Author Topic: what hardware? PC Built from scratch or Pricey MAC Book Pro  (Read 19229 times)

2014-09-06, 12:30:37
Reply #15

juang3d

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Personally I always build my own rigs, you get a much better price/performance ratio, right now we have the i7-5820k that is looking freaking awesome, I'm going to acquire two machines with 16Gb and without GPU for around 800€, it's going to be freaking awesome for Corona.

But if you need a lower price, the best price/performance ratio is a machine with the i7-3770K, you can get it with 16Gb of ram and without GPU for around 550€.

Both machines with closed liquid ref. system, it's cheap nowadays and great for OC the "K" processors.

The thing is that if you get the cinebench punctuation system, two 5820k get 21 points of render power more or less, meanwhile three 3770k get 23 points of render power, so from my POV, if you think in expandability, space and power consumption, the 5820k it's an awesome cpu with a good price.

The branded machines have some advantages over the custom ones, I configure and assemble machines commercially for specific needs, but what I do is configure them and assemble them if it's required by the client, but the warranty comes directly from the seller for every component, not for the entire machine, on the other hand, the branded machines come with some great case design and a good airflow because of that, while I'm limited by the price the client wants, also they give a full machine warranty, not per component, and that could be good if you prefer it.

So in the end it depends on what type of support you want and how important the price/performance ratio is for you.

The only branded machine I have is a 17" macbook pro, and that is because I needed a powerful laptop for mobility and I develop apps with Unity and native android and iOS apps, and it lasts a lot, it's pricey, but components are awesome, the metallic case is great, and the screen is awesome, and the battery is awesome also for a 17" laptop, but as I said, this is because I have some specific need that just a MBP could cover, not just because being a Mac, but because being a powerful and a long lasting machine.

Cheers.

2014-09-06, 18:17:56
Reply #16

CiroC

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Thats interesting!

When building your own, how do you go about it? Research which parts  you want and ensure they will work together, then buy all parts cheapest online, then whip it together?

And what brands would you recommend or avoid?

I usually used hardware's forums to get help. I check the best workstations in the market and then try to match the same performance and create a gaming pc as well. PSU is very important as mentioned and always of what upgrades you can in the future. More RAM, a second graphic card or even a better CPU.

I worked with DELL and they are very robust and currently I am working with HP which is also good. There is a good website\forum with reviews of PCs for different budgets.

2014-09-08, 15:49:11
Reply #17

casparagus

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That's cool - I'd shied away from 'build your own' machines, but from your experiences it sounds like the way to go.

Now I just need to get some money together to build some render-beasts!

2014-09-09, 20:45:11
Reply #18

Fibonacci

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Maybe stupidity...but for the render why not get some older i7 ? Maybe 3-4 pcs. i7 for the background render cheeper than the newest one...Basicly just motherboard, mems, processors...and...that's all ! :D

And don't forget to buy an Quadro for the wireframes ! Q2000 more than enought...for start... ;)

Holy Corona : the materials is the clue.

2014-09-11, 00:56:59
Reply #19

juang3d

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There are three reasons.

First electric compsumption, it's more with more computers, newer procs equals to better power management.

Second, for the same price you get more or less the same power, check what I said in my previous post, a 3770K is an old processor, it's not even a socket 2011 processor, but with two 5820k you get aprox the same power as three 3770k

And the third one, availability, one cool option could be to get some 2600k, but it is really hard (at least here) to find those procs.

That is what I think.

Cheers!

2014-09-11, 18:54:11
Reply #20

Fibonacci

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Well I think your right with the consumetions.
The last time when I looked around in the hardwear market, that was 2 years ago.  Mine Dell Precision was for me the best choice and the power management is really low. I'm mean not killing my budget at all! :D

Of course more procs more consumetion...But, you have to get idea...which is the most important.

Trust me if you want...Buy an refurbised Dell if you need an mean stuff for modeling, texturing, rendering ...and you'll be so happy ! Or...you must to tikk-takk in your mind...and you will make an mistaken with something wrong choice. It's up to only your budget...

Sorry pal, this is just my opininon.   

Holy Corona : the materials is the clue.

2014-09-11, 19:13:09
Reply #21

elindell

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I used http://pcpartpicker.com/ when building my last pc,
it keeps an updated list of most market products with price/links to online stores (which you can filter by), and as you add parts to your list it shows other parts that are compatible so you don't end up buying a chip incompatible with the motherboard or something, really saved me a lot of time.

edit also no on the mac, does 3ds max even have a mac version?

2014-09-11, 20:04:33
Reply #22

Fibonacci

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Mac ? Forget the max on that...For the Maya, ZBrush, CD4 and others has on the mac.
Holy Corona : the materials is the clue.

2014-09-13, 00:18:49
Reply #23

juang3d

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Fibonacci you can install windows natively in a mac along with OSx, so no problem with Max :)

Cheers.

2014-09-13, 12:22:27
Reply #24

hglr123

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I think that you should go with 2x Xeon config - at the end it will be a cheaper solution than 2 or 3 separate machines with i7 CPU's. And you need a custom rig, not branded one (brands are expensive as ...).

I just bought a new machine for rendering (to refresh a bit my old render farm) -> 2x E5 2620 v2 (and there are v3 already), 32 GB ECC RAM, 512GB + 128GB SSD's, 1.3kW PSU, Supermicro motherboard (without case and GPU, I already have them) - this costs me 2k in Euro. If you add GPU - the machine is ready to be a main workstation, or without GPU - as a render node. Cheaper and faster than 2 separate i7 render nodes.
And more efficient in maintenance for hardware and software terms.

Render speed is x3 faster than my old i7 2600K custom rig.

Just my 2 cents :)