macj89 Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 Hello fellas! I am very new in this forum and in Houdini world... so I need your help! I am a Junior Maya VFX artist with 1 year experience looking to evolve into a full Houdini artist. I have a 2.000€ budget to build a computer to start my Houdini journey... i know it isnt a lot but it is the most I can spend nowadays. If you can help me with any advice of good motherboard + cpu + graphic card combo, it is all I need! So I will be very glad if you can help me with this setup... I don't know anything about building computers and that stuff... And I don't want to be scamed on a prebuilt PC paying a lot for a very low specs computer. (I have two 24inch Dell Ultrasharp and all the peripherics... i just need the computer itself in that budget!) Sorry for my English in advance! Thank you very much guys!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandrake0 Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 for learning houdini you don't need a new computer. only if you need in general a new computer system. i think a slower system gives you a better feeling with the values. in houdini you start to build your setup and at start you always use small data sets for faster feedbacks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lukeiamyourfather Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 I would start with this. Note it's a 5038A-i and not a 5038A-iL because the iL is the previous generation product. https://www.supermicro.com/products/system/tower/5038/SYS-5038A-i.cfm Throw in a Core i7‑6800K processor, 64GB of DDR4 2400 memory, a GTX 1060 or GTX 1070 graphics card, and a 500GB Samsung EVO 850 drive and you should be good to go for a few years. Add a 4TB drive or few if you need extra storage space locally. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yon Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 (edited) On August 15, 2016 at 10:15 AM, macj89 said: And I don't want to be scamed on a prebuilt PC paying a lot for a very low specs Very important. Don't go to any commercial place - you will indeed get a bad deal, and scammed for repairs also. I went to future shop to replace a power supply and they broke my mobo. Anyways.. I don't know what you know about hardware, so ill start as if you know nothing. Get an i7 processor. Say we compare an i5 and i7 that both have 4 cores. The difference is i7 is hyper-threading technology - which means every core is virtually two cores for programs that support hyperthreading ( Like Houdini ). With an i7 you will have 8 threads. i5 is for gaming specs, not workstations. It is better if you buy one below the current generation. I haven't been updated on the current technology for two years, but for any technology you will get a lot more for your money moving down at least one generation. Get a motherboard with 8 RAM Slots. You don't have to fill them all, but this is a good choice if your thinking long term with this build. You have the potential to max out at 64GB (the maximum for personal PC) down the road. And if your into simulations, you know how important RAM is. G-Skill or Corsair are known for there ram. Make sure your motherboard supports your CPU This is the first thing you need to know when building a PC. When your looking at a CPU, find its socket. My i7 4820k fits into a LGA 2011 socket. the socket being where you place your CPU in the mobo. Then check to make sure the mobo your looking at has this socket. Or your whole build will be fault. - Have a 24GB SSD dedicated to your OS -If your going air cooling, Look at the Noctua - NHD14, its the one I have and its known to be the best air cooler. -Asus is known for there mobos and the technology that comes with it - my x79 deluxe automatically overclocks where my cpu will stay around 1.2 at idle, but when I start working will go up to 4.6ghz and fluctuate according the load. But there more expensive - see Gigabyte boards for a lower expense solution. Well that's all I can think of right now.. Add that to your knowledge base but also keep researching of course. Put thought into your build! Edited December 31, 2016 by Yon Anadeyo Put 6 slots instead of 8 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3dome Posted August 16, 2016 Share Posted August 16, 2016 dont go with 6 RAM slots. you might want to make use of quad channel RAM to quadruple your bandwith. so go with 4/8/16 slots 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macj89 Posted August 16, 2016 Author Share Posted August 16, 2016 (edited) Awesome guys! Didn't expect so many help! I will put all that new knowledge in building my own computer, i'll make a list and i'll post it here! Thank you very much odforce! Do you have any tip about the motherboard? Is it worth to buy the i7‑6800K over the i7-6700k? The difference is about 150€. Edited August 16, 2016 by macj89 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macj89 Posted August 16, 2016 Author Share Posted August 16, 2016 Hey guys! Well, I did some research and I got this: CPU: Intel i7-6700K 4.0Ghz (Maybe a i7-6800k, don't know if its worth at all the 150€ difference ) CPU-FAN: Noctua NH-D15 MoBo: Asus Maximus VIII Hero RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws V Red DDR4 2400 PC4-19200 64GB 4x16GB CL15 GPU: Asus Strix Geforce GTX 1070 OC 8GB GDDR5 HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.14 3TB SATA3 64MB SDD: Samsung 750 Evo SSD Series 120GB SATA3 ( I have this one on my actual PC) Case: Phanteks Eclipse P400 Everything is about 1700€ in my local store. Do you miss anything here or I have a very good machine for the next 4-5 years? Again, thank you very much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lukeiamyourfather Posted August 16, 2016 Share Posted August 16, 2016 The 6800K is a different motherboard platform with 8 memory slots instead of 4 memory slots. It also has two extra cores. Definitely worth the extra money which is why I suggested it! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lukeiamyourfather Posted August 16, 2016 Share Posted August 16, 2016 Beware the 3TB Seagate drive. It's perhaps the least reliable drive in the last decade. The 4TB version is significantly more reliable. https://www.backblaze.com/blog/3tb-hard-drive-failure/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haggi Posted August 16, 2016 Share Posted August 16, 2016 I'd recommend to choose a bigger SSD, after my experience the software grows and grows and 128GB cam be quite small after some months. