Sean Meighan
Hardware => General hardware => Topic started by: smithbuilt on September 29, 2017, 06:20:54 AM
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Im looking at getting a new sequencing computer and would like to know what components will give the the best bang for my buck. How much RAM is optimal? Does a video card make much difference? Does more cores in the CPU add much performance? This computer will only be used for sequencing, so its not running a bunch of other applications.
I've been looking at a number of refurbished computers, but the specs varry quite a bit and I'm not sure which features will help xLights the most.
Thank you
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RAM is cheap....get 32GB and be done with it.
Video card is not as important. It helps to have a decent one but doesn't need to be gamer quality.
CPU...more cores the better for rendering sequences. I'd get an i7. A CPU with hyperthreading will give you double the cores virtually.
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Thank you Gil. I cant quite get all you spec'd but trying to get as close as possible. I've got a couple of computer guys telling me that a good SSD will boost speed by quite a bit. Can xLights take advantage of an SSD as well?
thank you
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SSDs ramp up speed because there is no lag due to rotation of a disk. SSDs are actually memory and can offload data to the CPU at tremendous speeds (compared to a spinning disk). Only thing I would caution you for is if you put an SSD in your machine, get a good backup unit to save a "safety copy" of the drive and its contents. SSDs have gotten better (read: more reliable) over the past couple of years, but why take chances.
This is not an attempt to wave you off of the SSD. I have them in 5 of the 7 active computers here (including a Dell laptop and a Macbook Pro) and I love them.