Building an excellent computer animation requires certain Hardware elements and just a little understanding of the internal functionality of 2D & 3D animation Software and how they use Hardware.
Currently, the article “Best Computer for Animation” is organized into three sections:
1-The first is how animation software uses Hardware.
2-Second to have insight and recommendations on which parts of Hardware are more important and better than Computer animation.
3- Build your PC
How animation functions use Hardware
Before we look at what Hardware we should install on our good animation computer let’s see how animation Tasks use Hardware.
Now, with the independence of 3D-Software, when I switch to power I usually do one of the following:
I add hard characters, set Keyframes, adjust animation Curves, Move objects around Keying to new Frames, move my views and cameras around multiple animation playbacks so they can check and update them, among others.
All of these processes have one thing in common: I use active features within my Software and expect immediate results.
I don’t press a button and wait for 2 minutes while walking around the office, no, I expect Viewport or Menus or other User Interface Elements interface in my Software to update you right there.
Hardware components are essential and suitable for computer animation;
1- Advanced CPU (Processor) for Animations
As we know now, in animation we will need a very high CPU to look at and not a lot of CPU.
Or can we just find a CPU with a very high clock AND lots of Cores?
That way we can work faster AND CPU-Render faster?
Unfortunately, this is not how it works. There is always a trade between clocks and core-based.
That is, if you want a more focused CPU you will only get a few cores and if you want a lot of cores, those clues will be overused.
2-Best Graphics Card (GPU) animation
One would expect the Graphics Card to play a major role in providing a smooth Viewport and Software experience, but in the animation phase, this is rarely the case.
This does not mean that the GPU can be ignored but it is rarely a bottleneck and often has a lot left in the head while waiting for the CPU to do its calculations before showing the result.
These changes but if you rely on certain features, can only be calculated by the GPU. These include OpenGL features such as Anti-Aliasing, Anisotropic Filtering, SSAO, Realtime-Shadows, and many more.
These features are also available in Maya Viewport 2.0 and you will benefit from a solid GPU here.
Great GPU Graphics Cards
On a smaller scale, I often recommend the Nvidia GTX 1650 Super which offers excellent performance in 3D and 2D Animation applications out there.
If you need certain technical features such as 10bit Color Support you should consider Nvidia RTX or AMD GPU, as these come with drivers that support other features.
Nvidia GTX and RXT cards have very good performance/pricing, especially compared to Quadro cards and you can pay them very quickly.
AMD GPUs can also do well, although many Software vendors – Nvidia Cards vendors, and many GPU Render Engines only support Nvidia GPUs (CUDA Support), which is why you rarely see AMD GPU recommended for Computer or Workstation in Animation.
AMD makes excellent GPUs, no questions asked, but Industry support, unfortunately, is not at the same level as Nvidia.
4-Best Mainboard for Animation
As with RAM, the Mainboard is also not something that will speed up this Computer all that, but there are some things to consider before buying any large board.
The Mainboard (or Motherboard) is basically the HUB in the middle where all your other Hardware is attached.
It acts as a switchboard between these Hardware components and other external devices that you may want to connect to a Computer.
CPU connects to Mainboard and requires a good Socket.
For example, the Intel i7 8700K will need the LGA 1151 Socket and is only suitable for this socket. AMD Ryzen CPU requires Motherboard with an AM4 Socket.
Larger boards have PCI-Express Slots, to which GPUs (s) are connected. Depending on how many GPUs you would like to have or plan to upgrade in the future, be sure to get a Mainboard with enough PCI-Express Slots.
PCI-E Slots and PCI-E Lanes even though they are Topic itself and therefore have Article themselves.
5-Advanced Storage Devices In Computer Animation
Keeping it simple. There are only 3 types of Device Storage you can find and I will discuss the benefits and use cases briefly:
HDD or Hard Disc Drive
Type of old storage device limited by performance and speed
It is good to save a lot of data, not the good with Work Drive
Recommendations: Seagate Barracuda or Western Digital Blue for your desired size (example 2TB)
(SATA) SSD or Solid State Drive
Approximately 5x faster than HDD
Good for working with OS Drive
Recommendations: Samsung 860 EVO at your desired size (for example 500GB)
6-Extensive Power Supply for Our Animation PC
Both Power Provision and Trial, of course, won’t do anything about the performance of your animation, but Here are some things you should know before choosing:
It’s nice to get more visibility in your PSU than necessary, so you have a headroom if you can upgrade to more or less energy-hungry elements in the future.
This way you can save your PSU as you upgrade some of your stuff.
The best PSU products are Corsair, Seamel, and BeQuiet but you may like others or you already have a PSU on your current/old computer that you can continue to use if it is strong enough.
7-Best Animation Monitoring
Let me say this:
Size – Important
Solution – Important
Color Display Quality – Usually that doesn’t matter (animation) and this is something that goes with Monitor prices going up a lot. But keep going:
Yes, you should get a Monitor big enough, or two or more Monitors, so your consistent Software interface, Viewport and preview, and Image / Video pointers can be great without you having to switch between different windows
Time.
Having a high resolution is a good fit for your Monitors, but be aware that there are still some external applications that measure their Interface and Text screen with the Resolution of the Monitor.
So a higher display (like 4k) can make the UI Text much smaller. Normally, Windows requests this by trying to back up it, but that doesn’t always work well and may have the effect of a dim UI.
You have to make your own PC
state this in the entirety of my articles and I can’t stress it enough: Build your own PC!
Very cheap, fun, you get information about how a computer works and what components are made with this information, you can improve and fix many problems that you may have to deal with yourself.
It is also not difficult if you know how to follow instructions or how to assemble a Lego Set, you can build your own PC.
PC Builder-Builder
If you want to get the best parts on your budget you should definitely check out our Web-Based PC-Builder Tool.
Choose animation as the main purpose you use for your computer and adjust your budget to create your Live PC with recommendations that are part of your budget.