Hello there!

I really need help from you! Because I am searching for answer for long days, but I found nothing useful. I really need a PC config for Houdini and Maya. Specially for water, fire, smoke simulations. So here is my PC config.
What should I buy to make it more powerful?

Motherboard: Gigabyte, GA-78LMT-S2P (Socket M2)
CPU: AMD FX-4300
RAM: DDR3, 8192 MB, 669,7 MHz
VGA: nVidia GEFORCE N750TI TF 2GD5/OC

(with this config, the simulations are so slow and “lagging”)
What should I buy to get a smooth working place?

Thanks everything!

Hi,
my sys specs:
Intel Core i7 5820K - 3.3 GHz
64gb ram

This would be the fastest non xeon you can buy.
Maximum here is 64 gb ram and if you want to work with water etc. i would strongly recommend it. The more ram the better.
I think you would be ok with 32gb too, but lees is for sure no fun.

If this is above you budget:
get a i7 socket 1151 4ghz
and 32 gb ram

greetings

Olaf

Thanks!!

Could you tell me please what is the difference between i7 and my CPU?
I saw that the specification is almost the same.

And my VGA is enough for Houdini?
I know the RAM is very important.

Hi,
your processor is about 3 times slower. (Actually maybe even more)
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=AMD+FX-4300+Quad-Core [cpubenchmark.net]
4

Benchmark: 4640

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i7-5820K+%40+3.30GHz&id=2340 [cpubenchmark.net]

Benchmark: 12991 (overclocked 15000+)

Now you definately need more than 8gb ram. And your motherboard has a max at 16gb.

If you are very low on budget get 8gb more ram, this will help you a lot.
However the amout of particles you can confortably work with is quite limited. Its not realy fun to work against the limits, but if you are patient and only want to learn the software this will do.

Your VGA will work. More is allways better Houdini can use GPUs to do simulations. This might actually be an option to upgrade your gpu first, if you are on a tight budget.

Wow!
Thank you so much!

Me and my girlfriend are thinking about:
we upgrade our PC's separately

or

we buy together a PC
we want to spend together around 1000$ (500+500)

ok for that budget i recommed:
i7 6700 300$
socket 1511 mainboard you get a decent one for 100$
32gb ram 180$
and the cheapest gtx 970 you can get. 350$
+ case, power, HD

Hmmm You might need about 11-1200$…

You would have a killer PC for houdini and maya and for the current high end games too.

hmmm not bad.
What about SSD?
Is it necessary to put in the PC?
If it is, how big I might need? around 300GB (for softwares)
and maybe 1-2TB for anything else?

And which brand is the best for motherboard and VGA?
Asus, Asrock, MSI Gigabyte?

When you simulate water you will create a lot of data on the HD.
So SSD is nice but i would go for a bigger HD or maybe two, you are on a very tight budget. No SSDm means your win will bott slower and the software will start bit slower, but this is not realy a big deal.

As for the Brands: All the ones you mentioned are ok. I would look for a good deal or special sale. Again you are on a tight budget.

I have a ASUS VGA and a AsRock Motherboard.

Thanks a lot!

A few hours later i wil post here the new config!

So here is the (maybe) final config:

Motherboard:
ASUS B150-PLUS

CPU:
Intel Core i7-6700

RAM:
Kingston 32GB 2133MHz

VGA:
ASUS GTX970 4GB DDR5 Turbo-GTX970-OC-4GD5

HDD:
WesternDigital 2TB 64MB SATA3 WD20EZRZ

Power:
Thermaltake 700W TR2 PS-TR2-0700NPCGEU-G

CPU fan:
something like Noctua NH-D14

Comp.Case:
Sharkoon Rex8 White

What do you think?

Looks good for a budget minded rig.

Looks like the specified motherboard supports a total of 64GB of memory with 4x240pin slots (memory added in pairs based on slot colour).

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132581

Given that you need 2x16GB memory sticks. Add another 2x16GB memory sticks at a later date as your simulation needs grow. 32GB is good for running decent sized sims. 64GB is ample to run up a seriously sized simulation. Add as you need.

hmmm
I heard a problem about this GTX 970. This card can only use 3,5GB instead of 4? There was a big problem about this.
What if I buy an AMD card?