What is the best PC for game asset creation?
vertex
Hey just wanted to know what kind of PC and hardware the professional game industry uses. I want to purchase or maybe build a new PC that hopefully won't ever give me any issues with software and that will last me a long time.
Also are major game companies running their software from a network or are they using Linux with a Windows virtual machine?
Also are major game companies running their software from a network or are they using Linux with a Windows virtual machine?
Replies
64GB RAM
Geforce 1080
Pray tell, what is your budget?
For everyone else, thanks! This is great stuff!
I have heard of companies operating multiple computers off a single network. This enables them to have a room full of computers that connects to a single central station that has a collection of software every computer on that network can operate from. This is common in universities and community colleges.
A virtual machine is an operating system within an operating system. It's a tool common for hackers and people who have Linux and want it to operate like windows or a mac. The reason for this is so that if it gets currupt or begins to run poorly, they can wipe the OS off their computer and restart their PC clean while still having a Linux OS to operate from.
My question is: 1. Do game developers operate on a network in case a computer wears out? 2. Do developers in the game industry use a virtual machine to prevent leaks or hackers from stealing data.
Some specific software like Houdini however has network based licenses which from what I understand you'd distribute from a local server to other computers on the network. Most software isn't like this though and you'd just install a specific key or use a subscription login, and licensing like that varies a lot in specific implementation.
As for managing files without worrying about computer problems: Ideally files would be shared within a private cloud (think dropbox but intranet) or actual cloud hosted, and in addition a revision control program for stuff like the actual game builds. You'd keep backups of everything.
Finally on buying a computer: You need a budget or it's all hypothetical. 1-2k USD will do you right but you don't need the best computer to do good work.
@PolyHertz This post was a brilliant idea! Thanks!
I'm considering to get:
MSI GeForce GTX 1080
Intel Core i7‑6700K 4 GHz Quad‑Core Processor
Asus X99-AII motherboard
Ram: CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB DDR4
Cooling: CORSAIR H110 GT 280mm Cp Water Cooling Kit
Disk Drive: 24X DVD-RW Black Buy Bulk LG GH24NSD1
Power Supply: CORSAIR Enthusiast RMX Modular 1000W 80 Plus Gold
HDD: WD 3.5 " SATA3 64MB
The rig should be more or less $3000. Maybe less on newegg.com.
You should get an SSD with enough capacity for your system and all the software plus the project-data your working on. 1TB should be ok. Also get another HDD with 8TB for the projects your no longer working on. And you should also buy an external HDD for backup.
I would also consider a quattro over the GTX 1080. And you should really get more than 16 GB Ram.
First off, you can't use an X99 motherboard with an i7-6700. That board type is for CPUs that use the LGA 2011-3 socket, where as the 6700K uses a LGA 1151 socket.
The amount of RAM makes no sense. For 3D art that is essentially the minimum (ie. low-spec builds only). Why would you get a top of the line GPU and then only get an entry-level amount of ram?
That power supply is extreme overkill, and the rating is poor too. with a quad core CPU and single-GPU setup you wont need more then a 650w power supply. 750w would be enough for overclocking with plenty of headroom. Beyond that you're just wasting money. Also, you definitely want a power supply that's rated Platinum or Titanium, as they will last longer and reduce your power bill.
The hard drive you listed...you didn't list the most important aspect of it ; how much data it holds (normally at least 1tb). You also really need an SSD or M.2 drive these days, as 3D programs will be very slow to load otherwise, and apps that require a scratch disc may be especially painful to work with on a mechanical drive.
Take a look at the "high end" pc for $2200 I listed in the post linked above (it's under the "Suggested PC Setups" section), or just go here: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/sQnC6X
You don't really need all of that. It looks like you're going for overclocking which is not going to help you at all unless you're CPU rendering day and night. If "game asset creation" is all you're doing, $3k is a huge waste of money.
I would drop the water cooling and thus overclocking. Which also means you don't need a (craziness) 1000W psu.
Edit PolyHertz ninja'd me with a better post
$200 Compatiable Mobo
64GB Ram
GTX 1080
1TB SSD + 3TB HDD
550 Watt Gold Modular PSU
Asus PB278Q
http://www.guru3d.com/news-story/intel-announced-kaby-lake-7th-gen-core-processors.html
initially for mobile segment but shouldn't be too long for a i7-7700k release
http://www.guru3d.com/news-story/intel-core-i7-7700k-kaby-lake-spotted-in-sisoft-sandra-database.html
post 1000
wooHoo! ( perty poor ratio tho
They are quite common in automotive construction and CAD in general. They can handle shitloads of data. High-poly for game can also be quite heavy.
But I cant afford either of them anyway.
