After Effects + 3D rendering PC build, with French twist

[rioyeti]

Hello,

It's been a while, but I really need to change my PC now...
I do primarily After Effects Motion Design work, with the occasional VFX project.
Although my background is in 3D animation, I don't work in the field so much anymore, but I still experiment for personal projects with 3D, and still get the occasional job. While I don't think I need a tank 3D-wise... my main problem with my actual (old) PC are CPU render times... So I'd like to have the ability to get better in this area. Another thing that's fairly important to me is... silence (I won't obsess over water-cooling, but still would prefer the quietest build).

My budget is around 2000€, but there's a twist... I live in France, and some of the components that the Builder advises me to buy can't be found in the places where I've looked, and other are more expensive (I'd prefer to buy everything in the same place to have a complete build).

Here is what the PC-Builder suggests:

CGDirector.com Parts List: https://www.cgdirector.com/pc-builder/?=6NLSQ

CPU: Intel Core i9 13900K 3.0GHz 24-Core Processor ($569.99)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 ($89.90)
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z690 Aero D ATX LGA1700 ($339.99)
GPU: Nvidia RTX 2080 SUPER 8GB - MSI Gaming X Trio ($369.97)
Memory: 32GB (2x16GB) G.Skill Flare X5 Series DDR5-6400 CL32 ($159.99)
Storage PCIe-SSD: Crucial P5 Plus 2TB NVMe M.2 Solid State Drive ($122.99)
Power Supply: Corsair RMx Series Platinum RM850x 850W Power Supply ($196.80)
Case: Fractal Design Define R5 Black ATX Mid Tower Case ($150.07)
Total: $1999.70

And here are 2 builds I was able to piece out in my local online shops (with an extra SSD (one for system, one for working on it)) + an extra 8 To HDD, for stocking backups, projects, and not work related files:

Build 1 (in italic the differences compared to the PC-Builder):

Intel Core i9-13900K (3.0 GHz) 739.99 €
GIGABYTE Z790 AERO G 399.99 €
DDR5 G.Skill Flare X5 Noir - 32 Go (2 x 16 Go) 6000 MHz - CAS 36 259.15 €
Noctua NH-D15 chromax.black 129.99 €
Corsair TM30 (thermal paste) - 3 g 7.24 €
EVGA GeForce RTX 2060 SC Gaming 349.99 €
Crucial P5 Plus 1 To 119.99 €
Crucial P5 Plus 1 To 119.99 €
Seagate IronWolf 8 To 213.99 €
Fractal Design Meshify C Tempered Glass - Noir 109.99 €
Corsair RM850e - 850W 149.99 €
TOTAL : 2600.30 €

Build 2:

Be Quiet DARK ROCK PRO 4 97€94
Intel Core i9 12900K 657€95
Gigabyte Z690 Aorus Master 549€95
G.Skill Flare X5 - 2 x 16 Go (32 Go) - DDR5 6000 MHz - CL36 263€05
EVGA GeForce RTX 2060 SC 369€95
2 x Crucial P5 Plus - 1 To 239€90
Seagate IronWolf Pro - 8 To - 256 Mo 239€95
Be Quiet Silent Base 601 - Black 164€95
Corsair RM850x (2021) - Gold 214€96
TOTAL : 2 798.60€

My main concern would be to make sure I am getting good price/quality with the changes I had to make... Even though I'd prefer to stay around 2000€, if it's really worth it, I can stretch to 2600...

So any suggestion on changes I could make to those builds, either to lower price, or to better quality for the same price, would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks a lot!
Damien

 

[Alex Glawion]

I like your builds!

Concerning quietness: I'd consider having the HDD in a NAS or buy an external HDD, as it can add unnecessary noise to a PC especially if you seldomly use the HDD.

Both the beQuiet Dark Rock Pro 4 and Noctua NH-D15 are great CPU coolers that'll be quiet if you set up your fan curves correctly in the BIOS.

I'm not sure I like the RTX 20xx suggestion in all of the builds here. I'd probably want to go at least with a RTX 30xx GPU. After Effects does have some GPU accelerated effects that'll benefit from a faster GPU. You may also want to tinker with GPU Render engines in 3D Software.

Here's a different build that might be interesting as well. It has an AMD CPU, which draws less power which equals in lower noise from your CPU fans, and comes with a RTX 3080:

CGDirector.com Parts List: https://www.cgdirector.com/pc-builder/?=6NLTf

CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 7950X 4.5GHz 16-Core Processor ($571.00)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 ($89.90)
Motherboard: MSI PRO B650-P WIFI ATX AM5 ($219.99)
GPU: Nvidia RTX 3080 10GB - EVGA FTW3 ($569.99)
Memory: 64GB (2x32GB) G.Skill Flare X5 DDR5-5200 CL36 ($209.99)
Storage SSD: Samsung 870 QVO 2TB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($129.99)
Storage PCIe-SSD: WD Black SN850X 2TB NVMe M.2 Solid State Drive ($181.17)
Power Supply: Corsair RMx Series Platinum RM850x 850W Power Supply ($196.80)
Case: Fractal Design Define R5 Black ATX Mid Tower Case ($150.07)
Total: $2318.90

 

[rioyeti]

Thanks a lot for the fast reply!

The thing is, just as I wasn't able to find an RTX 2080, I can't find a 3080... apparently France doesn't like "8"... so I can only find 3070 or 3060 cards...
Are those good enough? Any alternative you would suggest?

I will look closely at your other suggestions, and see what that brings me in term of price in France. Thanks!

 

[Alex Glawion]

Yes, the 3070 is a good pick as well!

 

[rioyeti]

Ok thanks. The only 3070 available is a Zotac... (never heard of that brand, but it seems legit)

So your new build (if I keep the double 1To + 8To HDD) comes up a bit more expensive than my previous builds...

Here it is:

AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (4.5 GHz) 749.99 €
MSI PRO B650-P WIFI 259.99 €
DDR5 G.Skill Flare X5 Noir - 32 Go (2 x 16 Go) 5200 MHz - CAS 36 225.20 €
be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 94.99 €
Corsair TM30 - 3 g 7.24 €
Zotac GeForce RTX 3070 Ti (LHR) 669.99 €
Samsung Série 970 EVO Plus 1 To 109.99 €
Samsung Série 970 EVO Plus 1 To 109.99 €
Seagate IronWolf Pro 8 To 219.99 €
Fractal Design Define R5 - Noir 169.99 €
TOTAL : 2797.35 €

Would you say this is significantly better than what I had before (apart from the graphic card, which obviously is)?

I could also keep my current 4 To HDD instead of buying a new 8 To... I'm just scared they will eventually fail me, since their a few years old...