The CGDirector PC-Builder helps you find the best Computer and Workstation Parts for your specific use case and available budget, by recommending highly compatible and best-performing hardware:
PC-Builder
How does the PC-Builder know what parts are best?
First and foremost, the PC-Builder relies on Benchmarks.
Every Hardware Component available to the PC-Builder Tool, has been put through a Series of popular Benchmarks that tell us exactly how well it performs.
Benchmarks include Cinebench, Geekbench, several GPU & CPU Render Engines such as Octane, Redshift, Vray and real-world Applications Benchmarks for all kinds of Digital Content Creation & CAD Software.
For maximum compatibility we have a lot of hardware specifications and manual testing & experience to source from.
Missing specific Parts / Brands?
We are extending the CGDirector PC Builder constantly. Right now, the best Hardware Components from Asus, MSI, Corsair, Seasonic, be quiet, AMD, Intel, Nvidia, Fractal Design, Samsung, Adata, ASROCK, Western Digital, Seagate, Gigabyte, Noctua, Phanteks, Crucial, Fractal Design have been added.
More will follow, after we were able to test them thoroughly, and if we find the parts to be reliable.
Laptop Brands currently include MSI, Asus, Razer, Gigabyte with more to follow soon.
Why is the Budget Min / Max capped?
Minimum and Maximum Budget is purposely capped in the PC-Builder. This is because it would not make sense in getting an even cheaper or even more expensive PC than the suggested range for the selected use-case.
More expensive than the suggested maximum could lower the performance (as the most expensive parts are not necessarily the best for your specific use case) and less expensive than the minimum suggested budget will most likely underwhelm you in your specific use-case experience.
How does the PC-Builder calculate the parts
We assigned a minimum and maximum percentage of the total cost, that a given part is allowed to cost. This is based on our experience in building and using lots and lots of different Computers and Workstations for all kinds of use-cases.
Example GPU-Rendering:
When we select the “Purpose: GPU-Rendering”, the cheapest suggested Build consists of Parts that are very similar in price.
The CPU and GPU, for example, both cost around 200$. So both will have about 25% of the total allowed Budget assigned.
In the maximum GPU-Rendering Build, the 4x 2080Tis cost much more (5196$) than the CPU (1900X – 399$), because, of course, in GPU-Rendering the GPUs are much more important and therefore may use up much more of the total Budget.
In this case, the GPUs use up 70% of the budget and the rest of the parts are comparatively cheap.
This means, the PC-Builder gets assigned a minimumBudget-part-allowed-percentage and maximumBudget-part-allowed-percentage and in-between automatically interpolates depending on the given budget.
Of course, things such, # of GPUs, # of PCIe-Slots on the Mainboard, Power Consumption, Socket matching the Mainboard, and so on, are taken into consideration for maximum compatibility.
As always though, the tool might not be entirely free of errors and we recommend to use it with caution and only use the suggested Parts as a basis for discussion and to build upon.
How are Laptops Recommended?
The Laptop recommendation Tool is much simpler than the PC-Builder Tool, as the Laptops are already pre-built. There are different underlying Benchmarks for every Purpose, that define which Laptop is best within a certain price-range. This can vary slightly, depending on the availability and current price of the Laptops.
This way, the tool always recommends the best performing Laptops for Video Editing or Laptops for Animation for example, even if there might be more expensive Laptops that would ultimately, though, have lower performance.
Have some Parts picked but don’t know how to assemble them? Check our PC-Building Guide on how to assemble a PC.
Feel Free to ask for suggestions on your PC-Build in the Comments.
Hello, here below is my configuration. It is for intensive scientific work (dual boot linux and windows). Any comments or suggestions? I have checked the QLV of the motherboard and all components are compatible. My budget is $1700-$1800
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600X 3.8 GHz 6-Core Processor
Motherboard: Asus ROG Strix X570-E Gaming ATX AM4 Motherboard
Memory: G.Skill Trident Z Neo 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 Memory
Storage: Samsung 970 Evo Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 1660 Ti 6 GB DUAL OC Video Card
Case: NZXT S340 Elite ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: Corsair RM (2019) 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply
Monitor: Dell UP2716D 27.0″ 2560×1440 60 Hz Monitor
Thanks
Hi Alex,
I’m looking to build a system for editing on Adobe Premiere and AE. Will be using 4K footage so I would like a 64GB RAM. Budget is around $2500. I see that you usually recommend 2 systems, one using a i9-9900K processor but at a max of 32GB RAM or an AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 3.8GHz 12-Core Processor with a board that supports 64GB RAM. Is there an option with the i9 and a board that supports 64GB? And if so, should I go that way or stay with the AMD option? Lastly, do you have an option for the fractal design case. Many times is not available and when it is, shipping is pretty expensive. Thanks for your help.
