01

SECTION 1: PART I
RESEARCH — ASKING
THE RIGHT QUESTIONS

What type of computer should I get?

MOST COMMON
I get asked this on a daily basis. When asked, I immedi-
QUESTIONS:
ately started going through my checklist of follow-up What type of computer
questions. This is why I'm writing this guide: To help you
1 should I get?
navigate through all the potential pitfalls of building /
buying a computer and make sure the computer will So what changes when buying a
2 computer to do CG related work?
perform beyond expectations.

Now, buying a computer for general needs is pretty 3 What type of work will I be doing?
straight forward. How much do you want to spend and
does it need to be portable? Basically, as long as the
computer can browse the internet and do basic functions
4 What software will be used?

(i.e. email, text editing, spreadsheets, casual gaming, etc.)

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 SECTION 1: PART I
02 RESEARCH — ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS
So what changes when buying a
computer to do CG related work?
I like to look to all the gaming computers out
there. Why are there gaming computers? It's
because gaming requires more than just a basic
computer. Unlike gaming, doing CG related work
can stress even the best computers. So how do
we go about getting the right computer?
RESEARCH!
Why does it matter? Any computer should be
capable of doing what I need it to do, so why
bother? It's a simple answer: Price vs. Perfor-
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mance! You can easily get a computer that costs
$10K+ (USD), but when you use it for your daily
work, it is SLOWER than a computer that cost
$3K (USD).
So not only can computers be expensive, but you
also have a secondary expense: software.
To start, what are these questions?
• What type of work will I be doing?
• What software will be used?
• Budget?
• Buy vs DIY?
What type of work will I
be doing?
Computer hardware is not cheap! So maximizing
the money spent on the correct hardware,
allows for the best price to performance ratio
specific to your needs.
What type of work will this computer be doing on
a daily basis? By focusing on the immediate
needs, money will be spent in the areas directly
related to this answer:
• For example, a 3D modeler will need a different
computer than someone doing heavy FX / simu-
lation related work.
• What about heavy lighting / rendering work,
look / development, 2D graphics focus (Photo-
shop, Illustrator, etc.), VFX and simulation,
motion graphics, or animation work?
So it's important to understand the primary task.
You want to make sure these needs are understood
so that you can make sure the machine is setup
optimally for the work you plan to do regularly.
 SECTION 1: PART I
03 RESEARCH — ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS

What software will be used? • Are you running out of RAM?

Once you know the type of work being done, the
next question is what software will be used?
Have you ever looked at the minimum hardware
spec requirements for a piece of software? If
not, this is a great place to start. Software devel-
opers understand their software better than
anyone and the minimum specs are very import-
ant to how the software will perform on the new
computer. To get the best experience and perfor-
mance possible, these basics hardware specs
need to be met.
• Are you running out of storage space?
• Is the storage solution slow?
• Is I/O performance impacting overall
performance?
• Are only a few cores of a multi-core CPU being
used?
• How responsive is the view-port or software
interaction on the average project?
Summary of Computing Needs:
When asking these questions, being honest is
critical! I know we all want to the latest and
greatest on the market, but do we really need that
hardware to help make our experience better?

• Some software is highly multi-threaded, mean-
ing it will fully utilize all available CPU cores,
while other software may not.
• What about GPU utilization with rendering and
GPU simulations?
• So is a high CPU core count important to the
software, or would more GPUs be more beneficial?
Once we have the answers to those questions, it
will help to focus by making educated decisions
related to hardware upgrades and / or a new
computer easier. If more RAM is needed, yet the
current hardware is already maxed out, there is no
point in spending any more money on upgrades
when a new computer is going to be required.

Understanding those needs will allow you to
adjust the budget to focus on those areas that
will directly impact how the software will
perform. If you are spending almost 30% of the
budget on a high-end GPU, but the software will
not take advantage of that extra power, money
may be better spent elsewhere.
Again, it's about how will the money being spent
help improve the working experience? Or, will it
make it possible to render larger resolutions
images or simulating high resolution fire and
smoke effects?
So have this list of needs handy as we move
through this guide.

TIP: To analyze the computer's performance while working can help determine any
bottlenecks or weaknesses of the existing computer that need to be addressed with the
new computer. In Windows, open the task manager or the equivalent monitor utility
specific to the OS. By watching resource usage while working during all stages of
production will help gather information to make better hardware requirement decisions.

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 04

SECTION 1: PART II
NUMBER OF COMPUTERS
How many computers will be needed?
MOST COMMON
This may seem strange, but it is very important in estab-
lishing the overall budget required to meet the computing QUESTIONS:
needs. So why is this important? Simple:

How many computers

• If you build a single monster machine -- only to realize 1 will be needed?
that most of the time, it's busy doing simulations -- you
are unable to use the computer to do other things. Would
two or more lesser computers have been a better choice?
So would your work-flow benefit
• Allowing for heavy processing type work to be offload- from having a dedicated machine
ed to another computer frees up the primary computer 2 specifically setup for doing
for creating iterations or working on other projects while simulation work? rendering?
file server?
the other simulation / rendering work is being done. This
can have a huge impact upon your productivity while
working on multiple jobs at the same time.

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 SECTION 1: PART II
05 NUMBER OF COMPUTERS

So would your work-flow benefit from

having a dedicated machine
specifically setup for doing simulation
work? rendering? file server?

Most simulation work is mostly CPU and RAM

intensive. Meaning that having a fast CPU and as
much memory as the motherboard will help
improve the simulation performance. Adding a
high performance GPU to this machine would
probably have little to no impact upon the simu-
lation performance. Again, this is why it's import-
ant to understand the software because you will
know if adding a GPU will aid or not. Otherwise
that money is better spent elsewhere (like
getting a better CPU and more RAM) and just
getting a basic GPU for just display purposes.

