First Build - All Around PC for 3D Modeling, Rendering, Compositing, Digital Sculpting etc.

[vrussell]

Hi everybody,

I am looking to change careers and work as a 3D generalist. I am a beginner to intermediate level CG artist that hopes to become expert level in the next 6-12 months while producing a demo reel that will get me some work. Something holding me back in my hardware. It ranks terribly in the Redshift Benchmark tool. Here's the results:
Redshift 3.5.06 (Windows)
CPU: 12 threads, 2.21 GHz, 31.86 GB
GPU(s): [NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 8 GB 0.027ms]
Blocksize: 128
Time: 00h:18m:22s

My main software tools are:
3D Modeling, Animation, Rendering: Maxon One with Cinema 4D, Redshift and ZBrush
Texturing: Adobe Photoshop, Substance Painter and Substance Designer
Compositing: Adobe After Effects, Premiere

I have a budget of around $4000 but I could go higher if I am just below a threshold that will give me a great deal more performance. Like adding a second video card or something.

I would love to have a machine that would allow me to have a million clones in Cinema 4D without considerable lag but also short render times so I can preview scenes and iterate more quickly. I would love to be able to sculpt a mesh in ZBrush with 25 million polygons, edit 4K video in After Effect and Premier but not have to wait a week to render a 300 frame animation. I guess I want the best of both worlds.

I have done a lot of reading on the differences between CPU with more or less cores and the greater speed of GPU rendering etc. and so on, but it is all still so confusing to me. I used the CGDirector PC Builder to put together the following two builds. Both where set with Nvidia as the GPU brand because I heard that Redshift can't take advantage of AMD GPUs and the budget was set at $4000.00.

First one is set to main purpose of 3D Modeling and animation.
CGDirector.com Parts List: https://www.cgdirector.com/pc-builder/?=6NnN0

CPU: Intel Core i9 12900K 3.2GHz 16-Core Processor ($559.99)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 ($89.90)
Motherboard: MSI MAG Z690 Tomahawk DDR4 ATX LGA1700 ($259.99)
GPU: Nvidia RTX 3090 24GB - EVGA FTW3 ($1243.98)
Memory: 64GB (4 x 16GB) G.Skill Trident Z Neo DDR4-3600 C16 ($364.99)
Storage PCIe-SSD: WD Black SN850 2TB NVMe M.2 Solid State Drive ($312.99)
Power Supply: EVGA Supernova 1200 P2 80+ Platinum Power Supply ($174.99)
Case: Corsair Carbide Series 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($147.90)
Total: $3154.73

Next one is set to a main purpose of 3D GPU Rendering
CGDirector.com Parts List: https://www.cgdirector.com/pc-builder/?=6NnMZ

CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 5950X 3.4GHz 16-Core Processor ($499.00)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 ($89.90)
Motherboard: MSI X570 Unify ATX AM4 ($285.00)
GPU: Nvidia RTX 3090 24GB - EVGA FTW3 ($1243.98)
Memory: 64GB (4 x 16GB) G.Skill Trident Z Neo DDR4-3600 C16 ($364.99)
Storage PCIe-SSD: Seagate FireCuda 530 1TB NVMe M.2 Solid State Drive ($149.99)
Power Supply: Corsair RMx Series RM750x 750W Power Supply ($147.95)
Case: Corsair Carbide Series 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($147.90)
Total: $2928.71

Thanks in advance for any help with tweaking these configurations would be appreciated.

Vince

https://www.artstation.com/vincerussell

 

[Alex Glawion]

Both are great builds. You're right that Redshift currently only offers AMD support for a couple of Radeon PRO GPUs, and even for those, the renderer isn't as stable or fast as CUDA / Nvidia. They still need some more development to bring it up to par.

That said, AMD is launching new CPUs in just 2 weeks, that do sport some pretty great performance increases. about 10-15% single core and even more multi-core performance increase compared to current-gen CPUs.

7950X comes to mind, though will have to wait for independent testing / benchmarking before AMD benchmarks can be confirmed.

Same for Nvidia GPUs, the new gen is right around the corner.

If you need a new build today, I'd go with the AMD build, though swap in the 1200W PSU from the first build.

 

[vrussell]

Both are great builds. You're right that Redshift currently only offers AMD support for a couple of Radeon PRO GPUs, and even for those, the renderer isn't as stable or fast as CUDA / Nvidia. They still need some more development to bring it up to par.

That said, AMD is launching new CPUs in just 2 weeks, that do sport some pretty great performance increases. about 10-15% single core and even more multi-core performance increase compared to current-gen CPUs.

