Spec a build: i7

[Xandos]

Hey guys, I find myself needing to build a new PC for 3d Animation/Rendering...

As everything I do (almost) supports multi-threading, an i7 seems the logical choice. I have an i7 920D overclocked to nearly 4ghz as my work machine, which works pretty nice. I'm thinking of a similar build but not to sure on recent progress, and just how cheaply one can put together an i7 box.

I'm sort of thinking of leaving out the SSD unless there's a really cheap option - as I'm mostly after CPU grunt. Is it worth going for sandybridge (baring in mind I'm one of the few users that would actually push the system)?

So what's my best bet do you think? Some guidance would be appreciated...

 

[Xandos]

Thanks for the reply... I guess I should mention that I'm on a fairly shoestring budget... Hoping not to spend any more than £600 really... Though I suppose these days that might be a touch too light...

 

[Xandos]

Thanks for replies.

Actually, GPU isn't that much of a big deal... Not to the extent of it being worth getting a top end gaming card (or god forbid, Quadro). Maybe this will change once companies start writing good GPU renderers!

I don't have any of the gubbins (case,psu anyway), as my old computer still needs to remain a full computer, as it will become a render slave/secondary workstation.