Rendering, similar to simulations, can be very

resource intensive. Most rendering engines scale
very well with multiple CPUs and CPUs with a
higher number of cores. So getting a render node
with as many CPU cores as possible and a
decent amount of RAM will be beneficial. So
that's just one way to setup a render node.
Remember those questions asked earlier about
the hardware requirements for the software?
That definitely applies here! Some of the newer
render engines are now using both CPU and GPU
or GPU only. Understanding that distinction may
mean that a render node has a lower end CPU
and basic RAM amount but with 4 or more
high-end GPU’s for rendering (since all the work-
load is handled by the GPU).

So once we have all of this information, we can

now move onto the next step of how much is this
going to cost.

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 06

SECTION 1: PART III

ESTABLISHING A BUDGET
We know what type of work we will be doing and the
software requirements along with the potential of using
Up to this point,
more than a single computer we can dig into establish- money has only
ing a budget. I know I've stated this many times before, been reference
but the whole point is to make sure the money is being
spent in the correct areas.
in relationship to
performance. Now we
• So we focus on the hardware needs we established. In need to establish how
some cases that may mean getting high-end CPU or
additional GPU’s to help with rendering needs. For exam-
much money will be
ple, spending $1200 on a GPU when upgrading RAM and spent on the new
CPU directly address the weaknesses of the computer. computer hardware.
By focusing the budget on the needs defined earlier,
everything else is extra.

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 SECTION 1: PART III
07 ESTABLISHING A BUDGET
• The second part comes from what "type" of
machine to get? Do you go and buy a computer
from one of the big name brands or build your
own? Both have the pros and cons, it's all going
to depend on the user.
Options:
1. Depending on your hardware proficiency, you
may want to just buy a machine from a manufac-
turer that matches your needs. You are getting
hardware that has been thoroughly tested for
compatibility and long term stability. Additional-
ly, you will have technical support for any prob-
lems that may arise. So if there is a hardware
failure, parts are usually overnighted or expedit-
ed. Any potential down time is minimized. The
downside is that these computers are more
expensive, as you are paying for the support and
extra research and development.
2. Another option, very similar to the name brand
option -- is to use a respected internet retailer of
custom computers. They do tend to be a little
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more money, but can be fully customized to your
needs. They will also come with support and be
a great option for those looking for something
quick and easy to get up and running.
3. The last option is to simply build your own
computer. Here is where there can be a LOT of
savings when building your own computer. This
will allow you to spend the same amount of
money as the other options, while getting a more
powerful computer. Or, it may allow for multiple
computers instead of a single computer. This will
also allow you to build a machine with a good
upgrade path to help spread out the cost of the
computer. Meaning you could get a machine with
half the amount of RAM or with an entry level
GPU, and then add them later down the road.
By taking the time to do some research, you can
find the type of machine that best suits your
needs and then maximize the budget to get the
best performing computer on your budget.
 08

SECTION 2
BUILDING A COMPUTER
After completing the
Since most retailers will have plenty of information about first section, research,
each of the various computer levels they offer, this guide the next step is finding
will focus on the third option. The DIY (Do-It-Yourself) hardware to fulfill those needs.
custom computer build. It can be overwhelming for a There are a few options: Buy
person new to building their first PC computer, but it's not
from a major name brand
really too difficult and this guide will help walk you through
company (Dell, HP, Boxx, etc.),
the steps for picking out each of the necessary parts.
Internet Direct custom
Before we get started, this is a guide and as such, will not
computer build (Falcon
be able to account for all the various options and excep- Northwest, Razer, etc.), or DIY
tions. So I will try to cover the most relevant areas and with custom PC.
this information, educated deviations can be made. Sec-
ondly, do a search online for similar builds matching your ideal machine. See what others have built and
any potential problems they may have run into. If you know some of the potential pitfalls in advance, it
can make the hardware choices a little easier knowing what works and what hardware to avoid.

Lastly, this guide will talk about the decision making process, but I will try to stay away from specific
hardware due to hardware changing so fast it will be hard to keep this document up to date. The
thought process is the same, while the hardware will change fairly rapidly

