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    • brodieB Offline
      brodie
      last edited by

      Regarding the screen resolution, the same has held true for me as well. I have 2 monitors. One is set to 1600x1200 I think and the other is 1280x1040ish. I ran the test on both and got the same results. I didn't even mention it because I thought maybe I was crazy for assuming their should be a difference.

      Conclusion: SU is wierd and defies the laws (sketchy) physics.

      -Brodie

      steelblue http://www.steelbluellc.com

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      • K Offline
        kevsterman
        last edited by

        I've read this thread with interest but being a computer dunce I have no idea what all these technicalites mean ๐Ÿ˜•

        I want to buy myself a really good computer in the next couple of weeks as I'm hoping to be doing a lot more SU work and rendering in the future and want a machine that is going to keep up with the demand.

        Has anyone summarized all this data yet and come up with the definitive spec?

        Or could someone advise on the very best computer to get?

        I've bought about 4 computers in the past and always end up with ones that are slow ๐Ÿ˜ž . I don't want to make the same mistake this time around. My bank balance won't allow it.

        "Avoid keeping more than 3 items on your desk that you can't fit into your mouth."

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        • R Offline
          remus
          last edited by

          If your looking for a beefy render machine you'll want to go for a quad core or more. You'll also want to get as much RAM as you can afford, id suggest about 16 GB. You'll also need a 64 bit operating system to go with this.

          The really tricky bit is graphics cards as these are the things that can mess around with SU if you dont go for the right one. I can noyl vouch for the nvidia 7800 as thats what ive got. Its worth checking out this survey to see what everyone else has got and what seems to work for everyone.

          Apart form that everything else is pretty much down to how much you want to spend.

          this is probably a good starting point: http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx?c=uk&cs=ukbsdt1&id=precn_t7400&l=en&s=bsd

          http://remusrendering.wordpress.com/

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          • GaieusG Offline
            Gaieus
            last edited by

            C'mon, Remus, don't tease me! I quickly put together a not even top machine for the price of 6,223 GBP (VAT not included) ๐Ÿ˜ฒ

            Gai...

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            • R Offline
              remus
              last edited by

              A positive bargain! i put together one for 12, 600 GBP ๐Ÿ˜„

              http://remusrendering.wordpress.com/

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              • GaieusG Offline
                Gaieus
                last edited by

                Well, I tried to be realistic (to my budget) ๐Ÿ˜’

                Gai...

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                • Chris FullmerC Offline
                  Chris Fullmer
                  last edited by

                  Yeah, I recently upgraded to a quad core with 8gb memmory, running Vista 64 bit (which is working great for me). I have an nVidia 8600 w/512mb memmory. My system is great. Even though SU doesn't take advantage of quad cores exactly, it still comes in handy. For example, the other night I had some videos to render. I was rendering 2 videos (2048x1536 resolution) out to .png files. And also running a batch operation in photoshop to automatically resize images from other videos I had rendered down to 1024x768. So that was 3 intense operations working just fine together. So I started browsing the web and didnt even notice a hitch in my performace. So I went and played Battlefield 1942 (video game), at highest graphic settings. Not a single hiccup. While rendering 2 videos, and processing a batch of images. I am soooo happy with my new system ๐Ÿ˜„

                  I used to not be able to do anything else while rendering a video in SU. If i tried to browse the internet, it was sluggish and twitchy. I don't miss old my computer

                  Chris

                  PS I love knowing that if I were to go back and read this a few years, I'll be laughing at how outdated my quad core is compared to whatever will be available then. So future self, if you're reading this, please don't laugh too hard. Right now, I promise this really is a great computer ๐Ÿ˜„

                  Lately you've been tan, suspicious for the winter.
                  All my Plugins I've written

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                  • K Offline
                    kevsterman
                    last edited by

                    Chris, did you get your new computer from a website? If so, could you let me have the address of it please? Sounds like you've got yourself a good one there and is just the kind of thing I'm after.

