Build advice for a MAYA workstaion???

slim01 · 17 Sep 2010 at 17:30

Hi guys I got a friend who is well into her animation who wants a good rig for 3D modelling AND rendering using MAYA and 3D Studio Max.

Unfortunately she hasn't given me a budget YET, but cheaper for her will obviously be better so im just trying to figure out which is the best way to go for her... Ive done a little research and hope you guys can help me answer questions below.

CPU
1) AMD or Intel? Ive heard Intels are generally better at multitasking? But theres the cost... i ALWAYS use AMD usually. Im thinking an X4 955 BE.
2) Quad Core or is Dual core? AMD X2 550 BE fine? Am I right in thinking quadcore has many benefits for 3D rendering?

MEMORY
3)DDR3 or DDR2? Any real difference in this area?
4)4gb or 8gb? I know 4gb should be plenty for gaming, but is it enough for 3d rendering? would there be much of a performance increase in going to 8gb?

GRAPHICS
5)Quadro FX or Good Nvidia card (apparently ATI cards suck at maya)?
£170 for a PNY nVIDIA Quadro FX 580 512MB seems a HECK of a lot of money for what the specs are compared to gaming cards - are they REALLY that much better for 3D work? Shes not really into gaming and I understand the quadro cards SUCK for it... but for around £200 i could get a gtx 280, wouldn't that hold MUCH more power?

Thanks in advance guys

slim01 · 18 Sep 2010 at 00:20

yeah thought so with defo not going for ati cards. Just spoke to her again and when i said around £800 for a budget build (this is including a monitor and windows 7 remember) she looked a bit shocked.

Im thinking around £700 will do her. CPU im thinking a black edition 955 quad, clocked to around 4ghz, with 4gb of memory for now, then another 4gb when she can afford it. the 6 cores add a lot of money, and mobos are a little bit more to support them.

wow ram is expensive these days. I have 8gb in my machine now, bought it for £38 for 4gb, its now £96 WTF?

As far as the quadros go they look terrible for what they cost, but i know nothing about them so maybe they ARE worth it over a good Nvidia card. anyone here used one?

slim01 · 18 Sep 2010 at 00:45

why is my signature not working?

slim01 · 18 Sep 2010 at 00:47

Ahh there we go. anyone know why i cant give an avatar upload? i been with OCUK for ages, just recently started posting again though

slim01 · 19 Sep 2010 at 23:56

thanks for all your help guys, nice to see everyone has confirmed and has pretty much the same idea i had from the start.

Ayduit deserves big thanks from me - always great to have someone who has and is running the card!!

Yeah it is going to be her focus, but shes a bit of a rogue - with lots of different ideas going around in her head. This is why i told her, she'd have to be serious about getting into doing £D work before I build it for her, as 3d rendering isnt really something you want a cheap PC for.

Im not sure on the type of 3d work shell be doing, but have explained, for example, more ram is always going to be better, but she can add this at any time - like when she actually gets into it seriously!!

Shes like me with work and business - has a million ideas of things to do, but never really settles on anything. ive only just recently decided on my business idea, was a hard choice but i thought i had to get on and decide once and for all. i have a passion for computers and decided to stick with it. everyone needs a computer right??

DOWN WITH MACS!!