3ds Max hardware?

[craigbennett]

I'm using Max more and more and with larger files so it is time for me to get a new video card. Is there one that is better than the rest?

Also I have been hearing about the Pure Render cards. Does anyone use these and how much do they really help?

Thank you for any help
Craig Bennett

[stusic]

I think graphics cards are one of those things where the more you spend, the more performance you'll get. To me this was hampered by budgetary restrictions and I simply got the best card I could afford. The more work I got, the more money I could put back into my hardware budget.

The Pure Render card from Art VPS is going to run a pretty penny. It will give you a definite and considerable performance boost if you are working off something like onboard graphics, but I'd be afraid of overkill. Many other (and less expensive) cards will give a great performance improvement with out a great big price tag. You should look and see if it's something that's really worth the cost.

Also, if it's large files you're concerned with, adding more RAM if you can would be an immediate and inexpensive help.

[craigbennett]

Philip

Thanks. I have 4G of RAM but I think I'll up that and see if I need to do somthing more.
Craig

[loydg]

Craig,

Are you running 64 bit OS? That has seemed to help us considerably with massive scenes (in fact, it saved our butts on one projects). Below is a breakdown of our hardware for a typical viz workstation:

Dell PRE690 dual core Xeon processors (4 @ 3.0GHz)
4GB RAM
NVIDIA Quadro FX 3500
160GB RAID striped disk drive
Dual 20" LCD monitors

Hope that helps...

[craigbennett]

Glen
Yep, I'm using 64bit XP. It is a help for sure. I think I just get to much detail and need to tone it down.
Craig

[stusic]

re you typically using the mr renderer or are you using the scanline renderer? I've always had a problem drawing the line between just right and more then needed. I've learned that some projects only require sc and don't need the depth that mr offers... if too much is your concern, think about toning down your renderings rather than upping your system to handle the huge stuff (if it's not needed).

[craigbennett]

I have not used the sc for a long time now. I guess that I should think about using it for some jobs.
Craig

[arshiel88]

Philip

Thanks. I have 4G of RAM but I think I'll up that and see if I need to do somthing more.
Craig

As far as I know, 4GB is the limit of memory in Windows XP, unless you are using 64bit OS. Mine is also 4GB but in My Computer properties, it only says 3.25GB. Does this mean my .75GB is being wasted?

[stusic]

As far as I know, 4GB is the limit of memory in Windows XP, unless you are using 64bit OS.

I thought there was a 3gb limit...

[arshiel88]

I thought there was a 3gb limit...

If there was, I never heard of it or its the hardware limits (e.g. motherboard with 3 memory slots). But, I've read about /3GB switch (http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms791558.aspx) which enables 4 GT RAM Tuning, a feature that enlarges the user-mode virtual address space to 3 GB and restricts the kernel-mode components to the remaining 1 GB.

[stusic]

But, I've read about /3GB switch (http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms791558.aspx)

Yep, that's what I'm thinking of... ;)