ZBrushCentral

PC choices. Which one is right, or do you know a good one?

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#1

I’m getting Zbrush 3 and I really want to make the correct PC purchase choice. I’m trying to stay just under $3,000

I got a nice home user PC deal from Gateway “Heres a cut an paste”

Processor: Intel core 2 Processor X6800 (2.93 GHz, 1066MHz FSB, 4M cache, non-HT, LGA775, EM64T, XD, EIST, VT)

Memory: 1024MB 667MHz Dual-Channel DDR2 SDRAM (2-512MB modules) (The woman who put this package together is sending it too me with the least amount of Ram possible So I can replace all 4 slots with 2 gig sticks to reach 8 gigs)

Motherboard: Intel 975X Chipset with DDR2 and Intel Core Duo support

Hard Drive: 500GB 7200rpm Serial ATA II/300 hard drive w/ 8MB cache & Raid 0 (2-250GB hard drives)

Media Card Reader: 9-in-1 Memory Card Reader

Optical Drive: 16x Double-Layer Multi-Format DVD Writer DVD±/R±RW/CD-R/RW

Video: NVIDIA® GeForce® 7950GT 512MB GDDR3 Dual DVI - Dual Link w/HDCP & TV-Out

They want 2,300 something for it. Thats a great price.

I am comparison shopping, making sure to get the best bang for the buck.

So after trying Gateway and Dell. I call up my Local PC maker and he tells me that what I really want is a Xeon Server Machine. He says that they can host two processors on the same motherboard and they can hold much more Ram memory. He says that he has one that can do 16 gigs max.

So I gave him my gateway price and their specs and he says he will get back to me with his PC build offer and price.

Naturally I’m wondering myself “If mobos can go to 16 gig, can they go higher?”

I look on the net and find some servers like Supermicro that can go up to 32 gigs ram, and I even found an HP version that can go to 64, and another one that supports those new quad processors.

What is the best ram and processor speed/type needed to run Z3 too it’s max billion poly level. Is 8 enough? Or do I need one of those Server type machines to really use it?

I don’t want to shortchange myself. I want to go as high as is humanly possible.

Some of those model sessions in that video for Zbrush 3 looked like the user had available ram memory well into the double digit area.

Again I just don’t want to shoot myself in the foot and buy a PC that hits that outa gas mark when the program has plenty of road left to travel.

And I dont really know much about PC’s!

#2

Well I myself am going to upgrade my pc, not for zbrush 3 but due to timing. On the 22 April AMD and Itel CPUs are crashing down their prices. Im selling my bits for this new upgrade. If your looking to perchase a pre built pc id still wait untill after april 22 still becasue they will also have to reflect this price drop.

Im going to build one myself as I know im going to get nothink but the best researched parts avalible to have a Core duo 2 e6600 to a water cooled 3.4ghz easy.

Im going for these parts.

E6600 on water.
Asus P5W DH Deluxe. Can hold upto 8gb of Ram.
OCZ (OCZ2P10002GK) 2GB (Maybe change my mind)

#3

http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/sm/WF25a/12454-12454-296719-307907-296721-3211286.html

what about this setup?

It’s a HP workstation it supports up too 32gig ram! Whaaaaaah!

Comes with 2 Dual-Core AMD Opteron processor’s 2220 2.80 GHz with 1 GHz HyperTransport Technology 1 MB L2 (Only 1MB L2 cache. Is that much of a dif from 4MB)

4 gig ram installed and XP 64bit

NVIDIA Quadro FX 3500 (256 MB, Dual DVI or Dual VGA)

48X DVD/CD-RW combo

Is this a better deal then the Gateway premade one I listed in the first post?

It’s only 2,000 smackers.

#4

I just want to say something if i may…
I can run photoshop or mud box or zbrush but not all of them at once
and i am a beginer…
and i would like to have a monitor for each…
excuse my ignorance…
can i not have a two computer two monitor system and an external harddrive
for a cache?

