@Winterclaw: I've never used a Droid or an iPhone so I couldn't say. I was just posting the prices RV asked about. I do have an iPad and I jailbroke it right away. grin

@jecnodde: I have Poser Pro 2010 and it is able to use 32 cores very effectively, so the more the better. The best choice for processor right now, IMO, is the I7 860. This is 4 cores with hyperthreading, giving 8 effective processing units. Arrow1 is getting the 880, which has a higher clock speed, but that adds a lot to the cost.

Intel 8xx processors have dual-channel memory interfaces. The 9xx processors have triple-channel memory interfaces. It is common to see see the 8xx come with 8 GB of RAM and the 9xx with 6 GB of RAM because you need 3 of everything and 12 GB gets very expensive.

I did a lot of research and felt that for 3D rendering, the 9xx is not worth it. You need lots of RAM, and having 6 instead of 8 matters. As well, the similarly priced lower-end 930 is not much faster then the 860 - it is usually less than 10% faster, while adding a lot to the cost and losing 25% of the RAM.

Of course, if these are out of your price range, then the I5 can usually get close to the performance while reducing the system cost by a couple hundred US dollars. But the I5 is 4 core, not 8. In Poser Pro 2010, this would nearly double the render times.

Of course, all of these factors depend on your sensitivity to cost. For me, I used to never think to buy a computer over $1000. I could get a nice I5 system for about $900. The I7 860 was $1150, but nearly twice as fast, and that $250 difference really didn't matter to me. I got a package deal with a 22-inch monitor all for $1250.

---

Renderosity forum reply notifications are wonky. If I read a follow-up in a thread, but I don't myself reply, then notifications no longer happen AT ALL on that thread. So if I seem to be ignoring a question, that's why. (Updated September 23, 2019)