help on building a comp for animation requirements

[swaro]

hi all!!
i need some advice on a comp for animation and rendering in simple terms i will be using 3dsmax , maya ,smoke and some other applications so please gimme some info on the processor the mbd and ram
(i thought of this config:
processor:AMD64 x2 3800+ (or) AMD64 x2 4800+ (or)pentium D-840 (or) AMD64 FX
memory: 2 gb ram
graphics card : not able to decide on this
and the rest is normal

 

[Jak_Sparra]

if you can afford it get the most powerfull of everything. and you can get special graphics cards just for animation rendering like the Nvidia Quadro FX cards.
A good mother board and fast ram might make a diffrence, and the fastest cpu you can afford.. Also I remember seeing a review that showed an intel chip out performing an AMD chip on animation/3d rendering. but it was ages ago, and i cant find it now.

 

[mesarectifier]

Unless the apps are multi-threaded, don't bother with a Dual core as it'll probably be slower (as the individual cores are generally slower but together are much faster).

I think Jak is right, Intel do outperform AMD here, I've definitely seen reviews that say so. Look for similar rendering benchies on THG or elsewhere.

Go with a Quadro FX or FireGL card, it'll do you wonders (or so I'm told)

 

[bweir]

I'm not sure if you want a workstation card, as I have heard that it isn't really necessary unless you are designing games and such. However, you will need a processor and memory-intensive system to handle the rendering requirements.

Start with the processor, to save a bit of money, avoid the FX and EE series from AMD and Intel. Instead look to the dual core 4800+ or the Opeterons, as well as Intels current high-end, dual core, non-EE processor, but I'm not sure which it is since I don't use Intel. You will only gain a marginal increase in rendering times with those expensive FX/EE series, so sticking with the high-end standard lines will save hundreds and yield 98% of the speed.

Next, you will need a large chunk of memory to hold more of the rendered files once the processor is done. My friend in post-production has said it works like this: If you get 30 seconds of rendered animation with 2Gb memory, you'll get to render up to 60 seconds with 4Gb, and so on and so forth. I've heard that 4Gb isn't fully supported on current platforms, but the explanation of why is beyond my realm.

Finally, a good RAID setup helps eliminate the data bottleneck while transferring large files (IE: Multi-gigabyte rendered files) around the system. It would help to use WD Raptor drives if you can afford them, and RAID 0 would yield even further increases in throughput. Those drives are Enterprise-class, whatever that means, but they do have a reputation for durability and low-failure rates, meaning your data is more secure if you purchase the more expensive drives. However, at $250+ for a 150Gb drive, they aren't cheap, especially compared to the 300Gb/16mb cached drives available for around $100. If you do go with cheaper drives, you should really use a RAID 1 configuration because it'll be cheap and secure.

Good luck.

 

[FITCamaro]

Low budget - Athlon X2 3800+, 2GB RAM, 80GB HD for OS, 2x250GB RAID0 for storage and programs, 7600GT

Medium budget - Opteron 170 OCed, 4GB RAM, 80GB HD for OS, 3x250GB RAID5, X1900XT

Large budget - 2 x Opteron 275, 8GB RAM, 74GB Raptor for OS, 3x250GB RAID5, ATI FireGL 7300

I worked at a computer lab in college that did rendering on a Athlon64 3000+, 2GB RAM, 200GB hard drive, and a 5700 Ultra fine. Just takes a little longer.

 

[mesarectifier]

I wouldn't overclock a "professional use" system.

 

[vimka]

I would suggest you go with the AMD. I have a friend who is the head of IT for a local animation studio (Cafe FX) and they use Opteron, Xeon, and P4 systems. He tells me the Opteron smokes them all, but that they crash more often (though this is caused by the Tyan motherboard more so than the CPU).

Get 4GB of RAM and use the /3GB switch.

Get a Quadro card from nVidia, they rule for 3d rendering.

The dual-core CPU is a good bet, seeing as most professional animation and rendering software is already written to be run on a dual-CPU system. I wouldn't suggest an FX-60 as the peformance versus the X2 4800+ is just not worth $600. Check the benchmarks on THG and you'll see what I mean.