#5

There are only 2 systems there at the 2000 mark. Neither of them show the spec your saying?

HP xw9400 Workstation (RB304UT)

HP xw9400 Workstation (RB344UT)

They both have only 1gb of ram and are only 1.8ghz. I would personaly wait till april 22 and get a Intel Duo core 2 e6600 based system.

kawmart53 I often have more than 3 programs open on 2 monitors and its not a problem. If you wanted to have upto 3 or more I havent a clue.

#6

HP pulled it off the site.

So I am looking to buy this one- is it up too snuff for Z3? (Mainly the processor speed) I’m sorry for so many posts. I don’t know much about PC’s and this kind of money isn’t chump change for me.

Dell Precision 490 - 64bit OS Qty 2 Dual Core Intel® Xeon® Processor 5120 1.86GHz, 4MB L2,1066, Genuine Windows® XP Professional, x64 Edition with Media

Dell Precision Workstation 490 Desktop - (Motherboard will support MAX 32GB ram)

64bit Dual Core Intel Xeon Processor 5120 1.86GHz, 4MB L2,1066

Operating System Genuine Windows XP Professional, x64 Edition with Media

2nd Processor Dual Core Intel Xeon Processor 5120 1.86GHz, 4MB L2,1066

(My main question- There are two processors on the motherboard- Doesn’t that change things, even if they have a low GHz? They still have 4MB L2 speed)

Memory4GB, DDR2 SDRAM FBD Memory, 667MHz, ECC (2 DIMMS)

Operating System Genuine Windows® XP Professional, x64 Edition with Media

Keyboard USB Entry Quietkey

Graphic Cards 128MB PCIe x16 nVidia Quadro NVS 285, Dual DVI or Dual VGA Capable

Hard Drive 160GB SATA 3.0Gb/s,7200 RPM NCQ Hard Drive with 8MB DataBurst Cache

Hard Drive Configuration C1 All SATA drives, Non-RAID, 1 or 2 drive total configuration

Mouse Dell USB 2-Button Mechanical Mouse with Scroll

16X DVD-ROM AND 48X/32X CD-RW with Cyberlink Power DVD

Sound Card and 1394No 1394aCard or Sound Blaster Audigy 2(D) Card

SERVICES & SUPPORT PLANS 3 Year On-site Economy PlanOn-Site

Total Price $2,538.04 This includes tax and shipping (my state should be tax free which could take $150 off of this final total)

#7

Well, accounting people have said they’re hitting 60 million polys with just 2 gigs of ram on a 2 year old box, I think you’ll have enough horsepower… :wink:

#8

Id still have a Intel Duo core 2 e6600 thats more than enougth. As for ram I cant see you needing more than 4gb to be honnest unless this is for making money out of CG work and even then I wouldnt go overkill of on a system.

My FX57 with 2GB of ram is very fast and iv often got loads of applications open at once. You just have to keep the work pc clean of unwanted software and system resorce hogs. As for Hard drives I have 2x 250gb Sata II drives with 16 mb cache and a dual core video card with 1gb of ram on that. So where I may lack on CPU power im making up for in HD speed, high quality memory and a well configered system.

Watch the prices drop from 22 april then make your choice.

#9

I’ll wait till the 22 of april. It’s only few days away.

Thanks for all the help and suggestions. I’m so excited to finally sink my teeth into this. With these high poly levels. Textures will be real and not maps. I can’t believe it!

#10

it was a personal prefrence
to draw from a visible source
not only to mention my neck tired
i admire artists
once again my spelling

#11

core 2 duos rock with zbrush 3. ill say that much :).

the 6600 is awesome and doesnt cost much.

however, the way HD divide works, will let you go to crazy amounts of polys regardless of hardware. so dont worry. you could have a 3 year old computer and itll be fine. only concen you should have is ram, and possibly going 64 bit. that will be the main deciding factor in how far you can take models, and how many undos you can have, etc.

