JamesL

"Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn't matter to me … Going to bed at night saying we've done something wonderful … that's what matters to me." Most of us don't work on Macs primarily, but we are all using a mouse.

Update with a couple more images - haven't yet gone back and tweaked the first two but will do when I get a few minutes!

Studio/Institution: James Lawley Client: Personal Genre: Residential Exterior Software: Autodesk 3DS Max Design, V-ray 2.0, Adobe Photoshop CS5, Adobe Lightroom Website: http://www.jameslawley.co.uk Description: Personal visualisation project based on the Hampden Lane House by Robert Gurney Architect. Interpretation of the design and interior, plus all modelling/rendering/post by James Lawley. Rendered in V-ray 2.0 with post-production in Photoshop CS5 and a touch in Lightroom. [ATTACH=CONFIG]43442[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]43441[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]43439[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]43440[/ATTACH] More images coming soon!

Really...is it?

I was just reading through the thread and as going to suggest the same thing (two boxes - one rocks, one wire) - I've used this technique before and it worked out great. If you UVW map all the rocks in a larger set you'll help to remove repetition too.

You'd do a lot better running Windows via Parallels (http://www.parallels.com/) - it virtualizes windows within the OSX interface. It's also Autodesks preferred way to run on a Mac: - http://www.parallels.com/uk/news/id,20267 http://www.parallels.com/uk/news/id,22328 http://usa.autodesk.com/products/mac-compatible-products Hope that helps - it's really a lot simpler than Bootcamp, and integrates into OSX much better.

Point taken - but it still would be beneficial to render on two GTX 460's rather than just one?

Looks like its decided then, I'll go with Option A with a 1GB GTX 460 GPU...I can always double it up in SLi if needed for GPU rendering. Thanks Andrew.

Hmm...excellent feedback! For reference, the motherboard in option B is an Asus M4N98TD EVO. While the ventilation in the Xigmatech is better, its likely to be noisier - which could be important if using it at home? I could get Option A with the GTX 460 1GB for £55 more - but I'd be slightly more hesitant to upgrade any time soon from that (but would I need to?!)

Right, I've narrowed it down to two options - both have their pros and cons, be good to get anyones feedback to inform my final decision! They are from two different suppliers:- They both have the AMD 1090T processor, 16GB RAM, SLi compatible motherboards, 1.5TB secondary drives and Windows 7 Professional. Option A - Better motherboard (Asus Crosshair IV) - Bigger SSD drive (Corsair 120GB Force) - Budget graphics card (as they dont stock the GTX 460 2GB, so I'll get a cheap card e.g. GTX 250 to start and then look at an upgrade in the future) - Xigmatek Asgard case Option B - Smaller SSD (Intel X-25 M 80GB) - Choice GPU (GTX 460 2GB) - Coolermaster Sileo 500 Case Option A is marginly cheaper, but obviously will cost me in the long run as I may want to upgrade the GPU.

Just saw Luc's reply earlier, not sure how i missed it! Not a bad idea going for the SSD for Windows & Max...I'm still torn as I was hoping to have two disks, where the first is OS and software - the second split between projects & assets...mixing in software adds another layer of confusion!

Agreed - I thought that was a bit of a stretch. This is the only decision I have left before ordering my workstation...so the options are:- - 1TB unbranded HDD, 7200RPM, 3-Gb/s with 16MB Cache - 640GB WD Caviar Black HDD, 7200RPM, 6-Gb/s with 64MB Cache (+£8) - 80GB Intel X25-M SSD (+£100) But I'm still unsure if 80GB is enough space! Any advice would be much appreciated!

I'm edging away from SSD, on a budget vs storage issue - I can probably stretch for the Intel 80GB SSD drive, but I dont think thats realistically enough space to hold Windows 7, 3DS Max, Vray, Adobe Suite etc... Windows 7 - 16GB Adobe Suite - 16.3GB Adobe Lightroom - 1GB 3DS Max 2011 - 3GB (at least) MS Office - 3GB Vray - 350MB (minimum) So that takes me to about 40GB already - I'm sure there will be plenty more to add on top of that... Do you know if there is a notice-able speed difference running Windows and software from an SSD drive? For much less money I can get a 500GB 7,200 RPM drive (either an unbranded one or a Western Digital Caviar Black)...and if I do go for a regular HDD, what difference does Cache make (8MB, 16MB, 32MB...)? On another forum they suggested that the speed difference of getting an SSD drive would even be worth getting a cheaper processor for - that sounds like an exaggeration to me...any thoughts?

I've seen odd snippets of information about 3December 2010 in London but I havent managed to find any comprehensive information about it (e.g when/where/what's happening)... Anyone know any more than I do? I know last year it was held in conjunction with 3DS London...I've tried emailing Autodesk but havent got any concrete information yet!

Good answer on the GPU, i will eventually upgrade to 2 x 460's... Any thoughts on the Hard Drive?