New Computer
Stuie
Posts: 58
I recently have acquired funds that will allow me to purchase a new computer. Looking for suggestions on what is out there to get. Of course my primary software that I use would be Carrara, but also Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects, and Dreamweaver. I currently use an old Dell XPS 8700 (i7-4790 CPU, 16 GB ram, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 745). Looking for a workstation that will get me better render times as I output 30 frames at 300 dpi from business card size up to 24"x36". I really don't want to put one together (even though it might be cheaper). Looking into a $800 to $1,200 range. Anyone have any suggestions?
Thanks, Stuie
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Comments
I'll check it out.
you don't need a fancy graphics card for Carrara though unless you use Octane render.
I also found number of threads doesn't matter as much as clockspeed, thats the thing to prioritise, more RAM too for loading scenes, not as important for rendering them.
And just because ~
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_ thanx
Stuie, a lot of good information here: https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/comment/5086626/
My new 3900x machine was close to your upper price range. I did get a used video card on Craigslist which brought down the price.
For Carrara, it is a joy to use. Fast, and 24 buckets makes a big difference (previously I had 4).
I build my Carrara machines using yesteryear's great technology, since I'm always in that same price range as you are.
My current machine uses a 2nd Generation Ryzen 7, which has 8 multi-thread cores so I get 16 threads speeding those render buckets.
Building a PC can be quite fullfilling because we can pick and choose what goes in - where to save $ and where not to. For example, I went with a decent motherboard, CPU and RAM - although they were the previous generations to save coin. I also got a decent, but not super high end graphics card but that's a crazy mess right now. Luckily, Carrara doesn't care. As long as it supports OpenGL we're good - unless we're using a separate plugin like Octane.
That's where buying a PC might be the best option right now - it'll come with a graphics card! LOL
In case you'd like to consider building, I have an article I've written years ago after building my previous computer. It might help with your consideration at least:
► How to Build Your Own Carrara Workstation
Thanks so much to everyone for their input. Still waiting on the money before going with anything specific. Will let you all know where I actually go. Looking for 32GB for ram, and the AMD Ryzen 3900 sounds like the direction I want to go.
Found this, any comments? $1,647
Perhaps, but without having to build, it seems like a fair price and it will certainly Rock Carrara!
I bought one of those graphics cards a while back after mine burnt out and, while it did work for most budget games and such (just checked them out to test the card - I actually don't play games often at all), but has no Cuda cores, so won't be recognized by any of your Cuda-using apps.
Still, set those things to use your CPU until you can get your hands on a new card in the future - that Ryzen should make you happy!
Like 3drendero was eluding to, we can get a much higher bang for the buck if we don't mind doing our own builds. For example, I always look for a case that has filters for the intake fans to keep my fans healthy longer and don't put as much coin towards the things that I don't need, etc.,
This last built was the first time that I went with the full version of Windows instead of a slightly less expensive OEM version, and I love it So Much More!!! No spamware except for the Microsoft stuff - Office 360, etc., etc.,
Never going OEM again, if I can help it!
But for what it's worth, that Ryzen you're looking at will blow mine away - and I am absolutely Thrilled with mine!
At 28 seconds into this video, I show Carrara rendering in real time with screen capture on - and it's a fairly complex scene with seven characters, lots of lights and a decent amount of interior scene geometry.
I must admit - the first time I built my own computer I was really nervous about it. Ever since, it's the only way to go for me.
I love that new CPU thermal pad! Although I've never minded using my Arctic Silver.
Yes we need to take measures against static and, Yes we need to be mindful as we assemble everything and, most importantly, Yes we need to make sure that we're ordering parts that will work with each other... but all of that is part of the thrill!
Each time I've built my own, I made sure to get a nice, roomy tower for maximum airflow - and each of them had filtered intake housings for the fans. My computers stay nice and new inside.
With my Ryzen and my previous Zambezi, I didn't even use an aftermarket CPU cooler. The WraithSpire cooler of the Ryzen keeps my cores nice and cool - and I render for days on end, with the CPU power settings set to Ultimate, so it runs all sixteen threads at 100% when I'm rendering. I love that it stays at a nice temp! Of course, I did put it all in a nice, roomy case with all 120mm silent fans (even one behind the motherboard!) except for a 240mm exhaust fan on the top, which came with the case. My Antec came with a filtered front for up to 3 120mm intake fans, an intake filter for the power supply, and a beautifully spacious gap behind the motherboard for cable management.
So that's all part of the fun of building - getting great parts to build a great machine for a much better deal than buying a complete machine.
My Zambezi was an eight core without hyper-threading, so it was also eight threads. My 16GB RAM was fine for that Win7 64 bit machine.
Knowing that Win10 likes to use up RAM without even asking, I went with 64GB on my Ryzen build. I barely touch that. So far it's been overkill and 32 GB would have been fine.
I built a Ryzen9 monster machine for my bro in law about a month ago for his flight sim program ( he is 74 years old ) ... was the first time he experienced a build and I hadn't done one for a few years...
what a machine though!
From that price range you won't find any good stuff right now.
The question also is if you use Octane for Carrara or not, some graphic cards does not support Octane below 2020 (GTX 16 Series for example).
I am also still looking for some stuff, first i wanted to spend lots of money for a complete new System but also thinking about updating my actual system but right now everything gots very expensive, so i would think next year things will look better to get something newer.
OMG, this is worse than waiting to afford a better system. I went ahead and did the upgrade for a new system with the AMD Ryzen, etc. I got it last week, but with one huge problem. I got it a day after I got my shoulder replacement surgery, so now instead of having it set up I'm just looking at the box it came in, not even able to unpack it. I'll just have to sit back next few weeks looking at it and wipe the drool from my mouth in anticipation. Oh well, timing was just a bit off. Thanks everyone for the suggestions and feedback.
One last thing, I got my shoulder surgery on my birthday. What's even weirdier, it was in the same hospital I was born in 68 years ago.