Help me build or buy the right system

October 7, 2008 10:47 AM

I would like to set up a system optimized for 3D rendering. Specifically Second Life.

We've got a nice, fast broadband connection, but my laptop isn't
cutting it. I am on a budget, and I'm not doing any actual gaming, so
blazing speed isn't essential. I would however like to be able to run some 3D applications such as Poser. Can anyone offer spec suggestions?

posted by Fenriss to computers & internet (6 comments total)

Get something with a real graphics card, ATI or NVIDA. What is your budget?
posted by demiurge at 11:09 AM on October 7, 2008

Gaming graphics and graphic rendering require different types of hardware. Which is more important to you?
posted by WinnipegDragon at 11:26 AM on October 7, 2008

Generically, all these apps require 3D acceleration. Most laptops come with an intel video chipset which is very poor at 3D. You can get the cheapest dual-core Dell but make sure to upgrade the video from Intel to a more expensive Nvidia or ATI card. I'd also get at least 2 gigs of RAM.
posted by damn dirty ape at 11:31 AM on October 7, 2008

Knowing how tight of a budget you're on would help, but as general advice, a decently fast Core 2 Quad, a mid-level graphics card, and 3-4GB of RAM would be good for moderate 3D graphics work. I'd say, if you're building your own machine rather than buying a pre-built, that around $1000 (in hardware; not including whatever OS and software you want to use) should buy you a computer that quickly enough to not make it annoying. Gaming and 3D design systems overlap in this price range; you aren't shelling out $700+ for a professional workstation graphics card and another $500-1000 on a couple top of the line quadcore CPUs, but you still need a good, multi-core CPU and decent graphics card to get the job done.

Take a look at the current system build guide on TechReport, specifically at the build they call the "Grand Experiment". Intel Core 2 Quad Q9400, 4GB of RAM, and an ATI Radeon HD 4870. Comes in at a little over $1000 for their build. You can ditch the soundcard (the onboard sound works just fine), and drop down a level to a HD 4850 graphics card if you want to save a little more. Right now, with the prices on NewEgg, taking off the sound card alone brings it to $915.93. Toss in $99 for Vista Home Premium, or $139 if you want/need XP Professional instead. Back over a grand, but you've got a solid system that will last a while.

If you're on an even tighter budget, drop down to a Core 2 Duo E8500 (in addition to swapping down to an HD 4850 video card). In many applications that aren't optimized for 4-cores, the E8500 is actually FASTER than the quad-core above, due to a higher clock speed.

If you're on a VERY tight budget, even the "Econobox" build TechReport has would work better than your laptop.
posted by XcentricOrbit at 11:50 AM on October 7, 2008 [1 favorite]

A word on workstation graphics cards versus "gaming" graphics cards: for the most part, they are identical. But the workstation cards support a few features that the gaming cards don't, and tend to work a LOT more smoothly with the pro-level 3D design programs (3D Studio Max, Maya, etc). Unfortunately, you pay a heck of a lot more for that little bit of extra functionality. Take a gaming card that costs around $200. The workstation version of that card will be more than $700.

I work with four 3D artists who use 3D studio and Maya. We don't have the budget for workstation level cards. They all have "gaming" level graphics cards (from Nvidia 8600GTS's to 8800GT's and now finally in the process of upgrading to Radeon HD 4870's). They do have some hiccups in the software (things not displaying properly without refreshing the screen, occasional software crashes, etc), but nothing that keeps them from doing their work. YMMV, of course.
posted by XcentricOrbit at 11:58 AM on October 7, 2008

I'm nthing the votes for a decent nvidia 8600Gt or above and at least 2 Gb of Ram to run Second Life well. I recently bought a cheap Dell Vostro with 2GB of Ram and put in a better video card, and it runs SL quite well. Total investment with the card was less than 650 and I got a 20 inch LCD with that!

Read the recommended video card list on Secondlife.com first, to make sure you get one that works with it.
posted by midwestguy at 12:36 PM on October 7, 2008 [1 favorite]