Hardware Configuration for Modeling ... NOT Rendering

[Gruetzi]

I am an IT Tech that's been given the task of reducing costs for my company's 3D modeling team. They do large and complex static 3D models and presentations of buildings, landscapes, but nothing animated. Every year these guys ask for more and more powerful and extremely EXPENSIVE computers:

-Superfast processors with as many cores as possible

-RAM RAM RAM RAM

-Graphics cards that cost as much as the rest of the PC

Their justification has always been "We need it. If not, we can't work."

The company has been buying these guys what they want without question, basically because the decision makers wouldn't know the difference between dual core and hardcore (although my guess is that their fully into the latter from the traces I can see in the firewall logs.)

I've been looking into this and it seems to me that the hardware required for Modeling is completely the opposite to Rendering, hence the idea behind Render Farms.

So, I plan on building these guys a render farm with about a dozen or so of their old PCs, which will give them about 80 Cores to render on and then I can spec what I hope to be a much cheaper machine for their Modeling work.

Sorry for the long story, but here's my question. Everywhere I look, I can find hardware specs and discussions for 3DS Max that all seem to be geared toward either Rendering or Rendering and Modeling combined, but never Just Modeling. Why?

Also, could someone please give me their best advice on the following:

i7 or Xeon? Which path should I take for a Modeling PC?

RAM - ECC or nonECC, does it matter for Modeling?

Clock Speed is more important for Modeling than number of cores. True?

How important is disk speed for Modeling?

Thanks for your time.

Gruetzi

[darawork]

Hi,

When modelling complex models it is certainly nice to have a good card to accelerate viewport smoothness.

A decent card will enable higher FPS when zooming and panning around. Plus they can have realistic materials, lighting and shadows turned on in the viewport.

Trying to have a nice modelling environment with an Intel HD P3000 is not going to cut it unfortunately.

AMD firepros, Nvidia GTXs, Quadros are all valid for a nice viewport experience.

Asking modellers like us on this board what are the minimum requirements for them not to be pulling their hair out daily, don't expect cheap answers/solutions hehe. I myself am quite biased too, having to deal with tech budget cuts day in and day out... while the carpark fills with 2014 AMD Mercs.

Have you tried perhaps substituting the IT dept 'Excelsior Blend' coffee with a cheaper instant brand? Rich Tea biscuits are also cheaper than Triple-Mint-Choc delights. Perhaps single-ply toilet roll, instead of Royal Quilted? There is money to be saved in a lot of areas. 😉

Don't mind me....

http://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/3ds-max/troubleshooting/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/System-...

Also try this forum for more information, it is a fair bit busier than in here: http://forums.cgarchitect.com/13-hardware-technical-discusions/

Good luck with the Render Farm, sounds good.

[Gruetzi]

Thanks for your reply Darawork,

Cut the Excelsior Blend! ... What!? ... but without that we couldn't work! 🙂

[dgorsman]

ECC vs. non-ECC RAM only comes into play with the selection of motherboard.  Some motherboards (those which support Xeon processors) can only work with ECC RAM.  Its expensive, as they incorporate error correcting mechanisms which are not *quite* so much of a requirement these days for the desktop environment.  Its more for massive database server environments where a slipped bit or two could result in a half-million dollar problem.

One of the few reasons to be using a Xeon-based system on a desktop is to support massive numbers of cores and RAM - well beyond what is avaialble with a more conventional system.  The other would be truly large scale orders (ie. hundreds of boxes), which are better supported by the big-box sellers like Dell and HP with their workstation series.  Still, with hex-core processors running upwards of 4 GHz *without* any exotic modifications and systems supporting up to 32 GB RAM, your users should be hard-pressed to justify non-desktop hardware.

[darawork]

Shhh, you're ruining the illusion.

 

There is alway a valid reason for more RAM from the IT Dept.

..and better biscuits in the Drawing Room.


Would you rather the CAD monkeys/minions modelled landscapes in simple wireframe?

In the dark. Without cigarette breaks?

On SVGA?

 

What year is this?

 

Imagine playing Tony Hawks skateboarding on a Monochrome Texas Instruments calculator.

That is the future if IT get their way.