Best cpu for 3ds max.

[Ero]

Hello.

 

A friend of mine want to build a new system for 3ds max rendering and other graphic works like that.

But I have no idea if that program use gpu or cpu for rendering, if cpu does it favor single core performance or multi core and if it's prefer intel or amd.

 

Also for it's ram, is 16gb 2400mhz enough or should he get a ram with higher clock?

[Turtle Rig]

5 minutes ago, Ero said:

Hello.

 

A friend of mine want to build a new system for 3ds max rendering and other graphic works like that.

But I have no idea if that program use gpu or cpu for rendering, if cpu does it favor single core performance or multi core and if it's prefer intel or amd.

 

Also for it's ram, is 16gb 2400mhz enough or should he get a ram with higher clock?

Well both GPU and CPU will have a job to do with 3D Studio Max.  You would need a highly spec specific OpenGL card and also a beefy CPU.  What is your budget ?  Also RAM speed is fine at 2400Mhz unless your going to have a AMD system in which 3200Mhz would be ideal.

 

I recommend a 9900k @ 5Ghz Turbo as bare minimum.  You can go HEDT and grab a 9980XE or a 32c 64t ThreadRipper.  Also note Zen 2 is coming out in a month or two max and no body knows how it will perform however it will come in 8core and 16 core variants.  While the ThreadRipper models will be 32c 64t.  Are you in a rush ?  If so grab a 9900k and a RTX 2070 or 2080 and call it a day.  You can go for more VRAM but that is where prices start to go upwards 1k and beyond.  If 3D Studio Max is your job I would go HEDT and personally wait for the AMD Zen 2 7nm ThreadRipper.

[Ero]

16 minutes ago, Turtle Rig said:

Well both GPU and CPU will have a job to do with 3D Studio Max.  You would need a highly spec specific OpenGL card and also a beefy CPU.  What is your budget ?  Also RAM speed is fine at 2400Mhz unless your going to have a AMD system in which 3200Mhz would be ideal. 

  

I recommend a 9900k @ 5Ghz Turbo as bare minimum.  You can go HEDT and grab a 9980XE or a 32c 64t ThreadRipper.  Also note Zen 2 is coming out in a month or two max and no body knows how it will perform however it will come in 8core and 16 core variants.  While the ThreadRipper models will be 32c 64t.  Are you in a rush ?  If so grab a 9900k and a RTX 2070 or 2080 and call it a day.  You can go for more VRAM but that is where prices start to go upwards 1k and beyond.  If 3D Studio Max is your job I would go HEDT and personally wait for the AMD Zen 2 7nm ThreadRipper.

Max is like 1200 USD. So I cant do that.

I can pick him a R7 2700x or i7 8700k with a rx 580 or something or pick a R5 2600x with a gtx 1080.

[Lord Mirdalan]

In modeling, orbiting, animation, Max will use a single thread. Multiple cores will be used only when rendering, running a fluid simulation, MassFX, or the like.

 

If you intend to use a CPU-bound rendering engine such as Arnold, Mental Ray (RIP), or ART, then get the most cores you can with a base clock of at least 3.8GHz. (Give or take). I'd add a Quadro P5000 or GTX1080ti, and call it a day.

 

I'm particularly fond of the 7900X, which I had running for days at 4+ GHz, 90 - 100% load on all cores.

 

If you intend to use a GPU-bound rendering engine such as Redshift, Corona, or V-Ray, I would recommend a 4-or-6 core CPU, with 2 - 4  10 - series cards in SLI. The rendering engine will not use SLI, but Max does support it, and will scale across the cards while orbiting in the scene.

 

For RAM, get 32GB if at all possible. 16 will be gone before you know it, and when the memory runs out, Max crashes.