Help me build a fast pc for vray sketchup

sketchuh

I currently use MacBook Pro :
2.7ghz Intel core i7
16gb 1600mhz ddr3
Nvidia GeForce gt 650m/ Intel had graphics 4000
And I have an iMac 27 retina for network rendering.

But I want a faster computer. My budget is minimum usd$4000 for the custom built.
I heard I should get Titan graphics card? Basically I have no clue what I should get
For my custom built pc.

I think I need a at least a processor 4 times faster than 2.7 ghz i7;
I am not sure vray sketchup uses fast graphic card.
I don't want to invest in expensive graphic card and not improve render time!

Thanks in advance.

From a clueless power vray sketchup user.

kokoriko17

Intel Core i7-5960X
32GB RAM DDR4 2133
Samsung PCIe SSD ( 512GB is OK )
Vray doesn't use GPU unless using RT CUDA ( for this get Nvidia GTX 980 Ti - Titan X isn't worth the negligible performace )

CPU + RAM + SSD + GTX price all together around $2450

Add another $150 for a powersupply + Chasis

Connect it to your iMac screen using minidisplay adapter or get any 30" screen. ( i'm using my iMac and it's great for rendering - mine is Core i7 3.9 + SSD + 32GB RAM + GTX780m )

sketchuh

wow thanks for the suggestion. my company's budget could be higher though.

will Nvidia GTX 980 Ti render faster than using Intel Core i7-5960X? but this will give me some reference.

kokoriko17

@sketchuh said:

wow thanks for the suggestion. my company's budget could be higher though.

will Nvidia GTX 980 Ti render faster than using Intel Core i7-5960X? but this will give me some reference.

Actually for rendering in VRAY you only use the CPU unless you're using VRAY RT which will be set to CUDA. It's when things get interesting, you can preview whatever you're working on really quickly with such a capable card.

Normally GPUs are much faster than CPUs when it comes to processing power. Not that they are more powerful but they have limited instruction sets. That's why they're used over CPUs when it comes to bruteforcing and cracking keys etc...

sketchuh

maybe in Vray Sketchup 3.0, we will be able to use GPU render and it will be 10 times faster than cpu...haha...

andybot

Seems the best thing for vray currently is adding as many cpu cores as possible. With a big budget, I'd suggest getting a dual cpu motherboard (Supermicro makes most of them) and putting two Xeon E5 chips (like the 2680 v3, 12 core) on there. Graphics card doesn't matter for vray currently, and it may be a while before it is up to the same level as cpu render. If you do get a high end graphics card, better stick with nvidia Titans.

Andy

kokoriko17

@andybot said:

Seems the best thing for vray currently is adding as many cpu cores as possible. With a big budget, I'd suggest getting a dual cpu motherboard (Supermicro makes most of them) and putting two Xeon E5 chips (like the 2680 v3, 12 core) on there. Graphics card doesn't matter for vray currently, and it may be a while before it is up to the same level as cpu render. If you do get a high end graphics card, better stick with nvidia Titans.

Andy

Titan is a waste of money. GTX 980 Ti offers the same performance for half the price.

andybot

@kokoriko17 said:

Titan is a waste of money. GTX 980 Ti offers the same performance for half the price.

You're right, you can get good value from the high-end nvidia cards. Main thing is CUDA seems to be what most render engines use, OpenCL is not getting much support these days (I found that out the hard way )

kokoriko17

@andybot said:

@kokoriko17 said:

Titan is a waste of money. GTX 980 Ti offers the same performance for half the price.

You're right, you can get good value from the high-end nvidia cards. Main thing is CUDA seems to be what most render engines use, OpenCL is not getting much support these days (I found that out the hard way )

Another reason why I didn't go for the new Macs as they dumped Nvidia and got back to ATI ( dumb move I must say )

sketchuh

Thanks Andybot and kokoriko17 for the further help!!

I am hopeful that I will get a ideal rig for my pc built.

sketchuh

Can I have a dual 6 core i7 cpus set up and i think that will be a cheaper config.
I am not sure if dual i7 cpu possible. but it works. it will definitely be faster than a 8 core i7

Does Vray sketchup support dual i7 cpus???

andybot

no, you need server CPU (Xeon) for dual cpu motherboard.