PC Build For Intermediate 3D Artist

[UniversalCucumber]

Have a budget of £1600 for the PC, learning a lot of 3D work at present on Blender and would like something that can cope, it's more of a hobby at the moment so hence the budget at £1600. Any advice appreciated.

Case
LIAN LI LANCOOL II GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 12 Core CPU (3.8GHz-4.6GHz/70MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
GIGABYTE GA-A320M-S2H: Micro-ATX, AM4, USB 3.1, 6GB/s
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
12GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3000MB/sR | 1600MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
CoolerMaster Hyper 212 (120mm) Fan CPU Cooler Black Edition
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00003]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 13 to 16 working days
Price: £1,587.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/WwnHQJQd46/

 

[UniversalCucumber]

Case
LIAN LI LANCOOL II GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 3800XT Eight Core CPU (4.7GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B550-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2666MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3070 Ti - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
256GB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 240 Series RGB High Performance Liquid Cooler (AMD)
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00003]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Monitor
IIYAMA G-MASTER GB2760QSU-B1 27"
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 13 to 16 working days
Price: £2,072.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/7a0W6V3tZj/

Adjusted slightly and added a monitor, any thoughts?

 

[UniversalCucumber]

Hi all, I'm looking to move from an iMac to a PC. Currently learning Blender quite heavily and need something that can keep up, my budget is about £1800. Any advice is most appreciated.

Case
LIAN LI LANCOOL 215 GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 12 Core CPU (3.8GHz-4.6GHz/70MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
GIGABYTE GA-A320M-S2H: Micro-ATX, AM4, USB 3.1, 6GB/s
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 Ti - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3000MB/sR | 1600MB/sW)
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
ASUS PCE-AC88 AC3100 2100Mbps/5GHz, 1000Mbps/2.4GHz
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00003]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Microsoft® Edge
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Insurance
Simplesurance Purchase Protection inc. Accidental Damage & Theft
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 9 to 12 working days
Price: £1,755.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/P3RSYF3szz/

 

[Scott]

Unfortunately you don't really have the budget to match where you are aiming at hardware wise. The 3900X was a great chip but it's now a generation old, and working up to 2 generations old pretty soon. The 5800X would be closer to your ballpark but you've missed out some critical areas such as cooling.

There are so many important aspects of a build that are often forgotten. Even lowering to the 5800X doesn't allow me to support the rest of the build within the £1800 limit with a 3060Ti.

So with all that in mind, this is where I land trying to keep within budget but being mindful of future upgrade path.

I think the build would make great use of a work drive (second M2 drive) but the budget isn't there to cover such an option. It can be added at anytime in the future though. The Ti GPU makes way for the more work-like non-ti. This brings you inside the budget with the rest of the build supported.

Case
LIAN LI LANCOOL 215 GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X Eight Core CPU (3.8GHz-4.7GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF X570-PLUS GAMING WIFI (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0, CrossFireX) - RGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
12GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3000MB/sR | 1600MB/sW)
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair iCUE H100i ELITE CAPELLIX RGB Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00003]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 9 to 12 working days
Price: £1,798.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/5veZtMBRHT/

 

[DarTon]

Going the Intel 12th Gen route, you can get a 12600KF and 3060Ti in at around £1,808.
The 12600KF is a 10-core (6P + 4E) core CPU that matches or marginally beats the 5800X in terms of performance.

This isn't totally ideal. About £30 more would allow upgrade to Z690 motherboard and 850W PSU. I'd really consider both. I'd also want more M2 SSD storage really but you have 1.5TB of M2 SSD here and another 1TB of HDD. Can add more later.

Case
LIAN LI LANCOOL 215 GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i5 10-Core Processor i5-12600KF (3.7GHz) 20MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B660-PLUS WIFI D4: ATX, LGA1700, USB 3.2, SATA 6GBs - Good intermediate range board with PCIe5; ideally might want the Z690 for £19 more
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (4 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 Ti - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3000MB/sR | 1600MB/sW) - For OS/main programs
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2200 MB/R, 1500 MB/W) - Cheap but still fast PCIe3 M2 SSD
1st Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE - Some archival storage
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET - High quality PSU. Ideally would want 850W for £12 more
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair iCUE H115i RGB PRO XT Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler - More than adequate AIO cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00003]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Firefox™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 9 to 12 working days
Price: £1,808.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z690-pc/a2WzPmWUy3/

 

[Scott]

Going the Intel 12th Gen route, you can get a 12600KF and 3060Ti in at around £1,808.
The 12600KF is a 10-core (6P + 4E) core CPU that matches or marginally beats the 5800X in terms of performance.