Best regards,
Carlos
Hi Carlos,
Thanks for asking!
I can actually configure a i9-9900K build for you with 64GB of RAM but I don’t tend to recommend an Intel build because it’s sort of a “dead-end” platform at the moment while a Ryzen build gives you more options in terms of upgrade path.
Please see below for a Ryzen build:
Parts List:
CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 3.8GHz 12-Core Processor ($499.99)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock 4 AM4 ($74.90)
Motherboard: MSI MPG x570 Gaming Pro Carbon Wifi ATX AM4 ($239.99)
GPU: NVIDIA RTX 2070 SUPER 8GB – MSI Gaming X ($549.99)
Memory: 64GB (4 x 16GB) Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4-3200 CL16 ($309.99)
Storage SSD: Samsung 860 EVO 2TB 2.5″ Solid State Drive ($229.99)
Storage PCIe-SSD: Samsung 970 EVO PLUS 1TB M.2 Solid State Drive ($199.99)
Storage HDD: Seagate BarraCuda Compute 8TB, 3.5″ ($139.99)
Power Supply: Corsair RMx Series RM650x 650W ATX 2.4 Power Supply ($117.99)
Case: Corsair 275R Airflow Tempered Glass Mid-Tower Gaming Case ($93.50)
Total: $2406.32
And in case you really want an Intel build, you can get something like the below:
CPU: Intel i9 9900k 3.6GHz 8-Core Processor ($489.99)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 1151 ($89.90)
Motherboard: ASUS Prime Z390-A ATX 1151 ($179.99)
GPU: NVIDIA RTX 2070 SUPER 8GB – MSI Gaming X ($549.99)
Memory: 64GB (4 x 16GB) Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4-3200 CL16 ($309.99)
Storage SSD: Samsung 860 EVO 2TB 2.5″ Solid State Drive ($229.99)
Storage PCIe-SSD: Samsung 970 EVO PLUS 1TB M.2 Solid State Drive ($199.99)
Storage HDD: Seagate BarraCuda Compute 8TB, 3.5″ ($139.99)
Power Supply: Corsair RMx Series RM650x 650W ATX 2.4 Power Supply ($117.99)
Case: Corsair 275R Airflow Tempered Glass Mid-Tower Gaming Case ($93.50)
Total: $2401.32
Both builds I put together will cost you around $2,400 and some change but you with either a Ryzen 3900X or an i9-9900K with 64GB or RAM at your system, you can expect your workflow to be much faster and much smoother. You also get three separate storage options – one 2.5” SSD for your OS and other commonly used programs, a very fast 1TB NVMe SSD for the files you need to work on, and an 8TB HDD for your other files. Also, I totally took out the Fractal Design option for your case and instead replaced it with the Corsair 275R. Hopefully, that’s easier to come by in your area.
Cheers,
Alex
Hello! I’m looking to do a $2500 (max) build for AE, C4D, Octane, and some video editing. Will also heavily use Figma/Adobe products so I tweaked this recommendation to have an i9 CPU instead of AMD due to single core performance. Would like to have a rad RGB colored case…. but not sure about having enough room to add a second GPU (in ~2 years if it’s needed) + fans. Any recommendations with fans / case would be great. Thinking about adding some more storage. as well…. Thanks!
CG Director.com Parts List: https://www.cgdirector.com/pc-builder/?=yc1Ggd00lif
PC Part Picker thus far: https://pcpartpicker.com/user/sydas/saved/pmHk6h
Hey Sydas,
You’ve got a solid build there! I’d go for a higher watt psu if you plan to add another gpu in the future. 850W should do it.
Having an nvme ssd would give you some extra overall performance, so thinkg about going with a samsung 970 evo plus for example, as extra storage for your project files in addition to your sata ssd (os/apps).
The Fractal Design Define XL R2 has lots of room for expansion and adding extra gpus, no trouble there 🙂
Cheers,
Alex
Well that is unfortunate. Under main purpose for build you do not have CAD applications. Fancy renderings are fun and all but I need to have an assembly full of thousands of parts some with accuracy of .01 mm not crash. Kind of pointless to have a fancy rendering of a car motorcycle etc if you can not make the underlying assembly with all its parts and the production drawings made from them.
Hey Zartoc,
Agreed! We have been working on the CAD category for while as it takes some more work to get right, should be done soon 🙂
Cheers,
Alex
Hey Alex,
thank you so much for your list and the pc builder. Its a super helpful tool.
In lots of machines for 3d/ gpu rendering I see some kind of EVGA Hybrid card. What makes them so popular with folks? And why do you recommend the a NVIDIA RTX 2080TI 11GB – Asus Turbo over for example a EVGA RTX 2080TI 11GB Hybrid card?
