New PC

[Neilg]

i've been working on a couple of scenes recently that are a gig in size and billions of polys worth of scattered geometry - yet they render in just over 6gb of ram. it's so easy to halve the ram used by a scene with even just a little bit of optimization, so long as you've got at least 16gb to render you're good. 32 in a workstation and you can keep 4 high res psds open at the same time as a max file.

obv I dont use multiple gb mari painted .exr textures. although what i've heard about the hdri loader maybe even they wouldn't be an issue.

[Morne]

I am ready to pull the trigger (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Precisi...p2054897.l4275) This will by my only workstation, so I'll have to be an optimization master. 36GB of RAM, enough?

I never bother looking at Ebay because its just for Americans and guys from Europe. That was the case few years ago.
I don't even bother clicking an Ebay link.

BUT,
I happen to click on your link and spotted they can ship to me, just have to arrange with the seller. I'm suddenly VERY interesting in Ebay :- )
VERY

The prices on there is next to nothing comprared to what the same thing will cost locally. Shipping can't be that much. I wonder where's the catch, maybe we have some local import taxes or some other obstacle. With prices so cheap, I don't know why everybody isnt doing it. Worth looking into I think

[glorybound]

It is worth looking into. For me, shipping is free.

[glorybound]

i've been working on a couple of scenes recently that are a gig in size and billions of polys worth of scattered geometry - yet they render in just over 6gb of ram. it's so easy to halve the ram used by a scene with even just a little bit of optimization, so long as you've got at least 16gb to render you're good. 32 in a workstation and you can keep 4 high res psds open at the same time as a max file.

obv I dont use multiple gb mari painted .exr textures. although what i've heard about the hdri loader maybe even they wouldn't be an issue.

I can go up to 72GB on that one, so I just emailed for his drop dead price for that machine with 72GB. With 32GB it is $1,500. I was going to offer $1,200, so maybe $1,500 for double the RAM. However. It is refurbished, so it better be rock solid.

[Neilg]

I doubt you'd get it with 72 for the asking price of it with 32.
you don't need more than 32gb. Just put the cash towards a second box to run in DR or something. my ram usage hasn't gone up in 3 years and if anything it's going down as better tools and methods come out.

[glorybound]

He said that he can't go that high with RAM, and the price is already extremely low. I would go with another box as a slave, but that dang V-Ray changed their node policy

[fraggle]

Bobby,
The last new build workstation I purchased was from http://www.rect.coreto-europe.com/
It was in 2010, a bi xeon 5650.
At that time they were 1000€ cheaper than a Dell for the same configuration.

But I've been relying on second hand HP or dell for more than a decade in the past, without problem.
The only problem with second hands, it's that one day, the memory update will cost more than the workstation itself. RAM follow an uneven cycle, so better to get the right amount of ram before the price became insane.

[glorybound]

what about this one?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-Z600-Work...item2a33bddbb7

Processor Speed:	2x Six Core E5650 2.66GHz	Model:	Z600 Workstation
Memory:	48 GB	Type:	PC Desktop
Hard Drive Capacity:	500 GB

[Dariusz Makowski (Dadal)]

Yea its not too bad mate. Keep diggind :- ) the longer u wait the more of those six cores pop up with cheaper prices :- )

[glorybound]

but, is it better than the Dell?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Precisi...item27dd7861d5

[glorybound]

HP has more RAM
but the video card is weak
and it has a SATA drive

The Dell has sell RAM
better video card
SSD drive

So, with my limited knowledge, the DELL looks better.

[fraggle]

for sure SSD and FX3800 are better than Sata + FX1800.

Just be sure that OS + Software can fit into a 250 GB.

[alexyork]

Yes don't skimp on the OS SSD... you need a good sized one for temp files, cache and other things.

[Dariusz Makowski (Dadal)]

Throw those HDD's away. Never use second handed HDD/SSD as they are used and can fail at any time. Invest in proper new SSD/HDD. Go with better ram and cpu system. GPU, HDD,SDD get new ones.

[glorybound]

I pulled the trigger on the DELL. I got it for $1450

Dell Precision T5500 Workstation 2xSix Core XEON X5650 2.66GHz/240G SSD+1T/Win 7