I agree overall, but the 5800X beats the 12600K(F) for performance in blender. Not a lot in it to argue the point either way though.

There's a possible benefit with the option of upgrading an AMD build to the 5950X down the line which I would probably be in favour of over the 12900K, due to the cooling limitation..... purely with Blender and rendering in mind.

In this particular scenario, if it was my money, I would probably stick with AMD for now. Not sure what life the 1700 socket has though, if it's getting another generation then I could possibly opt for Intel.

 

[DarTon]

I agree overall, but the 5800X beats the 12600K(F) for performance in blender. Not a lot in it to argue the point either way though.

There's a possible benefit with the option of upgrading an AMD build to the 5950X down the line which I would probably be in favour of over the 12900K, due to the cooling limitation..... purely with Blender and rendering in mind.

I have no idea since never used Blender tbh. I'm just basing it off benchmark data on Blender from places like Gamers Nexus and TechSpot one of which has the 12600K beating the 5800X and the other which has it losing. The difference on both is within margin of error.

I agree you wouldn't want to upgrade to 12900K but realistically you won't be upgrading to any other 12th gen. Intel have said you will have the option to upgrade to a Raptor Lake 13th gen, say 13700K etc, which will probably have the same performance as 12900K, if not better. Moreover, you get a PCIe5 based platform, not that it's much use right now but it will be for later GPUs and SSDs. By comparison the AMD AM4 platform is now a dead end.

Bottom line though is Intel is just a lot cheaper on CPUs. It allow more money to be spent on GPU and some storage. Right now, AMD are being priced out and need to learn to compete again on price.

 

[Scott]

View attachment 32096View attachment 32097
I have no idea since never used Blender tbh. I'm just basing it off benchmark data on Blender from places like Gamers Nexus and TechSpot one of which has the 12600K beating the 5800X and the other which has it losing. The difference on both is within margin of error.

I agree you wouldn't want to upgrade to 12900K but realistically you won't be upgrading to any other 12th gen. Intel have said you will have the option to upgrade to a Raptor Lake 13th gen, say 13700K etc, which will probably have the same performance as 12900K, if not better. Moreover, you get a PCIe5 based platform, not that it's much use right now but it will be for later GPUs and SSDs. By comparison the AMD AM4 platform is now a dead end.

Bottom line though is Intel is just a lot cheaper on CPUs. It allow more money to be spent on GPU and some storage. Right now, AMD are being priced out and need to learn to compete again on price.

With Blender most would tend to take the base benchmark results of the BMW render or etc, the GN logo doesn't really give the multi-core of the 5800X power delivery time to shine, so that's likely why it lost out. In the other offering I'm not sure what the test actually was.

My point re AM4 VS 1700 is that, right now, the AM4 high end 5950X still has the Blender crown. Being an intermediate user right now would suggest to me that a more powerful system down the line would probably be warranted. Going with the AM4 platform allows the potential to drop in the 5950X without changing anything else. It's anyones guess where the pricing will go down the line buy I would suggest that the 5950X price will be slashed substantially once the AM5 offerings are out. The 13700K (or 900K) could potentially eek out the 5950X by that point, it likely will, but I don't think it will offer quite the same value as the 5950X upgrade.

In this particular scenario I don't think PCIe5.0 is relative as I can't see it's utilisation in the meantime. As much as the 3060Ti takes performance place over the 3060, it doesn't have the additional RAM capacity that often comes into play during rendering so I don't think the performance merit is worth it over the overall system utilisation.

With all that said though, like I said at the beginning, there isn't a lot in it. There is a bit of swings and roundabouts. Most of my recommendations of late have been Intel but given the use case in this particular scenario I think the potential value of the AMD over the life of the system offers more than the Intel equivalent.