Specs for a Rendering PC?

[CKTurbo128]

Hi everyone. I'm looking for some suggestions on building a PC primarily for use in 3D & rendering programs like AutoCAD 2008, Revit 2008, VIZ 2008, Rhino, formZ 6.1, etc. So far, I have come up with this:

Motherboard: ASUS P5N-E SLI LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard
Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80562Q6600
Hard Drive: Western Digital Raptor X WD1500AHFD 150GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive
Graphics Cards: 2 x PNY VCG8800XXPB GeForce 8800GTX 768MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card (SLI)
Power Supply Unit: SILVERSTONE SST-ST75ZF ATX 12V 2.2 & EPS 12V 750W SLI Certified Power Supply
Memory: 2 x Patriot 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model PSD24G667K
DVD-RW Drive: LITE-ON 16X DVD-RW Burner
Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP Professional x64

Any suggestions would be helpful.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

I thought this was for rendering? You'd be much better off for the kind of money you're looking to spend by going with a FireGL or Quadro card.

 

[Fullmetal Chocobo]

SLI for a rendering setup? Ditch the gaming cards--they render like crap. just like rendering cards game like crap. That's how it is. Get a Quadro or FireGL card, and you'll be much happier with the rendering when it comes to setting up the scenes.

And what programs are you going to be using? Be sure they are certified for XP x64 before you buy anything.

 

[lamere]

Yeah, ditch the gaming cards for a workstation card like a quatro or fireGL like the others said.

Also, I wouldnt use x64 anything right now, i'd stick with XP. It'll be around for a while till they get the bugs worked out of the x64 systems.

It has horrible driver support, alot of programs don't work with it, and only the very patient dont mind using it.

 

[Smartazz]

Yeah, like everyone else said, spend the ~$1000 on a workstation video card, if you need that much power.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

A couple of these in SLI would be much better

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814133190

 

[Smartazz]

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: GuitarDaddy
A couple of these in SLI would be much better

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814133190</end quote></div>

Yeah they would be if you were willing to spend close to $2000, which the OP could be willing to spend.
edit: OP, if you're willing to spend that much money, I think that one powerful card is better than two weaker ones. I'm not sure if this card is worth it, but you should look into it: Text