#12

Im getting my Thermaltake Mozart TX silver tower tomorrow and will soon have my e6600 with 2gb of ram ultill I can afford another 2gb. I think 4gb will be enougth for me no problems. After reading a artical a week ago about what CPU to get AMD or Intel it came out that Intel is still the winner being that the duo core 2 has more head room for overclocking. I dont think my GFx card is doing a great deal for 3D work but its cool for gaming when, if I get time.

Good luck with your new pc and keep us upto date when you end up getting.

#13

If you want even more confusion in your life :roll_eyes:
Go to Boxx and have a look at their professional work stations for 3D work. It will give you a good idea of what is cutting edge. They specialize in this. I’m thinking of having them build one for me. Get ready for a shock at the prices of the best graphics cards.

Here is the link http://www.boxxtech.com/

The first configuration you listed would easily handle ZBrush I think. Even with the current version of ZBrush I’m able to work with 8 to 10 million polys (the max on 2) on my laptop. Core Duo, 2 gig RAM and a gamers card. Add a 4 gig flash pen drive to ready boost and 10 million is doable with very little slowdown.

It’s the other less capable software like Lightwave and others that need the super machines. As I understand it ZBrush is designed for artists to run on affordable machines. For instance Lightwave and Vue 6 Infinite run but are slow and buggy on my laptop but it is doable so I can tinker around at work.

When you get into 2 gig sticks of RAM be prepared for the price to take a huge leap. I think Some of the Boxx machines will take a 32 or 64 gig stack I think its called. If nothing else you can drool over them :+1:

Have fun with the new machine. I have to wait until fall :cry: My wife thinks we need a car and food or some such nonsense.

#14

I should be saving for a car :confused: It was bad timing for me to upgrade but im building somones elses computer, so it was a good opotunity to sell him my bits.:smiley:

Iv had to sell my CPU, Motherboard, Water cooling and tower.

#15

OK I waited this is my pc build. I went Newegg this time.

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80562Q6600

EVGA 122-CK-NF68-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard

ZOGIS ZO88GTX-768 GeForce 8800GTX 768MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card

G.SKILL 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ

LIAN LI PC-V1000BPlus II Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

SAMSUNG 18X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write, LightScribe Technology Black SATA Model SH-S183L

ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler

Thermaltake W0116RU Complies with ATX 12V 2.2 & EPS 12V version 750W Power Supply

I might go with a lower Graphics card and toss in 4 more gig’s ram. I’m not sure just yet… and I wouldnt mind some input in regards to this issue.

Did I do good? is this the best ATX motherboard?

#16

Well as you know im doing a PC upgrade at the moment also and you have chosen some well researched parts.

The e6600 is the best value cpu which has plenty of head room for overclocking but if you dont overclock still has plenty of power, This is my cpu of choice.

The EVGA Motherboard Is known for its stability, one of the best bios setups, great board layout and overclockability. Also EVGA give you life time support and their emial responce time is fast unlike some “Asus”. I have also got this motherboard coming to me soon.

The 8800GXT 768m is the best gaming graphics card money can buy but unless you want to be doing alot of gaming id go for a 8800 GTS version which is somewhat cheaper.

Lian Li cases are made very high quality and can totaly recomend these as Iv had one and there has never been a tower as of yet to match its quality of build.

You got plenty of memory there so thats very nice for a CG system, I hope you have checked the compatibility for the 680i chipset, EVGA have a memory list for known compatible memory.

I would make sure you put the extra money saved from the graphics card into PC2 800 memory or a better GFX card cooler and quieter case fans. Personaly iv gone totaly water.

Overal looks like you got a good system.

#17

I read that the Gskill memory is ok for this board.

I think I will stay with the Graphic Card config but switch out for the EVGA version.

My logic behind this is simple. I wont have to spend more $$$ on a new card anytime soon, and I can always get more ram. I’m only one Gskill kit away from maxing the board out on 8.

So why buy a graphics card that I might toss out later too buy a better version and in the process spend/waste more money.

