Best Cpu for 3d Modeling – Balance your build between money put toward a CPU 3d Modeling and money put toward a graphics card, with the prioritized weight of that pair leaning slightly toward the graphics card. Make sure to pick up an NVIDIA graphics card so you can take maximum advantage of GPU rendering options.
OVERVIEW
All modern modeling and rendering applications are multithreaded and can utilize multiple CPU cores.
ROUND UP
So a workstation with multiple processors (and therefore more threads) will give you better performance than a single processor of the same specifications.
back to menu ↑1.Intel Core i7-11700K
Features
- Compatible with Intel 500 series & select Intel 400 series chipset based motherboards
- Intel Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 Support
- Intel Optane Memory Support
- PCIe Gen 4.0 Support
- No thermal solution included
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2.Intel Core i7-10700K
Features
- 8 Cores / 16 Threads
- Socket type LGA 1200
- Up to 5.1 GHz unlocked
- Compatible with Intel 400 series chipset based motherboards
- Intel Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 support
- Intel Optane Memory support
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3.Intel Core i5-11400F
Features
- Compatible with Intel 500 series & select Intel 400 series chipset based motherboards
- Intel Optane Memory Support
- PCIe Gen 4.0 Support
- Thermal solution included
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4.AMD YD190XA8AEWOF
Features
- Incredible 8 Cores and 16 threads of processing power
- 4.0 GHz Precision Boost (up to 4.2 GHz with XFR)
- 20MB of Cache Memory
- 64 PCIe Gen3 lanes
- Quad channel DDR4
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5.AMD Ryzen 5 3400G
Features
- Includes Radeon RX Vega 11, the world's most powerful graphics on a desktop processor, no expensive graphics card required
- Can deliver smooth high definition performance in the world's most popular games
- 4 Cores and 8 processing threads, bundled with the powerful AMD Wraith Spire cooler
- 4. 2 GHz max Boost, unlocked for overclocking, 6 MB Cache, DDR 2933 support
- For the advanced socket AM4 platform
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6.AMD Ryzen 7 3800X
Features
- The world's most advanced processor in the desktop PC gaming segment
- Can deliver ultra-fast 100+ FPS performance in the world's most popular games
- 8 cores and 16 processing threads, bundled with the AMD Wraith Prism cooler with color controlled LED support
- 4.5 GHz max boost, unlocked for overclocking, 36 MB of game cache, DDR 3200 support
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7.AMD YD299XAZAFWOF
Features
- World's First 32 core, 64 thread Desktop Processor
- 4.2 GHz Max Boost , Max Temperature 68 degree Celsius
- 80MB of Cache Memory; Base Clock 3GHz; CMOS: 12nm
- Quad Channel DDR4; OS Support: Windows 10 64 Bit Edition, RHEL x86 64 Bit, Ubuntu x86 64 Bit
- 250W TDP, CPU Cooler Not Included
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8.AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
Features
- 16 cores and 32 processing threads, the most processing power you can get in mainstream desktop
- Can deliver ultra-fast 100+ FPS performance in the world's most popular games
- Cooler not included, liquid cooler with 280 millimeter or larger radiator recommended. Max temps: 95°C
- 4.7 GHz max boost, unlocked for overclocking, 72 MB of game cache, ddr-3200 support
- For the advanced socket AM4 platform, can support PCIe 4.0 on x570 motherboards
- Base clock-3.5GHz, CMOS-TSMC 7 nano meter Finfet, PCI express version-PCIe 4.0 x16
- Total L1 Cache 1MB, Total L2 Cache 8MB and Total L3 Cache 64MB
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9.AMD Ryzen 9 5950X
Features
- The best processor for gamers meets the best processor for creators, with 16 cores and 32 processing threads
- Can deliver elite 100+ FPS performance in the world's most popular games
- Cooler not included, liquid cooler recommended
- 4.9 GHz Max Boost, unlocked for overclocking, 72 MB of cache, DDR-3200 support
- For the advanced Socket AM4 platform, can support PCIe 4.0 on X570 and B550 motherboards
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10.AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
Features
- AMD's fastest 8 core processor for mainstream desktop, with 16 procesing threads
- Can deliver elite 100+ FPS performance in the world's most popular games
- Cooler not included, high-performance cooler recommended
- 4.7 GHz Max Boost, unlocked for overclocking, 36 MB of cache, DDR-3200 support
- For the advanced Socket AM4 platform, can support PCIe 4.0 on X570 and B550 motherboards
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Best Cpu for 3d Modeling – BUYER’S GUIDE
back to menu ↑CPU
Once upon a time, this would have been the most important part of a 3d Modeling PC—so much so that I would have recommended putting all possible resources toward obtaining and supporting the most powerful CPU that your budget would allow.
But CPU rendering is no longer the only game in town, and the focus can be shifted somewhat in favor of the graphics card. That said, the CPU is still vitally important. The CPU is used for everything you do on a computer, so a faster CPU will always be at least a little bit better.
CPU rendering can take advantage of many CPU cores. For many years, Intel CPUs typically offered the best single-threaded performance, while AMD CPUs typically offered the best multi-threaded performance. Nowadays, both companies have some great chip options for rendering builds in both categories, and you’ll likely see the recommendations in the section above oscillate between Intel and AMD periodically throughout each year as new parts release.
If you use a different CPU than we recommend in our builds, make sure you get a compatible motherboard, RAM, and CPU cooler.
back to menu ↑Graphics Card
For rendering, unlike most other graphic design work, the strength of your graphics card is important for the speed at which you are able to complete your work. GPU rendering (when available) is much faster—in some cases, over ten times as fast.
