Rendering machine - wait for new macbook pro or get i7 desktop

[dharmaone]

Hi,

 

I'd like to get something that can handle occasional 3dsmax+vray (interiors) and After Effects (1080p and 4k RED Epic footage).

 

I've built many PC's back in the day and could do it now, but don't mind a ready build either.

 

I've been looking at the Dell XPS 8700 workstation - I can get one here in the UK for £700 (normal price £779, got a 10% discount).

 

Specs are:

 

i7 4770

12gb ram

2tb drive (will get another one for raid 0)

GTX 645 1gb (will this be enough for vray RT? might swap this for a GTX 670 4gb later)

 

I don't think I could build one for much less than that.

 

Alternatively I was thinking about waiting for the new Macbook Pros when they arrive in October (will get one anyway for mobile computing) as they may be powerful enough for what I need. The GPU will likely not be able to handle VrayRT but for raw rendering, comparing geekbench results there isn't much difference between the i7-4770 and the macbook's (rumoured) i7-4950HQ:

 

http://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench2/2260089

http://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench2/2139563

 

Any feedback most welcome! In particular on how VrayRT works with lower end GPUs