I am in the middle of researching new components that i need to upgrade my computer. I need a new processor and Graphics Card with a budget of £500 spread across the 2 items. I have some some research here and apparently have read that its all to do with what you will inevitably be using the computer for.
I am entering my second year of study as a Visual Effects student, and i will need to do tons of complex 3d modeling (up to 4 million polys in some cases) and visual effects work (will be running After Effects CS5 in conjunction with the latest Autodesk suite and Fusion, Z brush and Nuke). As such i am looking for a processor that will support high speed rendering aswell as handle 64bit software with the option of sticking in some more Ram for new software to run simultaneously.
I toyed with the idea of getting AMD's new commercial workstation Hex core processors (Here) , but a little research on here said that apparently the hex cores are slower than Quad Cores (how that is possible i have no idea, but you know more than me so fair enough)
My current Processor is an: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q8200 @ 2.33GHz (running 32bit)
and my current graphics card is: ATI RadeonHD 4800 series
Also my motherboard is an ASUS P5Q pro, so if i need to update my motherboard to handle the new stuff then please suggest alternatives.
Thanks so much for reading this long winded post and i look forward to your responses
64 bit won't be an issue; all modern PC chips are 64bit...even your current CPU is 64bit.
There are a lot of cards in the 4800 series, some are several times faster than others. I would try to figure out what card you have, as a 4870 or 4890 should be good enough for your apps, while the slower models will hold them back. If you have one of the better cards, then you can put more money towards the rest of the build. If it is one of the older cards, you might have to keep using it for a while until you can afford a better card.
You will need a new mainboard for a newer generation processor; your current board only supports processors up to a quadcore 3.0; and it isn't much faster than what you have with an overclock, plus it is very expensive. This is a bit of a problem, as you will now need new ram as well...and by the time you buy the board, ram, CPU, and PSU will have nothing left for the video card.
AMD's hex cores are rather slow (for the cost); there are two reasons...first, many apps only support quadcore processors, and most only support single or dual core processors...the other cores go almost unused with these apps. The second reason is that AMD's architecture is outdated; so the processor does a lot less with each GHZ. (AMD is very overdue for a architecture upgrade).
I don't know what PSU you have, so I included a very nice one in the build. This unit is overkill, but it should last for years and years...and PCs seem to need more and more power all the time, so 750W probably won't be overkill for your next build. If you already have a nice PSU, just put this money back in your PC savings fund, or go get drunk a few times, or whatever...
Normally, I would point you towards an i5, but your applications can actually make use of an i7...so I tend to lean that way on this one.
Prices are US prices in US dollars:
$290 - Intel Core i7-860 2.8GHz Quad-Core Processor
$105 - GIGABYTE GA-H55M-UD2H Motherboard (this is a fine mainboard, the only notable feature that is missing is USB 3.0; but you will pay a lot more for a mainboard this reliable with USB3.0 support...and you can always get an addon card for USB3.0 later)
$100/e - CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 1333 Memory Kit (get 2 kits for the 8GB you will need)
$109 - CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W Power Supply
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That converts to about £460 before shipping, although UK store prices might vary a little.
Wow, thanks for the intensely informative feedback, and sorry for the late reply. Been on holiday (which is why i was so tight with my budget).
However i have added all of those items to my shopping basket i have about £200 leftover for spending money before my next paycheck in September, which i feel would be better utilized for a new graphics card.
I know you said that my current one would be good enough, however i have been getting a few graphics glitches which leads me to believe its faulty. Could you, or anyone else recommend me a new Card within my price range with enough power and compatibility with my current items, along with my specification of needs (already posted).
I heard Gaming cards might be good enough for my work area, any ideas?
Oh, and before i go, since im transferring to 64bit, is every single piece of software Only for 32bit or 64bit, by that i mean can 1 program (without another version) work on both (like Movavi Video Suite), if its not labeled as either?
After some research i found this card. Affordable in my budget and sounds like it might be enough for me. Can anyone else vouch for this or not or perhaps suggest something better?
