Upgrading ram or new system?

System

Hi, I'm running a dual Xeon system and want to upgrade possibly either my ram to 4Gb minimum or buy a new dual quad core system. Will be dual booting xp pro x32, x64 - wanted Linux but unfortunately Autodesk 3ds max doesn't support that o/s and there are no emulators

Current specs;

Processors : 2x Intel Xeon EM64T @3.0Ghz
Motherboard: Supermicro X6DAL-TG
GPI card : ATI Radeon x1300 Pro @ 512mb
Ram : 2x512mb Corsair DDR333 registered EEC

I was wondering what would be the best solution with compatibility in mind, I will be using primarily 3ds max9/2009, Photoshop CS2, Zbrush 3, Steinberg Cubase and Wavelab.

Reason : Atm I'm getting slowdowns and errors with some new shaders I'm using at under 30,000 poly's and just wondered how much of a speed up I would get if I upgraded o/s and ram or if it would be so much more of an increase in speed if I built an entrirely new system making that worthwhile?

What do you guys use to manage scenes with under 100,000 poly's using multiple shaders and effects?

PfhorRunner

While I have absolutely no clue when it comes to slow downs vs. # of polygons, I can tell you that the difference between 1gb and 4gb of memory on that machine will be night and day performance boost on most applications. I can't believe you have a dual xeon 3.0ghz with only a gig of RAM, how the hell did that happen?

The RAM seems to be the bottleneck here.

DDR333 is getting more expensive as time passes because no one is making it anymore, but it wouldn't be anywhere NEAR the cost of a whole new dual proc. machine.

My vote is towards new RAM and OS. But, if you happen to decide that a new machine is best, and you have no use for this one, PM me, i'd be interested in the one you currently have.


Edit: Also, what size cache do you have on your hard drives? This really only affects opening of files and the application, just curious because that may contribute some? (I don't know how 3dsMax utilizes hardware)

Jesse Moody

Wel you would benefit from a ram upgrade for sure.

As far as a new system goes. Adding the ram is like putting a slightly better engine in your car while the new system might be like buying an all new sports car.

What can you afford and what would you prefer?

Ephesians 2:8-9

You want to be able to run Crysis

http://ve3d.ign.com/articles/news/34731/Crysis-Minimum-Recommended-Computer-Specs-Officially-Announced

System

PfhorRunner: The ram situation has been like that for a while now I know I should have upgraded but didn't feel the slowdown until lately while using new complex shaders and mental ray. The cache on my hd's is 8mb (Maxtor Diamond max 9 sata) that's another area I should have not skimped on. Ill pm you soon

JesseMoody: Ram def. been looking at benmarking tests in all sorts of categories and weighing up the pro's and cons and really I wouldn't have seen much performance improvement with the current system unless I upgraded the o/s to x64 and got alot of extra ram which seems so expensive in the light of looking toward the future with a totally new system.

Ephesians 2:8-9 Shpuld be able to run Crysis pretty well with a new setup but at what frame rate and screen resolution I'm not sure.

Decided will be going for a new system within 2 weeks or so, this is going to be my new setup;

Windows Vista Ultimate x64 £115.54
Supermicro motherboard X7DWN+ £365.41
2x Intel Xeon E5440 £915.96
4x Corsair 2Gb EEC DDR2 ram sticks £307.08
Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 £258.49
Terratec DMX-6Fire USB £189
Acer X222W 22" Widescreen TFT £159.99
1x74Gb Western Digital SATA (Raptor) £89.24
1x750Gb Western Digital SATA (Caviar) £85.13
1x500Gb Western Digital External (My Book) £86.48
Microsoft Wireless Optical Desktop 1000 £24.95
Supermicro chassis (unsearched) around £250

Totals so far £2597.27 exc. chassis

Whaddya think?

System

Been hunting around and got some much better prices after a tip from a Supermicro adviser. Apart from the monitor, Scan are ftw.

*Had to change the motherboard model because it wasn't compatible with the x16 slot required by the new Radeon video card which was weird because it's actually the latest model that can take more ram but it only uses x8 slots! Even so I won't be fitting anywhere near the maximum of this board (64Gb) I only need 8Gb max.

New parts list;

Operating system;
Windows Vista Ultimate x64 @ £104.69
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=527295
Motherboard;
Supermicro Motherboard X7DWA-N @ £336.04
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=706993
Processors;
2x Intel Xeon E5440a @ £888.16
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=751156
Memory
4x Corsair 2Gb EEC DDR2 ram sticks @ £210.04
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=767545
Graphics
Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 @ £297.52
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=752979
Sound
Terratec Aureon 5.1 USB £34.08
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=102422
Monitor
Acer X222W 22" Widescreen TFT £159.99
[ame]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Acer-X222W-Widescreen-Monitor-2500/dp/B000RT7J5I[/ame]
Hardrives
Internal
36 GB Western Digital Raptor SATA @ £69.78
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=410985
750 GB Western Digital Caviar SATA @ £82.83
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=664846
External
320GB Western Digital MyBook2 Home Edition @ £68.03
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=701600

Keyboard and mouse
Microsoft Natural Ergonomic @ £23.49
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=365025
Supermicro chassis
SC 743t-645 @ £243.33
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=152755

Total £2517.98

If you guys run anything similar and know of anything that may cause problems or know where I can get these parts cheaper please let me know as soon as you can, thanks.

PfhorRunner

Sounds like a very solid machine. Does 3dsMax use something like a scratch file? I'm only asking because that would justify the Raptor (which is awesome).

All good choices. I'll be scouting around for prices for ya as well

System

You hit on something there, I was totally ignorant of scratch files, infact I never even heard of them apart from downloading data when it's kept in a temporary file until completed. I know autoback does it's thing and backups your data at 10 min? intervals but these files are permanent. That raptor looks awesome too, can't wait to have a nice crispy new system...

Made a naughty impulse buy just now - 22" Acer widescreen LCD 1680x1050 pixels couldn't resist it at only £169! at least I got one thing out of the way.
Hey thanks for offering to look for me, I appreciate it

PfhorRunner

Thats a nice price for a 2500:1 contrast ratio. Pretty much everything you have listed is at the lowest price i could find... I found some cheaper here in the states, but the shipping to the UK negated the advantages.