PC Workstation for Cinema 4D Simulations (X-Particles & TurbulenceFD) & Houdini

[kerim]

@Alex Glawion can you verify my findings? and also I have one last question at the bottom.
I am very sorry for being a such a noob :/

I choose Fractal Design Define 7 Compact

Define 7 Compact

The new Define 7 Compact takes the strongest features of the contemporary 7 Series design and places them in a conveniently compact frame.

www.fractal-design.com

1. Does the case fit the Motherboard? (ATX)
YES - It says: Motherboard compatibility: ATX / mATX / Mini-ITX

2. Is it wide enough for the CPU Cooler (I think Dark Rock Pro 4 needs at least 165mm)?
YES - It says: CPU cooler max height: 169 mm

3. Is it deep enough for the GPU?
YES, I guess..
It says: Fits GPUs up to 360mm with a 240mm radiator in the top.
My GPU says: Height: 111.15mm. Length: 285.37mm. Width: 2.2 Slots.

EVGA GeForce RTX 3080 XC3 ULTRA GAMING, 10G-P5-3885-KR, 10GB GDDR6X, iCX3 Cooling, ARGB LED, Metal Backplate

The EVGA GeForce RTX 3080 delivers the unprecedented performance that gamers crave for 4K resolution gaming, powered by the NVIDIA Ampere architecture. It's built with enhanced RT Cores and Tensor Cores, new streaming multiprocessors, and superfast G6X memory for an amazing gaming experience...

www.evga.com

Just one last detail, I don't know how to be sure. Can I add a second GPU in the future? How can I measure this?

 

[Alex Glawion]

Hey Kerim, looks good to me!

Yes you can add another GPU. You have the following PCIE Config: 3x PCIe 4.0 x16 (1x x16, 1x x8, 1x x4)

Cheers
Alex

 

[Alex Glawion]

Just a heads up: We ran some X-Particles Cache Build Benchmarks and compared some of our CPUs here.

 

[kerim]

@Alex Glawion thanks for informing. Very precious and rare statistics out there!

 

[kalbey]

Thank you all for this thread.

Hey kerim, how has your experience been with your build and x-particles? I am thinking of doing the same rig.
-are you satisfied?
-do you have any problems?
-everything fine with the motherboard running thunderbolt 3?

 

[kerim]

Hello Kalbey,

I am pretty happy and quite satisfied. As also seen in X-Particles benchmark of this community, 5900X is one of the best choices.
But still, there is a general problem about X-Particles that fall below my expectations. If you want to crank up high or want to deeply experiment with fluid solvers, it chokes. X-Particles need to move on GPU-simulation immediately to overcome those issues, otherwise, you have to depend on caching workflow and it prevents you from iterations and fine art-directions
If you keep your style minimalist and stay in safe zones then it is great.

Arnold is very usable with 5900X, but still, you have to rely on render farm for long sequences.
And Redshift is fast with RTX3080, so I am happy with it.

For Thunderbolt 3 with my motherboard, I have a minor issue, otherwise, everything is perfect.
That minor issue is:
I am using two Apple Thunderbolt displays, and connecting them with daisy-chaining via a single Thunderbolt-2-to-3 convertor.
And when the second display is connected to the first display, Windows doesn't start, continuously gives blue-screen error.
The fix is first starting the system with a single display connected then I connect the second display when Windows is started, and everything works fine.
Yes, it is a bit annoying, but still, I am thankful that I can utilize both displays as two-display-setup eventually. Because to get real, that display isn't created for such rig.
Maybe if I buy a second Thunderbolt-2-to-3 converter and connect the second display without daisy-chaining, this problem may disappear, but it is not a cheap converter so I handle it for now.

 

[kalbey2]

Hey kerim
I’ve followed this whole thread and your feedback and set up a powerful rig with a 5950x and rtx 3090. Big thanks to your questions and especially to Adam and all that responded and helped me/many others regarding this topic.

I went with a asrock x570 creator and I’m having trouble connecting it to a apple xdr display. Not working no matter what I do. Both are stated to be thunderbolt 3. The screen and my system works, everything runs fine. No problems with electricity or cables.

I’ve moved on from trying to figure out how to connect gpu to monitor. I am now trying to connect mobo itself to the XDR. What do you reckon is the solution here? Any tips?

 

[kerim]

Hello Kalbey,
Do you use a Thunderbolt Expansion Card?
I have zero experience with Apple XDR, since it is a Thunderbolt 3 device.
My case was with a Thunderbolt 2 device (Apple Thunderbolt Display).
But as far as I know, you need a Titan Ridge (not Alpine) supported expansion card. That should allow to work with Apple XDR display.