Jason Vickey - 3D rendering and video editing PC

Jason says his rig is performing very well, being the first time he’s used a professional style 3D card. “I’m currently using a mainstream laptop to game on (ouch), so I should have spent the money on getting a new gaming rig, but, alas, I listened to my head instead and got the 3D rendering rig.”

Core System

CPU: INTEL CORE i7 950 - $705
3.06GHz, 8MB CACHE
I was able to go for a Core i7 processor, which packs plenty of cache and has speed to burn. Although not the cheapest CPU, it really does fly and is well worth the price. I’m using the stock cooler so I am not overclocking the processor.
 
MOTHERBOARD: MSI X58PRO-E Intel X58 Express - $229
For $229 it was hard to go past this X58 board. With DDR3 and 1,600MHz triple channel memory it has all the bases covered.

MEMORY: 12GB CORSAIR HX3X3 HEX PACK - $349
6 x 2GB DDR3 1,600MHz
This is a DDR3 kit, it’s fast and, at $30 a GB, is decent value as well. Rendering is known for being a RAM hog and 12GB means it will never be in short supply.
 
GRAPHICS: LEADTEK QUADRO FX 1700 512MB Dual DVI - $795
This was the single largest expense in this system. I’m using a specialised card to do the rendering/editing, it really is fast and worth every penny, but not much chop for gaming, however.

AUDIO: Onboard sound & generic 2.0 speaker setup - $0
The onboard sound is ample. Not using the PC for multimedia means that anything other than a 2.0 channel speaker setup is not worth it.
 
HDD: 2 x Seagate Barracuda 1.5TB 7,200rpm - $306 ($153 each)
I’ve always used Seagate drives. I find them reliable and with tons of space for the money. I went for two of them as the rendered files are very large.

HDD 3: Seagate 250GB 7,200rpm Barracuda - $52
The third drive is for the OS and applications.

OPTICAL DRIVE 1: PIONEER DVD Burner DVR-218LBK SATA 22x DVDSL - $43
Cheap, good brand and burns multiple formats.

OPTICAL DRIVE 2: LG DVD Multi-format Burner 20z - $40
This is a slightly older drive that I already had from another PC.

PSU: GIGABYTE Odin 720-watt ATX PSU - $149
I have used GIGABYTE power supplies for a while now. I chose a 720-watt model because my system has many parts. Although the individual components aren’t too much of a strain, there are five drives plus the video card, so reliable power is important.
 
CASE: GIGABYTE 3D-MARS Black Full Tower ATX - $199
A nice, large and well laid out case. Plenty of cooling options since it includes 3 x 120mm fans. Looks good too, matching the system well.

Core system cost: $2,827

EXTRAS

MONITOR: 2 x BenQ G2220HD 21.5in Full HD - $358 ($179 each)
BenQ monitors have excellent resolution, are very good value for money and plenty of screen real estate.

KEYBOARD/MOUSE: Logitech Keyboard & Gigabyte Laser Mouse - $55
These are items I had already, very comfortable to use and cheap too.

OPERATING SYSTEM: WINDOWS 7 ULTIMATE 64-bit - $235 (OEM)
Excellent OS, fast, stable and can address all that lovely memory.