                    (This is where Chris says he had to take out a second mortgage to buy it and I start to cry) ๐Ÿ˜„

                    "Avoid keeping more than 3 items on your desk that you can't fit into your mouth."

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                    • K Offline
                      kevsterman
                      last edited by

                      Has anyone come across the Alienware computers?

                      302 Found

                      favicon

                      (www.alienware.co.uk)

                      They are certainly.. distinctive to look at but appear to be made especially for the gaming and graphics market.

                      As I don't really know what makes a good computer I can't tell if these are any good or not ๐Ÿ˜•

                      I ought to buy "PC's for Dummies" ๐Ÿ˜„

                      "Avoid keeping more than 3 items on your desk that you can't fit into your mouth."

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                      • Chris FullmerC Offline
                        Chris Fullmer
                        last edited by

                        Hey, I bought mine as parts and built it to try to save some money. Though from what I understand Dell sells a very similar machine for a little less. I'll look into later today and see if I can find the price. I think it is in the US$1,000 price range.

                        And yes Alienware does make great machines. They are a little more pricey than necessary because you are paying for the cool brand, computer box design, and bragging rights. Lots of people buy them for games for sure. But they have great hardware. They are definitely legitimate.

                        Chris

                        Lately you've been tan, suspicious for the winter.
                        All my Plugins I've written

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                        • K Offline
                          kevsterman
                          last edited by

                          I'm guessing that if a computer is specifically designed for gamers then it will be more than capable of dealing with 3D modelling and rendering. Or are they handled in different ways?

                          "Avoid keeping more than 3 items on your desk that you can't fit into your mouth."

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                          • Chris FullmerC Offline
                            Chris Fullmer
                            last edited by

                            They mostly have the same requirements. The biggest difference is that some of the upper end game ones have 2 video cards in them that sync together to give you twice the video processing speed. This is handy for games that are super high end grapghics. I am not sure if this is helpful in 3d modelling. It is expensive.

                            I like that Alienware page. Those are some great computers. I think for me I'd go for the green one (Area-51). Maybe someoneelse has some more thoughts on this though. Don't just go off my opinion alone, I don't keep up with computer specs like I used to ๐Ÿ˜„

                            You might be able to find a better price somewhere else though

                            Chris

                            Lately you've been tan, suspicious for the winter.
                            All my Plugins I've written

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                            • jujuJ Offline
                              juju
                              last edited by

                              IIRC Alienware have some other tweaks they make to the system (the BIOS methinks) you wouldn't normally find on the exact same hardware.

                              Save the Earth, it's the only planet with chocolate.

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                              • K Offline
                                kevsterman
                                last edited by

                                Hmm.. I've just read some very negative reviews online about Alienware computers. I guess though that every company out there will have its share of negative reviews to some extent.

                                Whats the most reliable computer company? Dell? HP? Mesh?

                                "Avoid keeping more than 3 items on your desk that you can't fit into your mouth."

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                                • R Offline
                                  remus
                                  last edited by

                                  I think its quite hard to say one manufacturer is more reliable than another, as its mostly down to the components used, and id guess that most manufacturers use very similar components.

                                  Just out of interest, what were the problems mentioned in the alienware reviews?

                                  http://remusrendering.wordpress.com/

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                                  • C Offline
                                    chango70
                                    last edited by

                                    I researched Alienware as a possibility for my laptop. Apparently their customer service is a joke. Technical enquiries to their support team often end with 'why don't you just type it in Google ๐Ÿ˜ฒ ' Also I've heard of serious overheating problems.

                                    Link Preview Image
                                    PCSPECIALIST - Top Spec Custom PCs & Laptops Built to Order

                                    Manufacturer of performance custom computers and laptops. Customise your ideal gaming PC or laptop using our advanced configurator.

                                    favicon

                                    (www.pcspecialist.co.uk)

                                    Check these guys out. I got a lappy from them. Very good Cumstom PC makers with nice interface.

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                                    • K Offline
                                      kevsterman
                                      last edited by

                                      @unknownuser said:

                                      Just out of interest, what were the problems mentioned in the alienware reviews?

