Graphics card for animation?

[ANB]

Hi, all. Although competent, im not a techno-expert, and need a bit of guideance upgrading my PC. Im an animation student and have exhausted my pc (notably my graphics card) with all the 3D rendering.

Im willing to spend up to the £120 providing it will give a sidnificant boost in performance. Its a Mesh PC (about 5 years old) so will list all relevent specs. Feel free to mention any other needed ugrades. sofware most used; 3DS MAX, ZBRUSH, and CS5 (AFX, PHOTOSHOP, PREMIER). Thanks in advance;

Elite FX (CMT)

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Quad Core Processor (2.4GHz, 8MB Cache, 1066MHz)
PCI - Express Mainboard - SLI nForce 650i SLI (C55) - Intel Core 2 Duo/Quad-Core - ATX
4GB DDR2 667MHz Memory - 2x 2GB
2x 256mb nVIDIA GeForce 8500GT - SLI Configuration

P.s. well aware that i need more RAM. Max capacity of motherboard is 8GB, so will max it out.

Thanks again.
Aaron

 

[ANB]

Forgot to metion; ideally i dont want to spend more than £250 for total upgardes since i also need a new monitor (which of course takes highest priorty, since i no longer have one). Thanks Again

 

[Kamen_BG]

Well the best upgrade i could do for you (value wise) is this.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD Phenom II X6 1045T 2.7GHz 6-Core Processor (£82.14 @ Scan.co.uk)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard (£51.29 @ CCL Computers)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£60.14 @ Scan.co.uk)
Total: £193.57
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

It will boost your performance VERY significantly.

Or if you want something even better but still within your budget you could buy this instead.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3450 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor (£139.94 @ CCL Computers)
Motherboard: MSI B75MA-P45 Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (£47.70 @ Scan.co.uk)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£60.14 @ Scan.co.uk)
Total: £247.78
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

It's a bit better than the AMD based machine and a LOT better than the one you've got now.

 

[refillable]

Would you mind selling old parts?

I think you might save £100 from selling the CPU, GPU, Motherboard, RAM, etc.

Otherwise, I would recommend getting a Hexa Core Phenom II, a 970 Motherboard, some RAMs and a new GPU (I would recommend a 6850). It might cost you a bit more but you will give you a good boost.

 

[ANB]

Well the best upgrade i could do for you (value wise) is this.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD Phenom II X6 1045T 2.7GHz 6-Core Processor (£82.14 @ Scan.co.uk)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard (£51.29 @ CCL Computers)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£60.14 @ Scan.co.uk)
Total: £193.57
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

It will boost your performance VERY significantly.

Or if you want something even better but still within your budget you could buy this instead.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3450 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor (£139.94 @ CCL Computers)
Motherboard: MSI B75MA-P45 Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (£47.70 @ Scan.co.uk)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£60.14 @ Scan.co.uk)
Total: £247.78
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

It's a bit better than the AMD based machine and a LOT better than the one you've got now.

Hi, thanks for the reply

So essentially i need a whole new computer? i didnt plan on gettin a new cpu or motherboard. im no expert, but i thought they were both fine? is there no graphics card i compatilbe with my motherboad that will boost performance?

 

[ANB]

Would you mind selling old parts?

I think you might save £100 from selling the CPU, GPU, Motherboard, RAM, etc.

Otherwise, I would recommend getting a Hexa Core Phenom II, a 970 Motherboard, some RAMs and a new GPU (I would recommend a 6850). It might cost you a bit more but you will give you a good boost.

if i can make £100 from sellin my components i'd happily do it. is there n alternative to ebay though? not a fan of it, been screwed a few times too many.

 

[refillable]

Not sure... Not a master on that haha. But I heard about http://www.craigslist.org/about/sites/ from other users.