Best configuration for 3d animation

[Qball613]

I am currently in a predicament. i am trying to decide on the best configuration for animation in 3ds max and mudbox that works the best and has the fastest rendering time. i also want a decent graphics card and a fair amount of ram that will allow me to have a maximum amount of polygons without freezing.

i am currently running on a toshiba laptop running an intel centrino duo at 2.0 ghz per core
1 gig of ram and an integrated graphics card.

i have a budget of 4000 $ to buy this new machine but that can always be expanded

many thanks in advance
Qball

 

[dragonsprayer]

i7 system you can not go wrong at 3.8ghz

as far as the video card research your apps and see which cards work best, you might ask the company or even forums of sites that cater to 3d workers and such.

the i7 high memory bandwidth is benfitial

 

[roadrunner197069]

+1 for the I7.

Also get some SSD drives in raid 0 to speed up large file sizes.

Send me a PM if you require more help. I would be happy to help you out.

 

[Qball613]

thanks for the posts all this has been quite helpful in my research

i am currently debating between an ati firegl or an nvidea quattro. if you have any oppinions on them please let me know

 

[roadrunner197069]

I have no idea about those cards, they are supposed to be good for what you do.

Check your software sites for forums and see what ithers are using and what kinda results they get.

I never researched the apps you use but they could be heavy on the cpu and not need a gpu like that.

Do some homework before you lay down the cash.

 

[bravo29]

Check with autodesk on which card to use. This is dependant on what type of animation you are doing.

Running max 9, maya, softimage, truspace. Each software reacts differently depending on what card.

Between nvidia and ATI each have patches to which card you use. I prefer the ATI fire cards. I have no crashes or issues with them. Softimage does have alittle qwerks with ATI cards but its something I can live with.

 

[Qball613]

thanks for the help i prob will go with the ati card because i am running 3dsmax 8

 

[jerry6]

Check with autodesk on which card to use. This is dependant on what type of animation you are doing.

Running max 9, maya, softimage, truspace. Each software reacts differently depending on what card.

Between nvidia and ATI each have patches to which card you use. I prefer the ATI fire cards. I have no crashes or issues with them. Softimage does have alittle qwerks with ATI cards but its something I can live with.

here are my scores on spec view 10 with HP 8510 X-9000 ATI FIRE GL 5600 3 GB RAM XPP AND 32O GB 7200 RPM HD
3dsmax-04 36.74
catia-02 36.06
ensight-03 23.91
maya-02 108.55
proe-04 35.73
sw-01 72.55
tcvis-01 21.52
ugnx-01 18.12
the CPU will be a big help with 3-d , get the best cpu you can , it does all the calculations , i noticed a huge dif change fro t-7500 to x-9000
A QUADRO 1600 and up will do even better , but the $$ go way up . I get very good 3-d perf in CAD and other 3-d apps .

more on gpu here
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Graphics-Cards-Benchmark-List.844.0.html
______________

 

[dragonsprayer]

good post jerry!

bottom line in workstations and 3d's is money get you drivers and hardware and teh fastest cpu and highest memory bandwidth is key

 

[jerry6]

my post above made the assumption you were talking laptop , if desktop /workstation , get a dual or multi socket motherboard, with multi GPUS , you can add GPU and mem as budget allows . $4000.00 should get you a good starter workstation that will rip through those 3-d applications .

 

[Raviolissimo]

you can get an awesome system for $1500.

i started with CG for engineering in 1988 (finite element analysis, solid modelling) & started learning animation aps. in 2005.

i would say, just get a quad core, e.g. the 9650 with 8 GB DDR2 RAM & either XP64 or Vista 64.

beyond the 9650, it's really diminishing returns. might as well save your money for the dual socket version of Core i7 or Phenom2.

i have a Q9550 running XP64, with Max 9 & Maya 8.5.

if you want to continue working on a laptop, HP's quadcore is a beaut -
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834147924

HP HDX 18-1180US NoteBook Intel Core 2 Quad Q9000(2.00GHz) 18.4" 4GB Memory 500GB HDD 5400rpm BD Combo NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT
$1849

 

[Wisecracker]

What Raviolissimo said.

There is a huge price premium paid for the performance gained beyond a Phenom II 940 or a Q9550 build.

Tom's latest 3dSM benchies:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/phenom-ii-940,2114-23.html

For a mere $338 you may purchase a Ph II 940 / Asus M3A78-T combo:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.155922

Buy 5 of them and build a render farm -

 

[jerry6]

you can get an awesome system for $1500.

i started with CG for engineering in 1988 (finite element analysis, solid modelling) & started learning animation aps. in 2005.

i would say, just get a quad core, e.g. the 9650 with 8 GB DDR2 RAM & either XP64 or Vista 64.

beyond the 9650, it's really diminishing returns. might as well save your money for the dual socket version of Core i7 or Phenom2.

i have a Q9550 running XP64, with Max 9 & Maya 8.5.

if you want to continue working on a laptop, HP's quadcore is a beaut -
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834147924

HP HDX 18-1180US NoteBook Intel Core 2 Quad Q9000(2.00GHz) 18.4" 4GB Memory 500GB HDD 5400rpm BD Combo NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT
$1849

I would staY away from that model , get an HP Elitebook business class laptop ,3 year nbd on site warranty/repairs much beTter build , certified open GL GPU and 100 times better build quality . And the business service reps are much better than consumer class , I know I've dealt with both

 

[bravo29]

What Raviolissimo said.

There is a huge price premium paid for the performance gained beyond a Phenom II 940 or a Q9550 build.

Tom's latest 3dSM benchies:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/phenom-ii-940,2114-23.html

For a mere $338 you may purchase a Ph II 940 / Asus M3A78-T combo:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.155922

Buy 5 of them and build a render farm -

Shoot I can probably cut that price by $100. I have a 10 server render farm and each are running 4 gig mem, El cheapo video card, 100 gig WD HD, $39 intel motherboard, intel E4300 processor, decent PSU. All for about $200 each. Tiger direct usually has some good deals sometimes for barebones render farm PC's.