I’m gonna be building this machine and I’m super nervous about it.

As I’ve never done this before, and I’m so clueless to it all.

I hope the guides that come with all these parts are easy to understand.

I’m still looking at other towers like Thermal Take’s and a few larger Lian’s.

I’m not even sure if my 750w PSU will fit in the Lian case I selected.

So I’m considering either the LIAN LI G70B Black Aluminum or the TT case your considering.

I read that the cooling unit I selected for the cpu is a “B” to install.

This water stuff sounds better, but it also sounds $.

I just bought the full version of Zbrush 2.

I cant wait.

I also read around here and found out that Vista Ultimate 64 bit is the best OS to use with the Z3. It’s like $378 on newegg. Wow! That’s alot of money.

I don’t feel like I want to overclock anything just yet.

It can lessen the life span of whatever it’s applied too.

I just want to make sure I got a damn good cooling system for the CPU and Graphics card- I don’t know if the Ram would need it?

I just want a cooling system that isn’t a pain to install or maintain and a case with enough area inside to hold it all- The PSU issue is erking me bad. Some folks are using 850watt PSU supplies or higher. Why? Isn’t 750watts enough. 1K would make for some high electric bills.

I can’t thank you enough for your input in regards to this Tez.

#18

well I ordered the PC I got one eVGA GTX 8800 graphics card

8 gigs Gskill ram

16x samsung lightscribe dvd burner (sata)

680i eVGA mobo

Quad Core Intel CPU Q6600

Coolermaster 830 Stacker Case

Artic Silver thermal paste

Zalman LED 92mm copper heatsink cooling CPU fan

Vista ultimate 64 OEM disc

320 gig harddrive from seagate (sata)

and a 750 watt Silverstone Power Supply Unit

All said and done and I’m skimming a near 3,000 dollar PC build.

Total price to jump including Zbrush2 in will near 3,300 when done. Damn…

As far as overclocking goes…

If I’m ever brave enough too put this investment at risk. I might look into that total Mobo non conductive Luminol Oil submersion trick. Although I think it would work better if the fluid constantly flowed over the motherboard like a water fall.

Hot spots would be near impossible to eliminate if the mobo was submersed. There will be spots where the fluid just wont recirculate around the mother boards components. I think this is the next jump from water cooling but it’s very risky!!! I’m just glad to be done with it all.

#19

Hi there.

I would just get Danger den TDX block, D5 Pump, Tygon tubing, standard Resivior and a 120mm radiator then your all good for high end overclocking.

You certanly didnt skimp on the parts you choose, almost seems a overkill but hey it your money and your have a very future proof pc.

The EVGA motherboard is what I “had” untill it burnt my memory out, be warned!
This motherboard is known to kill memory sticks and this is just what it did to mine with no overclocking and at standard voltage. I ave read untold accounts of ram death via the EVGA board. I hope you got the EVGA 680i T1 as this version was modified for quad core the AR version has problems with quad core. The motherboard fan that you get has to be used, as even with the fan on, its still very hot, 57c. The Fan is hell noisy, I thought that the stock cpu fan was noisy, but it wasnt, it was that motherboard fan. You can turn down the speed in bios but watch the heat rise, im sure it will be ok though. I contacted EVGA and they said its the memory but iv been told otherwise by many that this is not happining to any other motherboard apart from the odd few memory dims that are faulty in the first place. If yur moduals are rated 2.2v or below then you should be ok.

http://www.guru3d.com/newsitem.php?id=5176

Because of this motherboard I have a empty tower sitting here waiting for the RMA process on both the memory and motherboard. It looks like my first go at ZB3 will be on a 5 year old PC wth 512 meg of ram :cry:

I have my e6600 sitting here in a box looking at me saying “please overclock me, I wana go 3.5ghz”

#20

what will you be doing with that machine in particular?

you will see good zbrush 3 performance with that machine, but not the kind leap you might expect from a quad core.