New PC Build for DAZ Studio and some light gaming. Feedback welcome!
Whiskeyjack
Posts: 59
Hey guys! So I've got some money saved up over the last 2 or 3 years that's now starting to burn a hole in my pocket. My current PC is just shy of 5 years old now, so I've been thinking of building a new system lately as a treat for myself. I've really been getting into Daz Studio over the last 2 years, and I don't see myself losing interest in it anytime soon, so I'm thinking of gearing my new PC more towards that. I do enjoy some light gaming on the side however; mostly strategy, simulation, or RPG games like Total War, The Sims, Divinity 2, or Monster Hunter. I'm not a "Hardcore Gamer" by any means though, so I'm not concerned with ultra-hyper-realistic graphics or consistent 120 FPS. I'm also not going to be doing any overclocking, and I won't be using watercooling
Recently I upgraded my current PC to a 12GB RTX 3060 and 64GB of RAM (thanks to PerttiA, AgitatedRiot, and JVRenderer for that suggestion), so I can move those over to my new system. For the rest of the components, I'm thinking of going with this:
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X 3.8 GHz 8-Core Processor
Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 chromax.black 82.52 CFM CPU Cooler
Mother Board: Msi MAG X570s Tomahawk Max
RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX 64GB (4 x 16GB) DDR4-3200 CL16
Primary Storage: Samsung 970 Evo Plus 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME SSD
Secondary Storage: Samsung 870 QVO 4 TB 2.5" SSD
GPU: EVGA GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB XC GAMING
PSU: Corsair HX Platinum 850 W 80+ Platinum
Case Fans: 4x Corsair ML120 75 CFM 120 mm Fans, and 4x Corsair ML140 97 CFM 140 mm Fans
Case: Corsair 5000D Airflow
I know some parts like the CPU, Mother Board, and 8 case fans are probably overkill for what I need, but as this will probably be going for the next 5 years (or more), I'm trying to future-proof a little and make it's everyday life a little easier; "Better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it".
I am a bit lost on what to get in regards to monitors however. Currently I'm using using a 27.0" 2560x1440 144Hz Acer monitor (XG270HU), but I'm thinking of upgrading to a 4K monitor. As I mentioned, I enjoy some gaming from time to time as well, so if anyone has any suggestions for a good quality (not necessiarly top tier) monitor that would be both great for rendering and solid for gaming, then I'd love to hear them.
Please let me know what you think! Thanks in advance!
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Comments
4K gaming on a 3060 wont be a good experience. Even on 1440, there will be titles that it will struggle with. If your budget will not stretch to something better, i would be sticking with a 1440p monitor.
Speaking as someone with a 3060, it's not nearly as bad for 4K gaming as some say. You won't be getting 144 fps out of it, but it's definitely powerful enough to handle most older titles at 60 fps, and many newer titles have access to DLSS. (Hell, I played Control on mine with okay-ish raytracing settings, although I do have a variable refresh rate screen that let me dip below 60 fps at times without it getting too choppy).
Sometimes you'll have to compromise on not quite so old games (sans DLSS) and run them at 1440p or 1080p or otherwise turn down some settings, but you can run 1080p or 1440p on a 4K monitor, you can't get the productivity benefits of 4K on a 1440p screen.
Well, they've already got the 3060, so it makes a fairly large change to the budget to swap it out. However, as it's already in hand, a judgement can be made based on that. At 4K versus 1440p, your frame rates will take about a 40% hit.
If you're not already running games at more than 100 fps on the 1440p screen, then you'll struggle to get 60 fps for a 4K screen unless other settings are compromised.
My current build;
https://pcpartpicker.com/user/DaveScott/saved/VbPtnQ
10 case fans + 3 on the AIO
I've also got an LG DVD/CD drive plugged in and sitting on top of the case because my case doesn't have accommodations for a removable media drive.
Once I get all of my DVD dependent media converted over , or I stop using it, that drive will go away.
Monitor is an LG - 34WL500-B 34" IPS LED UltraWide FHD FreeSync Monitor with HDR.