Cheers,
Malte
Hey Malte,
Hybrid Cards are often very popular because they use a AIO water cooling solution and therefore benefit from lower temps making it possible to boost higher at decent noise levels.
The thing though is, you needs lots of room in the case to fit all those radiators, and expecially with multi-gpu builds of up to 4 gpus, you won’t be able to fit all of your hybrid cards in most cases.
The reason I recommend Asus Turbo or other “Blower-Style” GPUs, is that they perform better when stacked (when very little room is left in-between the gpus) as is the case in multi-gpu setups.
If you will only get one GPU, go open-air cooled or hybrid, if you plan on expanding or getting 3 or 4 gpus, then you should look at blower-style gpus for best performance.
Cheers,
Alex
Hi Alex, that makes a lot of sense. Thank you for your explanation. I was looking into getting the Lian Li O11D XL Full Tower which is supposed to hold up to 4 x hybrid cards and fans. But maybe I should follow your advice and go with your suggested set up.
Since I live in Europe and all your links go to amazon,com, is there a way I can tip you for your help?
Thank you again.
Thanks Malte, did you check if one of our links is available in your country?
https://www.cgdirector.com/support-us/
Thanks! 🙂
Alex
Hello, I am working on building a pc for my daughter for xmas. She is a 3rd yr animation student. I utilized the build based on budget, but I have some questions. I want to swap the AMD Ryzen to the AMD Ryzen 9 3900 and thinking (price) of changing the the power supply to Cosair cx750 (https://www.bestbuy.com/site/corsair-cx-series-modular-cx750m-750w-80-plus-bronze-atx-power-supply-black/8324202.p?skuId=8324202)(modular). Or would you recommend Corsair CX Series 750 Watt (2017) 80 Plus Bronze Certified Non-Modular Power Supply (CP-9020123-NA)
(https://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Bronze-Certified-Non-Modular-CP-9020123-NA/dp/B01N9KIFWF/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=CORSAIR+-+CX+Series+Modular+CX750M+750W+80+Plus+Bronze+ATX+Power+Supply+-+Black&qid=1575654317&s=electronics&sr=1-1)
For the CPU will upgrading that require any other changes? Also when changing to modular will I need to purchase wires separate for the components in this list or will they be included? (I know it sounds dumb but the non modular has wires attached so I want to make sure I can assemble it and get everything I need the 1st time around. This site is extremely helpful and I have learned a lot, excellent job.
Suggested build
CGDirector.com Parts List: https://www.cgdirector.com/pc-builder/?=Aq1Eg0c0jke
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 3.6GHz 8-Core Processor ($299.99)
CPU Cooler: AMD Wraith Prism Cooler (Included with CPU) (-)
Motherboard: Gigabyte X570 Aorus Elite ATX AM4 ($199.99)
GPU: NVIDIA RTX 2070 SUPER 8GB – MSI Gaming X ($549.99)
Memory: 32GB (2 x 16GB) Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4-3200 CL16 ($159.99)
Storage PCIe-SSD: Samsung 970 EVO 1TB M.2 Solid State Drive ($149.99)
Power Supply: Corsair CX Series CX550 550W ATX 2.4 Power Supply ($74.99)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case ($105.38)
Total: $1540.32
Your time is greatly appreciated
Kandy
Hi Kandy,
Thanks for dropping a line and thank you for the kind words!
In case you push through with your plan of changing the CPU to the Ryzen 9 3900X, no other changes to your previously selected components will be needed.
As for the PSU, the choice between a modular and non-modular PSU is purely based on user preference. Your two 750W choices are pretty much similar except one’s modular and the other is not. If you go for the modular one, it already comes with the cables you need so you need not worry about this. If you choose the non-modular model, you just need to do a little bit more of cable management but ultimately, whatever cable you don’t need can neatly be tucked inside the PSU shroud of your case.
Cheers,
Alex
I’m looking to build a box for GPU rendering. Based on the benchmarks, it seems that 2070 is the best bang for your buck. Why do you recommend getting the multiple 2080 / single TI in the recommender versus 2 x 2070s?
Hey Brian,
There are many things to consider when chosing your parts. Do you want to add more gpus in the future? Going for 2x 2070 now might give you less possibilities to expand in the future.
Does the Mainboard support two GPUs at sufficient pcie-lane speeds or do you need a stronger Mainboard for SLI or triple or quad gpu?
In the end, you are right, going with multiple middle tier gpus is cheaper for users who will settle on such a system long-term, especially if you specialize _just_ on GPU rendering. If you use other Software like photoshop or premiere too though, you will not benefit from multiple GPUs at all.