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 09
SECTION 2a
RESEARCH HARDWARE
CPU (Central Processing Unit):
The CPU (Central Processing Unit) is the brain of
a computer handling all of the instructions given
to it. The faster it can do those instructions the
better it is.
CPUs come in all different types. Intel has the
iCore5, iCore7, iCore9 consumer/enthusiast
grade and the Xeon line for the profession /
server grade. AMD has the Ryzen consumer line
and the ThreadRipper for the enthusiast line.
With all these CPUs to choose from, where to
start? Look at the notes created from the
research stage and determine if you need heavy
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multi-threading CPU or will a normal enthusiast
CPU work? In most cases, a mid to top end
enthusiast CPU will be more than enough to do
the work needed.
A common misconception, especially within the
Intel line, is getting a Xeon machine is going to
be a much faster machine. Having both a
top-end Xeon machine and a top-end iCore 7
machine sitting on my desk, I can confidently say
that they are two VERY different computers. Just
because the Xeon machine costs 3x more than
the iCore7 machine doesn't automatically make
it faster. In fact, most cases it's actually slower
than the iCore7 machine.
 SECTION 2A
10 RESEARCH HARDWARE
So which one to choose? A Xeon machine is
really going to be best suited for highly
multi-threaded applications, like CPU rendering.
CPU rendering scales well the more cores you
have, the faster the rendering will go. So having a
72+ core machine will be an absolute beast
when rendering, but due to having so many
cores, each core may run at a much slower per
core clock speed. Meaning any tasks that is not
multi-threaded very well, can become very slow.
Nothing worse than working on a project and
waiting on the computer to do something, and
watching 71 cores do nothing while 1 core is
pegged at 100% usage.
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So for most uses, an iCore7, iCore9 or an AMD
ThreadRipper machine will be a much better
choice. The lack of overall number of cores is
offset by a much higher per core clock speed. So
why is this important? If a process is single
threaded, meaning a single core is being used, it
doesn't matter how many cores are in the
system, it's going to come down to the clock
speed of the core itself. So in with my Xeon
machine, each core runs at 2.8GHz whereas the
iCore 7 machine runs at 4.2GHz (OC). That is a
pretty significant performance difference when
comparing the same generation of CPUs.
So I have found that the Intel iCore line and the
AMD ThreadRipper are going to be the best
options to choose.
My simply philosophy when choosing a CPU: Get
the biggest and fastest CPU you can afford
within those lines. If building a secondary
machine, you may even want to consider the
previous generation's top of the line CPU as it
will be heavily discounted. Since it's a secondary
machine you can save quite a bit of money at the
cost of 10%15% performance.
Remember, the CPU is the heart of the system
and everything else will be built around the CPU.
So once you have it selected, we need to move to
the next phase.
 SECTION 2A
11 RESEARCH HARDWARE
CPU Cooling Solutions:
With a CPU selected, we need to find a way to
keep that CPU running nice and cool. There are 3
standard options for CPU cooling: Air cooled, self
contained water cooling, and custom water
cooling. Since custom water cooling could be an
entire guide all by itself and the installation com-
plexity, I'm going to leave that for the advanced
DIY users. So let's focus on the first two options.
Air cooled solutions use a large heat sink to pull
the heat away from the CPU and then utilize large
fans to blow across the heat sink to help keep it
cool. There are many great options out there for
air cooling. I strongly suggest doing some
research to see which cooler others are using
and how well they worked. Reading reviews is a
great way to judge performance as well as
fitment issues. Air cooled solutions can be quite
large and may restrict access to memory DIMM
slots on the motherboard and potentially prevent
memory with large heat sinks from being
installed. So do some research as this can save
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headaches later during the build process.
Self contained water cooling units or liquid CPU
coolers. These coolers include a CPU water
block and pump assembly with a radiator in a
self-contained unit. So it's ready to be installed
right out of the box without having to mess with
filling the system with the liquid. These units are
ideal for keeping CPUs as cool as possible and in
most cases allow for OC (Over clocking) the CPU
to run even faster than factory specs.
This is the single most important thing to watch,
especially when these machines can typically be
running at 100% CPU usage for days or even
weeks at a time. Keeping things cool will keep
the machine running stable but also reduce any
excess heat related stress on the hardware.
These coolers can vary in size, so keep this in
mind when choosing a computer case. The
radiator will need to mounted with good access
to fresh air to help keep the radiator cool.
 SECTION 2A
12 RESEARCH HARDWARE
Motherboard:
While the CPU is the brain of the computer, the
motherboard is the nervous system. It allows all
of the various components talk to each other. Ie.
CPU, RAM, Storage, Networking, USB, GPU, etc.
Picking the right motherboard is much easier than
picking a CPU, since the number of motherboard
options is dependent upon the CPU chosen. Each
CPU has a unique socket it uses. For the current
generation of iCore 7 machines it's a LGA 1151
and for AMD ThreadRipper it's a sTR4.
So once you know what socket motherboard you
need, there are typically a handful of options for
each manufacturer. They will vary by features
listed here:
• Number of memory slots
• Additional networking ports
• Gaming specific networking
• RAID storage controllers for storage arrays
• Easy OC utilities
• Up to 7.1 audio channels
• Built-in bluetooth
• Wi-Fi
These are just a few of the options between the
various boards. Most of these will all be running the
same chipset, so it's just a matter of choosing the
option that fits your needs and budget. Asus, EVGA,
and MSI are just a few of the many motherboard
manufacturers that make quality motherboards.
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For most users, you will want to try and get a
motherboard with 8 DIMM slots. This will allow
for potential upgrades later on. This will be
discussed in more depth in the RAM section, but
this can be important if you are sticking to a tight
budget, but want to build in a solid upgrade path
for the future.
Again, it's a good idea to read some reviews on the
motherboards to help narrow them down. Then
look to see if anyone had issues with the various
boards to help you better prepare or pick the
correct components. When in doubt, each mother-
board will come with a verified hardware list of
components they have tested for full compatibility.
The last thing to pay attention to is the form
factor of the motherboard. Motherboards range
from ITX, ATX to EATX and beyond. So what do
those letters mean? They are a sizing indicator
for the physical dimensions of the motherboard.
This is VERY important to take note of, as this
will be required when choosing a case. The case
will need to be able to accommodate the mother-
board chosen, especially if it's in the EATX or
larger range. These will require a mid to full
tower case which can get large. So keep this in
mind if you have size constraints in or around
your desk.
 SECTION 2A
13 RESEARCH HARDWARE
RAM:
RAM (Random Access Memory) is a type of
memory that all computers have. This memory
allows for accessing information without having
to touch the previous bytes, meaning it's very
fast at getting exactly the information needed.
Now that a motherboard has been chosen, it's time
to open up the specifications of the motherboard.
This is where the memory specs can be found.
This will help to determine the type of memory
used and more importantly, what type of memory
will be needed if wanting to OC the machine.
Memory can vary greatly in price depending on
the frequency speed of the RAM. If you don't
plan to OC your machine, then there is no point
buying the fastest RAM you can find, since the
memory will not be running at those speeds
unless OC is involved. So it's best to get the
fastest RAM before the (OC) identifier in the
specs sheet. If you do plan to OC, then you will
definitely want to look into the faster memory as
this will be required for stability when OC.
My typical advise for people is to get as much
RAM as you can afford. Especially for those
doing memory intensive tasks, like advanced
destruction or volumetric simulations. These can
easily bypass the 64GB amount depending on
the settings. So it's good to keep this in mind.
Another option, is to get 4 sticks of RAM first,
allowing for an additional 4 sticks of identical
RAM to be added at a later time. So if you goal is
to grow into 64GB of RAM. Get 4 8GB sticks of
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RAM for the first 32GB and then keep those
specs handy. Down the road, you will need to get
the EXACT same RAM originally purchased. This
will maximize compatibility and keep things
running smoothly when upgrading to 64GB.
You can also do the same thing if you want to
get to 128GB of RAM (assuming your particular
motherboard supports up to 128GB of RAM!)
You can get 4 16GB sticks for the first 64GB and
then upgrade to more RAM down the road. This
can help with budgeting for the computer and
splitting up the cost of the memory. When
getting into the 64GB+ amounts, it can get
expensive, depending on the RAM needed.
GPU:
GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) is what creates
images within a frame buffer to then be output to
a monitor or display device. The faster the GPU
can process the information the better the
performance, especially within a gaming environ-
ment. So how does this impact the performance
of a computer specialized for doing DCC (Digital
Content Creation)?
Again, we are going to go back to our initial
research to see how critical a power GPU will be
for the software being used. In most cases, the
GPU is going to have the least amount of impact
on overall performance of the computer, unless
heavily relying upon a GPU rendering engine. In
this situation, the GPU will be doing most of the
heavy lifting and should be the focus of the
computer build.
 SECTION 2A
14 RESEARCH HARDWARE
So if most of your software doesn't really get
major improvements from a high-end GPU, then
getting a mid to lower lever GPU will save some
money to be allocated to getting a better CPU
and more RAM. I see it all too often, users will
spend $800+ on a top-end GPU, sacrificing CPU
and RAM, greatly reducing the overall perfor-
mance of the computer.
It's a balancing act between budget and perfor-
mance. If your work heavily relies upon the GPU,
then get the fastest one you can at the expense
of the CPU and RAM. If not, then the opposite
can be said. In most cases, the mid-level GPUs
have the best price to performance ratios. So just
keep that in mind when choosing a GPU.
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If you fall into the category of GPU rendering,
then you may want to consider using multiple
GPUs for gaining extra performance. In the same
manner the Xeon machines scale well with CPU
rendering engines, the same can be said about
using multiple GPUs for GPU rendering. My
suggestion is to get a mid to low level GPU for
display purposes only. Meaning it will only drive
the monitors and then add 23 additional high-end
GPUs for the sole purpose of doing all the render-
ing without impacting the display performance.
You can even take this a step further and getting
PCIe expansion cables to relocate the GPUs into
an external enclosure to have even more than 4
GPUs installed into a single computer. I'll save
that for a later topic as that requires an addition-
al PSU for all those power hunger GPUs.
 SECTION 2A
15 RESEARCH HARDWARE

