New PC Build - Help Needed

[STRBramley]

I have a budget of £1800 to build a new computer. Its been five years since I built my last computer so I am quite rusty when it comes to what I actually need.

Below are the parts I have selected, can anyone advice which parts could be changed for different ones bearing in mind that the computer will be used primarily for 3D rendering (3ds Max) and gaming.

I'd like the cost to be slightly less so I can get a decent 22" monitor and keyboard ect...
Also, would I need a sound card to hook up to my speakers (Optical).


CPU + MOBO + RAM + Heatsink
Krypton Intel Core i7 930 2.80GHz @ 4.00GHz Overclocked Bundle
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BU-029-OB
(Select the Asus Rampage III and the £40 cooler)
£788

CASE
Asus TA-D31 Case - Black
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-036-AS&groupid=701&catid=7&subcat=1476
£29

PSU
Corsair HX 650W ATX Modular SLI Compliant Power Supply (CMPSU-650HXUK)
[CMPSU-650HXUK]
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-022-CS&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=
£100

GFX
OcUK Extreme H2O Radeon HD 5970 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=WC-022-OE&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=
£590

CD Drive
LiteOn iHBS112 12x BluRay-RW / 16 x DVD±RW Drive - Black (OEM) [IHBS112-37]
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CD-104-LO
£100

HDD
Kingston SSDNow V-Series 64GB 2.5" SATA-II Solid State Hard Drive
(SNV425-S2/64GB) [SNV425-S2/64GB]
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-012-KS
£97


Total: 1700

Thanks,
STRBramley

 

[Gareth]

I'm looking at doing similar with a similar kind of budget (well a bit more anyway)

Firstly, I'd get the i7 950 over the 930, for the difference in price it would be rude not to.
I'd also spend more on a better case.
CD drive cost seems excessive for what it is, see below.
Also, that GPU has a water block but you haven't specced or priced up the other necessary equipment to run that.
The 6000 series cards are going to start being released any day now (which is why I'm waiting)

My spec currently (ignore the 5970 as I'm going 6970 as stated) and I'll also be adding a full water cooling setup.

 

[mr.valver]

I have just put a bundle together tonight, 2 tics get you a screen print.

 

[mr.valver]

 

[wozzaa]

I would make a lot of adjustments, plus I wouldn't buy from Overclockers either personally. The GPU you selected, you know you will need a full on watercooling rig for that? If you don't have that well you can't have that graphics card. To be honest not a big deal anyway though.

So for me this is what I would do and get it all from Scan. Overclockers are awful when it comes to problems with returns etc, even on here you will find plenty of people who aren't happy with them.

3XS bundle
Slik core i7 bundle at 4.2ghz overclocked (Asus Rampage III, i7 930, 6gb corsair XMS memory, Prolimatech Megahalems Cooler, 120mm fan)
£704. Sure if you call them up they could add the H70 cooler if you really wanted it. Scan are pretty decent when it comes to things like that.
http://www.scan.co.uk/Shop/Computer-Hardware/Overclocked-3XS-Bundles

ATI 5970 sapphire card (slightly overclocked)
£446
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/2GB-...DDR5-GPU-735MHz-3200-Cores-2xDL-DVI-I-Mini-DP

Will keep the same Bluray drive
£96
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Lite...DL-x16-DVDR-x6-DVDRW-Writer-OEM-plus-Software

Corsair Force SSD drive (faster read and write speed, nearly same price)
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/60GB...orce-SSD-Read-285MB-s-Write-275MB-s-w-bracket
£110

Case Corsair Obsidian 800D
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Cors...-Case-with-Side-Window-3-x-140mm-Fans-w-o-PSU
(£206)

Corsair 1000 W HX Power Supply (modular and very under rated, the internals are actually two smaller power supplies, they aren't 500w each either. The 1000W corsair is actually closer to 1300w true output.)
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/1000...dular-Power-Supply-UK-Version-5-Year-Warranty
£175

£1737 total. But similar spec, better components for a few parts though and more suitable. Otherwise that original 5970 you spec'd up would need a further £150 - £300 spent on cooling it. To get a decent rig. Cheap case isn't worth having. And a 650w PSU with an overclocked i7 and a twin GPU 5970, not a good idea.

