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Looking to purchase a PC for rendering that won't break the bank.

markmartincmarkmartinc Posts: 7
edited January 2018 in Technical Help (nuts n bolts)

I'm sifted through the forum and found multiple questions regarding what graphics cards to use for IRay as well as some hardware recommendations.  However, the opinions have ranged from 'the CPU doesn't matter' to 'a Titan card is the only way to go'.  The reason I want to upgrade to a new computer is purely time.  It can take over a day to render some items on my current machine, leaving me with a lot of downtime that I'd like to use creating renders.

My Current machine is a Lenovo mini, Core I3 6th generation with integrated graphics. It's a mini, so there is not an option for upgrading the graphics.  I am currently looking at the following machine, and would like the opinion of a few users. I will also say that I am an IT Systems admin, and have worked in IT for over 20 years.  With that being said, I have no desire to build my own machine.  I've done it plenty of times and don't have the love of building anymore.  I've never bought a PC for home, and am not a PC Gamer.  So, on with the specs.

Intel® Core™ i5 8400 (6-Core, 9MB Cache, up to 4GHz with Intel® Turbo Boost Technology)

Alienware™ 460 Watt Multi-GPU Approved Power Supply

NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1070 with 8GB GDDR5

16GB, 2666MHz, DDR4 up to 64GB

1TB (64MB Cache) 7200 RPM SATA 6Gb/s

$1,199.99

Post edited by markmartinc on

Comments

  • nonesuch00nonesuch00 Posts: 18,333
    markmartinc said:

    I'm sifted through the forum and found multiple questions regarding what graphics cards to use for IRay as well as some hardware recommendations.  However, the opinions have ranged from 'the CPU doesn't matter' to 'a Titan card is the only way to go'.  The reason I want to upgrade to a new computer is purely time.  It can take over a day to render some items on my current machine, leaving me with a lot of downtime that I'd like to use creating renders.

    My Current machine is a Lenovo mini, Core I3 6th generation with integrated graphics. It's a mini, so there is not an option for upgrading the graphics.  I am currently looking at the following machine, and would like the opinion of a few users. I will also say that I am an IT Systems admin, and have worked in IT for over 20 years.  With that being said, I have no desire to build my own machine.  I've done it plenty of times and don't have the love of building anymore.  I've never bought a PC for home, and am not a PC Gamer.  So, on with the specs.

    Intel® Core™ i5 8400 (6-Core, 9MB Cache, up to 4GHz with Intel® Turbo Boost Technology)

    Alienware™ 460 Watt Multi-GPU Approved Power Supply

    NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1070 with 8GB GDDR5

    16GB, 2666MHz, DDR4 up to 64GB

    1TB (64MB Cache) 7200 RPM SATA 6Gb/s

    $1,199.99

    The one change I would make since you are trying to be economical is to get an i7 instead of an i5 if doesn't push costs up by more than $150.

  • cwlcak_994ef1dab6cwlcak_994ef1dab6 Posts: 12

    That P/S seems borderline to me, especially with that much RAM.  Might want to consider something over 600W.  Oveclocking eats up power.

  • nonesuch00nonesuch00 Posts: 18,333
    cwlcak_994ef1dab6 said:

    That P/S seems borderline to me, especially with that much RAM.  Might want to consider something over 600W.  Oveclocking eats up power.

    P/S usage is reduced by having more RAM. Are you saying OP doesn't have enough RAM? Although, yes a 600W P/S won't cost alot more and let the OP add a 2nd video card later if they want.

  • OZ-84OZ-84 Posts: 137
    markmartinc said:

    I'm sifted through the forum and found multiple questions regarding what graphics cards to use for IRay as well as some hardware recommendations.  However, the opinions have ranged from 'the CPU doesn't matter' to 'a Titan card is the only way to go'.  The reason I want to upgrade to a new computer is purely time.  It can take over a day to render some items on my current machine, leaving me with a lot of downtime that I'd like to use creating renders.

    My Current machine is a Lenovo mini, Core I3 6th generation with integrated graphics. It's a mini, so there is not an option for upgrading the graphics.  I am currently looking at the following machine, and would like the opinion of a few users. I will also say that I am an IT Systems admin, and have worked in IT for over 20 years.  With that being said, I have no desire to build my own machine.  I've done it plenty of times and don't have the love of building anymore.  I've never bought a PC for home, and am not a PC Gamer.  So, on with the specs.

    Intel® Core™ i5 8400 (6-Core, 9MB Cache, up to 4GHz with Intel® Turbo Boost Technology)

    Alienware™ 460 Watt Multi-GPU Approved Power Supply

    NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1070 with 8GB GDDR5

    16GB, 2666MHz, DDR4 up to 64GB

    1TB (64MB Cache) 7200 RPM SATA 6Gb/s

    $1,199.99

    I wouldnt mind to go for a bigger cpu... 

    The PSU sounds like a problem. 460Watts is absolutely ok for a one card system. What is not ok is the brand that is printed on it. For my ears this sounds like a cheap rebranded OEM piede that never will run thise 460 Watts stable under realistic conditions. 

    And what kills this configuration totaly for me is the lack of a ssd!

  • fastbike1fastbike1 Posts: 4,078

    It seems like everyone wants to minimize render time but doesn't want to accept the fact that 3D rendering is hardware intensive. To often people say "I'm not a PC Gamer", yet the characteristics that make a good gaming machine are also those that make for fast renders.

    It also seems like a rule of thumb that the people who want to render the most elaborate machines also want to use the most minimal hardware. I understand that people have budget limitations, however, this is the wrong hobby if one is truly budget limited.

  • iMacabreiMacabre Posts: 19

    Does anyone have any eperience with them external GPUs?

  • PadonePadone Posts: 3,804
    edited January 2018

    Im my opinion the best option you have for fast renderings is to use optimization tools and a final denoiser in GIMP or Photoshop. Brute force GPU alone just doesn't work. That is true for any rig.

    That said, the rig you're proposing seems good enough to me. I agree with the others for the 600W and the SSD though. While to me the i7 doesn't seem necessary for rendering but it may be a good choice anyway for general purpose computing in other programs.

    https://www.daz3d.com/scene-optimizer

    https://www.daz3d.com/iray-light-probe-kit

     

    EDIT. Also be sure to have a good cooling system in the case. That's very important. Otherwise you will not be able to use the 1070 at full speed if it gets hot.

    Post edited by Padone on
  • fastbike1fastbike1 Posts: 4,078

    The SSD won't do anything for render time.

  • markmartincmarkmartinc Posts: 7

    Update!

    I pulled the trigger and purchased the Alienware machine but with a bigger Power supply.  The difference is night and day.  My old machine was a Lenovo with integrated graphics, Core I3.

    I benchmarked a fairly large render I created 6 characters, fog effect, HDRI image as well as multiple spot and point lights.  I admit it was early on when I started having fun with Daz.  So, the results were pretty crazy.  My old machine (not really old, only 2 years) took 1 day 7 hours to get it to a decent quality.  The new machine reached 98% convergence with a clean image in 1 hour and 20 minutes.  Massive difference.  I'm working on a new scene, but I feel like I don't have to rush it, knowing that it won't take me days to process.  Also, spot rendering actually works!!!  

    Thanks for the comments, they helped me nail down what I wanted to get.

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