Building new PC
polycounter lvl 6
Ok so i've been lurking here on the forum for quite a bit now and finally decided to post. My name is Francesco and I'm an italian student who got bored of his almost complete architecture degree and decided to go for something i always liked more... videogames art.
enough with the presentation... I'm in the process of choosing parts for my new pc and i'd like to know something about requirements for software like Zbrush and Mudbox.
Question is how much RAM is necessary for those applications when using really high polycount models?
and I don't mean in terms of home work in preparation for getting in the industry, i actually mean how powerful are rigs used in software houses.
Of course i won't be getting a nasa workstation or anything close but since i won't be upgrading in a couple of years i really want to get the best i can with my budget (witch is not really low luckly atm)
Also is it worth getting a Nvdia Quadro video card or would a GTX 570/ ATI6970 suffice? maybe to expand it to crossfire/sli in the future
enough with the presentation... I'm in the process of choosing parts for my new pc and i'd like to know something about requirements for software like Zbrush and Mudbox.
Question is how much RAM is necessary for those applications when using really high polycount models?
and I don't mean in terms of home work in preparation for getting in the industry, i actually mean how powerful are rigs used in software houses.
Of course i won't be getting a nasa workstation or anything close but since i won't be upgrading in a couple of years i really want to get the best i can with my budget (witch is not really low luckly atm)
Also is it worth getting a Nvdia Quadro video card or would a GTX 570/ ATI6970 suffice? maybe to expand it to crossfire/sli in the future
Replies
As for memory, 8gb should be sufficient for a modern computer and working with something like zbrush.
so i was already leaning for a nvidia non quadro card and this will be my final rig then
CPU: Intel i7 2600k
MotherBoard: Asus P8Z68-V Pro
Ram: 2x 4GB G.Skill Ripjaws (to expand to 4x4gb later on if needed)
VideoCard: EVGA GTX 570
HDD: 1TB Western Digital Caviar Black (and maybe an SSD as they're not so expensive anymore)
Also posting this again for other curious buyers.
http://www.tinyurl.com/falconguide
also thank you for that guide as it has some really nice inputs
8GB is good, but not for Zbrush. The last I heard, it's still 32 bit, so it can't use that extra 4 GB. That extra RAM is going to be used for Photoshop and whatever 3D app used in addition to Zbrush.
true, my bad, I generalized a bit, I should say that 8gb is enough for a computer made for an artist working with zbrush and other programs related to it, at the same time :P, or rather, don't go over 8gb.
A 32bit application can only adress 2gb of memory though, can it?
Also, steer clear from ATI video cards. Do. Not. Want.
ATI is known for causing issues when it comes to 3D, be it with Max, or in UDK, even Zbrush.
4GB minus overhead for the OS. It's about 3GB after the fact, if I recall. So if you're not using a 64 bit OS don't bother buying more than 4GB of RAM. If you have a 64bit OS, you can run Zbrush/Max and Photoshop on 8GB of RAM at the same time.
I use ATI and I've never had an issue with any 3D app.
Pixologic has said however that ZBrush 5 will be 64bit.
also why are ATIs so bad for 3D? just curious as my current pc's running an ATI and i've never had any issue at all with max... haven't really used zbrush for big stuff and never used UDK so i'd like to know
64 bit only or will it be available as both?
very good build. I would invest the money in a raptor drive or ssd. Especially if your gonna be loading alot of textures/files via unreal or max. The faster RPM drives will call the info much faster.
Decent board but i think you can save money here you dont need to go crazy on a mobo unless you plan to go SLI. Gigabyte is a good brand as well ive had good luck with them.
What is the speed/rating of the memory? stick to a lower speed ddr3 mem you wont bennifit much from high clock speed unless your going to overclock.
Video card doesnt have a big effect on 3dsmax or unreal. Its mostly cpu, so again can save some money by going with a cheaper card if budget is lower
Im preping a new build myself going simialr getting rid of my core 2 quad. If i were you i would wait till black friday/cyber monday weekend. Thats what im doing bound to be awesome sales always are
Same with me. I've had a few slight issues with Max every now and then but I've had those same issues on computers using nVidia cards too.
of course it's gonna be used for games! and also i don't think i'll be upgrading it in at least 2 years so not really overkill
Just be careful. There seems to be a lot of shit SSD's out there. I believe RenderBoxx is using Intel SSD's. If I were to get one right now, I'd look there first. That, and read lots and lots of reviews. Two Samsung Spinpoint F4 drive in Raid would be sweet. I have one and it's plenty fast for me right now. Raptors were too expensive. I'd rather just let the SSD market mature a bit and spend my money there.
This.
You should still be fine with the 560ti. Are you thinking about SLI at all? Not sure if it's worth it.
Well here's their post on it: http://www.zbrushcentral.com/showthread.php?161231-ZBrush-4R2-Unleashed!
i7-960 3.2GHz 4 x 256KB 8MB Quad-Core
ASUS Sabertooth X58 LGA 1366
2 G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 12GB
GTX 560 Ti
Western Digital Caviar Green 2TB
We went back and forth between the 560 and the 570. The highest 560 seemed comparable to the lowest 570 for about $40 cheaper, so went with that.
Got more RAM than I probably need [24GB] but they have a good price going [$69 for 12] so I splurged. I WILL NEVER RUN OUT OF RAM
Can you say 8192 x 8192 texture maps?
also g.skill rams are really cheap and i might abuse those