Storage for Workstations: Cache Drive:

Now that we have established the base system, So what is a cache drive? This is a drive that's
it's time to talk about storage options and strate- meant to be used for program caching purposes.
gies. Storage includes traditional HDDs (Hard So programs like Adobe After Effects, Adobe
Disk Drives), SSDs, M.2 SSDs and RAID arrays. Premiere, Fusion, Nuke, etc. can all make use of
a cache drive that is separate from the actual
In this section, let's breakdown the uses and then frame data. This allows for faster performance
pick a suitable storage solution. This will be when having to read data from one and caching
easier and will allow for a more concise explana- it to another without bottlenecking the single
tion of each choice. drive. I also use it for any other software temp
storage like Photoshop / Illustrator and similar
OS Drive: programs to keep the temps files off of the main
The OS (Operating System) drive is where the OS OS drive and slower standard HDDs.
will be installed. You will want this to be one of
the fastest drives in the computer. An SSD is The best price to performance drive for this
going to the best choice here. It doesn't need to purpose is a traditional SSD. Again this drive
be too big, storage wise, as this is just going to doesn't need to be a huge drive, but something
be the OS and all of the programs installed on around 256GB 512GB is more than enough. I
the computer. So a 256GB to 512GB SSD will be used to use a RAID 0 for this purpose, but the
more than enough for most users. SSDs performance are just as fast and depend-
ing on the drives used in the RAID 0, can actually
Now, if the motherboard has the option, you be even faster.
should also look into an M.2 SSD. These can be
upwards of 4x faster than an SSD. NOTE: M.2 is
simply a form factor and not the true speed of
the drive itself. There are many types of M.2
SSDs out there so you want to focus on the
drives that run on the PCI Express x4 paired with
NVMe (NonVolatile Memory Express) standards
to get the absolute best performance possible.
With read capabilities up to 3500 MBps / Write
up to 2100 MBps for a M.2 PCIe x4 compared to
a standard SSD with read capabilities up to 550
MBps / Writes up to 520 MBps. So you can see a
pretty significant performance jump.

