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old computer

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#1

I am sure that this has been answer somewhere on this board.
I have a dell precision 670 that is about over 10yrs old and I had upgraded it to max it out. Lately I am finding that things are starting to go on it. so I am thinking of buying a new one. I have been looking at workstations but they are kind of spendy. I was thinking of building my own. however, that would also be spendy and take time to do. (I am willing to go through the whole process of building and upgrading again.) so the question is should i spend the money for a workstation or just a regular computer that can handle photoshop, zbrush, sketchbook pro 7 and sketchup. I would somebodies opinion on this. I know I need at least 2mgs on the graphics card. Do I really need a workstation or not?

thanks all

#2

Considering where and when you posted the question.

I would wait until the new versions of Zbrush are released ( days hopefully)
They will be issuing the newer 64 bit version as a beta.
If you can hold off while the initial testing is done, you might be able
to pick up some information that will best suit your individual needs for an expensive purchase.

#3

It depends on what software packages you’re planning on using.

#4

You can make it into a media center, a Linux box, donate it to a kid who can’t afford one of their own, mp3/avi storage. There are a few ideas hope one works for ya.

#5

Ill put it this way.

Is it worth buying a workstation to run these programs?
1.zbrush
2.photoshop cs6
3.sketchbook pro 7
4.sketchup free

with the computers that are made today I am looking at i7 core.
with about 8 to 16 gigs of ram.
and a graphics card that has at least 2gigs of vram.
what do you think?

#6

If that’s the only software you plan on running then no it’s not worth the workstation. Workstation is more for heavy 3D, Maya, Max, etc.

I know I need at least 2mgs on the graphics card.
Oh you’ll need a lot more than that. :stuck_out_tongue:

I think you meant 2 GB not MB. Big difference there but probably a typo. :smiley:

Don’t focus too much on the video memory size but more the actual video card processing power. There are 1GB video cards that can run circles around 2GB cards. Memory can be important (lots of texture info, etc.) but that’s not the main thing to compare video card power.

Video cards are mainly for realtime rendering, viewports, games, etc. Maya and Max viewports will use your GPU (video card). Zbrush doesn’t as it is CPU (pc processor) based. So a better video card won’t affect Zbrush. Or if you get a GPU renderer, like Octane, then a high end video card can be more important.

#7

That’s kind of what I thought too. Being out of the graphic design business for so long, you tend forget what you need and don’t need.
and yea that was a typo.
I just know I had to upgrade my graphics card when I got photoshop cs6 cause it just didn’t have enough vram for 3d part of it.

now onto the journey of relearning some of the old software and some of the new.

yea me.:lol:

#8

Hi, deciding on going on a work station or not will actually depend on your project and even on your own budget. If you think, you will be comfortable on buying a new one that fits your purpose then you might as well decide to do so. The advantage of the latter will give you a longer benefit than doing it on a work station especially if it requires a tough work to be done.