Mac user interested to get PC, don't know technical stuff in PC or MAC

unknownmystery445

I don't know the technical stuff in the parts of a mac or a pc and when I read the forums I just keep on seeing NVIDIA gtx with different numbers on them. I'm interested in buying a PC and I'm just wondering if these specifications are good enough for rendering meaning it won't affect the look of the render, it wont take too long to render, and it will not lag. I figured a "gaming pc" can do the job in DAZ so here are the specifications, I will still use my mac by the way

 

Desktop 1:

Monitor: Asus VX239H 
Mobo: 1155 Asus H61M-E
CPU: Intel Core i7 2600 Processor
HSF: Deepcool Ice
RAM: (16) 2x8Gb 1333Mhz
HDD: 1TB 7200rpm WD Black Caviar + 500GB 7200rpm Seagate
VideoCard: Palit Gtx 750ti 2Gb 128bit
PCiE Port: Orico 7 in 1 3.0Hub
PSU: 650W Trendsonic
Case: Aerocool 800
 

Desktop 2:

processor: intel (R) i-7 3370 @3.40 ghz
motherboard: bcs elite group H77H2-M3
RAM: 8Gig
hard disk: 1 terabytes
video card: palit storm x ge force gtx 750

If you guys choose one from the other can you tell me why its better than the other one? Thanks

SixDs

As you may be aware, since Apple changed from the PowerPC architecture on the MAC to an Intel architecture there is fundamentally no difference, insofar as hardware is concerned, between a PC and a MAC. The firmware may be different on such components as video cards, but the hardware is the same. Those old "I'm a PC, I'm a Mac" commercials were complete falderall, as the transition to Intel had already occured. The term "PC" comes from the architecture developed for the original IBM Personal computer or PC, commonly referred to as the i86 architecture, which is still the basis for Intel-based computers today. In short, modern MACs are PCs. The real difference is in the the operating system and software such as drivers, and the need for some specialized firmware as mentioned to enable the operating systems to communicate with the hardware. You could essentially build a "PC" with exactly the same components as those in your MAC.

That out of the way, I have a couple of opinions on the two machines that you are considering, the first being that neither is ideal, with memory being the biggest limitation, either video or system, or both. The second machine is a little light on system memory, with 16 GB being the least that most would recommend for 3D graphics work these days. The first machine would be the better choice in that respect, although you could add memory to the second. I don't know whether there is any price difference between the two machines, or whether that is a consideration for you. Secondly, neither machine has sufficient video memory at 2 GB (and I don't know if the GTX 750 has only 1 GB, which is common) if you wish to use Iray and GPU rendering. For reasonable results a card with a minimum of 4 GB of video memory is recommended. If the render is too large to fit in the video card's memory, the render will default to the much slower CPU only mode. Additionally, those video cards only have 640 CUDA cores in the case of the GTX 750 Ti, and 512 for the vanilla GTX 750. So neither card is going to be a rendering powerhouse, although the 750 Ti has a bit of an edge. Insofar as the processors go, unless you are interested in splitting hairs with benchmark scores, both have similar performance, although the 3370 may have a slight edge and lower power consumption.

You seem to have more (better) information on the first machine than the second, which makes comparisons difficult. I am not personally a fan of micro ATX mothernboards like the Asus H61M-E, since it has limited expansion and upgrading options. For example, it only has two memory slots, and only a single, full-size PCI-E slot. On the other hand, the maximum system memory the board will support is 16 GB, so it is already maxed out anyway. Other, full-sized ATX socket 1155 boards with better chipsets can support up to 32 GB of RAM, and normally have four memory slots to do it.

All in all, based upon the information that is provided, if price is more-or-less the same, the first machine would be the better choice. However, as mentioned above, neither is going to be particular fast when it comes to rendering with Iray. For that, you really need to look at an expensive Nvidia-based video card with lots of CUDA cores and 4 GB of memory or more.

If you could provide a little more information on what your expectations are, and what type of scenes you would expect to be rendering, someone may be able to provide some more specific advice.