The 6000 series cards are going to start being released any day now (which is why I'm waiting)

Last I heard on the 6000 series was late next year. They are bringing out the refresh for the current gen first. So expect a 5875, 5975 etc. Then the 6000 series will turn up, it is an entirely new architecture so not going to be along for another 12 months many places reckon. Current road map points to a refresh of the current line up first.

 

[Gareth]

Hmm, different from what I've seen/read. I've noticed some places are reducing the prices of the current ATI line up.

Just one example: http://www.neoseeker.com/news/14596-ati-6000-series-to-hit-market-in-november/

Back to the OP.

You want to be careful also with your case selection and GPU, as the case you've chosen probably couldn't even fit that GPU in it.

 

[wozzaa]

See they have 2 new architectures coming soon. Southern Islands and Northern Islands. So things are a bit mixed up as to what we are getting right now it seems. And how different it is all going to be.

 

[STRBramley]

New List

Thanks for the reply's everyone.

If I were to buy all the items you have listed I wouldn't need anything else? No extra cooling or cables etc?
Would it be a better idea to buy this? or is it going to be cheaper to build the system myself?

Thanks,
STRBramley

 

[SharkyUK]

How important is 3DS Max rendering? If it's a much higher priority than gaming then you might want to consider an nVidia Quadro or ATI/AMD FirePro series graphics card...

 

[STRBramley]

How important is 3DS Max rendering? If it's a much higher priority than gaming then you might want to consider an nVidia Quadro or ATI/AMD FirePro series graphics card...

Yes its a much higher priority than gaming. Why do you recommend these cards for rendering?

Thanks,
STRBramley

 

[Addicted]

those cards are built for rendering, so definitely go with a quardo or firepro (probably a quadro to be honest), and you can't go wrong. my friend has one and it also does well when gaming!

 

[SharkyUK]

Yes its a much higher priority than gaming. Why do you recommend these cards for rendering?

Thanks,
STRBramley

As Addicted mentioned, these cards are specifically aimed at the CAD / Rendering domain and typically offer larger framebuffers, higher precision, increased colour-depth and more. They aren't as quick as their gaming-targetted brethren when running the latest 3D blockbuster, but they aren't too shabby either. Worth checking out I reckon mate.

 

[Darren S]

Yes its a much higher priority than gaming. Why do you recommend these cards for rendering?

Thanks,
STRBramley

Definitely listen to the Sharky. What he doesn't know about the 'proper use' of grpahics cards, isn't worth knowing!

D.

 

[wozzaa]

Will he get a Quadro card that will do the system justice for his budget though?

Last time I looked they were mega money for anything remotely half decent.

 

[Silent_Scone]

How important is 3DS Max rendering? If it's a much higher priority than gaming then you might want to consider an nVidia Quadro or ATI/AMD FirePro series graphics card...

this.

Also the 6000 Radeon should be available mid November.

 

[SharkyUK]

Definitely listen to the Sharky. What he doesn't know about the 'proper use' of grpahics cards, isn't worth knowing!

D.

LOL! Cheers, D. I know nothing really and just fake it.

Will he get a Quadro card that will do the system justice for his budget though?

Last time I looked they were mega money for anything remotely half decent.

Yes... this is indeed the only concern with respect to getting a decent Quadro FX card. I wouldn't recommend anything less than a Quadro FX 3800 with the system specced out in the original post. Even the 3800 is a little 'old' nowadays, what with the Fermi-based Quadro 4000, 5000 and 6000's showing up. I think the cost is going to be a problem, especially now I've read the budget of £1800. I missed this first time around so apologies on that one. Considering the fact that the FX 3800 is still around the £700-£800 mark and the new top-end Quadro (Fermi) 6000 is around the £5,500 mark I think it might be wise to go with a gaming-oriented solution instead!

 

[wozzaa]

Wondering if it might be better to look at the AMD Hex cores or the Intel Hex core cpu's as well.

As it is a rendering machine the extra cores would help. Could drop down to a cheaper PSU and Case, Then go with a cheaper GPU, say a GTX480 instead of the 5970. The 480 is probably going to be better for rendering anyway. Lot of plugins take advantage of Cuda so could help there.