My 1st Build > Choosing Components for a CG/VFX Dream-Box

[DeepBlueTWO]

Hello guys,

I have been reading and researching about custom macs for a few months and have learned so much already from this community. I sure wouldn't embrace this task if it wasn't for this website so, huge thanks to everyone who collaborate with it.

I'm currently working on my first build and would really appreciate feedback and advice from you all.

It's been a while since I last put together a build, and some of the technology is new to me (not to mention the anxiety about near-perfect compatibility with macOS and the installation/post-install tools.)

I'm trying to stick as close as possible to the Buyer's Guide, as I wanna make sure I have the resources to build and trouble shoot as well as I can.

Usage =
The box will be used mainly for heavy video editing (many video tracks on top of each other with lots of image processing) as well as for CGI work which requires both GPU and CPU.

Build =
Here is the list of components I'm considering to buy and then some questions I have about them...


i7 7700K (4.2Ghz)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MXSI216/?tag=tonymacx86com-20


*Gigabyte GA-Z270X-UD5 LGA 1151 Intel 2-Way SLI ATX DDR4
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MRYHW6B/?tag=tonymacx86com-20


Ballistix Sport LT 32GB Kit (16GBx2) DDR4 2400 MT/s (PC4-19200) DIMM 288-Pin - BLS4K16G4D240FSB


**Samsung 850 EVO 500Gb - SATA III


EVGA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB SSC GAMING ACX 3.0, 6GB GDDR5, LED, DX12 OSD Support (PXOC) Graphics Card 06G-P4-6267-KR
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LYN9KK6/?tag=tonymacx86com-20


***Corsair Hydro Series H60 High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00A0HZMGA/?tag=tonymacx86com-20


****Corsair RMx Series, RM650x, 650W, Fully Modular Power Supply, 80+ Gold Certified
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B015YEIBJ8/?tag=tonymacx86com-20


Corsair Carbide Series Black 300R Mid-Tower Computer Case


Q's =

* The 2-way SLI seems like a big overkill (sounds like $200 for the MB is a high price) but the Thunderbolt 3 seems like an investment worth paying more...mainly if I decide to buy an external RAID enclosure (like a OWC Thunderbay) later on.
I guess the question is: is it worth investing so much on the MB? And if yes, how can I make better use of the money invested on it? Is overclocking something I can handle?

** Storage is where my main doubts are now. later on, as jobs come though, I'm planning to invest more in storage...maybe an external TH3 RAID enclosure, or even an internal RAID 5 with 4x 2Tb 3.5" SATA disks.
But right now I'm looking for two things: the fastest system disk, and at least 1Tb of storage with as high a transfer rate as I can afford...so...
(1) Should I make good use of a $200-MB by putting together a SSD RAID of 2x or 3x "$mall" SSDs? Any compatibility issues I should know of?
(2) Is NVMe worth paying so much more?
(3) Can I get a RAID using 1x NVMe and 2x Samsung EVO850's?

*** Is a Corsair Hydro Series H60 enough? Any suggestions?

**** Same here...seems like 650 is an overkill already, correct? When should I be concerned with the power supply being enough?

I guess that's it folks. Any other thoughts, advice on components and on foreseeable issues will be reaaaally appreciated.
I look forward to learning more from you all and to post about the build as I move along!

thanks
caio

 

[Jamesbond007]

If you expect you need Thunderbolt 3 then you will need that motherboard. Do you think you will need it? If not, you may want to go for a cheaper motherboard such as the GA-Z270X-UD3. But if you want to overclock the CPU eventually, please note that you will need a Z270 motherboard, and I recommend that you don't go for cheap boards. Cheap boards often try to save on hardware components, using fewer or lesser quality components.

Overall I think your motherboard choice is a good one.