                                      It's probably easier to read some of them than it is for me to describe the main problems they had. http://www.ciao.co.uk/alienware_co_uk__5329936

                                      And this was a particularly damning one. http://www.musicface.co.uk/alienware.htm

                                      But for all these negative reviews there will be a lot more positive ones I'm sure. I've just not found them yet. ๐Ÿ˜’

                                      "Avoid keeping more than 3 items on your desk that you can't fit into your mouth."

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                                      • K Offline
                                        kevsterman
                                        last edited by

                                        @unknownuser said:

                                        Link Preview Image
                                        PCSPECIALIST - Top Spec Custom PCs & Laptops Built to Order

                                        Manufacturer of performance custom computers and laptops. Customise your ideal gaming PC or laptop using our advanced configurator.

                                        favicon

                                        (www.pcspecialist.co.uk)

                                        Check these guys out. I got a lappy from them. Very good Cumstom PC makers with nice interface.

                                        I have looked at that site in the past but as I know very little about graphics cards, CPUs, motherboards etc I don't know what the best spec for my money would be.

                                        "Avoid keeping more than 3 items on your desk that you can't fit into your mouth."

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                                        • D Offline
                                          dsarchs
                                          last edited by

                                          I have found Sharkyextreme ( http://www.sharkyextreme.com/guides/MVGSBG/article.php/3747766 ) to be a good source for what to buy if you plan on building the machine yourself -- always a good way to go.

                                          A few times a year they update three different levels of computers [$1000, $2500 and $5000, if I remember correctly) and try to come up with the fastest computer available at that price. That includes keyboard, mouse, monitor, etc... so if you already have those it'd be a little less.
                                          These guides are geared for building a 'gaming' computer, but that would coincide pretty well how sketchup works.

                                          It's worth a look, at least.

                                          Knowledge is a polite word for dead but not buried imagination.

                                          -e.e.cummings

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                                          • K Offline
                                            kevsterman
                                            last edited by

                                            I've been looking at the pcspecialist website and I've come up with the following spec for ยฃ1300. Is this good value for money? Will it give me a really fast computer capable of dealing with several intense programmes and the internet all running at the same time without any noticeable slowdown? โ“

                                            Processor (CPU) - Intelยฎ Coreโ„ข2 Quad Q9550 (4 X 2.83GHz) 1333MHz/12MB (Special Offer)

                                            Memory (RAM) - 8GB CORSAIR DOMINATOR 1066MHz - LIFETIME WARRANTY (4x2GB)

                                            Motherboard - ASUSยฎ P5K SE: DDR2, SATAII, PCI-e x16, 2 PCI, 3 x PCI-e x1

                                            Operating System - Genuine Windows Vistaโ„ข Home Premium 64-bit Edition + SP1, CD (ยฃ59)

                                            USB Options - 8 x USB 2.0 PORTS (6 REAR + 2 FRONT) AS STANDARD

                                            Memory - 1st Hard Disk - 1000GB SERIAL ATA II HARD DRIVE WITH 32MB CACHE (7,200rpm)

                                            1st CD/DVD Drive - 20x Dual Layer LightScribe DVD Writer ยฑR/ยฑRW/RAM

                                            2nd CD/DVD Drive - 16x DVD-ROM & 52x CD-ROM Drive

                                            Graphics Card - 1024MB GEFORCE 9800GX2 PCI Express + DVI (Special Offer)

                                            Sound Card - ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)

                                            Network Facilities - ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT

                                            Memory Card Reader - INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (READS XD, MS, CF, SD, etc)

                                            Case - Stylish Black Aluminium Trigon Case + 2 Front/Side USB

                                            Power Supply & Case Cooling - 700W Quiet Quad Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan (ยฃ79)

                                            Processor Cooling - ASUS SILENT KNIGHT II PURE COPPER ULTRA COOLER (ยฃ36)

                                            I'm just so clueless about all this stuff. ๐Ÿ˜ฒ

                                            "Avoid keeping more than 3 items on your desk that you can't fit into your mouth."

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