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 SECTION 2A
16 RESEARCH HARDWARE
Storage - General:
So I almost always recommend a general stor-
age drive. This drive is meant to be used for
storing general information, software installation
downloads, music, videos, photos, etc. This drive
will vary by person and the amount of storage
they need.
I use a standard HDD here, as this just needs to
be cheap storage to keep files handy, but not
needed for any actual work duties. So you can
get any size that you require. Most of my builds
tend to have at least a 1TB drive.
I also use this drive for any Gaming services you
may use like Steam, Battle.net, EA Origins, etc.
Since many of those games can be quite large,
it's not work putting those games on a very
expensive per GB storage solution like the M.2
SSD or a general SSD. That's not saying you can't
use an SSD, but this will depend on the budget as
this can be an expensive use of disk space.
Storage - Projects:
Project storage is more important to get a nice
storage solution. I'm going to address this from
a single computer standpoint, but there are many
other options out there as well that can work well
for this purpose also.
Most times, this requires a large amount of data.
So traditional HDDs are still going to be used for
this purpose. In many cases a drive 6TB+ will be
more than adequate. If you want a little more
performance and some security against a HDD
failure read below about using a RAID array instead.
For a good project storage solution, I use a RAID
array. The reasons are for performance and data
redundancy in case of a catastrophic HDD
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failure. Now this isn't a perfect solution and data
can still be lost, but this option offers better
speed than a single HDD with the added benefit
of data redundancy so the array can be rebuilt if
a drive does go bad.
Most mid to high end motherboards support
RAID levels 0, 1, 5, and 10. There are pros and
cons to each RAID level and it's good to read up
on each one to see which suits your needs the
best. NOTE: While a RAID array does offer data
redundancy, it should NEVER be used as a
backup or your critical project files. So a good
backup strategy is still very important. What the
RAID array does allow for hardware failures and
potentially better performance.
My go to RAID array is RAID 10, as this gives me
the best performance with data redundancy at
the cost of overall storage space. This requires a
minimum of 4 HDDS. Typically this is only used
for the few projects that are active and as soon
as a project is finished and ready to be archived,
the project is moved into the archive system
setup. This can be an online service or a series
of external HDDs making sure there are duplicate
backups incase of a HDD failure.
Storage Notes:
Now most of the suggestions above are how I
build a standard workstation for use in our
office. That doesn't mean you can't deviate from
what's stated above. I know those who have a
little extra money will use SSDs for everything,
add the expense of cost. So just use your best
judgement and go with what works in your
budget. You do not need to have a separate drive
for everything stated above, it's just an option to
keep in mind while building your new computer.
 SECTION 2A
17 RESEARCH HARDWARE
PSU:
PSU (Power Supply Unit) provides the necessary
power required by the computer components by
taking the AC power and converting it into low-
voltage DC power.
There are a few factors to keep in mind when
picking out a PSU:
• General System requirements?
• Additional GPU cards?
• Modular?
• Future growth?
Those questions will help you choose the right
PSU for your needs. I try to think longterm. If the
machine will end up having multiple GPUs then, I
purchase a large PSU up front, so it will not need
to be upgraded to a bigger one later. Not only is
this expensive, but can be time consuming
pulling out all of the power cables with the new
replacement cables. So spending the extra
money to get a 12001500 Watt PSU may be a
good choice for future growth.
I try to make sure I size the PSU appropriately to
the machine's needs with some headroom. Then
get at least a Gold or Platinum efficiency rated
unit as they run a little cooler and last longer.
NOTE: A PSU will only draw the amount of power
it needs to regardless of it's size. Meaning an
1500W PSU will not draw more power than an
800W PSU just due to it's size. Again, it will only
use as much power as the computer needs.
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Case:
The case is responsible to holding all of the
awesome components picked out for the com-
puter. There are many different types of cases
out there, so make sure you follow the below
notes.
General Case Notes:
• Make sure the case can accommodate the
motherboard's size (EATX, ATX, ITX, etc.)
• Is there room for a CPU water cooled radiator?
• Multiple locations for more than one?
• Is there enough room to accommodate highend
GPUs due to their extra length?
• Enough HDD storage locations for the number
of HDDS planned on being used?
• Good cable management holes to allow for
good airflow?
• Necessary front ports?
• USB 3, Audio, ESata, Firewire, etc.
These are just a few things to be looking for in a
case. Since optical drives are not needed as
much, I tend to use cases that allow for radiator
mounting at the front of the case. This allows
fresh air to be passed through the radiator and
passed through the case. Make sure to have at
least one fan pulling air out of the rear of the
case. Along with a few fans pulling the hot air
out of the top of the case. Good airflow through-
out the case will keep things running nice and
cool during those long sim calculations and
weeks of rendering.
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18 RESEARCH HARDWARE

Typical Builds:
Here are a few typical builds that I've setup as kind of a baseline for certain industries. I'll give a short
breakdown of each build and why I chose the components I have.

Budget 3D Generalist Build:

First up is a 3D generalist build. This is a starter machine for a total budget under $2500 (USD). As a
generalist machine, it's not setup specifically for a specific discipline, but more as a multitool that can do
a variety of different tasks. There is also some room for future upgrades as the user grows into the
industry.

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 SECTION 2A
19 RESEARCH HARDWARE

Notes:
It's based on an Intel iCore9 processor with a feature rich motherboard, allowing for future upgrades to
RAM and GPU. This build starts with 32GB of RAM, with the ability to upgrade to 64GB of RAM max. A
CPU self contained watercooler to keep CPU temps low and for overclocking capability. The nVidia
RTX 2080 GPU provides a great price / performance ratio, for providing responsive view-port feedback.
The 8GB onboard memory will be good for GPU rendering. A fun side note, this machine is dead silent
under normal usage. Something to keep in mind when working next to your computer.

