Will this PC spec handle most 3d programs from Autodesk and others?

AGoodFella

Hi Guys,
I need a CPU that will handle 3d programs like Maya, Motionbuilder, Cinema4D, Adobe software, etc. I won't be doing much rendering and time spent rendering isn't a factor. I also won't be doing ANY gaming at all. Not even a bit. The PC will just be for general use and 3D work.

I just need a CPU that will run most 3d programs efficiently. If I go for the Intel CPU, I will have to cut down on Ram, size of hard drive, motherboard, etc. If I go for the AMD CPU, I can afford to get a 1tb harddrive and a 4gb Nvidia GTX 1050.

Which Build is better for my purposes?

This is my potential AMD Build (Cost - £787.00):

Processor (CPU) AMD FX-8300 Eight Core CPU (3.3GHz/8MB CACHE/AM3+)

Motherboard Gigabyte 990X GAMING SLI: AM3+ (ATX, DDR3, USB 3.0, 6Gb/s)

Memory (RAM) 16GB HyperX FURY DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (2 x 8GB)

Graphics Card 4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1050 Ti - DVI, HDMI, DP

1st Hard Disk 1TB SEAGATE 3.5" SSHD, SATA 6Gb/s 7200 RPM (64MB + 8GB SSD CACHE)

Power Supply CORSAIR 350W VS SERIES™ VS-350 POWER SUPPLY

Processor Cooling Super Quiet Titan DragonFly Heatpipe AMD CPU Cooler

Thermal Paste ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND

Extra Case Fans 1x 120mm Black Case Fan (configured to extract from rear/roof)

Potential Intel build (Cost - £794.00):

(CPU) Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-6400 (2.7GHz) 6MB Cache

Motherboard Gigabyte Z170X Gaming 3 ATX, LG1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBsMemory

(RAM) 8GB HyperX FURY DDR4 2133MHz (2 x 4GB)

Graphics Card 4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1050 Ti - DVI, HDMI

1st Hard Disk 500GB SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 16MB CACHE1st

Power Supply CORSAIR 350W VS SERIES™ VS-350 POWER

Processor Cooling INTEL STANDARD CPU COOLER

Thermal Paste ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND

ZacD

I would wait until AMD releases Ryzen, probably in Q1 if you want an AMD build. Unless you need a build ASAP. 

Bek

I'd look into buying second hand / past gen intel CPU's. You might be able to find a bargain somewhere locally. For instance, you could buy an i5 2500k for around $50 AUD on ebay, and despite that being a few generations old now it's still very capable.  I'd also spend less on the motherboard and more on the PSU, because reliability is more important than speed.

AGoodFella

I might wait until the new year to see how Ryzen and Intel's new CPU match each other.

Mark Dygert

I personally lean toward intel and Nvidia, I've been burned by ATI and AMD in the distant past and they've pretty much lost the performance and optimization war.
There has been some noise about AMD's new processor being able to compete like ZacD mentioned, but it's not out yet. It might also require programs and applications to operate under specific operations that app developers will have to optimize for and a lot will probably choose not to and stick to their old alliances.

Autodesk does a lot of cross collaboration with Intel and Nvidia, they don't work as tightly with AMD/ATI, I'm not so sure AMDs new processor will do much to change that.

Mark Dygert

Also, I would make sure to install SSD's not old school 7200rpm platter drives. I would only use platter drives for cheap mass storage, you'll want SSD for your OS, programs and main working file storage. Otherwise you're crippling your system anytime it goes to read/write from the hardrive(s).

AGoodFella

I might go for one of these:

http://www.dell.com/uk/p/xps-8910-desktop/pd?ref=PD_OC

PolyHertz

At a minimum, a desktop PC used for 3d art these days should have 16GB of RAM, and a GPU with 4GB of VRAM. I would highly recommend not going below that.

If you get something with an SSD, it needs to have at least 120GB of storage to fit the OS + base 3D apps (ie. Max/Maya/ZBrush/Photoshop/Substance designer/etc.), or 250GB+ if you plan to have UE4 on it with project files. I saw one of those Dell options came with a 32GB SSD, which is a complete joke unless you plan to have absolutely nothing on it other then the OS.

Also, just in case you haven't seen it: http://polycount.com/discussion/173350/upgrading-or-building-a-new-pc-this-is-the-thread-for-you

AGoodFella

I went for the Dell XPS 8910 with 16gb of ram, intel i7 CPU, 2gb GTX 960 with 2tb HDD and 256G SSD.