PC UPGRADE ISSUE

**arsh87** · May 5th, 2011, 12:23 PM

Hi TechIMO..!!
I have a assembled my system 2 yrs ago.. with the following configuration :-
Intel Core 2 Duo E7300@ 2.66 GHz,
Intel Original G31PR
2 GB DDR2 RAM from Zion (One Stick)
250 GB HDD from Hitachi
15'' LCD monitor from Samsung.
I am a budding animator and I frequently use haevy applications like After Effects, Maya and Max. Now a days my Pc started hanging whenever I use these apps.
Does it mean I need an upgrade..??

Whatever the case it is I want to upgrade my system for smoother performance.
I have few questions :-
@ Can I upgrade my pc with a Core i5 or Core i7 proccessor without changing the motherboard..?
@ kindly suggest me the best possible configuration having budget within $9500..!!
Thanks in advance...!!
Please Reply Soon...!!
-SUBHASH
email removed

**RicheemxX** · May 5th, 2011, 12:33 PM

Well the first question is easy NO - the core i series uses a totally different socket than the old C2D chips so they aren't compatible in any way.

For the second question $9500? I'm assuming that is none US funds??

**arsh87** · May 5th, 2011, 12:46 PM

@ CAN YOU SUGGEST ME A GOOD COMBINATION OF POWERFULL MOTHERBOARD AND A HIGH END PROCESSOR SO THAT I CAN EASILY RENDER THE SEQUENCES IN AFTEREFFECTS AND MAX...!!

**RicheemxX** · May 5th, 2011, 01:24 PM

Dude no need to send me a pm!!!

You never answered the question about your budget? Are you in the States or elsewhere?

If you are wanting to upgrade to something newer you are looking at an entirely new build. Not just a new board and cpu!

**ShyguyXPC** · May 5th, 2011, 05:03 PM

New Board, CPU, RAM, Better Monitor, New Operating System (64-bit), Decent Nvidia GPU if your running CS4 or CS5 of Photoshop, After Effects, or 3D Rendering apps for good OpenGL Performance. (I Suspect your using the crap onboard Intel Graphics, which could be causing the hanging issues, as well as the limited 2GB of RAM)

If your in the US, and that $9500.00 was meant to be a $950.00 budget instead, then the following list of parts would be a good list (easily adjustable to be a bit more cheaper) for what your looking for.

Newegg.com - LG Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD Burner - CD / DVD Burners

Newegg.com - Thermaltake V4 Black Edition Gaming Chassis Mid Tower Steel Computer Case Fully Black Powdered Interior VM30001W2Z

Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Newegg.com - EVGA 01G-P3-1452-TR GeForce GTS 450 (Fermi) Superclocked 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

Newegg.com - XIGMATEK ACXTNRP-PC502 500W ATX12V v2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

Newegg.com - Team Elite 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Desktop Memory Model TED38192M1333C9DC

Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-P67X-UD3-B3 LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

Newegg.com - Intel Core i5-2500 Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500

Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit English 1-Pack - Operating Systems

GTS 450 would be plenty for 3D animation needs if your getting started in the stuff, plenty for OpenGL views and what not.

also that model there, once registered on the EVGA site, allows you access to a free software download copy of Adobe Elements 9, which is a nice extra bonus, as I think Elements 9 usually retails for about $100.

Grand Total: $881.80.

Cutting some costs here and there, maybe go with a lower spec'd Intel Core i3 or i5 Dual core, or even Go with an AMD Phenom II X4 CPU for less money, which would still give you MUCH better 3D rendering performance than what you have now.

I went from a Core 2 Duo E6400 2.13GHz Dual core to an Intel Core 2 Quad 2.4GHz Quad core when I really started to dabble with 3D rendering myself (still not all that proficient with it, but learning a little here and there on my own), and I saw a MASSIVE increase in Rendering performance. Though I Don't use After Effects, simply because I can't afford the damn Adobe software most of the time, but for the Daz 3D Products I was/am using (DAZ Studio, DAZ Studio Advanced, Carrara 6, 7 & 8, Bryce 5, 6 & 7, Hexagon 2, etc etc) I saw a massive amount of rendering performance increase.

Not sure how Maya and its brethren set it up, but I'd consider holding onto your existing system, if you can afford the extra power costs, and use it for a Network Render node for CPU rendering in 3D apps, this way for larger renders it might drop render times down a bit, rendering something like an image or video on more than just one PC. I know DAZ Studio and Carrara as well as Bryce is capable of this, not sure how Maya sets it up though.

but I was going to say, even an AMD Phenom II X4 system would be a good start, cheaper in price than the Intel system, which is a better system, but the AMD systems would be a better bargain, and would allow costs to be cut down enough with out sacrificing too much in the rest of the system, and allow you to throw in a nice 24" LED Backlit 1920x1080 or 1920x1200 LCD Display as well... maybe even a decent keyboard and better mouse or trackball for the 3D rendering apps.