sorry but another maya computer question

# 1 17-08-2008 , 07:43 AM

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Ok so it's more than just a good computer for maya. I need a computer that can also handle games like Crysis and Assassins Creed. I bought assassins creed out of stupidity by not looking at the specs, got it all installed and it said my processor speed was too slow. I was thinking somethings messed up because it's 3.2GHz, so I then finally looked at the back of the box and it requires Dual core processor 2.6GHz

So I've decided to start looking around at pc's, don't want to go with dell, possibly an HP but I don't really have all that much money to spend. Should I be settling with dual core or should I just keep saving that extra money to go for the quad core? 32 bit or 64 bit? The more processors how does that work with the RAM? With dual core would 2 gigs of ram be split up, 1 gig per processor? Would that feel any slower than my current 3.2GHz processor with 2 gigs? I'm kind of confused now with all this dual and quad core crap, haha.

And whatever computer it is, it doesn't need to have a great graphics card, I do have a Quadro FX 3450 to replace whatever the computer comes with.

My other main problems right now is Vista, I really don't want to have to switch over to Vista, I'm kind of attached to XP and don't want to give it up just yet, but it seems you can't buy it with XP anymore.

Can anyone help me with this at all, point me in the right direction (not Mac, I've used mac's before, thats what I started computers with, and thats what I used to do editing with when my mom needed help at her home business).

So the questions isn't just about maya, but also video games that require lots of processor speeds. I'm sure I'm not going to find one in my price range but I'd still like to know what I have to aim for.

- Mike

https://rhetoriccamel.blogspot.com

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# 2 17-08-2008 , 08:43 AM

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Well since you never said how much you're willing to spend, it'll be a bit useless for me to go into all that. I will say this though, Assassin's Creed isn't that big of a deal, but Crysis on full will bring a lot of pcs to their knees, so buying a machine off the shelf that can handle it will cost a pretty penny. Quadros aren't gaming cards, they're workstation cards. A good gaming card(s) will do fine, you can look into the Nvidia GeForce 9 series. Either start reading up on this stuff or call a buddy who can build pcs or you're going to have to shell out a lot of cash for an off the rack affair. As far as the processor, if you multi-task, get a quad core, if you don't multi-task, get a dual core will a high frequency.

- Genny
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# 3 17-08-2008 , 08:47 AM

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Assassin's creed seems to be a big deal on my computer, it lags like crazy and the games not enjoyable the people talking in the scenes finish and the animation of the video keeps going. So this computer just wont do it.

and since this computer wont be just for gaming but also maya I should be able to use the graphics card I have now. It's worked well on other games.

I would also like to keep it at around $1000 if possible, and I do multi task like crazy.

- Mike

https://rhetoriccamel.blogspot.com

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# 4 17-08-2008 , 09:01 AM

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i assume thats 1000 in $US

personally i wouldn't go with Dell because i'm getting a new computer and for equivalent specs you'd have to pay $NZ3000+
whereas just buying the parts only cost me $NZ1518.65

a few extra things to consider, is the motherboard, and what it can fit. how much RAM it will take (speed of the ram isn't an issue unless you overclock your processor, or so i'm told), the number of harddrives it can support and how many graphics cards it can have

as for your processor to ram question... i haven't an answer

i dont want to switch to vista either, but for operating systems XP 64bit edition is less stable than vista 64bit or Windows Server 2008 64bit
the advantage of having a 64bit OS is that it can handle larger numbers (the max number is twice as long), that and it can recognise over 3gb ram without having to do any hacking

and by less stable i mean there aren't as many drivers for stuff and stuff doesn't run properly

but why not just use the OS on your current computer on the new one you want? just put the disks into that one

that's a "Ch" pronounced as a "K"

Computer skills I should have:
Objective C, C#, Java, MEL. Python, C++, XML, JavaScript, XSLT, HTML, SQL, CSS, FXScript, Clips, SOAR, ActionScript, OpenGL, DirectX
Maya, XSI, Photoshop, AfterEffects, Motion, Illustrator, Flash, Swift3D

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# 5 17-08-2008 , 09:15 AM

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On a $1000 budget you'd best buy components instead of a whole machine, you'll get more bang for your buck that way. Gaming cards run Maya just fine. From what I gather you don't want a total CG machine nor a total Gaming machine, you want a bit of both so I suggest a gaming card. You should be able to get a good, video card, cpu+fan and mobo, hell, maybe even some quality RAM with you're budget.

- Genny
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# 6 17-08-2008 , 09:43 PM

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Rhetoric Camel > "Should I be settling with dual core or should I just keep saving that extra money to go for the quad core? 32 bit or 64 bit? The more processors how does that work with the RAM? With dual core would 2 gigs of ram be split up, 1 gig per processor? Would that feel any slower than my current 3.2GHz processor with 2 gigs? I'm kind of confused now with all this dual and quad core crap, haha."

For the processor, if its inside your budget go for a fast quad core processor, that way, you'll get good performance on games that are not multithreaded (meaning they run only on one core) as well as multitasking (becuase of the four cores). I have no idea how much it would cost though, its been quite a while since I've picked up a catalog. Buying a fast quad core processor means its going to last longer two, many of the new and future games are going to be able to run on multiple cores, so having lots of fast cores is a win.

As for 32- or 64-bit, go for 64-bit. 32-bit is completely obsolete for a gaming and Maya box. I don't think they make 32-bit processors anymore anyways.

As for the processors and the RAM, well in most systems (including all PCs) with a multicore processor (or with multiple single-core or multicore processors for the matter), the RAM is not split up according to how many cores/processors there are. The RAM is shared, accessable by every core/processor.

Hopes this answers a few of your questions.

C. P. U. Its not a big processor... Its a series of pipes!

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# 7 18-08-2008 , 09:19 AM

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woops, didn't read what you said right until now....

Last edited by Chirone; 18-08-2008 at 11:58 AM.

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# 8 18-08-2008 , 11:55 AM

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Originally posted by The Architect
As for the processors and the RAM, well in most systems (including all PCs) with a multicore processor (or with multiple single-core or multicore processors for the matter), the RAM is not split up according to how many cores/processors there are. The RAM is shared, accessable by every core/processor.

Hopes this answers a few of your questions.

Originally Posted by

spot on. RAM is shared. more strenuous or processor-intensive operations usually are alotted more RAM.