Profile Picture

Optimal hardware components for CC and IClone workstation?

Posted By kaptaind 4 Years Ago
You don't have permission to rate!

Optimal hardware components for CC and IClone workstation?

Author
Message
kaptaind
kaptaind
Posted 4 Years Ago
View Quick Profile
Senior Member

Senior Member (362 reputation)Senior Member (362 reputation)Senior Member (362 reputation)Senior Member (362 reputation)Senior Member (362 reputation)Senior Member (362 reputation)Senior Member (362 reputation)Senior Member (362 reputation)Senior Member (362 reputation)

Group: Forum Members
Last Active: Last Month
Posts: 20, Visits: 192
Hello everyone,
I want to put together an optimal workstation for using Character Creator and IClone to make high quality videos.  I have been using the latest versions of Character Creator Piipeline, including Headshot, and IClone Pro, including 3D Exchange for about a year, on a system that is several years old.  I have upgraded this system as much as I can.  I could really benefit from getting a new system.  That is a real challenge for me as I am not an expert in computer hardware. 

Since 3D animation requires a lot of CPU and GPU power, I am inclined to believe that a custom-built machine would be a more optimal solution than a mass-market one, assuming of course that the builder has the right knowledge and components. I discovered a company called Puget Systems that builds custom machines.  They advertise optimal workstation configurations for specific applications, such as the Adobe creative suite apps, Maya, etc., but as of yet, they haven't come up with one for CC/IClone.  

Has anyone else thought about doing what I'm considering?  If so, what components do you consider optimal?  I know that Reallusion provides a list of recommended hardware requirements, but many of the recommended component descriptions end it "... or higher", which means there's a lot more to learn.  

I'd appreciate any helpful advice.

Cheers,

Kirk








Kelleytoons
Kelleytoons
Posted 4 Years Ago
View Quick Profile
Distinguished Member

Distinguished Member (37.8K reputation)Distinguished Member (37.8K reputation)Distinguished Member (37.8K reputation)Distinguished Member (37.8K reputation)Distinguished Member (37.8K reputation)Distinguished Member (37.8K reputation)Distinguished Member (37.8K reputation)Distinguished Member (37.8K reputation)Distinguished Member (37.8K reputation)

Group: Forum Members
Last Active: Last Year
Posts: 9.2K, Visits: 22.1K
Obviously the best PC you can buy is, well, best, but BY FAR the principle part you want is the best GPU.  Right now it's impossible to beat the NVidia 3090, and it pretty well future proofs you (for at least the next two or three years :>).  That is optimal by far.

After that you want the fastest chip (so, on the Intel side, the i9), the most RAM (for iClone not as critical as GPU memory, but definitely helpful as we've found when running my Python script my 128GB machine kept iClone from crashing where 32GB did not) and solid state drives all around (the less spinning discs the better).  You can't have too much disc space, but I certainly wouldn't put together a machine nowadays with less than, say, 8GB (again SSD only).

After that the best and biggest monitor(s) you can afford would be helpful (I'm using a really nice curved Alienware that is bigger than the two 32" ones it replaced in terms of screen size).  

But, again, it really all revolves around the GPU.  Start there first and you can't go wrong.



Alienware Aurora R16, Win 11, i9-149000KF, 3.20GHz CPU, 64GB RAM, RTX 4090 (24GB), Samsung 870 Pro 8TB, Gen3 MVNe M-2 SSD, 4TBx2, 39" Alienware Widescreen Monitor
Mike "ex-genius" Kelley
animagic
animagic
Posted 4 Years Ago
View Quick Profile
Distinguished Member

Distinguished Member (33.4K reputation)Distinguished Member (33.4K reputation)Distinguished Member (33.4K reputation)Distinguished Member (33.4K reputation)Distinguished Member (33.4K reputation)Distinguished Member (33.4K reputation)Distinguished Member (33.4K reputation)Distinguished Member (33.4K reputation)Distinguished Member (33.4K reputation)

Group: Forum Members
Last Active: 5 days ago
Posts: 15.8K, Visits: 31.3K
System builders like Puget often recommend Nvidia Quadro cards. Besides being more expensive than RTX GPUs, they will not work well with iClone.

As Mike mentioned, the best card right now is the RTX 3090.

As these are hard to get, I bought a top of the line a Dell Alienware Aurora R12 with a Dell version of the RTX 3090. Mike actually did the same.

Dells like these are almost custom builds. They are around $5,000. A similar system from Puget would cost around $2,000 more.



Rampa
Rampa
Posted 4 Years Ago
View Quick Profile
Distinguished Member

Distinguished Member (37.5K reputation)Distinguished Member (37.5K reputation)Distinguished Member (37.5K reputation)Distinguished Member (37.5K reputation)Distinguished Member (37.5K reputation)Distinguished Member (37.5K reputation)Distinguished Member (37.5K reputation)Distinguished Member (37.5K reputation)Distinguished Member (37.5K reputation)

Group: Forum Members
Last Active: 2 days ago
Posts: 8.2K, Visits: 62.5K
One more, not graphics related, thing to be aware of. Windows 11 is right around the corner, and has updated hardware requirements for security. So if you have a working system now, you may want to wait for systems shipping with Windows 11 before getting a new system.
kaptaind
kaptaind
Posted 4 Years Ago
View Quick Profile
Senior Member

Senior Member (362 reputation)Senior Member (362 reputation)Senior Member (362 reputation)Senior Member (362 reputation)Senior Member (362 reputation)Senior Member (362 reputation)Senior Member (362 reputation)Senior Member (362 reputation)Senior Member (362 reputation)

Group: Forum Members
Last Active: Last Month
Posts: 20, Visits: 192
Thank you Mr. Kelly!  That sounds like good advice!
kaptaind
kaptaind
Posted 4 Years Ago
View Quick Profile
Senior Member

Senior Member (362 reputation)Senior Member (362 reputation)Senior Member (362 reputation)Senior Member (362 reputation)Senior Member (362 reputation)Senior Member (362 reputation)Senior Member (362 reputation)Senior Member (362 reputation)Senior Member (362 reputation)

Group: Forum Members
Last Active: Last Month
Posts: 20, Visits: 192
Thank you for the good advice, animagic!
kaptaind
kaptaind
Posted 4 Years Ago
View Quick Profile
Senior Member

Senior Member (362 reputation)Senior Member (362 reputation)Senior Member (362 reputation)Senior Member (362 reputation)Senior Member (362 reputation)Senior Member (362 reputation)Senior Member (362 reputation)Senior Member (362 reputation)Senior Member (362 reputation)

Group: Forum Members
Last Active: Last Month
Posts: 20, Visits: 192
Thank you for that good tip, Rampa!  I didn't know there was a new version of Windows coming soon.



Reading This Topic

0 active, 0 guests, 0 members, 0 anonymous.
No members currently viewing this topic!