new computer (3ds max,vray,mari)

[ThE_JacO]

Mari is actually one of the most gaming card friendly apps out there. My GF runs it on her laptop's 560 just fine, and ran it before on my 280 and 480 just fine.

Memory is everything. So get a quality 580 by a reputable brand with as much memory as you can find (it's certified), and you'll be perfectly fine.

Max isn't too finnicky either.

The 560 will work as well, but it seems memory availability and builds available have better candidates for the 580, and the latter is certified, the former isn't (or at least wasn't last time I checked). Not that it makes a lot of difference, but build/brand and memory do.

[ice-boy]

yes i was also thinking GTX580. i heard its good. and i guess its now very cheap right?

but i dont know what else to choose. for example how much RAM should i have for a decent computer? should i go over 8G?

[ThE_JacO]

yes i was also thinking GTX580. i heard its good. and i guess its now very cheap right?
Well, relatively so, but don't cheapen out TOO much, still buy a reputable brand, well reviewed model.
It has of course got cheaper now that the 680 is out.

but i dont know what else to choose. for example how much RAM should i have for a decent computer? should i go over 8G?
That depends entirely on what you do with it.
Certain renders and simulations in general, fluid simulations in particular, can be extremely memory hungry, and there's no such thing as too much ram. Other things such as modelling, animating, rigging etc. hardly make a dent in memory.
Some applications will be expecting a fair chunk of change in ram (realflow), some hardly make any use of it (mudbox/mari) compared to the video ram.

If you're going with windows 7 home premium (I'm assuming here), unless you buy server editions, you are limited to 16GB of ram.

Assuming a mobo with 4 slots buying 8 GB in two sticks, and buying another 8 later if you find you do hit your ceiling with ram, is the economical option. Given how cheap ram is though maxing out to 16 right away if you can afford the spare change up front won't hurt.

[Samuka3000]

Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise and Ultimate goes up to 192GB RAM :thumbsup:

[ice-boy]

i am deciding between WD10EZRX or WD1002FAEX. both are 1TB,buffer memory 64,SATA 6Gb/s,

any advice? thanks

[ice-boy]

this is what i am thinking. need some feedback.

Asus GTX560 Ti 2GB
Asus P8H67-M, VGA, 1155
Intel Core i5 2500K 3,3 GHz, 1155 or i5 3550
WD Caviar Black 1 TB, 7200 rpm, 64 MB, SATA III (WD1002FAEX)
Lite-on IHAS124-19, 24x, SATA
Corsair 700W GS (CMPSU-700GS)
Kingston ValueRAM DDR3 8 GB 1333 MHz

[ice-boy]

anyone have any experience with the i5 3550. its a new procesor right?

[ice-boy]

please need some feedback

[ice-boy]

ok how about this computer?

- Core™ i5 processor i5-3550 Ivy Bridge
-Corsair 700W GS
-WD 1TB SATA 6Gb/s (WD1002FAEX)
-Asus P8Z77-V LX
-Kingston ValueRAM DDR3 8 GB
-Samsung SH-222BB DVD-RW , SATA black
-Cooler Master CM-690 II RC-692A-KKN5
-Asus GTX560 Ti 2GB

[Decade]

The i5 3550 is very slightly slower clocked compared to the i7 2600k.
And it lacks Hyper-threading.
On the other hand it's per-clock performance is a bit better.
I'd expect it to be a shade slower than the 2600k for rendering, about the same for everything else.
16gb ram might be good but RAM is very cheap & easy to add later.
Looks like a good setup.

[LuCh13]

hey, i'm building a new rig to,
i'm going for a GTX670 though, new generation so better in anyway
but to expensive probably if you have to stay below $800
i'm still undeceided on i5 and i7 though,
the difference is the hyper threading, for rendering that means that you can virtualy use 8 cores with the i7, it also shows 8 cores in windows, while the i5 only has 4,
ofcourse you can always go better and better but the price goes up!
very hard decisions!