Need Help Choosing Parts

SunBro_18

I put this parts list together and am looking for some advice. I am an animation student and this is my first build, I don't really know what I am doing. I'm trying to stay under $2000, I work mainly in Maya, Blender, and Unity. I want to use an air cooler for my CPU instead of water just because I am worried about leaking. I'll take any advice on any parts, my main concern is storage/memory and not crashing my system! Any help would be much appreciated. 
https://www.microcenter.com/site/content/custom-pc-builder.aspx?load=b6ac0592-5e11-4d0e-8628-bebd8e9e5f10

TSPhillipT

Hello @SunBro_18

Thank you for posting on the Micro Center Community!  

The build you have is looking good!  It's good for the rendering software that you are doing, with just a few changes that I would make to it.  The first change is removing the CPU Cooler as your 3700X will come with a stock Wraith Prism Cooler which is a pretty good cooler for the 3700X.  The next change is removing the 500Gb Samsung 860 EVO SSD 2.5''.  The main reason is that HDDs makes great secondary storage devices, as you aren't really needing the speed for secondary storage unless you have plans on editing high resolution videos.  

SunBro_18

Okay, I took the advice you gave, I am also curious how you feel about the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti GPU, my friend suggested a GeForce GTX 1070. Also, do you have an HDD you recommend for my build?

TSPhillipT

Here is a comparison between the two GPUs; https://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Nvidia-RTX-3060-Ti-vs-Nvidia-GTX-1070/4090vs3609

I would look at the 3060Ti if you are using your GPU for rendering as well as having plans for gaming as well.  

SunBro_18

So, I can't seem to find a 3060Ti at any Micro Center, New egg, etc. Do you know when you might be back in stock? Or any suggestions on what to look for in other GPUs? I figure 8GB, but I don't know else what would be important to consider for my needs.

Ian

SunBro_18 said:

So, I can't seem to find a 3060Ti at any Micro Center, New egg, etc. Do you know when you might be back in stock? Or any suggestions on what to look for in other GPUs? I figure 8GB, but I don't know else what would be important to consider for my needs.

Sadly at this time we do not have a good way to estimate new stock on these cards. Our stores get them in periodically and the best way to currently get a card is visit your local store.

SunBro_18

The problem is I don't live near a shop. Do you suggest waiting till their back in stock or look for a different GPU? Cause the 3060Ti seems pretty popular.

TSTDavey

Hey @SunBro_18 just chiming in. These 3060, 3070, 3080 cards are in very high-demand. To get one from us you literally have to be in the store when the random delivery truck pulls up to deliver the one, two or three 3000 series cards to the store. If you're really wanting to get one of these cards unfortunately you'll have be in store for the above scenario or pay a premium (cost and demand) for this card from a online retailer. Amazon has the 3060 Ti online from different oversea sellers but at a high cost for the card. Its a struggle for retailers to keep this cards stocked. Another option would be to wait till the demand for this card goes down, then attempt to get the card from us or another retailer locally. Just sharing some information.

SunBro_18

That was my thought, I am building this pc for my school projects so I was thinking of purchasing a GPU to use for the time being then get the 3060ti when the demand goes down. Do you have a GPU you suggest to get for the time being?

JS_MC

My recommendation would be to see if you can find something decent on the used market. Check your local area for what GPUs you might be able to find. Otherwise, I'd see if a friend might be interested in buying your interim GPU from you after a bit of time. You'll be taking a bit of a loss buying new. Might as well help a friend out, right? If you're buying new, I'd recommend somewhere around the $200 range. Blender's system requirements page has a great example of specs recommendations for using these types of programs.

https://www.blender.org/download/requirements/

I'd recommend a GPU with at least 4GB of VRAM. (GeForce 400 and newer is required.)

Another option for you is the EVGA Step-up program which will allow you to buy a card and then upgrade within 90 days, just pay the difference. It's an option but it might not be for everyone. I'd recommend you take a look.

Hope this helps!