VFX / Simulation Build:
Next is a VFX based build and with a few adjust-
ments can be easily turned into a simulation /
render node. This is a highend machine trying to
keep the total budget around $5000 (USD). This
machine is based around heavy CPU usage requir-
ing a LOT of RAM with 128GB setup for this build.
Notes:
What makes this system different, besides the
higher price tag? It's based on the highend iCore9
with strong overclocking ability into the 4+GHz
range. This is a 12 core (24 hyper threaded) with a
good base clock speeds making I a very capable
CPU. So this will provide a good performance
doing fire / smoke simulations and caching out
particles. The higher number of cores will also
scale well for those looking for good CPU render-
ing performance.
Another notable difference; 128GB of RAM!
Memory is extremely important for those large
destruction shots and high grid resolution water,
smoke and fire simulations. Speaking of those
high resolution simulation and cache data sets, 3 x
6TB HDDs in a RAID 5 or RAID 10 configuration
providing great performance and data redundancy.
Since the main focus of this machine is to get
simulations done as quickly as possible, the GPU is
not as important. That doesn't mean that you can't
put a better GPU into this system, but the focus
was on simulation performance and currently most
simulation software is still mostly CPU based.

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 SECTION 2A
20 RESEARCH HARDWARE

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 SECTION 2A
21 RESEARCH HARDWARE

Look Development Build:

This is a look development base build. This is a mid level machine trying to keep the total budget around
$4000 (USD). This machine is based around medium CPU usage and heavy GPU usage.

Notes:
This machine is similar to the 3D generalist build only with a focus on doing look development work
utilizing more GPU power. This machine is setup with only 2 GPUs, but can be upgraded to 3 GPUs total
without having to get a
bigger PSU. Additionally,
the RAM has been
upgraded to 64GB to help
with loading heavy
scenes into 3D software
and useful for CPU
rendering as well. This is
going to be a good all
around performing
machine for CPU/GPU
rendering while keeping
the budget in check.

Hardware conclusion:
As you can see, there are
many factors to consider
when building a machine.
Hopefully this section
has shown you what to
be looking for in hard-
ware when it comes time
to build your computer.
Computer is constantly
changing, and being able
to understand what is
important to your needs
will help you get the best
performance out of your
machine while staying on
budget!

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 22

SECTION 3
HOME / SMALL STUDIO
HARDWARE SETUP
Introduction: The most important IT
Many people ask about setting up a nice home studio or rule — is to do it right
maybe even a small office setup for a few employees. So
I thought I would lay down some of the basic ground rules the first time. Taking time
I use for a home studio and small office. Some of the to research and plan the future
hardware scales well and others, not so much. So it's
important to understand the studio's needs and make
growth of the studio will save
sure the hardware addresses those needs and allows for both time and money. Looking
everyone to remain productive throughout the project.
back at how important research is
It's one thing to know how to build your own computer, to creating the optimal worksta-
but what about setting up an entire studio? No two tion, the same goes for setting up
studios are the same, but they share common hardware
needs. As an artist, working at a studio, it's easy to take Ideation,
a small studio:
for granted all of the planning and execution setting up planning and then
the hardware backbone for the studio. It's important to
have a robust technology backbone easily adapting to the execution.
studio as it changes over time.

