Better/Faster Workstation or Render Farm?

[annieo13]

I use 3D Max 2012, and Adobe Premiere CS5.5 as my main programs. My Max windows are 520 meg in size with 32 million polygons on average. My computer is a Dell running Windows 7 professional, Intel Xeon 2.66GHz, 2 processors, 24 gb RAM, 64 bit, with a NVIDIA QUADRO 4000 card. My issues are I need faster rendering times, and the ability to work in multiple windows at the same time. Also, Max and Premiere will not run at the same time due to the same rendering engine (CUDA) and my performance is hindered. What would be the best route to take, getting a new bigger/faster computer or setting up a rendering farm? Could just a new graphics card fit the bill? My workplace has asked me to research what my options are for better performance, and I am not very up on what is the best for computers/Graphics cards etc.I also do not really have budget concerns, but if I can get something that is just as good for less that is always better. Can anyone help?

[pendean]

This is a viable alternative to spending a fortune every other year on hardware:

http://rendering.360.autodesk.com/

[annieo13]

Thank you Dean for this information, I was unaware that there was such a thing! I am thinking that my workplace will not go for it due to working on classified files, but one never knows. But am I understanding this correctly that the cloud is just an internet version of backburner without any extra hardware? I apologize for being out of the loop! And do you know just how much space you can get, or is there any file size limits?

[pendean · Accepted solution]

You buy credits to use it: it's basically a PC /render farm that handles the workload and not your PC.

You might wish to contact them for a trial and details to see what it can do for you. I don't know if you need to be on 2013 to get it.

[annieo13]

Thank you again Dean. It is a great idea, and seems to solve all my issues. I will make a presentation to my company and hopefully they will accept it.