Things to consider when buying a new PC for 3D art creation...

LANKUS MAXIMUS

Hi guys.

I recently created a thread that focused on portfolio creation. I received some really helpful comments that covered all aspects that would need to be considered when creating a portfolio site from scratch. So instead of just asking a simple question in the appropriate forum. I thought I'd post a
thread, as I'm sure the clever people of Polycount will fill it with helpful info for everyone.



So I have a pretty standard, 3-year old PC (AMD PhenomX6 2.8GHz, 8GB RAM, GTX-460, Magikarp sticker on the side)

I just got paid for a large freelance contract and I plan to spend it on getting myself a new setup.

My programmer friend built my current PC and he says he will gladly build the next one.


Is there any particular spec that a 3D game artist should look for when buying a new PC? I'm trying to think about future proofing myself now that the new generation is here and what with all the crazy tech now being used by the community.

I got a terrible shop bought setup just before i started Uni. When I decided i wanted to focus on 3D work, I had to blow most of my loan on a new PC because anytime i opened anything like Zbrush or started making High-poly models in max, it would just cough and die.


Probably sounds like a primitive question considering how much we all use computers, but up until recently, I have relied on using the University facilities.


Anyways, Thanks for any advice you can give.

ZacD

It's easier to upgrade the GPU that the CPU, and you'll more likely want to upgrade your GPU when ever new tech comes how (like DX12, or unified nemory), and not your CPU. So I wouldn't go too overboard with getting the highest end GPU, like most gaming builds that are just an i5 and the highest end video card they can afford. SSD's are worth it. Having a good IPS monitor is worth it. If you do a lot of baking and rendering on the CPU, an i7 is worth it. You'll never be future proof, it's silly to spend a lot of money now when a much cheaper product will be a lot better in 6 months.

Bek

Find out what the software you use requires the most (eg. Zbrush uses CPU heavily) and then tailor your build around that. Usually it is best to get the best CPU possible, since that influences all programs to some degree and is the hardest part to upgrade later on (as any significant improvement will probably be on a new socket, requiring a new motherboard, possibly ram..)

If you search polycount there will have been some recent pc build threads that you can get a rough idea from.

JordanN

If you have the money, invest in some cooling equipment.

I always get paranoid when running Photobrush or UDK even though my specs can technically handle them without overheating. But I would love it if I could run any program while never going above 30 degrees Celsius.

It's also the winter, so I'm still lucky to get away with cool temperatures. But once summer hits, it's going to be impossible to do work without the computer getting super hot.

ZacD

Your just being paranoid, you can run your GPU and CPU at 80 degrees for years and never have any issues. What actually kills the hardware is heating up and cooling over and over after a number of years, but it still is mostly just luck. Although 75 degrees is the recommended max temp for the i-series processors, and more like 85 degrees for GPUs, but both GPUs and CPUs have temp fail safes around 100c.