Computer questions for Maya + V-Ray (noob alert)

[danclarkwcp]

Sorry in advance for all the noob questions. We are a photography studio, have been getting into still rendering with Keyshot and Maxwell, just got Maya and V-Ray for 3D medical animations. We are running Maya (currently just the monthly subscription version, while we get up and running) on a Lenovo Y900 i7 quad core. I'd like to get another PC, so we can do some local rendering, and here's a used computer for sale locally I'm considering:

- HP Z840
- Dual 12 core E5-2673 v3 2400 MHz Xeons, so 24 cores total
- 16GB RAM DD4 2133P
- 256GB PCI-E SSD
- Nvidia Quadro K4000

So, some questions:

- Would this be a decent choice for a first computer to use for rendering Maya/V-Ray animations? I'm not ready to set up a full-blown render farm, until I know how much work we'll be doing, and also until I can test out some cloud render farms.

- I'm sure we'll need more RAM than what's currently in this computer. Would 48GB be enough for this 24-core, or should we get 96GB?

- Is EEC RAM important for rendering?

- I believe we'll need the network version of Maya, tho' I'm not clear if we'll need another V-Ray license, as the one we just bought includes one render node. I'm checking with Autodesk and Chaos Group, but if anyone's using a similar setup, I'd be very curious to hear what worked best.

- Anything else to consider about this computer, or suggestions for a better alternative? I realize this is an older computer, but it's inexpensive compared to brand new PCs, and I'm not ready yet to spring for a new $$$ computer.

- Also, a bit OT, any cloud render farms that are recommended?

Thanks in advance,
Dan
www.weinberg-clark.com

[Svetlozar Draganov]

Determine whether particular hardware will be sufficient for rendering depends from the scenes that you are about to render, how fast you would like to render and etc.
E5-2673 is not a bad choice at all, regarding this benchmarks it is a very powerful processor which should render quite fast.

- Would this be a decent choice for a first computer to use for rendering Maya/V-Ray animations? I'm not ready to set up a full-blown render farm, until I know how much work we'll be doing, and also until I can test out some cloud render farms.

This entirely depends from the animation you are about to render. If a frame is being rendered for up to 30min it will be fine but if a frame needs several hours to complete I believe you will need a several machines in order to deliver your product on time.

- I'm sure we'll need more RAM than what's currently in this computer. Would 48GB be enough for this 24-core, or should we get 96GB?

16GB will be sufficient for small to medium scenes, for more complex scenes you will need probably about 48GB and for very heavy ones even more RAM will be needed.
It would be best to start with less memory and add more if needed, just make sure that there are available slots which will allow you to install more memory if needed.

- Is EEC RAM important for rendering?

I don't think that ECC memory has any advantages for the rendering at all.

- I believe we'll need the network version of Maya, tho' I'm not clear if we'll need another V-Ray license, as the one we just bought includes one render node. I'm checking with Autodesk and Chaos Group, but if anyone's using a similar setup, I'd be very curious to hear what worked best.

V-Ray license is floating meaning that you may use it on unlimited machines but not simultaneously. If you would like to work or render on more than one machine at the same time you will have to purchase more workstation or render node licenses.

- Anything else to consider about this computer, or suggestions for a better alternative? I realize this is an older computer, but it's inexpensive compared to brand new PCs, and I'm not ready yet to spring for a new $$$ computer.

Nvidia Quadro K4000 is very very old card which will work very poor with V-Ray RT GPU rendering, I don't think it will work very well for the viewport as well.
GTX card into the same price range will work at least several times faster. Like I mentioned for the RAM it would be better to test and see if the card work well with the scenes and only update it if it doesn't provide the performance you need.

[danclarkwcp]

Thanks Svetlozar, I really appreciate your advice and expertise.
Dan