Almost exactly 3 years after abandoning Macs for PCs, I’ve just received my new setup and it’s a beast!

I wrote a blog post about 3 years ago about how I’d finally given up on Macs and turned to the dark side – and bought a new PC. Since then I’ve become accustomed to all of Window’s issues and appreciate some of the benefits of having both a Mac & PC in my workflow. My PC had served me well but I decided it was time to upgrade and buy a much more powerful model. Eventually, I decided to use Computer Planet, who took the time to ensure the model I was getting would meet my needs.

The new kit

One hugely important reason for upgrading was to get a CUDA enabled GPU setup. My old PC had a very low-end graphics card and wasn’t compatible with any of the GPU renderers. The new rig has 2 x 980Ti’s which are both overclocked and watercooled, as you can lose up to 45% performance if they get too hot. Once I’m more familiar with Octane, she’ll run like a dream. The only downside is the Corsair Obsidian 900D case. It’s huge and doesn’t fit under my desk. Also it’s one heavy piece of kit. Getting it out of the box took two people and the thought of having to carry it up some stairs when I move house is a scary one. I guess one way to look at it is that it’s an anti-theft design – an individual would struggle to lift it up. Apart from that I’m very happy with it and can’t wait to get stuck in on some serious 3D motion graphics projects.

Below is a look at the system’s specifications:

• Corsair Obsidian 900D
• Asus X99-E-WS (Intel X99)
• Intel Core i7 5960x Extreme (8 x 3.0-3.5 GHZ) Overclocked up to 4.4 GHZ
• 2 x EVGA GeForce GTX 980Ti
• Corsair Hydro Series H100i V2 (Advanced Liquid Cooling)
• Custom GPU water cooling
• 500GB Samsung 850 EVO SSD
• Corsair AX1500i 1500W Digital Platinum PSU
• Corsair 32GB Vengeance LPX (DDR4) 3600MHz (4x8GB)

Octane Render

Although Cinema 4D is a great bit of software, the native render engine can be a pain. It’s fine for stylised 3D but, if you’re looking for photorealistic images, it just doesn’t cut it. I always find myself either battling long render times with lots of grain or quicker render times but with awful flickering. After doing a lot of research and talking to other 3D artists, I decided to use Octane. I’ve spent a couple of hours on it so far so it’s still early days but it’s incredibly fast compared to C4D’s Physical Renderer.

“The goal with this upgrade is to have a powerful PC that is future proof in regards to upgrades”

Eventually, when I win the lottery and if Octane goes to plan, I’m going to stick another couple of GPU’s in there. It’s great having a case & motherboard that can allow this. The main goal with the upgrade was to have a powerful PC that is future proof in regards to upgrades and I believe this setup ticks that box… well as much as any setup can.

I look forward to posting loads of cool tests and projects using my new PC and Octane.

PS I bought an awesome Hot Toys Stormtrooper. It’s not work related but it looks awesome in my studio.