It's 1080P. I choose 1080P because at higher resolutions the text and other things get so small it's not comfortable for me to work with it for very long.
I'm not sure if anything has improved with regards to graphics card availability/pricing, but I would assume things are still hard to come by or priced out of reach for most so its not really a good time to do a custom build. I got lucky when I had my Threadripper build started back in Mar.-Apr. of last year and was able to get both NVidia cards I was after. Nevertheless, I ended up paying more and it also took over 8 months to get all of the parts & have it built.
That RTX 3060 is going to be a bit slow for rendering, but its still better than using the CPU. For gaming, it won't handle 4k very well, and @ 1440p you'll still need to turn down the in-game settings/detail level. It has a decent amount of VRAM, but is lacking in CUDA Core count. Have you considered going with a workstation card like an RTX A4000-A5000? Those may be in short supply also.
If you're wanting a 4k monitor, how big? If its going to be the same size as the one you're currently using, you might not like it because everything will be smaller and it will be harder on your eyes. I went from a 1080p 17" G-Sync laptop display to a 27" 1440p display and its a near perfect fit with display size to display resolution. When it comes to 4k resolution, I wouldn't go with anything smaller than 32". Sure, you can scale most things up, but it doesn't work on everything. You would also need at least an RTX 3070 to drive a 4k display in games, and even then you will most likely need to turn quite a few of the detail levels down in order to achieve acceptable frame rates. My advice is that unless you need the extra space on your display and plan on going bigger than 27", forget about 4k. Its just granting you more workspace at the cost of requiring a more powerful video card. I would invest the money in a better/additional graphics card so you can do other stuff while rendering.
Where's the OS going? Primary storage? If so, 500Gb isn't much to work with nowadays. You want to install all of your apps/programs on your OS drive, if possible, as it could cause headaches if you're installing games, apps, programs, etc., on the secondary storage drive and it decides to die or becomes corrupted. Go with a bigger Primary/OS drive(at least 1 Tb). Seeing as how you're more interested in rendering and not so much gaming, you should consider a workstation class system, such as a Threadripper. Contrary to what a lot of red-line gamers spout, they can play games just as well as any other system(or even better) provided you have a decent graphics card. Its a bit more pricey for the motherboard & CPU(I went with a 24-core on my system), but it will give you a lot more headroom for upgrades when it comes to things like RAM, PCIe slots, etc. The only drawback with Threadripper systems is they do not have integrated graphics like Intel & other Ryzen systems.
...sounds like a great Daz rig.
The upgrade I planned for my system calls for a Noctua NH-D15S for cooling an i9 10900KF. The issue with these massive heat sink coolers is having enough case width. The Corsair 5000D is definitely sufficient. Even my old Antek P-193 can handle one .
As to slow, compared to a 3080 Ti yeah. However, the 3060 SC is about 39% more efficient than my old Titan X and won't have to worry about the impact on VRAM the older card has to compensate for the lack of RT cores. So still an improvement without breaking the bank.
Looks like you have your stuff up in the attic just like I do. What for AC do you use in the warmer months(type & BTUs)? I need to get one at some point and not sure if I should get one that fits in the window or one that sits inside that has the exhaust hose going to the window. The thing I don't like about the window-mounted AC units is too many insects get inside of it plus the exterior material is usually made of material that doesn't hold up well against UV sunlight. I've also heard horror stories about some of the AC units that run the hose to the window where they leak or just don't work as well.
Going by what everyone has said, it sounds like a 4K monitor would be more of a hindrance than a benefit to me. But that's fine, I'm happy to stick with my current monitor. I was only considering a 4K monitor if I wasn't getting the most out of the 3060, but it sounds like 2560x1440 is the sweet spot for a 3060. So that's fine with me!
@Magog, the 3060 does what I need just fine, and I am still learning a lot about Daz as I go, so there's no real reason for me to splash out on a card like an A4000 right now. In another year when GPU's (hopefully) drop in price and become more available I'l be looking at getting a 3090.
