System rig for 3D animator/renderer

[alterna88]

Hello,

I need help with choice of components for a computer.
I'm a 3D animator, and I need a powerful system to support my work. At the moment I have a custom made PC but my family for some reason want's me to get a new one. Anyhow... I'm firstly not sure whether I can trade in my current PC and build a new one, or I could upgrade the current... But if I were to build a new one could you please suggest the best components? You could say that I'm new to PC building world even though I've helped building my current PC...
As a 3D Person I know that I need a powerful CPU, good RAM and Graphics card. But which ones exactly? Could you please suggest a list of parts for this type of PC? Budget so far I don't know, I want to see what kind of spec would be the best at the moment so that PC would be valid for a few years.

So far I was thinking on getting this as a base but if anyone have better suggestions I'll be happy to hear them.

Intel Core i7-3770K 3.50GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £233.29

Corsair Dominator PLATINUM 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-17100C9 2133MHz Dual Channel Kit with DHX Pro Connector (CMD8GX3M2A2133C9) £99.99
Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £69.99
Cooler Master Hyper 612S CPU Cooler £27.49

 

[alterna88]

A powerful Cpu and lots of ram is what is needed. Your spec looks good though personally id grab the i7 3280 and head down the 2011 route.

There is one big advantage, upgradability. In July the 1155 socket will be replaced. 2011 however has ivybridge-e coming soon. Also, the 3820 is bottom on the 2011 pack and as good if not better than the 3770k. This means you can easily upgrade to better things.

I see... so you suggest going got 2011 socket then... I'll keep that in mind. Also what is the difference between Ivybridge and sandybridge?

What about Graphics card? Which would you suggest? And the PSU?
I was thinking of getting 2 harddrives one SSD for the system and the other one for the other files.

 

[alterna88]

Hello,
I've sort of picked out the hardware and want to know professional opinion.
I'm no professional so I don't know a lot of things. So feel free to advice alternative options

Here is what I have in mind so far:
Intel Core i7-3820 3.60GHz (Sandybridge-E) Socket LGA2011 Processor - OEM
Corsair Dominator PLATINUM 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-17100C9 2133MHz Dual Channel Kit with DHX Pro Connector (CMD8GX3M2A2133C9)
Asus GeForce GTX 650 DirectCU 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
Crucial RealSSD M4 128GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (CT128M4SSD2)
Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard
Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD
Corsair 2013 Edition Gamer Series GS 600W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020063-UK)
Cooler Master Hyper 612S CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / 2011 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2)
Asus 24x DVD±RW DRW-24B5ST SATA ReWriter - Black (OEM)

I'm not sure if all components will work together, so I might be wrong... please correct me if I am. Also, for 3D rendering Im thinking maybe I'll need more Ram... somthing like 16GB

 

[alterna88]

Would this be better?
I don't want to go for a slow RAM because I'd need a good RAM for rendering.


Product Name Qty Price Line Total
Intel Core i7-3820 3.60GHz (Sandybridge-E) Socket LGA2011 Processor - OEM
Asus GeForce GTX 660 DirectCU II 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with FREE Assassin's Creed III & FTP Currency
Gigabyte X79-UD3 Intel X79 (Socket 2011) DDR3 Motherboard
Crucial RealSSD M4 128GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (CT128M4SSD2)
Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C10 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMZ16GX3M2A1600C10)
Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD
Corsair 2013 Edition Gamer Series GS 600W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020063-UK)
Cooler Master Centurion 5 II Midi Tower - Black
Cooler Master Hyper 612S CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / 2011 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2)
Asus 24x DVD±RW DRW-24B5ST SATA ReWriter - Black (OEM)

 

[alterna88]

Thank you for all your advices! That was exactly what I needed! =)

In regards to the list of programs I would use:

Maya 2013
ZBrush
Adobe CS6 Suite

Those are the main programs I use when working on films I'm thinking of starting to use Nuke as well but not sure it it'd make any difference.

My main concern is to have a good semi-pro PC that would be up to date for at least 2-3 years (you know how fast they bring out smth new)

My system at the moment is 3 years old, it does the job but I'm scared of doing complex stuff such as hair and cloth simulations... for that I need a stronger PC to render.

 

[alterna88]

I see... Thank you for your advices.
Just a random question... Is there any place where I can sell my current custom built PC?? Sort of trade in?