Search form

What kind of computer is recommended to do animation?

9 posts / 0 new
Last post
What kind of computer is recommended to do animation?

I've been told use an intel pentium dual processor, i've also been directed to boxxtech, but that's too expensive, can anybody give me the specifics needed for a computer to be able to run Maya or 3DS max along with other programs like Photoshop and After Effects. Specifics i mean processor, video card, memory, etc...:confused: I need a computer but i dont want to buy the wrong one. Please help

The first thing I need to ask is what is your budget?

The second question is are you going to buy it pre built or build it yourself?

For the processor I would go with a quad core CPU, preferably the Intel Core 2 Quad series. I'd go for the new 45nm Yorkfield processors since they are more efficent.

As for the video card it really depends on your budget. Programs like Maya are only qualified to work on workstation class cards like Nvidia's Quadro or ATI FireGL series. These cards are more expensive than their consumer card counterparts like the GeForce and Radeon series. Some people swear by the workstation line while others say you don't really need them. I have both( Quadro FX 3500 & GeForce 7900 GTO) and I see more stability in the Quadro than in the GeForce when I am in Maya or XSI. 3DS Studio Max is not as picky from what I've heard. To future proof your cpu I'd recommend getting one with PCI-E x16 2.0 video card with a compatible motherboard.

As far as motherboards go, choose which ever one you like and works with your CPU of choice. Just make sure you know what cpus the motherboard supports and memory. Make sure it has PCI-E x16 or even PCI-E x 16 2.0

RAM, go with kingston. If you want extra security get a motherboard that supports ECC memory and get that. DDR2-667 and DDR2-800 are so cheap right now I would go with 3GB if your on a 32bit OS and 8GB if your on a 64bit OS. Speaking of OS I prefer to stay with Windows XP for the time being but that is just my opinion. Some people are happy with vista but that all depends on what you want.

Hope this helps you get pointed in the right direction.

Software: TVPaint Pro, Harmony Standalone, Storyboard Pro, Maya, Modo, Arnold, V-Ray, Maxwell, NukeX, Hiero, Mari, RealFlow, Avid, Adobe CS6
Hardware: (2) HP Z820 Workstations + 144-core Linux Render Farm + Cintiq 24HD Touch

thanks for the info, i'm looking to buy for a little bit over $2000 max.; $3000 will be too much. But i'll keep your suggestions in mind.

one thing: loads and loads of ram. at least 2gb.

Your monitor or monitors are going to be very important. I suggest looking at a lot of them and select the one that best suits you and is capable of calibration. Your work style may necessitate that it swivel some do, some don't. If you plan on using dual monitors make sure your graphic's card supports dual monitors.

In addition to all the previous suggestions, make sure your hard drives or drive are big enough for the amount of material you are going to generate, and extra for backup purposes.

Pat Hacker, Visit Scooter's World.

For 3D, a powerful video card is important for modeling, mapping, and animation. Look for something with a quarter gig memory, minimum. Find out which video card brand your 3D software prefers, as crashes occur and features are disabled when these two beasts are incompatible.

RAM and processing power will speed up rendering times. (They'll determine whether an animation takes hours or days to render.)
For rendering, get as many processors/cores as you can afford, and - unless you're creating extremely low-poly characters and tiny scenes - get a minimum of 4 gigs of RAM; preferably 8 gigs or more.

I remember rendering Maya animations on a computer with a 2.4 gig AMD processor, 128mb video card and 512mb of ram. Took like a day for a 12 second clip. Good thing we have quad-core processors and 1 gig video cards now.

I remember rendering Maya animations on a computer with a 2.4 gig AMD processor, 128mb video card and 512mb of ram. Took like a day for a 12 second clip. Good thing we have quad-core processors and 1 gig video cards now.

Its amazing just how far computer technology has come in just a short time. I never would have imagined a single computer could have 8 physical processors 5 years ago.

Software: TVPaint Pro, Harmony Standalone, Storyboard Pro, Maya, Modo, Arnold, V-Ray, Maxwell, NukeX, Hiero, Mari, RealFlow, Avid, Adobe CS6
Hardware: (2) HP Z820 Workstations + 144-core Linux Render Farm + Cintiq 24HD Touch

Its amazing just how far computer technology has come in just a short time. I never would have imagined a single computer could have 8 physical processors 5 years ago.

I could. Those were called supercomputers, and were made out of several parallel processors on several motherboards. I believe they used risc processors (reduced instruction set central processing units), similar to the G4, or what's inside the Sony PlayStation 2, but on a much larger scale.

They were used for modeling, by the miiltary, universities and metereological institutions. Nowadays, you buy similar computing power in a computer shop, for a fraction of the costs.

Be sure to buy "server grade" hard disks, because this is biggest Achilles heel in modern computers. "Consumer grade" hard disk often last, on average, only a year or three. The mean time to faillure can be guessed from the manufacturer's warranty. If it's three years or less, it's consumer grade. If it's five years or more, it's server grade.

You don't want to lose your data because of a crappy hard disk, even if you have a good backup strategy (both onsite and offsite). Data loss means money loss, and possibly loss of reputation.