New "What machine should I buy" site

[aaronrumple]

I'd probably go with the AMD Ryzen these days over my i7 5960x. But this is an interesting article:

http://www.techspot.com/review/1155-affordable-dual-xeon-pc/

[the Rev.]

Hey guys. Newbie is back.

Done my homework... and I'm a bit too spooked to build my own. If anything goes wrong during the build (runs too hot, not reading RAM, etc) I wouldn't know where to even begin to troubleshoot.

So... plan B. Looking around for ready to buy builds with some of the specs I've found here... and I'm looking into this one...

 

https://www.amazon.com/ADAMANT-Gaming-Desktop-Workstation-GeForce/dp/B06XJCRK9Y/ref=sr_1_8?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1493514225&sr=1-8&keywords=vr+workstation&refinements=p_n_feature_five_browse-bin%3A13580788011%2Cp_n_feature_four_browse-bin%3A3081486011

 

 

and...since I don't see any specs on video output... will it run something like this? Two of them (eventually)?

 

https://www.amazon.com/Dell-UltraSharp-PXF79-34-Inch-LED-Lit/dp/B00PXYRMPE

 

 

So... general feedback? And does the graphic card look good enough? Hoping to not only do 3DSMax & Vray but also dive into Unreal Engine 4. What do you think? Is this a good enough machine? Middle of the road? Good and competitive for a few years? Any input is really appreciated.

Edited April 30, 2017 by the Rev.
adding info.

[Francisco Penaloza]

if you don't feel comfortable building your own machine, I think that amazon link is a good choice, everything seems to be good.

Regarding the monitors, that's a lot of pixels .

[Ramon Folguera]

Hi guys,

 

I have been working in visualisation many years but never had to think of building a workstation for my personal use. I have been in touch with Scan and they have been helping me out. Been doing lot of research and i am still a bit lost.

 

I wanted to show you the list they gave me.

The first one they send was with the 2080ti: https://www.scan.co.uk/3xs/shared/eea3331b-a08b-4e79-9918-d32ef4e25809

And i said to change it to a good 1080ti, and also to a 64 GB RAM: https://www.scan.co.uk/3xs/shared/53d95e3c-7356-43fa-840c-f25f4e39bc5d

 

 

After that a friend of mine recommended me to make sure i get a Mobo with 4 slots for dual Nvidia. I have no idea but this is what Scan told me:

With this board, four GPUs is not possible. 2 Nvidia or 3 AMD maximum. The 3 AMD can all be dual slot, no issue. If that's somthing you're looking to do, a different motherboard will be required.

 

 

And this is what they change to get that.. and it went a lot more expensive: An i7 doesn't have enough PCi Express Lanes available for 4 cards. You would need a system with either an i9 or an AMD Threadripper based system.

 

Here is a Threadripper build with much faster processor, capability for 128GB RAM if necessary, 4 GPU slots and a 1200w power supply to handle the 4 cards.

https://www.scan.co.uk/3xs/shared/1a92e19d-a411-44a9-bd54-b054cc1332f8

 

Is it overkilled? i am a bit lost guys. Any help??

 

thank you so much in advance.

 

Ramon

[Graphite]

Unless you're utilizing Vray GPU/RT or whatever their calling it now FULL TIME you'll still need the thread-count for quick renders. So Go threadripper.

Personally my next build will be an AMD build. They just released a 32 Core 64 Thread Version.. Cant wait to see it in action.

[nikosa]

Hello To the group!

I would like to hear your advice, tips and suggestions as I am starting to search for a new laptop. I plan to use it for small scale architectural projects using Sketchup + VRay, Archicad and Revit. My budget is limited (800-900 Euro) and this might sound to be not enough, but I don't require very high detail photo realistic renderings. I would like your opinions about the best approach to choose the best machine without exceeding my budget.

The characteristics I should look are:

1. Processor type

2. Processor frequency

3. RAM

4. Graphic card and memory

5. SSD disc

 

Looking at the options I have in my country, the more realistic options is to go for 8GB RAM (I can add more RAM in the future) and the processors intel core i7 from 1.8 to 2.7 GHz.

For SSD discs I only can get up to 256GB and some machines have a second HHD disc for backup.

How would you approach all these characteristics and in what priorities?

 

Thanks in advance for all your help!

[Nikolaos M]

Are you from Greece? If yes, then for just under 1000€ you can get this https://www.skroutz.gr/s/13702232/Lenovo-Legion-Y520-15IKBN-i7-7700HQ-16GB-256GB-GeForce-GTX-1050-Ti-FHD-No-OS.html

It's the best you can buy for your money. It's better to wait a bit and gather the extra 80€ in this case imo.

[nikosa]

Yes I am from Greece, thanks Nikos! I have also considered this machine. What is your opinion for these two instead? https://www.bestprice.gr/compare/2155263648_2155456783/comparison.html

I would prefer to have a second hard disk for storing my files.

[Nikolaos M]

Well, 8gb of RAM is too low for nowadays standards of CG. 16gb is an absolute minimum. And 128gb of ssd storage space is again too small for OS and apps. The lenovo legion I suggested offers a far better vfm.

As for the hdd for storage, the particular Lenovo has one m.2 slot for small form factor ssds and one 2.5" bay for ssd/hdd. You can easily add a secondary drive for storage, or get by with an external hdd, which starts from 40€ https://www.skroutz.gr/c/87/eksoterikoi-sklhroi-diskoi/f/5528_253062_380918_660209/HDD-USB-3-0-esoteriki-parochi-reymatos-1TB.html?order_by=pricevat&order_dir=asc.

[nikosa]

Actually I made the same thought for the RAM on the laptops I sent: to add more RAM manually in the future if I require it. Good point about the 128gb, I need to check if it is enough to fit all my programms.

[nikosa]

Ok I think 128gb should be ok based on the requirements I found: Windows 10 64bit takes 20gb, and all the 2d and 3d software I use take 5gb each or less. So I think with the programs I need I will fill only half of the 128gb. Of course all my files will be stored on the second disc.

[James Vella]

depends on what post production tools you use and how large the scenes you render etc. 128gb HDD is very very small, even if you intend on saving files to your second drive. For example when working with After Effects & Photoshop the cache can get up to 20-50gb very quickly. If you are rendering and hit your ram limit then your page file will quickly go over 20+ GB. I have only the basic software I need installed and keep all my files on my usb3 external drives and I have used close to 80% of my 512GB SSD.

 

Windows also needs lots of extra space for when doing major upgrades (so you can rollback if theres any issues), sometimes up to 20GB extra.

Edited February 18, 2019 by redvella

[nikosa]

Thanks James. I will better go for the lenovo then to be safe! It is much better anyway, I just didn't like the design so much.

[nikosa]

It's better to wait a bit and gather the extra 80€ in this case imo.

 

What do you mean? I missed that!

[Jesper Pedersen]

Hmmm.. Jeff, we love the new (still) site, but I just clicked on the first post in the "hardware.." forum and the link took me to a tacky/advert over-load Japanes poker/gambling site (and not a review of high-end workstations).

 

Anyway, I checked the date on the post and it's 2010 !! Maybe any post relating to hardware going back that far should be reviewed and ditched as it's probably not relevant. (..or at least the older posts)

Just a suggestion.

Regards

Jesper Pedersen

www.pedersenfocus.ie

Edited October 1, 2020 by jesper54321