7950X comes to mind, though will have to wait for independent testing / benchmarking before AMD benchmarks can be confirmed.

Same for Nvidia GPUs, the new gen is right around the corner.

If you need a new build today, I'd go with the AMD build, though swap in the 1200W PSU from the first build.

Thanks for replying Alex! I don't need a build today. I have been contemplating this for the past year so a few weeks won't hurt. Will the new AMD CPUs and Nvidia GPUs be featured in the CG Director PC Builder soon after they are available?

It looks like I might want to go with the first build as most of my time will be spent working directly in viewports. Rendering can be done overnight without me even being there! Will that configuration allow me to add a second video card?

 

[Alex Glawion]

Yes, we'll make sure to update it when they become available!

For two GPUs you'll want to go with a different board such as the Z690 Unify. That one will let you run two GPUs at x8 PCIe Lanes to the CPU.

 

[vrussell]

Would two Nvidia RTX 3070 8GB - Asus Dual perform better than one 3090? https://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce...cphy=9012421&hvtargid=pla-1650681494306&psc=1

 

[vrussell]

After reading a few articles I decided to pull the trigger now. Here's my final build.
First PC Build Parts and Cost

I decided to go with the Intel Core i9-12900KS. While it is 4% slower that the 12900K in Cinebench R23 it performs 12% faster in Photoshop and 5% faster in Premiere Pro. Also, the price was slashed to just to less than the MSRP and it was only $66.00 more than the 12900K. Time will tell if I made the right decision but I am confident this PC will be a huge improvement over my current setup.

I ran everything through the PC Part Picker build tool and the only compatibility issue is this:

The MSI MAG Z690 TOMAHAWK WIFI DDR4 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard supports the Intel Core i9-12900KS 3.4 GHz 16-Core Processor with BIOS version 7D32v13. If the motherboard is using an older BIOS version, upgrading the BIOS will be necessary to support the CPU.

I have no idea how to do that but I am sure I can find someone on the cgdirector forums that will tell me how.

I want to say a huge thank you to @Alex Glawion and anyone else who assists him with this site. I have been trying to build my own PC for years but after reading tons of articles and watching more videos than I can count I still had no idea what to do. After I really dove into cgdirector.com it all became so clear. Thank you for so kindly sharing your knowledge. With what you have provided I feel confident that I will succeed with my first build.

I will be posting the final build in the Completed PC Builds - Experience, Photos & Info board but will try to include my progress as well.

Thanks again!

 

[Alex Glawion]

Would two Nvidia RTX 3070 8GB - Asus Dual perform better than one 3090? https://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce...cphy=9012421&hvtargid=pla-1650681494306&psc=1

Yes they would, but remember you're only getting 8GB of VRAM, memory doesn't stack at that tier. If your scenes are simple enough to fit into 8GB of VRAM, this would be the better choice.

If your scenes are very texture and mesh heavy, 24GB might be the better choice. Also note that you can always add a second 3090 lateron. Buying two 3070 now will lock you in at that performance level. Upgrade would then only be possible by replacing your existing 3070s.

 

[Alex Glawion]

After reading a few articles I decided to pull the trigger now. Here's my final build.
First PC Build Parts and Cost

I decided to go with the Intel Core i9-12900KS. While it is 4% slower that the 12900K in Cinebench R23 it performs 12% faster in Photoshop and 5% faster in Premiere Pro. Also, the price was slashed to just to less than the MSRP and it was only $66.00 more than the 12900K. Time will tell if I made the right decision but I am confident this PC will be a huge improvement over my current setup.

I ran everything through the PC Part Picker build tool and the only compatibility issue is this:


I have no idea how to do that but I am sure I can find someone on the cgdirector forums that will tell me how.

I want to say a huge thank you to @Alex Glawion and anyone else who assists him with this site. I have been trying to build my own PC for years but after reading tons of articles and watching more videos than I can count I still had no idea what to do. After I really dove into cgdirector.com it all became so clear. Thank you for so kindly sharing your knowledge. With what you have provided I feel confident that I will succeed with my first build.

I will be posting the final build in the Completed PC Builds - Experience, Photos & Info board but will try to include my progress as well.

Thanks again!

It looks to me like the MSI MAG Z690 TOMAHAWK WIFI DDR4 ATX LGA1700 has a BIOS Flashback BTN / Feature that'll let you update without a compatible CPU. Most likely the Motherboard though will have the newest BIOS already on board.