Building a Softimage 2015 PC in 2020?

[Hirazi Blue]

Hi all,
As my current PC is starting to show its age (5 years), I am planning to invest in a new machine, that still will have to be able to run Softimage smoothly, even if I sadly do not use it all that often anymore...
My budget would currently be around €1200 for the whole machine (including Windows install).
My first and most pressing question is: will Softimage run smoothly on a modern CPU (say for instance a AMD Ryzen 3600) and will it be compatible with modern GPU's (of the RTX variety) or should I get a GTX 1066 or even older?
The better GPU would primarily be for playing games and to "future-proof" the system...
I do plan on using my old 2.0.93 version of Redshift, so a good compatible GPU would be much preferred...

[wireframex]

Hi Hirazi,

FYI I use 3 x 2080 GTX in the same computer with a Ryzen 3990x (64 Cores / 128 Thread).

Well it is very expensive but your question was about modern set, I can tell you that it is working very nice with SI 2015 and Sycles.

[Hirazi Blue]

That indeed would be too expensive for me...
But good to know. The modern GPU-drivers still work with Softimage?

[wireframex]

The modern GPU-drivers still work with Softimage?

Yep actually I use the last drivers from NVidia (452.06) and a 32" BenQ screen

EDIT : Developpers have done a very good job with Softimage it is still working

[Hirazi Blue]

Brilliant. Thanks a lot...

[wireframex]

You're welcome

[Hirazi Blue]

Next question: NVidia GTX 1660TI or NVidia RTX 2060?
It would seem as if the 1660TI is the slightly better value for money...

[wireframex]

Maybe try to find somebody selling a 1080TI to have 11Go memory

[jonmoore]

I have two main workstations, one running what was Autodesk Creative Suite 2015 (plus some earlier Soft revisions) and a newer Threadripper workstation. My Autodesk Creative Suite workstation is based on a dual XEON E5-2690 v2 (2014) and has 128 Gb Ram. The reason I bring this up is that there are some fantastic bargains to be had second hand and for super robust hardware from HP's Z workstation range (the only real drawback with Z workstations is that they're impossible to overclock). For the budget you have in mind you could get the exact same set up and still have spare change for your GPU (second hand 1080 Ti providing the best value right now as the 3080 is finally providing the massive step up that 1080 TI owners have been looking for). The XEON 2690 v2 is the last XEON processor to provide a decent balance between single core performance and multi-threaded performance (20 threads per CPU). I'm not sure why, but when I installed Softimage on my Threadripper it didn't deliver the step up in performance I was expecting (ICE in particular). I suspect (but am only guessing) that it's because ICE was optimised for XEON hardware.

I understand that buying a second hand workstation has risks but there are a lot of reputable dealers on eBay that will provide between 3 and 12 months warranty. I'd avoid the DIYers that buy on old XEON chips and home build new workstations as there are seldom guarantees when choosing that option. The other great thing about purchasing second hand HP Z workstations via reputable second hand dealers is that the workstations often come from corporate environments, so the CPU's are far less likely to have spent a number of years being fried on a render farm (or server)! The reputable dealers will tell you exactly where they purchased the workstation and any replacement parts (most dealers will add modern SSD's and upgraded RAM as most HP workstations are built with plug & plug RAID arrays and the mother boards still pack a punch by modern day standards (between 3 and 6 RAID bays depending on the workstation in question).

[wireframex]

Well, depend what you do but since I own threadripper Ryzen 3990X, it is an other world. And very fast with pure ICE scene like emfluid5 (Mootzoid).

If you use Sycles with Softimage all Cores and Threads are used see below



I had xeons before but they are totally overpriced just look at the Xeons 82xx or 81xx with the ryzen 3990X (price and performance)

If you use one GPU video card the best is to have the more memory and Cores inside. For a little budget I suppose a second hand 1080Ti is a very good choice if you find one and you can play high-end game with it. I have one for my driving simulator with a 49" screen (3840 X 1080) And I check all functions without any lags

Note : With the marvelous Sycles (Thanks a lot Shekn) I don't know if RTX mode is supported I didn't try it.
Phil

[Hirazi Blue]

I sadly don't dare investing in refurbished goods...
And in that case I would have to find someone who builds the system for me...

Currently I am looking at the following system (which would set me back € 1,209.90)

ASUS PRIME B450M-A / AMD RYZEN 5 3600X - 3,8GHz / Corsair Vengeance 16GB(3600Mhz) / NVIDIA GTX 1660 Ti 6GB /
500GB SSD Crucial MX500 / 2000GB HDD brand unspecified / Optical Drive / Corsair CV450 PSU / Windows 10 Home - NL x64

[jonmoore]

I sadly don't dare investing in refurbished goods...
And in that case I would have to find someone who builds the system for me...

Currently I am looking at the following system (which would set me back € 1,209.90)

ASUS PRIME B450M-A / AMD RYZEN 5 3600X - 3,8GHz / Corsair Vengeance 16GB(3600Mhz) / NVIDIA GTX 1660 Ti 6GB /
500GB SSD Crucial MX500 / 2000GB HDD brand unspecified / Optical Drive / Corsair CV450 PSU / Windows 10 Home - NL x64

If you can stretch to the Ryzen 5 3600XT (approx $50 more), that's a reasonable package for the budget. A second hand 1080 Ti will be a far better option for GPU rendering, particularly if you keep the 1660 for OpenGL/Operating system duties (you'd be surprised how much VRAM you lose to OS and GL, if you only have a single GPU, you'll have more like 4Gb available for rendering). And a 1080 Ti can be added at some point in the future when you have the cash.

[Hirazi Blue]

Thanks. I haven't yet found any reasonably priced, trustworthy offers for a used 1080ti, but that's something I could indeed add later...

[jonmoore]

Thanks. I haven't yet found any reasonably priced, trustworthy offers for a used 1080ti, but that's something I could indeed add later...

I know somebody with 8 1080 Ti's ready to put on eBay who's very trustworthy. Casey Hupke is a very well know C4D/Houdini artist with 8 ready to sell. You can contact him through one of his web presences; he reels them all off in the intro to this Rocket Lasso video (which incidentally is super interesting to Softimage users as it's all about the technology preview of C4D's new nodes system).

https://youtu.be/reeEOXx1SD8

[Hirazi Blue]

While looking into this some more, I realised,
I actually haven't got a clue, what a "reasonable" price for a second-hand 1080ti should be...
Any indication in that regard would be helpful...

Another question: 16GB or 32GB RAM?

[jonmoore]

In UK currency you're talking £350-450. Personally speaking I'd look towards Founders Edition models more than 'Extreme' models as they're less likely to have spent 3 years being over-driven. As I understand things the Sterling cost has a near one to one translation to Dollar in US markets (tech products have been really expensive in Europe in recent years in relative terms).