Retraining following redundancy

N

NigFlo

Member
Hi, following redundancy where I worked for 20 years primarily within photoshop working on 2D imagery I have decided to retrain in 3D graphics and animation using Blender and unreal engine.
I am considering buying a pc with the specs listed below, I realise that there are more powerful choices, but as the first 12 months will be devoted to training, I just want a machine that will not hinder my progress or frustrate me due to lagging etc...
I call upon your collective knowledge and experience to let me know if I am making a sensible choice with my pc configuration?

Thanks all
Nigel




Case
CORSAIR 5000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i9 24-Core Processor i9-13900F (Up to 5.6 GHz) 36MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING Z790-PLUS WIFI (LGA1700, DDR5, PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 6E)
Memory (RAM)
64GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 4800MHz (4 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
12GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 4070 Ti - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3300MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RMe SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
CORSAIR H60x RGB ELITE HIGH PERFORMANCE CPU COOLER
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Extra Case Fans
3 x 120mm Thermaltake TOUGHFAN 12 Case Fans
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
Norton 360 inc. Game Optimizer - Free 90 Day License
Browser
Microsoft® Edge
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 6 to 8 working days
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book
 
sck451

sck451

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
Hi Nigel. Sounds like an interesting time for you! The PC isn't bad but it definitely has its weak points. Can you supply the green configuration link to make it easier to suggest changes? And what's the budget you're working to?
 
N

NigFlo

Member
Hi, Thanks for the reply, it certainly is an interesting time. I worked for a large corporate and thought that i would be there until retirement but luckily I enjoy a challenge.
I have reposted the config with the link you mentioned.
I had hoped that the £2470 would cover the machine but I guess it costs what it costs, that said under £2800 would be perfect.

Thanks

Nigel


Case
CORSAIR 5000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i9 24-Core Processor i9-13900F (Up to 5.6 GHz) 36MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING Z790-PLUS WIFI (LGA1700, DDR5, PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 6E)
Memory (RAM)
64GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 4800MHz (4 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
12GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 4070 Ti - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3300MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RMe SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
CORSAIR H60x RGB ELITE HIGH PERFORMANCE CPU COOLER
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Extra Case Fans
3 x 120mm Thermaltake TOUGHFAN 12 Case Fans
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
Norton 360 inc. Game Optimizer - Free 90 Day License
Browser
Microsoft® Edge
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 6 to 8 working days
Price: £2,470.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-nvidia-studio/N72fBbe4h6/
 
N

NigFlo

Member
I’m thinking my main changes may be that I need a second storage drive for storing (chanting my first ssd to 1tb and having a second 2tb drive added, I already have an external 2tb) projects and textures, I’m also a little concerned about the cooling requirements so I may have gone overboard there
 
sck451

sck451

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
I think you're right about storage, broadly. I also think you are right to be concerned about cooling, but you haven't gone overboard. In fact, I don't think you've gone nearly far enough. I'd choose a proper AIO liquid cooler (the one you have chosen is tiny and pretty weak).

And, to be honest, I'd go for an AMD platform unless your software strongly prefers Intel. (It almost certainly doesn't.) This not only offers excellent performance, but also options for future upgrades.

Here's the PC I'd get:

Case
CORSAIR 5000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE You could get away with cheaper, like the 4000D
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X 16 Core CPU (4.5GHz-5.7GHz/80MB CACHE/AM5) Really high-end CPU for these tasks, as good as a consumer chip gets (the 7900X would be the slightly cheaper option)
Motherboard
GIGABYTE B650 AORUS ELITE AX (AM5, DDR5, PCIe 4.0, Wi-Fi 6E) Good motherboard
Memory (RAM)
64GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 6000MHz (2 x 32GB) Plenty of fast RAM
Graphics Card
12GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 4070 Ti - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 4700MB/sW) Boot drive
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 4125MB/sR, 3325MB/sW) Work drive
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET Capacity for this system and for future upgrades
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead, 1.0mm Core)
Processor Cooling
CORSAIR iCUE H115i ELITE CAPELLIX XT RGB High Performance CPU Cooler Proper CPU cooling
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
ONBOARD 2.5Gbe 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 6 to 8 working days
Price: £2,531.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/uea07!Pb5p/
 
N

NigFlo

Member
That looks great, I had no idea about cooling requirements as i have not had to build my own machine before, always had an IT department to help in that area. I had chosen the i9 processor simply because my previous windows machine used an i7 and had performed well with 2D images so I had lazily thought that a step up within the same family would suffice for the extra processing required for 3D, now that I have seen a few comparative benchmark tests I am more than happy to choose AMD.

I noticed that when clicking proceed on this build that a recommendation of 750W power supply is supplied but as i may add to this system in the future (extra storage drive or 2nd graphics card/updated graphics card) I am more that happy to go with the 850W.

Thank you for you help with this, I had been searching through forums and you tube for possible solutions but had found that the posts and videos consisted of self justification and brand clannishness so it has been refreshing to get advice based solely upon my needs.

I think I will order this system later today. Just one last thing, I am considering reusing my current monitor Dell U2713HB which although discontinued by dell is still the best 27" 2560x1440 monitor I have used to date. do you recommend changing that monitor now or 'see how it goes'?

Gratefully

Nigel
 
Last edited:
sck451

sck451

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
All sounds good to me. I doubt you'll need to upgrade your monitor unless you need something more colour accurate. It's not like you need super gaming performance! Unless you feel a need to upgrade it, I'd leave it.
 
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