Welcome to Fractal Forums

Hello to all you people who amaze me with your remarkable creations. I am Molivett, an artist and a former Earth science teacher. I had been immersed in the works of M. C. Escher, which quite easily moved into an interest in 2d fractals and now I find myself here.... and blown away by what I see! I have worked with 2D fractals but am new to the 3D scene.

 I am getting ready to get a new PC as mine is a dinosaur. I am very interested in what each of you consider essential in a computer to produce Mandelbulbs and Mandelbulb videos. Since I am purchasing a computer anyway, I want to make sure it includes all the needed components. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!  :thanks2:

Welcome Molivett,

3D takes a lot of processing time, so it depends a bit on your patience and budget ;) Most 3D software use the CPU, but some programs use the GPU, so you may want to decide first what programs you like most and make your choice (fast CPU or fast GPU) from there.

Hello, and Welcome!

When you go to purchase a PC (If you haven't already) - how much would you like to spend?  ;D  I would say anything new would probably run Mandelbulb. If you have decent RAM, a dual (or quad core) Processor, and a good hard drive, you should be fine. I wasn't too picky on the graphics card, etc - I basically looked for a computer that would run Adobe products without a problem for images.

Something like this would run it I'm sure - http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7875129&Sku=S02-1056 - nice big hard drive, 6 gig of Ram, decent processor - (refurbished - but I have a refurbished machine here that is like 5 years old maybe, Vista (yuck) - that my 12 year old still runs, so it's still kicking after being refurbished long ago.)

There are many online places to PC shop too! Just depends on how much you want to spend, but look for lots of RAM, powerful CPU, and a decent sized hard drive mostly.  :)

Madman, thanks for the suggestions. It looks like I need to take a closer look at the software before I decide on the computer.

Mkbrouse, I do appreciate your input. I probably would go with a very good graphics card too, as I do other computer generated art.

Both of your responses have told me that the more affordable the better! The individual components you mentioned are most helpful... Thanks to you both!

Greetings, and welcome to this particular forum !!!     :D


Since there are so many fractal related applications available (well over 600 that can be acquired), I would say that all you really need is a powerful computer, lots of RAM, a large hard-drive (and/or several external backup drives), and definitely a good graphics card (one that handles two monitors would be a plus).  Then you can use several fractal renders, each one for specifics needs and desires for your outcome.

Or, you could get a whole bunch of cheap and/or donated machines, and have them all rendering at the same time, doing portions of the final outcome.

$5K to $10K for an expansive machine, or a dozen cheap ones.   :dink:
 

I actually like the dozen cheap ones route. I use GPU software and run it full throttle which totally locks up the machine so while one is rendering you work on another. Things get REAL cheap this way as GPUs can be very inexpensive and the box can be low-end crap. This only applies to GPU rendering tho.

I am very lucky in this area, I have 15 machines at my disposal (only two were really expensive).  I tend to use both methods, depending on which works best for the particular task at hand.

I know of a couple of other guys that have fractal rendering "farms" for their animations and videos.  And they have been doing it that way for many years.  If I could not afford a really nice machine, I would rather have a bunch of cheap machines to use.  That way if one decided to die on me, I would always have a backup to use.    :D
 

Thank you Nahee and Eiffie for your excellent suggestions. Both of you have helped answer  questions that have baffled me. I am considering a computer with the following:

  processor 4th generation intel core i7-4770 processor 98M cache, up to 3.9 GHz;

  memory - 32GB dual channel DDR3 1600MHz - 4 DIMMs ;

  hard drive - 3TB 7200rpm SATA hard drive 6.0 Gb/s + 256GB SSD

  Video card - NVIDIA Geforce GTX 6601.5G GDDRS

This is below the 5K but would it be sufficient for a beginner? I could keep  my old dinosaur for backup. Which of these components are suitable and which are insufficient?  I am considering Windows 8 as I would love the touchscreen for my other art projects. Is that a non-issue ? Lots of questions but I could use a lot of help. thank you very much!

Sounds like a very nice system to do what you intend on.  And it is always good to have a backup PC, even if it is an older model.    :dink:

Not sure how many monitors you plan on, nor their size and capabilities, but that is something else you should consider with the cost of your system.  There are many fractal applications that will allow you to have the image being created shown on one monitor while the apps controls are on another monitor (along with whatever else you may have going on).  Makes life a bit easier sometimes.

On my "big" machine, I have a 27" monitor in standard horizontal mode, but I also have a 24" monitor turned sideways (in vertical mode).  Depending on what I am doing, I have better abilities to display various things to increase functionality and the viewing pleasure.


Personally, I do not care much for Windows-8.  But I have read that Microsoft has decided they screwed it up way too much and the Win-8.1 version puts back many of the missing items they removed.  (They always think they know what is best for the User.)    :fiery:

As to which OS (Win-7 or -8) to use for several of the more popular fractal applications, it really should not matter that much.  Just get the system that you can work with without complications, one that will satisfy your own personal needs.
 

Thank you all for your input. I have pretty much determined the system that will suit my needs. Someone advised me to wait until windows 8.1 comes installed rather than order now, with windows 8 and upgrade to 8.1 Have some of my 1st attempts ( without software that screams; mine whispers). I would like to submit them... a couple of them are Lyapunov fractals. I have not been able to find examples on the forum. Are these a type of fractal that not within the guidelines of this site :confused:? This is ALL so new to me! Thanks

There are a few Lyapunov fractal images on this forum, but not that many.  And it does not matter what type you wish to share with everybody here.  Just go to the appropriate Board, such as  http://www.fractalforums.com/images-showcase-%28rate-my-fractal%29/ (http://www.fractalforums.com/images-showcase-%28rate-my-fractal%29/)  and start a new topic with your image.     :D
 

Hi
look forward to seeing your creations  :)