Hardware for a pro 3d modeler/designer

[jsmoke]

What would a pro modeler be using. Are you talking dual xeon cpu's, dual quadro gpu's, 32Gig Ram, ssds, etc..

Wouldn't an i7 and a mid to high end mainstream gpu be enough?

What are the most cpu intensive software, I assume rendering in 3ds max and maya and the like.

How about monitors, I think you are looking at about 2 x 27'' touchscreen monitors at the high end?

Can anyone give me some stats as to what's what at the high end of 3d game design hardware...

 

[bloodiedathame]

"What would a pro modeler be using. Are you talking dual xeon cpu's, dual quadro gpu's, 32Gig Ram, ssds, etc.."

Modellers I know use anything from very basic kit (2010 MBP or standard z800). You can model pretty cheaply as the programmes don't require massive power to do this.

"Wouldn't an i7 and a mid to high end mainstream gpu be enough?"
I have a 4770k and gtx 660 that I use as my render machine, yes it's ample for modelling.

"What are the most cpu intensive software, I assume rendering in 3ds max and maya and the like"
Yes, rendering is very CPU intensive.

"How about monitors, I think you are looking at about 2 x 27'' touchscreen monitors at the high end?"
Depends what your're doing. More screen real estate means you can have more panels on at any one time. If you're only rendering you don't even need a monitor (remote in). Modelling I'd only use one, animating I'd use two.

"Can anyone give me some stats as to what's what at the high end of 3d game design hardware..."
Have a look at http://www.cbscores.com/, these are benchmarks for Cinema4D. I'd imagine that 3DS and Maya would benefit from similar spec'd machines to C4D.

 

[Xelene]

Wouldn't an i7 and a mid to high end mainstream gpu be enough?

Depends on the modelling package, will it be accelerated by consumer GPU's?

As to the CPU, a workstation should have ECC RAM so the I7/I5 chips are out of the way.