Student Rendering Solution

[alexf1]

I know there are thousands of "what computer should I buy" posts on this site. I have done my own research and I will keep this as short as possible to avoid wasting your time.

 

My Situation:

• I am a university student. I currently have an HP ProBook with a i5-2410M CPU @ 2.3 GHz, Intel HD3000 Integrated Graphics and 8GB RAM.
  
• I use Vray for SU, Auto CAD and Adobe CS6 Suite. My HP ProBook struggles with renders in VRay for SU, the rest it does fine.
  
• Using Revit's cloud rendering I have experienced first hand the massive advantage that is to have the ability to render really fast. Next year in uni I will be using SU and rendering with Vray and I do not want to waste time waiting for Vray renders to finish.
  
• I don't do any computer gaming so this is not of concern.
  
• I am planning to spend around 1100$
  

 

Questions:

• My understanding is that Vray rendering happens in the CPU and not the GPU. This means that a "workstation" graphics card (a Quadro or FirePro) is not necessary (?). Will a decent GeForce GTX 8xxM or GTX 9xxM be enough for viewports, Photoshop, etc?
  
• Since rendering happens in the CPU I assume an i7 is a must. I also assume it is a good idea to wait a little and get a laptop with a 5th generation Boradwell chip? In this case which chip would you recommend?
  
• Regarding RAM, assuming 1600MHz speeds, will 8GB be enough or should I go for 16GB?
  
• Although I do most of my work in studio, I can see possible situations when I will be working somewhere else, making the portability of a laptop necessary. However, I want to get opinions on whether the performance improvement of a small desktop, perhaps a Dell T1700 SFF with a Xenon E3, may be worth the sacrifice in portability (since I would be more productive in studio)?
  

 

Possible Solutions: (which do would you recommend)

Dell Latitude 3550 ($959.00): Intel® Core™ i7-5500U Processor, NVIDIA GeForce 830M 2GB Graphics, 8GB (2x4GB) 1600MHz DDR3L Memory

 

Dell Inspiron 15 ($996.69): Intel Core i7 5500U (2.40GHz), 16GB DDR3, AMD Radeon R7 M270

 

Lenovo Flex 3 ($1,099.99): 5th Generation Intel Core i7-5500U Processor (2.40GHz 1600MHz 4MB), NVIDIA GeForce GT 920M 2GB 2GB, 8.0GB PC3-12800 DDR3L 1600 MHz

 

Acer Aspire V3 ($ 899.99): Intel Core i7-5500U Dual-core 2.40 GHz, NVIDIA GeForce 840M with 2 GB Dedicated Memory, 16 GB, DDR3L SDRAM

 

Acer Aspire V5 ($ 999.99): Intel Core i7-4510U 2 GHz (Hope this gets updated to Broadwell), NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M with 4 GB Dedicated Memory, 8 GB, DDR3L SDRAM

 

Acer E5 ($849.00): Intel Core i7 5500U (2.40GHz), 8GB DDR3 RAM, NVIDIA Geforce 940M

 

MSI GP Series GP62 Leopard Pro-002 ($999.00): Intel Core i7 5700HQ (2.70GHz), 8GB DDR3L, NVIDIA Geforce GTX 950M

 

Asus K501 Gaming Laptop ($799.00): Intel Core i7 5500U (2.40GHz), 8GB DDR3L, NVIDIA Geforce GTX 950M

 

Any other suggestions...