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 SECTION 3
23 HOME / SMALL STUDIO HARDWARE SETUP
The spinal column is critical for communication
between the brain and the rest of the body, the
same way the technology backbone of the studio
can impact the studio's day-to-day operations.
To simplify the process, think about each area
individually and create a plan of action. When
setup properly, the technology should fade into
the background and do what it was designed to
do. When setup properly, it will save both time
and money!
It's a lot to think about and it can be overwhelm-
ing, so let's break it down into the following
sections:
• Networking
• Servers
• Workstations
• Render Farm
Just like the building a workstation guide,
research will be critical for determining the
studio's needs. Here are a few of the questions
that will need to be answered:
• What type of work will be done?
• How much storage will be needed?
• A render farm?
• Single employee or multiple people?
• Growth potential over the next few years?
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These are just a few questions. It's important to
have long-term goals and know where the studio
is going. Like every journey, knowing the end goal
will allow for the most direct path from the
current location. Making smart choices at the
beginning will keep costs affordable while pro-
viding flexibility for the studio.
Network:
The network is the highway upon which all
communication between devices will travel,
allowing all the computers, servers, render farm
and wireless devices to communicate seamless-
ly with each other.
The network is often called the backbone of the
studio as almost every daily task requires some
type of communication with another device or
the internet. In many cases, networking can be
overlooked as not being a priority in terms of
planning or budgeting.
So why is networking so important? The network
is like a water pipe, used to move water from one
location to another. The pipe is only so large so it
can only move so much water before reaching
the pipe's max capacity. For example, you want
to fill a swimming pool but the only source of
water is a small garden hose. Due to the garden
hose's diameter, it only allows for a small amount
of water to flow. So it will take more time to fill
up the pool. If increasing the size of the hose,
 SECTION 3
24 HOME / SMALL STUDIO HARDWARE SETUP
more water can flow through the hose, reducing
the amount of time required.
Unlike water pipes, networking traffic needs to
travel in both directions at the same time. It's
important to make sure the network has enough
bandwidth to allow for the studio's needs regard-
ing the amount of traffic planned.
Let's start at the heart of the networking
sub-system: The network switch. A network
switch connects devices together on a computer
network. It processes and routes data from the
host device to the destination device, allowing
computers to talk to each other.
A network switch is different than a network hub.
A network hub simply broadcasts the data to all
the network devices connected to it, hoping the
device looking for the information finds it within
the broadcast. Hubs are very inefficient. They can
fill up needed bandwidth with unnecessary infor-
mation and noise for all other devices connected.
As the number of devices connected to the hub
increases, the network will become saturated
with all the information being broadcast and
greatly reduce the network's performance.
In contrast, a switch is smart enough to know
where the data is coming from and where it
needs to go. So it can streamline the information
delivery by removing all of the unnecessary broad-
cast information and only sending and receiving
data to the devices requesting information
It's important to understand the differences
between switches and hubs as most of the
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networking devices sold today are switches. But it's
important to verify when buying the smaller 4 port
switches, to verify they are not inexpensive hubs.
Switches come in many configurations. So it's
good to plan ahead.
Ask the following questions:
• How many computers will be used during the
first year?
• Second year?
• Third year?
• Will there be a render farm?
• How many file servers?
By taking time to answer these few questions
will help to properly setup a network capable of
not only the immediate needs, but future needs
also. There is nothing worse than needing more
network bandwidth in the middle of a tight dead-
line. Making changes to the network may create
some downtime and can impact project delivera-
bles, so it's best to get it setup properly from the
very beginning. So with a little planning, the
network will be able to handle anything thrown at
it.
When setting up networks for a studio, I prefer to
use managed switches. A managed switch
allows for better control over the LAN (Local Area
Network) traffic with advanced features to con-
figure, manage and monitor the LAN traffic. This
is important when there is a lot of network traffic
by giving the render farm network priority over
streaming services like Pandora, iTunes, Spotify,
Netflix, YouTube, etc. The network has a limited
amount of bandwidth, by controlling what infor-
mation gets priority over the bandwidth will keep
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25 HOME / SMALL STUDIO HARDWARE SETUP
Example Networking Scenario:
After research, a 48-port switch will be needed to
handle all the existing needs and future expan-
sions. It would make sense to get one 48-port
switch for the entire studio. This may be a good
option for most normal small business offices,
but not for a studio with an on-site render farm,
as this can present a problem. Rendering, sim-
ming and / or caching out complex VFX shots
will generate a lot of data. Reading and writing
this data over the network will slow down the
entire network.
In this scenario, it will be more efficient to isolate
the heavy network use of the render farm, to a
smaller switch, effectively isolating this traffic
from the rest of the studio. By using two switch-
es instead of one the network traffic will be split
between the two switches. The render farm
traffic will be separated from the rest of the
studio's daily network operations. Freeing up
bandwidth for the rest of the studio. The main
files server(s) and render farm on one switch and
the rest of the studio on another switch, allowing
for more bandwidth for the main office.
Wi-Fi:
To add Wi-Fi capabilities to the network, add an
access-point to the network. It's important to get
the appropriate number of access point devices
to provide adequate coverage for the entire
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studio. Keep the access-points cabled into the
main switch with the other computers, keeping
all the Wi-Fi traffic off of the switch used for the
render farm. Again, preventing the Wi-Fi traffic
from saturating the network used for the render
farm and limiting it's bandwidth.
Bandwidth:
The term bandwidth keeps coming up, but what
does bandwidth mean? Bandwidth is the volume
of data per unit of time that a network connec-
tion can handle.
The current networking standard is 1GbE, which
translates to 1 Gigabit (bit NOT byte) networking,
or 1024 Mb/s. A 1GbE network's maximum
transfer rate is 125 MB/s, which is the maximum
transfer speed possible. Depending on the files
size and type, it can be much slower.
In the CG industry, it's easy to create very large
data sets. Whether it's a fire, smoke or water
simulation, a large particle system cache or
proxy mesh file, transferring all that information
between computers can be a heavy burden on
the network.
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26 HOME / SMALL STUDIO HARDWARE SETUP

If additional bandwidth is needed, you can upgrade
to a 10GbE network. This will require a special
switch, or a 10GbE module will need to be added
to an existing switch, if supported. The servers and
any other device needing 10GbE speeds will
require 10GbE NIC adapters and cables to support
the additional bandwidth. Each file server will now
have 10x the bandwidth of a 1GbE network, so it
definitely worth the extra money.
Many mid-level switches support this protocol
with adapters. Install the adapter into the switch
and then add an 10GbE NIC (Network Interface
Controller) card to the server. You can also link
the two switches together with a 10GbE link as
well to help boost the bandwidth between the
two switches.
For a file server, using a hardware RAID subsys-
tem will provide the best storage performance. A
hardware RAID array will use the RAID controller
card for all the RAID data processing, freeing up
the server's CPU and RAM for other purposes.
The server can also be used as a software
license server and a render farm management
software manager / repository without impacting
the performance of the storage RAID array during
heavy machine CPU usage.

Servers:
A server is a computer dedicated to a specific
task for users to use. Here are a few example of
server types:
• File server
• Print server
• License server
• Database server
• Web server
• Etc.

So what type of computer can be used as a

server? A robust file server will be a computer
server running a server grade OS, Windows
Server, Linux, etc, and a hardware RAID array
providing maximum server duty flexibility while
offering the best upgrade path. Just like worksta-
tions, the servers with better hardware will also
perform better, allowing the server to take on
several server roles.