The OS is going on the primary storage, but I won't have anymore than one, at most two games installed on it at a time. My current build has a 250GB Samsung 960 Evo as the primary storage, and I've never used more than 60 or 70% of the storage on that at one time. So a 500GB is more than enough for me.
A Threadripper CPU is far too expensive right now, and probably massive overkill for what I'd be doing anyway.
This space already had ducts for the homes centeral heating and cooling when we bought it 3 months ago when we moved to Iowa.
But I still plan to use a small 5,000BTU window unit AC I don't recall what the name brand was. I bough it years ago and it still works well.It's winter here right now.Was -12F(wind chill in the -20F -30F range) this morning when I went to work. So I haven't even unpacked it.It's still in the shed in a box.
I have a Lasko ceramic space heater that does a good job of taking the chill out of the air if I forget to open the duct vent.
If it works for what you're doing, that's great and will save you money. Just don't bank on getting a new 3090 any time soon(if at all) at a decent price. One of the problems I see with waiting on this particular card is NVidia only makes a certain series for so long before they stop production and move on to producing a newer series. The 3090 has already been out for almost 1.5 years and I don't see any improvement on supplies for at least another year, at which time I'm sure NVidia will be gearing up to release a whole new line of cards.
Hi,
I'm no expert but i also built my PC back in 2015 and I've been upgrading by bits. If you are serious about DAZ (and gaming) and have money to burn, I'll get the RTX3090 for the 24GB and a motherboard that accepts 32 GB RAM per stick with at least 6 sata ports (although you can expand sata ports with cables) to expand your storage capacity. 4TB will last, but not that much. I already have my 3090 and I'm very pleased with it. This year I'm replacing my CPU, motherboard and RAM.
Also, I'm still not convinced that the a faster SSD (or the M.2) is worth the jacked up price compared to a 7200RPM HDD, honestly. I do have a 250GB samsung evo "whatever" ssd for my OS windows 10 but everything else is on my HDDs including games. Much cheaper and you can get larger storage. I rather save money on storage and invest that in a better GPU.
For 4k monitor I own 2, one 28 the other 32 inches. both samsung at 60hz. I will advised against anything 4k at 28 inches or below (I don't know why there are laptops with 4k display). Is waaaay too small and you will have to upscale the display to 150% (at least for me) which will defeat the purpose of a 4k in the first place. heck, even my 32 inch I had to upscale to 125%.but I'm happy with my 32in.
I'm also a gamer but never been into high refreshment rates so for me 60hz is just fine. I also like photography, so i rather have more pixels in my screen than high refreshment rates.
Cheers.
...the advantage of an SSD,is no moving parts which is why seek time on an SSD is faster. The difference in boot up and programme access time between the 7200 RPM HDD I originally had as the boot drive and the SSD I have now (both the same capacity) is significant
I have 75 Hz displays not for speed but for the fact they are much easier on the eyes. I used to get headaches with 60 Hz monitors because that's the same frequency most indoor lighting uses (particularly noticeable in fluorescent lighting that is common in many offices).
My answer to the small text at 4K was to get a big TV. No small text, no scaling!
The TV and therefore my gaming is restricted to 60fps.
I have the same CPU/GPU combination.
In Horizon Zero Dawn I tried it at native 4K60HDR and Ultra settings but had big drops to mid 40fps. Using DLSS easily fixes that and actually improves the visuals. There are a few other tweaks in the driver settings but with my preference for maximum visuals, I don't expect more than 75fps from a 3060.
Yes a TV is an option, they don't come with Display Port or at least they're not common. I think the minimm size for a 4k monitor without the need of scaling is about 35/36 inches. I did the math a year or two ago can't remember what was based on but yeah. You have to keep in mind, your eye distance from the monitor/tv, the larger they are the farther you have to be. Otherwise you may end up with a neck strain from looking from side to side if you are too close. I read that issue once in some other forum and dismiss it as an exageration, but when I had my 2 monitors at the same time I had issues with my neck. Granted they were at an angle not side by side. So there's that.
Horizon Zero Dawn is an awesome game... gonna play a bit now... byeeee