Build Advice i7 PC for 3D Graphics ?

[krazeeartist]

I'm looking to build a pc to be used for creating mostly 3D graphics. I know it all starts with a graphics card. But what about memory? In the past I've had a AMD A8 PC with 32GB of memory. But the rendering of graphics from say Poser software was painfully slow. About a year ago I purchased a small Intel i7 Dell 990 and with 16GB or memory and a 4GB graphics card the rendering on it just flies. Recently I acquired a Dell 3020-T with a GTX 1050 4GB.Does the RAM have anything to do with rendering speed?
(Limited budget, I'm on welfare, so this isn't a quick build, lol)

 

[helper800]

I'm looking to build a pc to be used for creating mostly 3D graphics. I know it all starts with a graphics card. But what about memory? In the past I've had a AMD A8 PC with 32GB of memory. But the rendering of graphics from say Poser software was painfully slow. About a year ago I purchased a small Intel i7 Dell 990 and with 16GB or memory and a 4GB graphics card the rendering on it just flies. Recently I acquired a Dell 3020-T with a GTX 1050 4GB.Does the RAM have anything to do with rendering speed?
(Limited budget, I'm on welfare, so this isn't a quick build, lol)

It would completely depend on the software used to do your work. Some software is very CPU heavy, GPU heavy, or both. Please list all the software you use to get a more nuanced answer.

 

[DSzymborski]

RAMs effect on rendering speed is fairly indirect.

More likely, your work on an A8 was slow because the A8 is a very basic APU for entry-level gaming systems from a decade ago. Anything modern, with any plausible amount of RAM, will absolutely obliterate any one of those FM2/FM2+ APUs.

 

[krazeeartist]

It would completely depend on the software used to do your work. Some software is very CPU heavy, GPU heavy, or both. Please list all the software you use to get a more nuanced answer.

Poser 13
System requirements
Windows 10 or later (64-bit OS required).
2 GHz Intel Core 2 or newer, Athlon X2 64 or newer (2.5 GHz or faster, 4 core or more recommended).
4 GB system RAM (8 GB or more recommended).
OpenGL enabled graphics card or chipset required for hardware accelerated preview.
24-bit color display, 1440 x 900 minimum resolution. (2k monitor recommended)
CUDA and Optix enabled device recommended for hardware accelerated final rendering (2 GB RAM minimum, Compute Capability 5.0 minimum).
Optix-accelerated raytracing requires Nvidia RTX or Turing GPU, or newer.

DAZ Studio 4
64 bit

• WHQL-64 certified
• Intel Xeon/Core 2 Duo or Quad /Core i7 or AMD Opteron/Phenom processor(s)
• Windows 10, 8, 7 & Vista (Windows 10, 8, or 7 is recommended)
• 2 GB RAM min (3GB+ RAM recommended)
• 1GB free hard drive space for installation
• Hardware accelerated OpenGL 1.6 compatible graphics card with at least 512 MB RAM (OpenGL 2.2, or higher, compatible recommended)
• DirectX 9 (used for audio processing only)
  
  
  
  

 

[helper800]

Poser 13
System requirements
Windows 10 or later (64-bit OS required).
2 GHz Intel Core 2 or newer, Athlon X2 64 or newer (2.5 GHz or faster, 4 core or more recommended).
4 GB system RAM (8 GB or more recommended).
OpenGL enabled graphics card or chipset required for hardware accelerated preview.
24-bit color display, 1440 x 900 minimum resolution. (2k monitor recommended)
CUDA and Optix enabled device recommended for hardware accelerated final rendering (2 GB RAM minimum, Compute Capability 5.0 minimum).
Optix-accelerated raytracing requires Nvidia RTX or Turing GPU, or newer.

DAZ Studio 4
64 bit

• WHQL-64 certified
• Intel Xeon/Core 2 Duo or Quad /Core i7 or AMD Opteron/Phenom processor(s)
• Windows 10, 8, 7 & Vista (Windows 10, 8, or 7 is recommended)
• 2 GB RAM min (3GB+ RAM recommended)
• 1GB free hard drive space for installation
• Hardware accelerated OpenGL 1.6 compatible graphics card with at least 512 MB RAM (OpenGL 2.2, or higher, compatible recommended)
• DirectX 9 (used for audio processing only)
  
  

So looks like mainly Cuda and OpenGL usage. This would mean a middling CPU with a middling or higher GPU will be best. What is your exact budget? If you were to have 1000 dollar budget, then something like this would be pretty great. It can be done cheap just let us know the budget.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-13400 2.5 GHz 10-Core Processor ($219.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler ($33.90 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI PRO B760M-A WIFI DDR4 Micro ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: TEAMGROUP T-Create Expert 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($59.19 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 970 Evo Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($59.99 @ Adorama)
Video Card: Zotac GAMING Twin Edge OC GeForce RTX 3060 12GB 12 GB Video Card ($342.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Focus 2 RGB ATX Mid Tower Case ($66.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair RM750e 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($99.99 @ Best Buy)
Total: $1023.02
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-03-30 11:27 EDT-0400