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 SECTION 3
27 HOME / SMALL STUDIO HARDWARE SETUP
Why do servers use a RAID array for storage?
There are two main reasons:
• Data redundancy
• Increased HDD performance.
First, data redundancy will protect the data in the
event of a HDD failure. Depending on the RAID
level, no data will be lost in the event of a HDD
failure. The number of drive failures is different
for each RAID level, so it's best to read up of the
benefits of each type. More importantly, the RAID
array will still be accessible, even in a degraded
state, for everyone in the studio, minimizing
down time due to drive failures. When the faulty
HDD is replaced, the RAID array will rebuild itself
and when finished will be back to full speed.
Since time is money, having a server go down
may mean the studio is unable to work due to a
hardware failure. This can be very expensive in
lost time and cost of staff being unable to work.
Another benefit of a RAID system is the perfor-
mance benefits tailored to the needs of the
studio or server application.
There are many RAID levels:
• Maximum read performance
• Write performance
• Maximum data redundancy
• Combination of all three listed above
Another great advantage of a hardware RAID
system is expandability. Most RAID adapters
allow for stacking of enclosures. Meaning if
more storage is needed -- simply add another
enclosure. Setup the RAID array and more stor-
age is now available. The new storage is NOT
added to the existing RAID array, as a new RAID
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array will be created with it's own virtual disk.
Just like adding a second HDD into a computer,
the new RAID array will be another drive for
storage and file sharing responsibilities. The
number of HDDs and enclosures supported will
be determined by the RAID controller. So it's
good to know this information when planning for
future storage expansion when needed as the
studio's needs grow.
What other roles can a server fulfill?
Since the server is running a server OS, additional
license software can be installed. A license
server becomes the hub for all the floating soft-
ware licenses, keeping them all located on a
single machine. This makes the setup easy since
all the users will already have access to the
server. Administration and license upgrades
become easier to manage with them being cen-
trally located.
Now the server has two roles: file server and
license server. These two roles will not create
more work for the CPU, so we can look at addi-
tional roles for the server. Another role can be
render farm management.
When setting up a render farm, it's easy to over-
look render node management software. Since
the file / license server will have available process-
ing capacity, it makes sense to use as a render
manager. Render farm management means the
server will coordinate all render jobs submitted to
the render farm and then assigning each job to all
available render nodes. Programs like Backburner,
Deadline, Qube!, etc. all require a centralized
machine running the management software.
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28 HOME / SMALL STUDIO HARDWARE SETUP

In addition to a traditional server, there are other

more affordable options for a server. They are
limited in the number of roles they can do, but
will be much cheaper to get started.

Many people use NAS (Network Attached Stor-

age) to handle file server duties. They are
low-cost solutions running a light version of a
Linux OS (Operating System) or a proprietary OS
developed by the NAS manufacturer. While they
are a great entry level server, they are limited by
the hardware and software.

On the hardware side, the RAID system used is

typically software based. In this setup, the device
CPU and RAM will handle the I/O (Input / Output)
processing operations. You get the data redun-
dancy with reduced performance due to limita-
tions of the software RAID relying heavily upon
the resources of the NAS device. These devices
usually have very little computing power and
don't have much RAM, so performance will not
be it's strongest trait.

Another limitation of a NAS is lack of expandabil-

ity and upgrade potential. Most devices can not
be upgraded other than adding a bit more RAM or
adding / swapping HDDs for additional storage, if
unused HDD bays are available. Lastly, some
lower end models only come with a single 1GbE
network connection. As discussed earlier in this
article, bandwidth limitations will be a bottleneck
for most users needing the bandwidth for a large
data sets. Without an option to add additional
NIC cards or improving the network connection,
the upgrade path is non-existent.

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29 HOME / SMALL STUDIO HARDWARE SETUP

As you can see, there are many advantages for
having dedicated server(s). I always recommend
at least 1 file server for any studio setup.
Depending on the size of the render farm, I sug-
gest adding a secondary file server.
The primary file server will be used for everything
discussed earlier. Hosting all project data, asset
libraries, software installation deployments,
license servers, render farm management and
any additional storage needs.
The secondary server would be used for render
farm frame storage and simulation storage. By
saving the individual frame data and simulation
caches to the secondary server, this will help
load balance the network requirements between
the primary and secondary servers. By separating
the additional network traffic and storage I/O
created by the render farm, the main file server
will be freed up for daily use, creating a respon-
sive server experience.
Now there will be a separation between the
project data and the rendered frames / cache
data. When running off-site data backups, having
the mission critical data on a single server, reduc-
es the amount of data to be transferred. Again,
adding flexibility will be important as the studio
continues grow.
Workstations:
Now that the backbone of the studio has been
setup, let's focus on the workstations. In the
previous hardware guide, we covered designing
and building workstations. So not much more
needs to be added at this point.
The number one rule for workstations: Get the
correct computer for the needs of the studio.
This provides the best performance / price ratio.
This goes without saying, but it's best to make
sure each workstation is hardwired direction into
the main switch. Use Wi-Fi only as a temporary
solution for workstations and laptops, due to the
reduced bandwidth specs.
Wrap-Up:
Setting up a small studio can be overwhelming.
These are some of the most basic needs for any
studio. Making smart decisions and key plan-
ning early on will save money in the long run and
provides all the features the studio requires.

ALLAN MCKAY’S BIO

Allan McKay is an award winning Technical Director & VFX Supervisor, working in
visual effects for Hollywood films for over 15 years. Also a public speaker and
author. Allan has previously worked for studios such as Industrial Light + Magic, Blur
Studio, Ubisoft and many others and was awarded as an Autodesk Max Master as
well as working on dozens of projects that either received or were nominated for
Emmy and Oscar awards.

Allan McKay lives in Portland, OR and is the director of Catastrophic FX film studio.

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