Loading...
> >

Advice requested - proposed PC spec for Iray rendering

IainWIainW Posts: 10
in The Commons

Hi folks

I've been playing around with Daz3d on my Dell XPS27 for a while now and am now considering taking the leap of purchasing a system more suited to Iray rendering (and possibly some animation at a later stage).  Based on the threads I've read on this forum, I've put together a draft proposed spec for a system which would hopefully be materially faster than my Dell (which runs a little hot during sustained periods of rendering) - but, given the hefty price tag, I'm really keen to get some advice from more experienced Daz3d users on what I've over or under spec'd:

  • Case: Corsair Carbide 540 High Airflow ATX Cube Case (Black)
  • Case Cooling Kit: 4x Corsair SP120 Performance Edition: Max Airflow Fan Kit
  • CPU: Intel Core i7-6800K Broadwell Extreme 3.4GHz [6 Cores, 12 Threads, 15MB Cache, Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz]
  • Overclocking: Intel Turbo Boost Technology (Automatic on-demand performance boosting)
  • CPU Cooling: Corsair H100i V2 240mm All in One High Performance Liquid Cooler
  • Motherboard: ASUS X99-E WS ECC-Ready Intel X99 Workstation ATX (ECC memory support, Socket 2011-v3, 7x PCI-E 3.0 x16, 12x SATA 6Gb/s, 2x SATA Express, M.2 Slot, 2x eSATA, 14x USB 3.0, 4x USB 2.0, 2x Intel Gb LAN, 4-Way SLI)
  • Memory: 64GB Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3000MHz (4x16GB)
  • Graphics Card 1: 11GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti GDDR5X
  • Graphics Card 2: 11GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti GDDR5X
  • Power Supply: 850W Corsair RMx Series Fully Modular Silent PSU [80+ Gold Certified]
  • Storage - M.2 SSD Drive 1: 250GB Samsung 960 Evo V-Nand PCI-e m.2 Drive (3200MB/s Read, 1500MB/s Write) - for the OS / apps
  • Storage - 3.5" Drive Bay 1: 2TB Samsung 850 EVO Solid State Drive [540MB/s Read, 520MB/s Write] - for Daz3d content (I'd save output to my NAS)
  • Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home 64-bit

If you can offer me any constructive advice on that spec, I'd be very grateful to receive it!

Many thanks. smiley

Comments

  • GatorGator Posts: 1,320
    Looks pretty good. Why not the 7800x for $50 more? Higher base frequency and max boost. Also uses DDR4 RAM. Suspect the higher core frequency and memory speed will help. Is this a build from somewhere, or you building yourself?
  • Kevin SandersonKevin Sanderson Posts: 1,643

    https://www.evga.com/articles/01107/evga-geforce-gtx-1080-ti-sc2-hybrid/

  • IainWIainW Posts: 10

    Thanks for the prompt response, Scott!  Build from my local supplier, Utopia Computers.

  • IainWIainW Posts: 10

    Thanks for the link, Kevin - built-in watercooling certainly has appeal! yes  Am beginning to think I might have build this system myself... surprise

  • alexhcowleyalexhcowley Posts: 2,404

    I would suggest a higher rated power supply.  With two 1080tis and all the other stuff 850 watts is probably tempting fate.

    Cheers,

    Alex.

  • GatorGator Posts: 1,320
    alexhcowley said:

    I would suggest a higher rated power supply.  With two 1080tis and all the other stuff 850 watts is probably tempting fate.

    Cheers,

    Alex.

    I was tempted to mention that.  Technically with the load builders it should be enough, with some headroom to spare.  Where IanW might run into problems is a few years down the road as it loses efficiency.  I had a 750W running two Titan X's that happened with me.  I replaced with a 1000W to be safe.

    Also, the further under it's max load the more efficient they get.

  • GatorGator Posts: 1,320
    edited August 2017
    IainW said:

    Thanks for the link, Kevin - built-in watercooling certainly has appeal! yes  Am beginning to think I might have build this system myself... surprise

    I like it.  I got two of the exact same cards Kevin linked.  First ever anything watercooled for me.  They'll run at max 1900ish MHz clock rendering, and only 48-50C.

    Edit: Forgot, I'm not trying to overclock it, that's what EVGA is running it by default.

    Post edited by Gator on
  • ebergerlyebergerly Posts: 3,255

    Looks good to me too. Though I agree about the power supply, especially if you're going to overclock and have 2x1080tis, might be really tight. You might check to see the additional power draw of the CPU when it's overclocked. I'm certainly not knowledgeable in overclocking, but seem to recall some mention of power usage increasing dramatically with overclocking. 

  • IainWIainW Posts: 10

    Wow - thanks so much, folks.  Really appreciate your advice!  yes

    (Good call re the extra power, Alex/Scott/Ebergerly - not a massive additional expense to 'bulk that up a bit'.)

  • kyoto kidkyoto kid Posts: 42,047
    edited August 2017
    ...excellent system. My only critique, dump W10 Home edition as it gives MS more control over your system than you have. Since you are using a Broadwell CPU and X-99 MB, you can run W7 Pro 64 on it (OEM 149$ at Newegg). If this is being built by a custom build house, check to see if they offer an OS "downgrade" option. If you absolutely have to go with W10 for whatever reason spend the extra for the Pro Edition as it will give you more cintrol (like being able to defer OS and system updates). Keep in mind however, that those 1080 Ti's wont have access to about 1.9 GB of VRAM due to the way W10 reseves video memory. In comparison W7 and 8.1 have an almost negligible footprint on GPU VRAM.
    Post edited by kyoto kid on
  • GatorGator Posts: 1,320
    kyoto kid said:
    ...excellent system. My only critique, dump W10 Home edition as it gives MS more control over your system than you have. Since you are using a Broadwell CPU and X-99 MB, you can run W7 Pro 64 on it (OEM 149$ at Newegg). If this is being built by a custom build house, check to see if they offer an OS "downgrade" option. If you absolutely have to go with W10 for whatever reason spend the extra for the Pro Edition as it will give you more cintrol (like being able to defer OS and system updates). Keep in mind however, that those 1080 Ti's wont have access to about 1.9 GB of VRAM due to the way W10 reseves video memory. In comparison W7 and 8.1 have an almost negligible footprint on GPU VRAM.

    I have gone from Win 7 to Win 10 with no issues.  Yeah it sucks, I hope there eventually is a fix for it, but it hasn't been a problem yet with my 1080 Tis and Titan Xs. 

    Windows 7 doesn't have any real DPI scaling support, and it SUCKS with a 4K monitor.  So much I almost returned the new 4K monitor until I tried 10 as I was resisting it too.  Now 4K is beautiful.

    With two powerful 1080 Ti cards I can't imagine hamstringing myself at 1920x1080.  If OP doesn't go higher than that now, it should be on his radar as it's one of the best upgrades.

Sign In or Register to comment.