Expert: Bobbert - 3/29/2009

Question
I'm sorry but I don't exactly know who else to turn to besides asking a question here. I am currently an Architecture student, and I need to buy a new desktop to help me render.(Currently using the HP Pavilion HDX Laptop) My current laptop(if you can even consider it as one) is not even close to being fast enough for 3D modeling and rendering. I am all about speed and efficiency, I want something fast and out of this world, where I don't have to sit here for 6 hours waiting for a render to complete. So here's my dilemma and thank you in advance for taking the time to answer my question.

1. What part of the computer needs to be good/fast for 3D modeling and rendering (here are the programs I use: 3dstudio max, rhinoceros 4.0, google sketchup, adobe suite cs4, and computer games (i.e WoW, Warcraft 3, Left 4 Dead)

2. I was considering buying an Alienware A51 Desktop, do you have any input on whether or not this is suitable for my needs? Or is there another brand I should be looking at that's even better and faster?

here are the stats:

   * Intel® Core™ i7-940 Performance 2.93GHZ 8MB Cache
   * Alienware® P2 Chassis with AlienIce™ 3.0 Video Cooling - Space Black
   * Alienware® Standard System Lighting - Fusion Red
   * Alienware® Standard System Cooling
   * Alienware® 750 Watt Multi-GPU Approved Power Supply
   * Single 1,792 MB NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 295
   * Alienware® Approved Intel® X-58 Motherboard- Socket 1366 Core i7 Ready, Dual Triple Channel DDR3 Memory
   * 12GB DDR3 SDRAM at 1066MHz - 6 x 2048MB
   * Microsoft® Windows® VISTA 64-bit Home Premium with Service Pack 1
   * Single Drive Configuration - 500GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s 7,200 RPM w/ 16MB Cache
   * 500GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s 7,200 RPM w/ 16MB Cache
   * Single Drive Configuration - 20X Dual-Layer Burner (DVD±RW) w/ LightScribe
   * Dual High Performance Gigabit Ethernet Ports
   * High-Definition 7.1 Performance Audio
   * No Monitor
   * Premium Keyboard - Logitech® Deluxe 250 Keyboard
   * Logitech® G5 Laser Gaming Mouse
   * 1-Year AlienCare Warranty Return To Base + Toll-Free Phone Support
   * None
   * Alienware® Mesh Cap, Alienware® Mousepad, Alienware® Desktop Binder, Owner Identification Card, Internal Wire Management - FREE!

Quoted Price: $6468.1 (Australian Dollar)

Price is not really a issue, but if you have a better brand that can give me a bigger bang for my buck..It would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks a million,
Richard

Answer
$6500 is quite a bit ofr that system, and rendering performance isn't going to be at all in-line with what $6500 could grab you either self assembled, or if you bought a proper workstation. However, it would be killer for gaming (although none of the games you've listed are particularly demanding, excepting Left 4 Dead, which is still pretty "tame"). I would be looking for something more suitable.

You need to be looking at a proper workstation, not a gaming computer, and the components you need to be focused on include the microprocessor (I would go with dual Quad Core Xeon CPUs, in the 2.0 to 2.66GHZ range), and graphics card (but not a gaming card, a workstation card, think Quadro FX or FireGL, not GeForce or Radeon), this will speed things up in 3DS, Rhino, and CS4 Illustrator (Photoshop will see a performance gain, but compared to your Alienware, not "tons", everything else will take a swift kick in the pants).

I would suggest Dell or HP, in the Small Business Workstations region, or a custom build (buy the parts and assemble it yourself), the only issue being that "mid-range" workstation cards are usually somewhat hard to find with these (they usually offer the entry level hardware, for example Dell provides the FX 1700, and the "absolute maximum" level of performance cards, such as the FX 5800 (a ~$3000 USD graphics adapter targetted at the most demanding animation and design professionals)).

Another thing, I would avoid "Vista Home Premium", either go for Vista Ultimate, or Windows XP Professional (I highly suggest the later), regardless of which solution you pick, stick to the 32-bit variant (the driver and compatability hastle of 64-bit Windows is not worth the minor gains in my experience).

As a final note, I would urge you to consider a performance RAID configuration, to speed up disk access, look into a RAID5 or RAID0+1/10 configuration (if you go the Dell or HP route, this can come pre-installed and configured), it will also increase relability (if one of the hard-drives dies, you don't neccisarily lose all of your data).

If you have any more questions, feel free to ask.

-bob