PC for a 3D Artist

[FerdTheNerd]

Hello PCS,

I'm in the market for a new PC, I've put something together below that I'd like to get some more expert eyes on.

Bit of background/context for what I'll be using it for:
I'm a 3D Environment & Lighting Artist in the UK games industry. So I'll be using this system for my own personal portfolio projects, game ideas and general 3D Art/Lighting development. (I'm itching to work on some Raytracing projects I have in mind! )
My current setup is a gaming rig I got from PCS about 6 years ago, but just isn't cutting it for the type of work that I need it to do. Its still great for gaming, but just cant manage the 3D art workloads.

I should say that I was fortunate enough to get my hands on a 3090 Founders Edition a few weeks ago! (Got it for MSRP too!) Given how insane the GPU market is atm I wasn't willing to get a new PC until I secured the right GPU for my needs. So this PC is being built around the GPU.

I'd like to think I've got an 'ok' grasp of the latest hardware iterations/news cycles, but really I've only kept up with the headline grabbing stuff. So be good to get some insight from people more in-the-know.

So the main things I've gone for are:

• Latest Ryzen 9 CPU, I've always been an Intel guy, but reading through the PCS forums, and doing some research elsewhere, it seems that the current AMD CPU's are the way to go?
  • I've looked at some the Ryzen Threadripper builds, but they really send the budget skyrocketing! It's already a pricey build and a lot of the 3D art I'll be doing is real-time game art which is more GPU intensive. What are your thoughts?
• I've gone for 64GB of RAM.
  • The work PC my studio provided for me has 64GB and it changed my life! A lot of the 3D software I use if very RAM hungry, so that was an easy pick for me.
• Fractal Meshify S2
  • Admittedly, I don't know too much about cases. I went for this one as it looks quite smart, but more importantly, can actually fit the 3090 inside.

And that's really as far as my knowledge goes! I know very little about motherboards so any feedback, if any, would be appreciated!
That goes for any feedback on the CPU cooling, case, storage, PSU etc would be really helpful!

Cheers!

p.s any recommendations on 4k montiors would be greatly appreciated also!

Case
FRACTAL MESHIFY S2 TEMPERED GLASS
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 5950X 16 Core CPU (3.4GHz-4.9GHz/72MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® CROSSHAIR VIII HERO WIFI (DDR4, PCIe 4.0, CrossFireX/SLI) - RGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
64GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (4 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
NONE, I ALREADY HAVE A GRAPHICS CARD
1st Storage Drive
1TB PCS 2.5" SSD, SATA 6 Gb (520MB/R, 470MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H100x Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
NOT REQUIRED
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 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 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 15 to 18 working days
Price: £2,039.00 including VAT and Delivery

 

[MrWilson]

Looks like a beauty of a build!
Congratulations on nabbing a GPU for MSRP in this current market, the 3090 FE is a beauty and a beast of a card to secure!
I would rethink your storage, m.2 drives are the way to go, you’re looking at over 10x the speed with the fastest drive. I would recommend the 500gb 980 pro for OS and programs with a 1TB Intel 670p for your projects.
Would definitely go for a larger PSU with this build, for the 5950x 3090 combo I wouldn’t settle for less than the 850W RMx, with the 1000W model also being a worthwhile pick.
The H100x is quite an old design now, to keep temps down I wouldn’t recommend anything less than the H115i Elite Capellix. It has a much more modern pump design, as well as iCue software to be able to monitor your temps, and switch RGB off if it’s not your cup of tea. You can also drop the thermal paste as the Corsair cooler comes with premium paste pre applied.
For a build of this magnitude paying £5 for silver warranty is well worth it too.