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yon Posted August 16, 2016 Share Posted August 16, 2016 8 hours ago, 3dome said: dont go with 6 RAM slots. you might want to make use of quad channel RAM to quadruple your bandwith. so go with 4/8/16 slots Yes, I ment to say 8..I dont think there are 6 slot motherboards x.x 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3dome Posted August 16, 2016 Share Posted August 16, 2016 yes. 128gb is not enough. spend some bucks and get 500Gb, then you're safe for some time. also I don't recommend any seagate drives. For years now i only have heard bad news about their drives. I always buy WD, never had problems yet. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tar Posted August 16, 2016 Share Posted August 16, 2016 fwiw - never had a problem with Seagate, WD, Intel or Samsung SSDs / HDs, just LaCie enclosures that have failed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lukeiamyourfather Posted August 16, 2016 Share Posted August 16, 2016 1 hour ago, 3dome said: also I don't recommend any seagate drives. For years now i only have heard bad news about their drives. I haven't had any problems with the 4TB Seagate drive and I've personally deployed 100+ drives in production environments. The 3TB model was particularly unreliable for some reason but it's not indicative of the quality of the rest of their products. The pile of drives on the desk in the attached photo are 4TB Seagate drives (model ST4000DM000 to be specific). The overwhelming majority of drives used by Backblaze are the same model ST4000DM000 drive. https://www.backblaze.com/blog/hard-drive-reliability-stats-q1-2016/ In other words avoid the 3TB drives from Seagate but their other drives are good (especially for the price). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3dome Posted August 17, 2016 Share Posted August 17, 2016 (edited) well, dont wanna argue here now but the test from backblaze is somewhat questionable german article about backblaze's test: http://www.heise.de/ct/artikel/Ausfallraten-von-SATA-Festplatten-im-harten-Server-Einsatz-3210460.html basically there are a lot of unknown varibales that backbalze doesnt provide like how long certain HDDs have been in use before that test. some are quite old models, some are new ones. so the old ones might have been in use for a good amount of time. also they use HDDs that are not intended to be used in such a scenario as backblaze does and so on anyway, buy the hdd you feel comfortable having in your system Edited August 17, 2016 by 3dome 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lukeiamyourfather Posted August 17, 2016 Share Posted August 17, 2016 I responded because I wanted people who read this thread to get a fair and informed opinion of a company and it's products. Paying significantly more for a product because brand X is always better than brand Y doesn't sit well with me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tar Posted August 17, 2016 Share Posted August 17, 2016 14 minutes ago, lukeiamyourfather said: Paying significantly more for a product because brand X is always better than brand Y doesn't sit well with me. Yup, for running backup disks I now use the 5400RPM disks, as there is no need for the 7200RPMs. Then you can allocate resources to SSDs or other components, as it's a never ending task replacing bits! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macj89 Posted August 30, 2016 Author Share Posted August 30, 2016 Awwwwwww I was ordering my PC and realized that the MoBo I choose wasn't compatible with the 6800k and I forgot to put a PSU in there! hahaha I will give a second try, I did a bit more of research and I have this (about 2.000€ ) CPU: Intel i7-6800K 3.6Ghz Box CPU-FAN: Noctua NH-D15S <--------- The guy in the shop told me that the S model will fit better, I don't really care a lot about good looking case, I just want performance and good cooling, should I put the normal or S? MoBo: Asus X99-A II <--------- What about it? RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws V Red DDR4 3000 PC4-24000 64GB 4x16GB CL14 GPU: Asus Strix Geforce GTX 1070 OC 8GB GDDR5 <------------ Asus? Another brand? Got this one because had 3 fans and matches with the MoBo brand hahaha HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.14 3TB SATA3 64MB SDD: Samsung 750 Evo SSD Series 120GB SATA3 (I am not buying it, I already have it, that's why is 120gb and not more!) Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro PSU: Corsair CX750M 750W 80 Plus Bronze Modular <----- I don't know anything about PSU, just chose one random Cheers guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3dome Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 regarding the cooler: " the NH-D15S is an asymmetrical single fan version of Noctua’s award-winning flagship model, the NH-D15. Thanks to its asymmetrical design, the NH-D15S clears the top PCIe slot on most µATX and ATX motherboards. " don't know if you need that. looks like that thing is pretty new and so far people have bought the D15 and it seemed to fit. so which one to get depends just on your rig's dimensions. look over at noctua.at for details and pictures. thing to notice: The S-Model has only 1 fan (non-S has 2 fans) so it will cool less (but you can add a fan later -> see homepage) MB: quite expensive, but good i guess RAM: dont know if you really need that fast RAM, but dont know if "slower" = cheaper. i got DDR4 2133 (ECC though) GPU: asus is decent manufacturer,but i prefer evga because of amazing support (that bit of extra money is worth it i think) HDD: i dont like having one big drive. i have a couple of smaller ones, one for caches, one for render output, one for music and games and films... 1) if you have a lot of read/write going on at the same time with just one hdd it will slow down eventually 2) if the hdd dies for some reason, 3tb are gone (instead of 1tb or so) (but backup frequently anyway!!) PSU: 750W is good size. always had corsair psus and never had issues with them. you might want to get 80 Plus Gold if you really care about energy efficiency Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tar Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 8 hours ago, macj89 said: HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.14 3TB SATA3 64MB That's the bad drive - no 3TB version, go a 4TB or 2TB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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