<$5000 rig to use w/ 27inch iMac monitor

Budget:
Up to $5000

Expectations:
I want an incredibly fast system that has a top end processor and enough GPU capacity to run most performance intensive games on maxed out settings. I'm willing to drop the cash, and it's been a long time since I spent good money on a well made, well designed, beefy pc rig (went down the Mac route a while back haha).


Usage:
I'm primarily going to be using the computer for video work/visual effects/3d rendering and playing fps games and other gpu intensive games.

Special Needs:
IMPORTANT CONSIDERATION: I will be using the system in conjunction with my 27inch iMac which is an i5. The GPU I select NEEDS to be able support displayport so I can hook it up to my iMac's display.


Specifications:
I am really open to anything here. I've heard going with the new sandybridge-e would be the best choice, others say it's better to go with other intel cpus and overclock them. Since I am going to be working primarily on visual effect work and cpu intensive programs such as maya, nuke, after effects, 3dsmax, boujou, should I consider going down the Xeon route?

Thanks everyone. This seems to be an amazing community with a lot of knowledgeable members, so I'm excited to see the advice ya'll have to give. Cheers!

Originally posted by DST4ME Since you need all the power you can get I would go with x79 and 3960x or 3930k. Now what is the res you gonna want to be gaming at?

Thanks for the response! I was thinking about going for the 3930k and getting it overclocked by digital storm. Would the 3960x be that much of a performance increase/future proof investment in gaming and video work?

In terms of gaming resolution, whatever the best I can do on a 27 inch monitor I guess. Any recommendations for GPUs, going SLI or even checking out the Radeons? I would like the GPU to support CUDA so I can use it to boost performance in Adobe products.

Hi spiralofdivinity,

Please be patient. You are posting at early morning hours and you need to wait for the configuration guys to show up. Are you overseas?

We need to know more about your iMAC 27" monitor. Is it the new Thunderbolt Display or is it an older model. The Thunderbolt has a 2560 x 1440 resolution. I think the older model was something different. You need to do some research and let us know the resolution of your monitor. Just because your monitor has displayport doesn't mean it has the 2560 x 1440 resolution. You also need to know if your display port is 1.1, 1.2 or 1.3. I think 1.2 is the standard for monitors in 2011. You may have to go ATI/AMD to get a GPU with displayport. Its a shame that we are being pushed into displayport so manufactures can get away from royalties on DVi and HDMI. If you get a GPU with DVi you will have to use a conversion cable to connect. Then the 1.1 or 1.2 may be important.

What ever CPU you go with you should get the stage 2 OC from DS. CPU power will be important for your use.

Frank

We can config you a system now but keep in mind gpu wise there are new gpus coming from nvidia in april that are suppose to be a good amount better then what we would recommend to you know, so you want to wait or shall we go to config?

Hi spiralofdivinity,

Your 2009 IMac 27" has a mini-display port and you will need a mini-display port to DVI adapter cord for Nvidia cards. There are 3rd party cords available. At first there was lots of problems but they should be ironed out by now. I saw a lot of people with problems and others with no problem at all. You need to spend some time on an IMac forum and find out the correct adapter cord to buy.

Or, you can go with the AMD/ATI 6800/6900 GPUs that come with Display Port support. I don't know if the out put is mini-display port or standard display port. The 1.2 display port specs weren't approved until 2010 so I assume you have a 1.1 mini-display port on your 2009 IMac. Although it was later in 2009 that the 27" was available so maybe it has 1.2. The difference between 1.1 and 1.2 is the bandwidth is double in the 1.2 and 1.1 doesn't support multi-stream signals. I also don't know if 1.2 is backward compatible to 1.1. You need to find out what issue of display port you have.

So you need to do some studying. I am not a Mac guy so not much help. If it was me I would go with AMD unless there are Nvidia cards with display port outputs. The display port to DVI adapter cord might give you problems. Remember that DVI doesn't support sound. That may impact your setup??

As DST4ME stated the Nvidia is due in April and I would bet they will support display port. The Quadro cards from Nvidia does have display port. If you are going to be heavy in graphics you might want to consider the Quadro GPU. I looked back at your first post and the Quadro is probably over kill for your use. So wait for the new Nvidia or go with AMD/ATI.

Frank

Edited by FrankW - 20 Jan 2012 at 11:48pm

I see that the GTX590 has mini-display port but that is not as good of a card as the GTX580. Two GTX580s will out perform one GTX590. The 590 has two detuned cardes in one case and heat is a problem. That is why they detune it. Two GTX590 are quad SLI and not very desirable. Tri-SLI 580s will out perform quad SLI590s. With a 590 if one half of the card fails you have to replace the whole card. With SLI 580s if one fails you only replace the failed card. You can play with one 580 while you are waiting for the new card to arrive. I would strongly suggest you don't go with the GTX590.

Frank

Here is a suggested build that you can work with.