If it’s for octane or redshift only for example, then by all means go with the best bang fo the buck option 🙂
Cheers,
Alex
hey,am a graphic designer,beginner but am confused between core i5 and core i7.which is better than the other? cos i hear there those core i5 that are better than i7. please clarify which one to use
Hey Sammy,
In general i7 describes a higher tier cpu than the i5 though in the end it really depends on what workloads you have. Although i5 cpus usually have fewer cores than i7, they can be clocked higher. So if you don’t rely on many cores (for example for gaming), an i5 can be faster than an i7.
Cheers,
Alex
This article helped me a lot with looking at a lot of options within different budgets! I was wanting a computer for semi heavy gaming (BO4, PUBG, etc.). How would this setup fit my needs? Any feedback would be appreciated!
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3800X 3.9GHz 8-Core Processor ($369.99)
CPU Cooler: AMD Wraith Prism Cooler (Included with CPU) (-)
Motherboard: ASUS ROG X570 Crosshair VIII Hero ($359.99)
GPU: NVIDIA RTX 2060 6GB – MSI Gaming ($382.88)
Memory: 32GB (2 x 16GB) Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4-3200 CL16 ($159.99)
Storage SSD: Samsung 970 EVO Plus SSD 250GB ($69.99)
Power Supply: Corsair CX Series CX550 550W ATX 2.4 Power Supply ($74.99)
Case: NZXT H510 – ATX Mid-Tower ($69.95)
Edit: My budget is around 1500-2000 USD, and can you suggest any good articles that explain the exact numbers in CPUs and GPUs?
Hey Dylan,
Looks like a great build that will perform nicely in your desired games. You could think about going with a 3700X and upgrading the GPU to a 2060 Super though, as this will benefit you more in gaming.
Everything else looks fine 🙂
Check these two posts for an explanation on naming for gpus and cpus:
http://blog.logicalincrements.com/2014/06/graphics-cards-what-do-the-numbers-mean/
https://www.techconsumerguide.com/a-simple-guide-to-amd-ryzen-naming-scheme/
Cheers,
Alex
Hi there! I used the PC-Builder to purchase a new rig, details here:
AMD Ryzen 9 3900x 3.8GHz 12-Core Processor
be quiet! Dark Rock 4 AM4
MSI MPG x570 Gaming Plus ATX AM4
Nvidia RTX 2080 8GB – Asus Turbo
Nvidia RTX 2080 8GB – Asus Turbo
64GB (4 x 16GB) Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4-3200 CL16
Samsung 860 EVO 1TB 2.5” Solid State Drive
Corsair Rez Series Platinum RM850x 850W Power Supply
Fractal Design Define XL R2 Titanium Big Tower Case
I’m having trouble setting up both Nvidia RTX 2080 cards. NVIDIA documentation said to use a NV Link SLI Bridge, but I’m finding out the motherboard doesn’t support SLI. Any feedback is appreciated, this is all pretty new to me!
Hey Mark,
Yes you are absolutely right. If you want to use the Cards with NVlink you will need a SLI capable motherboard. Although the MSI MPG x570 Gaming Plus supports the usage of two GPUs, nvlink, which is quite a special feature, will require a higher tier motherboard such as the MSI MEG X570 Unify or Gigabyte X570 Aorus Pro (or some others).
What workload would you like to run with nvlink? Vray?
Cheers,
Alex
Hi Alex,
Thank you for the reply! I’ll be using it for Cinema 4D with Octane render & After Effects. So the MSI MPG x570 Gaming Plus can support two Nvidia RTX 2080 8GB – Asus Turbo’s? When I plug the 2nd one in I can’t get a monitor signal from any HDMI.
Thanks,
Mark
Yes it supports one gpu at x16 pcie4 speeds and one gpu at x4 pcie4 speeds. Have you tried both individually to rule out if one of the gpus might be at fault? Have you tried just plugging into the second pcie x16 slot?
I am not sure how well nvlink runs on octane, might want to take a look at this post here: https://render.otoy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=69896&start=10
Cheers,
Alex
I tested out both cards + slots & it looks like the 2nd lower slot isn’t responding to either card. I am going to return/exchange the board, what are your thoughts on this NVlink compatible motherboard replacement? Appreciate the continued feedback! https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16813157883
Thanks,
Mark
Hey Mark,
Yes the Asrock x570 Taichi has NVIDIA 2-Way-SLI (x8/x8), AMD 3-Way-CrossFireX (x8/x8, x8/x8/x4) support, so you should have no trouble setting up NVLINK on the board.
Just make sure the nvlink bridge you have is wide enough, as the first two pcie slots are over two slots apart. (But same as on teh MSI MPG x570 Gaming Plus ATX AM4, just want to make sure you have all the necessary bridge lengths.)
Cheers,
Alex