbakery.com most are fictitious designs but its worth a look as there are always some comical ones one of my favourites is the "evil laugh activated hair dryer".
 
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