power vs. price

[mallwine]

Hello everyone I and just wondering. I have an old machine so doing some of the high poly modeling tutorial is getting a bit difficult. I am just wondering what kind of rig would be best for high poly modeling on a budget.

I am looking for info on the best mix of memory, processing and video. I would also like some info on how much space would be good for just a modeling / animation rig.

Thanks for any help

[Izzacummin]

What is your budget?

[dmacb]

Hi!

Don't know if this helps but... 3 World magazine, issue 107 (this month issue) has a section of workstation test, from a low budget to a professional one...

Be cool!

[Ferocious Simplicity]

well my spec is

AMD Athlon AM2 4600 2Ghz
2GB RAM
80GB System Drive
250 Back Up Drive
ATI Radeon X1900XT 512MB


Ive had this system for almost two years and it handels everything fine even the high poly tutorials from here.

You can now get this system built for a few hundred £.

So you can get power and price.

[solarkid]

Whatever you do, get a 64-bit operating system. Makes nice use of high end parts such as quad-core cpus and 8GB+ memory.

[mallwine]

Thanks for all the info. I will most likely be building this computer piece by piece as the funds become available so hopefully I can do it soon.

[solarkid]

Originally Posted by mallwine

Thanks for all the info. I will most likely be building this computer piece by piece as the funds become available so hopefully I can do it soon.

DON'T. Save your money until you are ready to drop it all at one time. Prices drop every day so if you wait, you will end up saving. ESPECIALLY on video cards and processors.

[Raptus]

Originally Posted by solarkid

DON'T. Save your money until you are ready to drop it all at one time. Prices drop every day so if you wait, you will end up saving. ESPECIALLY on video cards and processors.

Agreed, i would get a decent amount of ram aswell, Its my limiting factor :'(

__________________
"Why is everything so damn hard! "

[sbcarshops]

*Warning* I'm traditionally an Nvidia, and Intel Person, that aside read on,

Honestly I would most defiantly spring for the Intel Q6600 Processor. Its a low end quad core, but so far In my opinion Intel's most stable quad core, plus its cheap. its running 150.00 - 200.00 USD, and thats for a 2.4GHz Quad (so 9.6 Ghz Total)

I would also recommend that you buy a full size case. Yes it costs a little more in price and shipping, but #1 It allows for Expansion in the long rung. #2 It can allow for better and more efficient airflow across products that will get hot. My case now is too small and It kills my Frame rate for Counter Strike, so when I switch to a new case that will be fixed and it should help preserve the life of the vid card. In theory.

I would recommend going with a 64Bit operating system as well. To take full advantage of your computer. Although for whatever reason my computer doesn't really use ram for rendering. I only have 3GB which is well under the 4GB cap for the jump between 64 and 32 Bit OS's. I'm still out for if I really need more than 3GB. I want it, but not sure if i NEED it. As of now I'm only using 47% of that when I render.

Hope this helps.

[Izzacummin]

My machine is an entry into real 3d power as I see it.

Quad core Intel Q6600 overclocked to 3.0Ghz ( higher is very possible but I want absolute stability so did not push it )
6 Gb Ram ( 64 bit OS needed for more than 3 Gb )
Nvidia BFG 8800Gt 512 Mb
22" HP w2207H monitor ( 1680 x 1050 )

I see this as a good system to learn on.