 

[FerdTheNerd]

Looks like a beauty of a build!
Congratulations on nabbing a GPU for MSRP in this current market, the 3090 FE is a beauty and a beast of a card to secure!
I would rethink your storage, m.2 drives are the way to go, you’re looking at over 10x the speed with the fastest drive. I would recommend the 500gb 980 pro for OS and programs with a 1TB Intel 670p for your projects.
Would definitely go for a larger PSU with this build, for the 5950x 3090 combo I wouldn’t settle for less than the 850W RMx, with the 1000W model also being a worthwhile pick.
The H100x is quite an old design now, to keep temps down I wouldn’t recommend anything less than the H115i Elite Capellix. It has a much more modern pump design, as well as iCue software to be able to monitor your temps, and switch RGB off if it’s not your cup of tea. You can also drop the thermal paste as the Corsair cooler comes with premium paste pre applied.
For a build of this magnitude paying £5 for silver warranty is well worth it too.

Thanks for the great info! Really appreciate it, there's no chance I would have found this out for myself!

I've gone through the build options again, posted below, updated with your recommendations. I had no idea about the m.2 drives so cheers for that! If I wanted to beef up the storage further down the line (Like adding another SSD) would I go for the standard 2.5" drives instead? Not sure how many bays the m.2 drives take up.

I've opted for the 1000W PSU, I could be adding more storage options later on. I want to be sure that I have sufficient amount of breathing space with power if any future changes arise in the coming years.

Thanks for the heads up on the CPU cooler, that's an area I know next to nothing about, so its good to know what to go for! Not too fussed about RGB lighting if I'm honest, but if it provides superior cooling over the other options then its worth a bit extra.

Always forget about the warranty! Updated to silver on that too.

Case
FRACTAL MESHIFY S2 TEMPERED GLASS
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 5950X 16 Core CPU (3.4GHz-4.9GHz/72MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® CROSSHAIR VIII HERO WIFI (DDR4, PCIe 4.0, CrossFireX/SLI) - RGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
64GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (4 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
NONE, I ALREADY HAVE A GRAPHICS CARD
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 6900MB/R, 5000MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR | 2500MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1000W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H115i 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 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 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 15 to 18 working days
Promotional Item
Get Resident Evil Village with select Samsung SSDs

 

[sck451]

M.2 drives don't take up bays: they're mounted directly on the motherboard. I don't think any motherboard PCS sells has more than two slots. It is possible to get riser cards that can host an M.2 drive in a 4xPCIe slot, but I don't know how reliable they are.

On some motherboards some SATA connectors only work if the M.2 bay is empty: that's not true of the Crosshair.

Storage devices use very little power (compared to, say, graphics cards). I believe they're limited to 7W, so I wouldn't upgrade my power supply on that basis, but 1000W isn't a bad idea by any stretch.

 

[FerdTheNerd]

Ah ok that's good to know, haven't used M.2 drives before, little behind the curve there.

Yeah I may add extra storage down the line, but I'll see how far the M.2 drives get me. As you say, probably wont need the 1000W for the storage, but it seems having a bit extra isn't too bad.

It looks like most of the main areas are covered, you guys think its good to move forward with it? I'll wait until the weekend before proceeding with the order, anymore feedback is welcome

 

[sck451]

Ah ok that's good to know, haven't used M.2 drives before, little behind the curve there.

Yeah I may add extra storage down the line, but I'll see how far the M.2 drives get me. As you say, probably wont need the 1000W for the storage, but it seems having a bit extra isn't too bad.

It looks like most of the main areas are covered, you guys think its good to move forward with it? I'll wait until the weekend before proceeding with the order, anymore feedback is welcome

Oh yeah, looks awesome. I'd order it now -- you can always tweak it after ordering.

 

[FerdTheNerd]

Great! ok I'll put it through now! Exciting!

 

[MrWilson]

As you say, probably wont need the 1000W for the storage, but it seems having a bit extra isn't too bad.

I really can’t talk. I’ve got a 5900x/3070 on order and I’ve ordered a 1000W PSU to go into it, nothing wrong with a little extra juice, especially for just £20. You’re obviously going to enjoy the extra headroom a little more than me 🙂

 

[FerdTheNerd]

Put the order through last night, thanks for the help everyone, much appreciated!