As a result of some extra money in the budget, my firm has decided to spend a good chunk of change (let's say $6K-$8K) on a CPU devoted entirely to handling large Illustrator & Viz files & basically be one of a few CPUs in a render farm.
I'm looking for certain specs for the computer including memory (what kind & how much), graphics card, monitor, dual processors(?), etc. that would make this thing scream.
memory and processor speed are definitely what's going to make the difference. Dual processor would be better.. otherwise get the most RAM it'll hold, and fastest processor you can afford.. Depending on the workload you could get by without a SG machine, but it would be nice..
we built my system here - an AMD Opteron 246 with 2 gigs of ram, nvidia quadro fx card, 2 hard disks, the works. - for 3200$
it is very fast - i work with Maya, Illustrator, Photoshop and of course Archinect on IE all open at the same time.
But yes, a dual is good, and AMD is having some cheaper and better options now, especially when 64-bit processing seems just 1-2 years away.
If you want to buy a system from a premium brand, I would definately go for HP. Nowadays, alienware is also making some real cool workstations.
if you want to build your system, lemme know, i can send you detailed specs.
Thanks all for the suggestions. There's still a few more days til X-mas, so I'll be anxiously awaiting under the tree.
I think a dual processor has been discussed here & is the direction to go. I'll keep this post open for more detailed aspects of the machines.
I'm thinking of even piloting a new cable access series called "Pimp my mother board" with the extra cash.
Stay tuned....
question, how big of a difference is the dual xeon processors (lets say around 3.2 ghz each) compared with the best single pentium 4? in terms of running such programs as photoshop/illustrator and max/viz, and in just general performance .
any reason why you wouldn't look at a dual G5? i don't know what software you are using, but architosh might help you with some comparison charts and whatnot...
alfredocheese, in moving to a dual processors system(using studio max / vray) you are able to render with dual buckets which speeds render times up considerably. Correct me if I'm wrong, but essentialy you are multitasking when you are rendering this way. each processor is in charge of its own bucket.
i'm presently using a celeron processor 1.8 ghz with a 256mb ram doing 2d cad and occasional graphic works -photoshop, illustrator.
i would like to install a 3d program, sketch up to begin with and eventually viz.
any recommendations on the kind of specs i should be gunning for. money is an issue, so nothing over the top, just enough to meet the req. of proposed installations.
btw can i upgrade from a celeron to pentium and how much more can i add to a 256mb in a dell dimension.
thanks for your suggestions
Dec 10, 04 12:26 pm ·
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To all the geeks I snubbed before...
As a result of some extra money in the budget, my firm has decided to spend a good chunk of change (let's say $6K-$8K) on a CPU devoted entirely to handling large Illustrator & Viz files & basically be one of a few CPUs in a render farm.
I'm looking for certain specs for the computer including memory (what kind & how much), graphics card, monitor, dual processors(?), etc. that would make this thing scream.
Any suggestions?
i hear gateway has a deal for 500 bucks
!
Silicon Graphics workstation
memory and processor speed are definitely what's going to make the difference. Dual processor would be better.. otherwise get the most RAM it'll hold, and fastest processor you can afford.. Depending on the workload you could get by without a SG machine, but it would be nice..
the firm i work for as several such machines.
the specs go somewhat as follows
dell
dual 3.6
1 gig ram
19 flat screen
i've had no problem working with files that are 600mb+
also have done very high res Viz work using a farm
yes a dual is what i would go for
we built my system here - an AMD Opteron 246 with 2 gigs of ram, nvidia quadro fx card, 2 hard disks, the works. - for 3200$
it is very fast - i work with Maya, Illustrator, Photoshop and of course Archinect on IE all open at the same time.
But yes, a dual is good, and AMD is having some cheaper and better options now, especially when 64-bit processing seems just 1-2 years away.
If you want to buy a system from a premium brand, I would definately go for HP. Nowadays, alienware is also making some real cool workstations.
if you want to build your system, lemme know, i can send you detailed specs.
Thanks all for the suggestions. There's still a few more days til X-mas, so I'll be anxiously awaiting under the tree.
I think a dual processor has been discussed here & is the direction to go. I'll keep this post open for more detailed aspects of the machines.
I'm thinking of even piloting a new cable access series called "Pimp my mother board" with the extra cash.
Stay tuned....
question, how big of a difference is the dual xeon processors (lets say around 3.2 ghz each) compared with the best single pentium 4? in terms of running such programs as photoshop/illustrator and max/viz, and in just general performance .
any reason why you wouldn't look at a dual G5? i don't know what software you are using, but architosh might help you with some comparison charts and whatnot...
sorry! didn't see the illustrator and viz reference...
alfredocheese, in moving to a dual processors system(using studio max / vray) you are able to render with dual buckets which speeds render times up considerably. Correct me if I'm wrong, but essentialy you are multitasking when you are rendering this way. each processor is in charge of its own bucket.
i'm presently using a celeron processor 1.8 ghz with a 256mb ram doing 2d cad and occasional graphic works -photoshop, illustrator.
i would like to install a 3d program, sketch up to begin with and eventually viz.
any recommendations on the kind of specs i should be gunning for. money is an issue, so nothing over the top, just enough to meet the req. of proposed installations.
btw can i upgrade from a celeron to pentium and how much more can i add to a 256mb in a dell dimension.
thanks for your suggestions
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