[Nikolaos M]

In my opinion, keep the current laptop for everything you do except rendering, and build a discrete desktop render node for now. For 1100$ you can get a decent 4790K based setup that would be a lot faster in Vray rendering than any laptop in the market right now. If you aren't in a big hurry, you should wait for Skylake cpus. They will probably be in the market in 2-3 months. If you can't wait, then see something like this:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($328.99 @ NCIX US)

CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U14S 55.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($67.88 @ OutletPC)

Motherboard: Asus Z97-AR ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($139.99 @ Amazon)

Memory: G.Skill Trident X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2400 Memory ($134.99 @ Newegg)

Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($89.99 @ Newegg)

Video Card: MSI GeForce GT 730 2GB Video Card ($59.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($74.99 @ NCIX US)

Power Supply: Cooler Master VSM 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($81.33 @ Mwave)

Total: $978.15

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-19 04:20 EDT-0400

Edited June 19, 2015 by nikolaosm

[Dimitris Tolios]

I agree with Nikolaos, just wanted to note something on your original post:

 

Almost all the laptops you are asking us to choose from, are using Intel's "U" processors, which are low power models optimized for long battery life and not performance. Those CPUs are meant mostly for ultra-portable laptops // MacBook Air, Ultrabooks, Surface Pro etc.

 

Even the i7 "U" CPUs are dual-cores.

 

Thus the i7 5700HQ, being a real quad core with HT and pumping about 2x the watts of the U line, is easily the faster of the bunch.

[Eliot Blenkarne]

I am a student in your exact situation, except I use Archicad in place of autocad.

 

I have an older HP DV6 notebook (quad core I7, 8gb ram, some crappy graphics), which I was using for rendering in Vray for skp but it's around 3 years old and getting a touch sluggish. I purchased a desktop, pre-built, for around $1800 New Zealand dollars and it has saved my ass numerous times since then.

 

Basic/important specs are;

 

I7 4790k

32gb ram DDR3-1600

nVidia Geforce GTX 970 4GB GDDR5 (which hasn't been used aside from some casual GTA5 gaming, probably overkill in my opinion)

120GB Sata 3 SSD + Seagate 2TB

 

Get 32gb ram - knowing you can just throw all your props and trees and crap in the scene and know it will be ok is such a good feeling, especially if you know what Vray for skp was like not that long ago, aka crashed a lot.

 

Vray RT is great for lighting set up so the GPU might help here, but honestly, use material override, low low quality settings and the CPU RT will be fine.

 

Now, this is my set up and it may not be the best way, but it works great for me on a limited/zero budget

 

I use my notebook as a "server" of sorts, it's where all my stuff is stored. I have a backup that runs everytime I plug in an external hard drive. When I want to use my desktop workstation, I plug it in to my notebook via crossover cable. This keeps my workstation free of junk and encourages me to keep my notebook files and folders in good order. This arrangement also ensures that my file arrangement remains consistent, so that I can disconnect my notebook, go to school/cafe/library and do some 3d modelling there and know that it will all be there no matter what. When I'm at home, I use my desktop, but everything lives on the notebook/external hard drive. The other positive to this setup is that I can have my more powerful desktop rendering, and then switch over to my notebook and work on my layouts/adobe suite/whatever else.

 

Obvious negative to this is that I need to have both computers running when I am on my desktop, but this isn't a big deal and the dent in my power bill is barely noticeable.

 

Hope this helps!

[alexf1]

In my opinion, keep the current laptop for everything you do except rendering, and build a discrete desktop render node for now. For 1100$ you can get a decent 4790K based setup that would be a lot faster in Vray rendering than any laptop in the market right now. If you aren't in a big hurry, you should wait for Skylake cpus. They will probably be in the market in 2-3 months. If you can't wait, then see something like this:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($328.99 @ NCIX US)

CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U14S 55.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($67.88 @ OutletPC)

Motherboard: Asus Z97-AR ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($139.99 @ Amazon)

Memory: G.Skill Trident X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2400 Memory ($134.99 @ Newegg)

Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($89.99 @ Newegg)

Video Card: MSI GeForce GT 730 2GB Video Card ($59.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($74.99 @ NCIX US)

Power Supply: Cooler Master VSM 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($81.33 @ Mwave)

Total: $978.15

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-19 04:20 EDT-0400

 

Thanks for the feedback! I am wondering though if it is possible to get the same setup in a smaller case (something like a micro ATX)? Also, in terms of rendering what difference do Xenon cpus make?