3ds max computer

Blisterman

I am looking to buy a new laptop, and I was wondering, what would I need to be looking for, specs wise, so that it will render 3ds max models faster?
Does graphics memory matter, or should I be looking for a fast processor?

DonkeyStyle \o/

fast processor, lots of fast memory, that's it.
I wouldn't worry about a fancy GPU, all Max will use it for is drawing the viewports, which isn't exactly demanding.
AFAIK anyway.

Nick_oliveri

3dsmax is not supported through vista atm. But it probably will be in the future.

BostonB

DonkeyStyle \o/ wrote:

fast processor, lots of fast memory, that's it.
I wouldn't worry about a fancy GPU, all Max will use it for is drawing the viewports, which isn't exactly demanding.
AFAIK anyway.

I always found a good GFX card made a big different in working with any large meshes.

experiMental

a 3d card and a lot of memory makes a huge difference in 3dsMAX's performance. You can preview textures on models in much better detail in viewports if you have a Direct3d or OpenGL card enabled in 3dsmAX.

DonkeyStyle \o/

But it still won't impact your final render time... which is what I gather the OP is wondering about.
If I could save a few hundred by not buying a top 3d gaming card and spend the difference on a faster CPU, I'd think it the better option.
If your mesh is bogging down the standard 3d viewport on a cheap (€100 - €150) card I'd either:
A). Worry about your modelling techniques
. Wonder why you even have to ask
Personally, I've never upgraded my video card and hurried directly to 3dsMax to try it out.

BostonB

DonkeyStyle \o/ wrote:

But it still won't impact your final render time... which is what I gather the OP is wondering about.
If I could save a few hundred by not buying a top 3d gaming card and spend the difference on a faster CPU, I'd think it the better option.
If your mesh is bogging down the standard 3d viewport on a cheap (€100 - €150) card I'd either:
A). Worry about your modelling techniques
. Wonder why you even have to ask
Personally, I've never upgraded my video card and hurried directly to 3dsMax to try it out.

I've never upgraded a video card on a LAPTOP either. On the older laptops onboard video was pretty poor. Perhaps modern onboard chipsets are much improved I dunno I haven't worked in a 3D app in a while.

When I used to work in Max I spent more time modelling than rendering. So I my preference would be lots of ram, large screen, decent gfx and cpu speed last (well within reason). Any big rendering projects we always used a 2nd machine or two for rendering. Much cheaper to have 2 cheap machines one you can use for modelling while the other one is rendering. With one expensive machine you can't use it while it rendering. But overall I never did much rendering on a laptop, mainly modelling and. previews etc.

If you just want a laptop for rendering (kinda odd) then ram first then cpu speed. gfx last. But I imagine its not just for rendering.

DonkeyStyle \o/

Yeah I'm sure he'll just send it off to his render farm.
Go ahead and get the 7950GTX... your 3d viewport will blaze along.

Blowfish

BostonB wrote:

If you just want a laptop for rendering (kinda odd) then ram first then cpu speed. gfx last. But I imagine its not just for rendering.

If it was for physics/animation too, then the cpu becomes more important.

The thing is, how good you need your machine to be all depends on what type of work you are doing. If you are just doing low poly-count models for games/simple animation then the machine doesn't actually have to be all that powerful. If you are going for hyper-realism and/or creating a film quality cgi, then you'll need to spend a lot more on it.

[edit]
If you are just beginning, I wouldn't go for a top end machine. It takes years to be good, and by the time you are good enough to push the machine to its limits, it will be out of date.

WhiteWashMan

i recently bought a laptop with just this in mind. i went for an asus F3JV with 256m nvidia 7600go dedicated graphics, 2g of 667hz memory and dual 2 core 1.83mhz processor. in total came in about 820 GBP.
also picked up the 9 cell battery and 120gb hard drive options included in that price as well.
the only thing that im disappointed is that the screen max resolution is 1400x800, but i have a desktop if i really need higher resolution.

Citizen_Erased

Got something similar to white wash man, Defo go dual core - it eats the face off everything. 3ds max renders are incredibly fast and they're not that expensive.

Blisterman

WhiteWashMan wrote:

i recently bought a laptop with just this in mind. i went for an asus F3JV with 256m nvidia 7600go dedicated graphics, 2g of 667hz memory and dual 2 core 1.83mhz processor. in total came in about 820 GBP.
also picked up the 9 cell battery and 120gb hard drive options included in that price as well.
the only thing that im disappointed is that the screen max resolution is 1400x800, but i have a desktop if i really need higher resolution.

Funny, I ended up getting that exact PC.

WhiteWashMan

i do feel warm and fuzzy inside now