I’ve just gotten started with Blender as I’m getting back into 3d modeling/animation after a few years hiatus. I’m also getting ready to build a new desktop system as I only have a laptop right now. (It would be used mainly for Blender, but also for some gaming.)
I’ve been doing a lot of research as to what would work best with Blender, but have a few questions:
I’m pretty sure I’ll ge a 3.4GHz i7 w/ 16GB RAM. How would the render speed in Cycles compare between that CPU and a GPU like a GTX580 or GTX680?
It looks like the GTX580 is getting pretty rare. Is it better get a 4GB GTX670 or a 2GB GTX680? (1344 CUDA cores vs. 1536 CUDA cores) Both are around $400. To get a 4GB GTX680 is around $550. What level of scene-complexity would 2GB not be enough for? Or… if the 3.4GHz i7 is comparable, should I just go with a less expensive card and stick with CPU rendering?
Would an SSD drive speed up rendering operations in any noticeable way compared to a regular HD? (While rendering hundreds of frames for an animation?) Is there any disk cacheing going on during rendering?
Anything else anyone would recommend for a new build?
Hi, the GTX 600 is slower than the GTX 500´s series because of different core architecture, the 600`s are optimized for games.
It is about 10-20 % in cycles.
What level of scene-complexity would 2GB not be enough for?
If you are a high poly model freak and love 4K textures it is easy to reach the 2 GB.
But you cant add any video ram later so if I had to buy now I go for 4 GB.
Or… if the 3.4GHz i7 is comparable, should I just go with a less expensive card and stick with CPU rendering?
A GTX 670 is much faster than a i7.
Would an SSD drive speed up rendering operations in any noticeable way compared to a regular HD?
No, but speed up every thing else.
(I have a older SSD as system drive > the best hardware I´ve ever bought)
Buy a board with at least 2 PCIe slots, you could enhance your render speed with another card later.
Cycles use 99% of a graphics card (more than games) and your system is blocked during render time.
Think about a second, even cheap or used, card for smooth work during render time.
So, I think I may get a GTX580 off e-bay then. A 3gb version.
If I get just one, while cycles is rendering (with the video card GPU), I can still use my system with an integrated GPU right?
If I get two, I know they can both be used, but would they combine their power/RAM or would they act independently of each other? (ie: would 2 3gb cards give me a block of 6gb of vram?)