You’re likely to want an NVIDIA graphics card. Here’s why:
Between the two most developed kinds of GPU rendering available now (AMD-backed OpenCL and NVIDIA’s proprietary CUDA), CUDA currently provides better performance. And while OpenCL is compatible with any graphics card (at least to some extent), CUDA is only available with NVIDIA cards.
To quote GPU Rendering Magazine’s article on OpenCL and CUDA: “As an easy rule of thumb, if your app supports CUDA, grab an NVIDIA card, even if it also supports OpenCL,” and “If the applications you use split their support between CUDA and OpenCL we recommend using a recent NVIDIA card.”
Hopefully AMD’s OpenCL will have wider support and better performance in the future, but for now NVIDIA is the better option.
back to menu ↑RAM
RAM is not going to be one of your biggest concerns. Modern consumer systems all use DDR4 RAM. The lower end systems here use dual-channel RAM, while the higher end systems use quad-channel. A Dual-channel configuration provides slightly better performance than a single stick, and quad channel is slightly better than dual channel.
Just make sure you’ve got at least 8GB, as the previewing process that makes up the view window of some 3D design programs like Cinema 4D can be a bit RAM-hungry. If you find that you need more RAM, adding more is easy as long as you still have open RAM slots on your motherboard.
back to menu ↑Storage
Unlike computers intended for filmmaking, traditional animation, gaming, or general YouTube video-making, a computer for 3D design doesn’t necessarily need a mountain of storage space. Images, assets, and modeling files are significantly smaller than videos or games.
HDDs
A terabyte or two of hard disk drive space, like a 1TB Western Digital HDD, might be plenty.
If you intend to do loads of animating. Animation videos—especially high-resolution, high-frame-rate animation videos—take up just as much space as any other space-hogging high-quality video files. Fortunately, upgrading your storage capacity is one of the easiest changes you can make to an existing workstation PC. If you’re on a budget, adding more storage is easy any time, and it always gets cheaper over time.
SSDs
Definitely get an SSD if you can. Everything will feel faster. Installing your OS, applications, and your project caches on an SSD will speed up your workflow in a very noticeable way. Programs and parts of programs will load faster. Cached information will be provided quicker.
Upgrading from a hard drive to a SATA SSD is a huge speed boost, and very noticeable.
Upgrading from a SATA SSD to a more expensive PCIe SSD is a big boost in peak performance. However, it is less noticeable in real-world use, unless you’re often transferring huge files. PCIe is the best and fastest, but it’s often worth sticking with a cheaper SATA SSD and spending the money on a faster CPU or graphics card instead.
Frequently Asked Questions
back to menu ↑FAQ 1: Why does 3d Modeling take so long?
It depends on which software you’re using, what options you have set, and what hardware you’re running.
You render a simple scene, e.g. a house sitting in a field next to a tree, with the sun shining on it. Your computer is calculating (or repeatedly estimating) the light bouncing from your one point light source (the “sun”) off of each individual polygon’s relative angle toward the camera. (There might be hundreds of polygons in the leaves of even a simple, not-particularly-realistic tree.)
At the same time, it is reflecting that light uniquely depending on the material, color, and texture of each simulated object. And then it is (again, depending on the software and settings) doing the same for the light reflected uniquely off of each polygon, such as from the house onto each leaf of the tree and vice versa.
It is attempting to map or reasonably approximate that set of calculations for each and every polygon visible in the scene in order to produce one cohesive image. And finally, it is doing any post-processing that you instructed your program to accomplish. And if you’re rendering out an animation, then it’s doing all of that for each frame.
The computer is simulating not just the eye that views the image, but also the world-like conditions that the eye is viewing. Some hardware is better than other hardware at accomplishing these kinds of tasks, but it is nothing short of astounding what kind of images can result from this herculean computational effort.
back to menu ↑FAQ 2: How can I speed up my 3d Modeling ?
If you’re still worried that your renders are taking too long after reading the answer to FAQ 1, I recommend going back to basics and checking your options:
Can you reduce computed passes, computed samples, or lighting bounces without harming your render’s quality?
Are you sure you’ve switched to GPU rendering?
If you are using a GPU rendering option, does your application require you to manually adjust a tile size so you can take full advantage of it?
Are you doing any post-processing that you can do without?
Test out all of your options in each of your applications. Different software will respond differently to different choices.
back to menu ↑FAQ 3: Why would you choose GPU rendering over CPU 3d Modeling ?
While CPU rendering is both accurate and reliable, it is very slow compared to what is possible these days with GPU rendering.
To give you a practical example, a couple of months ago I used Blender to make the animation that’s being worked on in the screenshot below this section (not exactly a complex scene). It’s an 11-second, 1080p, 60-FPS animated intro that was used for the first seven of my YouTube videos back in 2017 and 2018. Rendering the 660 frames of that animation via CPU rendering took over 20 hours (with an i5-6600K). Rendering those same 660 frames via GPU rendering took under 4 hours (with an i5-6600K and a GTX 1060 6GB).
Sequential operations are the CPU’s easy victory, but in the realm of outputting rendered images via parallelized rendering, the GPU is in its element. The CPU is still an important player regardless, but prioritizing the GPU when you’re budgeting can make a lot of sense.
back to menu ↑WRAP UP
The most interesting thing about looking for a Computer or Workstation for 3D Modeling and Rendering is the fact that 3D Modeling and (CPU) Rendering are two very different use cases.
Each of them uses the Hardware of a Computer in very different ways!
Before we dive into it, take a quick look at the Table of contents here, in case you prefer to skip the theory and want to know my recommendations immediately:
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