Configuration: 646365 Cost: $4388

Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Cooler Master 942 HAF X
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i7 3930K 3.2GHz (Unlocked CPU for Extreme Overclocking) (Six-Core)
Motherboard: ASUS P9X79 DELUXE (Intel X79 Chipset) (Features USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s)
System Memory: 16GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested)
Power Supply: 1200W Corsair Pro Gold Series (CMPSU-1200AX) (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible) (Silent Edition Highly Recommended)
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (160GB Solid State (By: Intel) (Model: 320 Series)
Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: 1x (1TB Western Digital Caviar (7200 RPM) (Model: Black Edition)
Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks
Optical Drive 1: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 24x / CD-Writer 48x)
Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card: 2x CrossFire Dual (ATI Radeon HD 7970 3GB)
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 2: Noctua NH-D14 Extreme Performance (Does NOT fit on the regular EVGA X58 3X SLI)
H20 Tube Color:- Not Applicable, I do not have a FrostChill or Sub-Zero LCS Cooling System Selected
Chassis Airflow: Standard Factory Chassis Fans
Internal Lighting: - No Thanks
LaserMark: - No Thanks
Boost Processor: Stage 1: Overclock CPU 4.0GHz to 4.4GHz
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional (64-Bit Edition)
Recovery Tools: Windows Recovery Toolkit (Bundled with Windows 7 CD)
Exclusive T-Shirt: FREE: Digital Storm T-Shirt - Black (Large)
Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 5-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: Life-time Expert Customer Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty

1. I used the 3930K CPU and you can go to the 3960X but it is another $500. The CPU speed of both will be the same but the 3960X has 3Mb more cache memory. You would really have to push the CPU for the cache to make any difference.

2. I gave you 16Gb of memory. You don't need that for gaming but it might help with your video work.

3. I used the X79 Deluxe Mobo. It is a good MoBo but there is a problem going on right now. It will be resolved by the time you order.

4. I bumped up the SSD to a 160 just because you have the budget. The Intel 320 series is what you want.

5. I used the AMD 7970 3GB. It has mini-display port and should hook up directly to your IMac 27".

6. I put in the 1200 watt power supply so you are good to go if you wanted tri SLI in the future. If you know for sure you will never go Tri SLI then go with the 1050 power supply.





Edited by FrankW - 22 Jan 2012 at 9:34am

So you don't want to wait for the 670/680 to come out and go with those?

The build Frank has is great but the missed something, he meant to tell you to get the corsair 1200w psu, instead he accidentally picked the DS 1200w, so make sure you go with the corsair if you are looking for tri sli ability.

Edited by DST4ME - 21 Jan 2012 at 9:18pm

Hi DST4ME,

Thanks for catching that. I just plain missed it. All fixed.

Frank

Originally posted by spiralofdivinity Duly noted DST4ME. Thanks! Would STILL love to know about your guys thoughs on Xeons vs Sandybridge-E!

E can endup better or even k due to higher oc then the xeon, at the end of the day if the clocks are the same, and chips are from same family the difference is very little if any, unless one chip has more cores and the apps you use utilize the extra cores then obviously the 8 core wins over the 6 core.

Edited by DST4ME - 22 Jan 2012 at 11:06pm

1. if you have need for 32GB then go for it, we are not sure how much ram you need for your work, you would know that better then us.

2. you don't use ssd for storage, and you don't want storage stuff on teh same drive as os/apps/games, unless you really want to throw money away, storage does not need ssd speeds.

3. cooling, you don't need lc but if you gonna get it go stage 4 lc and ask them to use XSPC "RX" series rad with Scythe gentle typhoon fans on them, this will give you better performance with practically no noise.

Scythe Kaze Master Temperature Display & Fan Controller is a waste, won't controller all your fans (if any in this case) and its temps readings are not correct.

oc on gpu and os boost are a waste you will see no gains from them.

your config will not work, you can't have tri sli with a 800w psu, and even if you could I would never recommend that psu.

you also can't fit tri sli and everything else you chose on that mobo, and the deluxe comes with wireless itself anyways.

frank made you a config, stick to that, you are not gonna be able to beat it.

2. raid raised your large file speeds only.

on deluxe you should be able to do tri sli, however best money/performance should be sli 680 in april, but of course thats just my best guess.

Looks good, I approve!

two 7970's stomp over 580's, they are overpriced though. If i were you i would wait until the 600 series, but if you need it now, then 7970's should serve you well.

Yes, you definitely want to ask for the additional haf-x fan as well as a vcore under 1.4, these two things are going to remain a constant regardless of your specific configuration and usage.

Congrats on your soon to be purchase!

Originally posted by Tidgxor Congrats on your soon to be purchase!

Thanks Tidgxor! BTW, I was looking at your rig's specs and I was wondering how you liked the dual SSDs in Raid 0? I am honestly considering replacing the 300gb ssd and doing a 160 + 160 in raid 0.

Originally posted by DST4ME 3. cooling, you don't need lc but if you gonna get it go stage 4 lc and ask them to use XSPC "RX" series rad with Scythe gentle typhoon fans on them, this will give you better performance with practically no noise.

Hey DST4ME and other knowledgeable members! My Digital Storm order is being processed! HOWEVER, the Typhoon fans have been discontinued. Should I substitute this fan or just stick to stage 4 lc without the fan?

Hey everyone,

Thanks to the awesome members of this forum I've spec'd and ordered my dream machine from DD last monday. I decided to throw down for the priority build, and even though it's almost been well over the advertised 4, my machine is now in Stage 6 (Quality Assurance).

However, two issues have come up:
1) They can't seem to give me a vcore lower than 1.4. DD can give me 1.408 with stability. Is that fine? or should I keep a lower than 1.4 vcore irrespective?

2) They say they may need to switch out the 1200W Corsair Pro Gold for the 1500W Silverstone, since the 1200W was not enough for stability. loll is that really possible with my rig? I guess I don't mind getting the 1500W, but i'm just a little surprised and also wanted to know if it's a good PSU.

Quite frankly, I don't mind since this is a matter of quality but I can't help but get a little buyers remorse cuz I'm feeling like the extra money for the priority build wasn't worth it. I wanted to get others perspective on it.. that would help :). lol but I'm still very excited for my machine!

Let me know guys! Cheers.

Edited by spiralofdivinity - 21 Feb 2012 at 6:39pm