Planetside Software Forums

General => Terragen Discussion => Topic started by: Djb3000 on January 09, 2014, 04:17:46 PM

Title: Buying Computer for Terragen 3
Post by: Djb3000 on January 09, 2014, 04:17:46 PM
Hi, I'm new to this forum and this is my first post.
I have bought T3 and have been learning how to use it by completing Geekatplay tutorials and a lot of trial and error.
The problem is is that Ive been running it on a dual core laptop with 4gb of memory, and as the tutorials become more complex it is starting to struggle and crash,
I have been considering buying a new desktop and the 2 on my shortlist are:
An HP ENVY 700-060ea Desktop PC for £999
Specs -
    Intel® Core™ i7-4770 processor
    Windows 8
    Hard drive: 2 TB
    Memory: 16 GB
    Graphics: NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 660
or
Mesh - Slayer 4820K
Intel® Core™ i7 Extreme 4820K Quad Core Processor (up to 3.90GHz, 10MB Cache)
   Thermalright True Spirit 120 Multi CPU Cooler
   16GB DDR3 1866MHz Memory (2x8GB) Kit
   2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 760 GPU - 1152 Cores,2 DVI,HDMI,DP
£1119

The advantage of the HP is that I can pick it up instore and not have to wait for delivery etc.
I would be grateful for any advice on which would be the best buy and the best for handling Terragen 3.
If there is no real advantage for the Mesh computer i Would go for the cheaper one.

Thanks for any advice   :)
Title: Re: Buying Computer for Terragen 3
Post by: Upon Infinity on January 09, 2014, 04:30:50 PM
I think any advantage from the Mesh one would be minimal at best.  The better video card would only come in handy for the 3D preview and doesn't apply to actual renders.  Beyond that, the specs are nearly identical.  If it was me, I go for the cheaper model.
Title: Re: Buying Computer for Terragen 3
Post by: Oshyan on January 09, 2014, 05:12:34 PM
The "Mesh" option will be slightly faster due to the CPU speed and it's a more professionally-oriented platform. You could upgrade to a pretty crazy-fast CPU down the road if you wanted. The HP is a bit less upgradeable, but would be nearly as fast. Both are decent options, and since you're talking about some 10% price difference, it *might* be worth going for the more expensive right now, especially since it comes with not only a faster CPU but also GPU (presumably). I'm assuming the HD size is the same (2TB) or better on the Mesh...

- Oshyan
Title: Re: Buying Computer for Terragen 3
Post by: jaf on January 09, 2014, 07:26:01 PM
... and check the cpu cooling, especially if your computer will be in an area that gets hot in the summer.  TG3 will warm up those cores.  :D
Title: Re: Buying Computer for Terragen 3
Post by: Djb3000 on January 10, 2014, 05:30:11 AM
Thanks for the quick and helpful advice. I think I will go for the HP model as it is a bit cheaper and has excellent specs for what I need.

Thanks again   :)