Home budget rendering PC (quad core)

[chriztophe]

Hi,

I want to build a home computer, optimized for Rhino, V-ray, photoshop and casual gaming.
The aim is fast renderings, the budget is <1000€.

I was thinking of an ASUS P6T mobo with an Intel&#174; Core i7-920 2666MHz processor.
XP or Vista 32bit with 3 or 4 GB DDR3 memory. (would avoid 64bit OS for compatibility issues with other drivers)

I'm a bit in doubt with the graka since i'm not sure how it would improve rendering times.
I read it's mostly needed for smooth viewport display? budget for the graka is around 150€.
I was thinking of an ATI 4830 or 4850 / NVIDIA geforce9600 or 9800GTX+,
which are actually more gaming cards,
or a cheaper NVIDIA Quadro or ATI FirePRO card, like the NVIDIA FX 370,
but this would be a pain for my casual gaming i suppose?

Could anyone help me out on the perfect budget setup?
I don't have the luxury to build a render farm with multiple slaves at home

[thomthom]

Re: Home budget rendering PC (quad core)

I'd recommend 64Bit Vista or Windows 7. Driver support is good. Not like old XP.

I just upgraded my system to an Intel Quadcore 9450 2.66GHz, going to overclock to 3.2-3.4.I have 8GB RAM installed and an nVidia 8800GT. I've been playing with the Windows 7 64bit beta and it's been really good.
The only driver issues I've had, had not been related to 64bit, but related to Windows7 being in beta.

If you also game I'd go with the GeForce series. My 880GT is still going fine.

Generally, I've found nVidia cards to have less driver issues than ATI the past years, so my money is on them.

[Sando]

Re: Home budget rendering PC (quad core)

If you want a system that is going to last you a while I would suggest windows vista 64bit. I have had problems finding drivers for XP 64bit but not problems with Vista 64bit. I think Nvidia gaming card is the best for all round graphic needs. I would suggest at least 4gb ram.

[chriztophe]

Re: Home budget rendering PC (quad core)

Ok thanks, I'll go for Vista or Win7 64bit then, with 4 or even 6gb DDR3 memory and some ATI 4850 card. Only doubting between a 512Mb or a 1Gb graka? Does it matter for rendering speed?

[dalomar_cg]

Re: Home budget rendering PC (quad core)

nope it doesn't. V-Ray doesn't really use the graphics card for anything. I'd say go with 4 gbs, but in a configuration that is easily upgradable to 6 or 8. Rhino's just 32bit right now, so the maximum memory usage you'll get is about 3.6 to 3.8 gbs. Rhino 5 will be 64 bit so that will be better.

[Sando]

Re: Home budget rendering PC (quad core)

I think better off getting 1gb graphics card if you can afford it.