"Alienware Aurora
Intel® Core™ i7-6700K Processor (4-Cores, 8MB Cache, Turbo Boost 2.0, Overclocked up to 4.2GHz
Windows 10 Home 64bit English
Dual NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1080 Founders Edition with 8GB GDDR5X each (NVIDIA SLI® Enabled)
16GB DDR4 at 2133MHz
1TB (64MB Cache) 7200 RPM SATA 6Gb/s
Tray Loading Dual Layer DVD Burner
Alienware™ 850 Watt Multi-GPU Approved Power Supply with High Peformance Liquid Cooling
Qualcomm DW1820 2x2 802.11ac Wi-Fi Wireless LAN and Bluetooth 4.1
Alienware Multi-Media Keyboard
Alienware Standard Optical Mouse
Microsoft Office Home and Student 2016
1 Year Limited Hardware Warranty with Onsite Service after Remote Diagnosis
1 Year Accidental Damage Service
Dell Price$3,043.98"
http://www.alienware.com/Landings/desktops.aspx
For $3000 it needs at least a 512GB SSD and 32GB of ram.
Pre-built machines are a rip off. You're better off self-building. It's fun, quite simple, and cheaper.
I suppose you could be right, I'm sure it would be much cheaper. However, the perk to this is that all the components are right there and all I have to do is request for a purchase and everything is prebuilt. I have built computers in the past but I can't say I enjoyed it. I can be very impatient at times when it comes to needing something instantly to get work done. I do agree, however. I'll be saving money so I have some time to make a decision.
+1 to 32 gb of ram
+1 to at LEAST a ~500TB SSD, for a build at this level 1TB would be better (only like $300 these days)
+1 to 1000w PSU being overkill, ~700w 80+ is all you should need, though I would NOT build a system with a 1080 on a 550w psu as someone else suggested
Also, skip the "founder edition" of the 1080 if you can, afaik, it offers no real benefit over the stock model.
Skip water cooling too, unless you plan on doing extreme overclocking and really know what your doing, watercooling isn't a great idea (if it leaks, it can fry your system)
I feel a lack of 16 gb Ram only when I do some photogrammetry work with 200 mil poly objects. In other cases it's usually enough to just close a few redundant programs in background.
Also Imo you don't need super hi end video card. Remember you are going to make games, not play them. The only reason for hi end video is GPU renderers like Octane or Redshift. I bought 980Ti last year and hardly noticed any difference in soft like Substance Painter/Designer or Photoshop. All GPU enabled.
500gb SSD is absolutely necessary for drive C. I have a Mac that runs from HDD and it's intolerably slow in comparison. Keep Win7 if you still have it. W10 is a pain in the a...
Here's the peak (100% load) power draw of a GTX 1080 and a 6700k. If they're both being 100% utilized the total power draw between the two is 317 watts.
I can't imagine that the Mobo / SSD / HDD would be more than another 100.
Maybe there's something I'm missing?
- People don't realize that PSUs have gotten better
- Nvidia GPUs in particular have been lowering their TDPs across the board
- PSUs are one of the few components that actually degrade over time.
- PSUs power efficiency curve drops near it's max load, ~60% is generally the sweet spot.
- There often isn't a price jump from watt ranges, why not get a 100W more if it's the same price and star rating
- Overclocking
- Most people want 100W+ headroom and some people want extra potential upgrade room, so they add on 200W
Honestly a 550W is more than enough you need for GTX 1080 if you never plan on doing SLI. It's probably the minimum I'd suggest just in case the GTX 1180 is back to almost 300W and you want to be able to upgrade. But if you can get a 650W or 700W similar PSU for the same price, feel free to get a bigger one to take advantage of the efficiency curve if you think you'll GPU and CPU will be stressed a lot.
I replaced it with a 650 or 700w (can't remember) and the problem went away. So no, I would not put a 550w PSU in with a system that has a 1080. It's not like a 700w is significantly more expensive than a 550w anyway, and there is no real drawback to having more wattage than you need.
https://hardforum.com/threads/kimera-industries-cerberus-the-18l-matx-usa-made-enclosure.1816110/page-9#post-1041123955
That being said, I generally agree with having a PSU that is a decent bit higher wattage than your max power needs, less load means less heat and less noise with the fans not having to run, or run at a very low RPM. You also have more room for expansion in the future.
I mean if you have no budget you could just double up on GTX 1080s and nothing will stand in their way
RAM? I made a mistake when I only bought 8G for this Rig. If again you have no budget and are ramming two 1080s in there you may as well go for 32G DDR4 RAM - which is absolutely overkill and probably won't score you more than a few extra frames per second but you have no budget so... =P
However, to be on the crazy side, that would be an interesting idea. I would definitely cry if something went wrong with something that expensive. Along time ago I had a thunderbolt hit the side of my house. It completely fried my computer and left nothing but a smoldering motherboard. If that happened again that would be terribly ironic.