Hello, 
I am considering buying a desktop computer specifically for my iClone 7 and all my assets. As I am currently part way through a feature film project I feel I need to buy a new computer,  as I'm using an oldish Pentium i7 computer that I use for all my computer needs. Can anyone advise me on the specs that would be future proof for a few years please,?
Best regards.
Ken

The more I learn, the more I realise, I know nothing!

I believe you mean Intel Core i7 (not pentium, unless you do have a Pentium, which would mean you don't have an i7)

How old is your current computer? If it is an i7. Do you know which generation it is? I have an i7-8700 which means it's an 8th Gen core i7. i72600 was a second-generation i7.  So whatever the first number after the i7/i5/i3 is the generation. Just wanting to know this to see if you do actually need a new PC or if an upgrade would suffice. Also how much RAM do you have? You could just need an upgrade in RAM and a new Video Card

The majority of iclone 7 and CC3 more so uses RAM and VRAM 

Generally for future-proofing. You would just purchase the best computer with the newest parts money can buy right at this moment. So the other thing to consider is, what is your budget?

With unlimited money... the following specs would be the best future proof PC. 
Core i7 10th Generation
NVidia RTX 2080TI 11GB VRAM (3000 series will be released soon)
32GB RAM or even 64GB RAM DDR4 (highest speed)

I recently upgraded my PC from an old i7-2600 (2nd Gen) and 16GB Ram and AMD R9-380 Graphics Card,
My current PC specs are
Windows 10
Intel Core i7-8700 @ 3.2GHz (8th Gen)
32 GB DDR4 2400MHz (Which is on the lower side, but a lot cheaper)
NVidia RTX 2070 Super 8GB VRAM
500GB M.2 SSD for main drive + numerous SSHDs for all other drives.

I've previously worked in the IT field for over 5 years and a lot of that was building computers. I built my own computer also. The budget will be the main factor in what PC you will be able to get.
Basically at the end of the day, the only thing that will matter is the more RAM you have the better, and the better NVidia RTX graphics card you can get the better. 

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Hello Slayerazazel,
Thank you for your reply. My specs are:
Intel I7-3770K @3.50ghz
16 Gb RAM
Nvidia GTX 670
Running Windows 10.
2SSD's (C, D)
Several HDD's.
I have an American Megatrends motherboard which has never had the BIOS updated, terrified to do that myself...

I have noticed several brands of computers that have higher end graphics cards than I have, and it appears to be cheaper to buy the whole computer rather than just the graphics cards which appear to be hideously expensive...

Best regards.
Ken


The more I learn, the more I realise, I know nothing!

Ken,

My desktop specs are very similar to yours.  See my signature.

For 90% of what I do, my ancient CPU is not much of a bottleneck.  I also rarely max out my 16GB of RAM.  The main thing is the GPU.  Keep it Nvidia, and 8GB of VRAM (or more if you can find it).

I have visions of a system upgrade.  I'm really looking at an AMD Ryzen 9 3900X.  But that means a new motherboard, and I'll get 32GB of new RAM, and probably a nice m.2 SSD.... and the next thing I know I'm spending over $1,000 even though I'm using the same graphics card.  So I keep putting it off.  (I was getting really close to doing it, and just got hit with a $2,000 air conditioning repair bill, so I my computer upgrade gets deferred again.)

---

iClone 7... Character Creator... Substance Designer/Painter... Blender... Audacity...
Desktop (homebuilt) - Windows 10, Ryzen 9 3900x CPU, GTX 1080 GPU (8GB), 32GB RAM, Asus X570 Pro motherboard, 2TB SSD, terabytes of disk space, dual  monitors.
Laptop - Windows 10, MSI GS63VR STEALTH-252, 16GB RAM, GTX 1060 (6GB), 256GB SSD and 1TB HDD

Maybe you could combine the house repairs to cool off the new system and save some cash?  Hehe,
I'm doing the memory/vid card upgrade this month upgrading from a GTX 970 to a GeForce RTX 2070 Super .  Interesting to note Windows 7 Premium can only upgrade to 16GB so I might have to move on to Win10.  Good times ahead I hope.  Something needs to kick ass this year...

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Your video card should be updated. The rest of your system is perfectly fine.

Get  a recent Nvidia GTX or RTX card with 8 Gig VRAM, or more, and you're good to go!

Thanks Justaviking, Rampa and Thebiz.movies, 
Your comments have convinced me the best move for me is probably upgrading my graphics card and increasing my Ram. The thought of a new dedicated computer specifically for iClone, video and sound editing is very appealing though...
Best regards.
Ken

The more I learn, the more I realise, I know nothing!

As the others said, upgrading your Graphics card should do the trick. Depending on what you do the RAM should be fine. I have 32GB and I get close to maxing out, but it's generally fine. But I usually have iClone, CC3, 3D XChange,  ZBrush, Substance Painter, 3D Coat open at the same time, and even more sometimes.

If upgrading to future proof the graphics card at least. Don't go lower than a 2070 Super. So you have 2 options for your budget. 2070 Super or 2080 TI. 

Also if you do end up going for a new dedicated PC for iclone, video, and sound editing. Be very careful with retail stores. They usually add low-quality parts to keep the cost down. Motherboard, RAM, Power Supply, and also use the older generation CPUs because of leftover stock. The salesperson would try and sell you an old 7th/8th generation before trying to sell you a newer 9th or 10th generation CPU to get rid of the stock. And they often don't list the specific details. They just say i7 or i5 (without stating the generation). So either build yourself if you know how to. Or ask for the full specs of the PC, generation of the CPU, Frequency of the RAM, Brand, and Power of the PSU.

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Hello all,
I have been wrestling with a lot of problems with iClone 7 recently and have posted about them, Face Key etc in other posts, ending up with this post about buying a new computer... All these problems have now been sorted for me, albeit with a lot of grief and many, many hours spent at the computer.
As I tried to resolve all my problems I managed to ruin my computer registry... after many hours, lots of advice and sheer frustration, I realised I had no option other than doing a complete Windows 10 reset. This gave me an added set of problems entirely unrelated to iClone, Office 365 (now called Microsoft 365) for instance, although the support from Microsoft was absolutely brilliant...
Because (limited space on my C drive) I had put everything iClone on another drive I am happy to say that my projects have all been unaffected by these issues and I am now (just) back up and running with my Project. I'd like to thank everybody who offered me advice, it was all brilliant and I am very grateful to you all. Thank you all very much.

Bes regards.
Ken


The more I learn, the more I realise, I know nothing!

Hello Slayerazazel,
Thank you for your advice it will prove to be very useful in my quest for an upgrade.
Best regards.
Ken



The more I learn, the more I realise, I know nothing!