Help for architectural rendering build

[a3a]

Hi, I'm an architecture student and i need a new system since my old one is dying on me.
I've checked out the cpu's and these are the two finalists:
Intel i7 930 &
Amd Phenom II X6 1090T
on the performance charts the i7 is a tad faster with 3dmax, but 6cores is very tempting....
so basically I need help choosing the right cpu!

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: this week

BUDGET RANGE: approximately 800 for cpu, mobo, vga, and ram.

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: architectural modeling and rendering using 3dmax, Vray, Autocad, Revit, occasional gaming, regular stuff.....

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS....

Thanks in advance!

 

[banthracis]

i7-930 bench's better than the X6. The i7 has only 4 cores, but has 8 threads thanks to hyperthreading.

The x6 has only 6 cores, no hyperthreading, so only 6 threads.

Also, why no CUDA?

 

[a3a]

Ok, Thanks!
Probably am going with CUDA due to a friends recommendation, but I really don't understand what difference it makes?

 

[banthracis]

Properly implemented in parallel processes, a CUDA GPU is basically a a CPU with hundreds of cores.

 

[sarah123]

Hi there - I'm kind of looking for the same as you and have priced it on newegg basically your icor 7 plus decent mobo is going to be the bulk of your investment and you won't be able to afford an expensive graphics card (I guess you have powersupply and case?) definitely cuda it up and save money on a graphics card - a solid state drive would also be nice to have if you have big files. That being said - you and your friends should set up a render farm in your studio for the final renders or see what your school lab has - thats what i did in school and am now trying to build a cpu for home. You won't be needing this much power for modeling, test render ect which is the bulk of your work. just a thought before you spend all your student loans! Do you use rhino & vray or 3ds? some graphics cards work better depending on what you want. You could also think about getting a $150 gts 250 card and see how good you can get it before jumping up. (from what I've read cuda + nvidia with 1gb should set you up good) (I'm totally a newbie here so put more weight in what other advice you get and do your reserach)

 

[Transmaniacon]

I would opt for the i7-930, 12GB of RAM (AutoCAD really sucks this up), and the 9800GTX+ (OpenGL 3.1) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130339&Tpk=9800