• Welcome to our Forum! Ask PC-Build Questions, discuss Tech-News, Content Creation & Gaming Workloads or get to know the CGDirector Community off-topic. Feel free to chime in with insight or questions on any existing topic too! :)

New User Introduction

Alex Glawion

Alex Glawion

CG Hardware Specialist @ CGDirector
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A warm welcome to all new users! :) We are excited to see this community grow and look forward to having interesting and fun discussions with you!

I am Alex and, together with my team, run CGDirector. I love helping out in any way I can, but mostly this is by writing in-depth articles on PC-Hardware and Content-Creation workloads, or by helping the community fiddle with their new build and hardware components.

I'm extremely interested in optimizing processes such as rendering, or analyzing performance bottlenecks in order to make my and your work more efficient.

Tell us a little bit about yourself! :)


After Introducing yourself, here are some of the things you can do to get started:
- Get an expert opinion on your planned PC Build or Hardware Upgrade
- Discuss 3D, Video Editing, Graphic Design Workloads or Gaming Workloads
- Show us some of your recent work!

... and more :)
 
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blender_render

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Hi Alex,
I love your Site and it's about time you started a forum 😁I am a long-time lurker and enjoy a ll of the vast information in you articles.

I use Blender for my 3D work and am currently freelancing for agencies and international clients. It was quite difficult at first, but after a while I was able to have some regulars that keep coming back (seems like I am doing something right... )

I usually hang out over on blenderartists.org, but having a site where the main focus is hardware for 3d workloads, is really great. Looking forward to this growing community! :cool:
 
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John moore subpoenaman

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This is the perfect site, I've started read all the information you have written , I'm glad I joined twice now I've tried to setup a system to build and after reading one of your articles I realized I had forgotten a part of the build that I would need (cooler)..and of course the windows 10 op system ..so I will be ordering thru your website I hope it helps pay for your time .
 
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ChrisJones75

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Hey Alex, thanks for setting up this site! I'm currently a poor macbookpro user, bereft of options and processing speed. I am constantly looking at PC builds, have never made my own but would be keen to give it a go. I'm pretty savvy at quickly adapting to a new language, and computer-hardware-speak is simply a new language. I know what I want, I'm just taking my time to get the gist of it all. Coming from the cosseted world of Mac ownership where we simply fire up a new machine and it works for 5+ years without any hiccups to tales of component incompatibility, overheating, windows updates, poor technical support etc etc naturally sppoks one only interested in creating. So to find authority on such matters is the first step…
 
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Rardain

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Hi Alex,

Great site, I stumbled across it whilst researching hardware for my new art pc. I've been upgrading and building pc's since 1995 (although the last one I built was a few years ago now). My job focused on IT break/fix a few years ago but has moved more to network support now so my build skills may be a bit rusty, but like riding a bike, never forgotten.
 
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Patek Phil

Patek Phil

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Hi Alex and team!

I am a beginner on these technical stuffs but I really want to try digital design and animations (no experience yet) or may be game development someday. Now I'm planning to build a pc that I can use and I found your website. I really love your articles and it is very informative.

Thank you for creating this website and forum.
Looking forward to this growing community !
 
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DawidG

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Hey Alex!

Interactive Designer at a small studio - been working with Cinema 4D for quite the time now and recently pushed the studio to opt into Octane render so we can push our quality to the next level but of course this requires an upgrade to my machine , as I'm not a tech-expert on that side I've joined to find out what parts I can replace / upgrade to ensure I can continue working with Octane smoothly and more efficiently.

Newbie at heart, wanting to learn!
 
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GDemar

GDemar

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Hi there, my name is Gadriel - I'm a writer and a video editor, and now learning 3D modeling / animation.

I've been reading articles from the site for a long time, and now that the opportunity has presented itself to make a new project that involves CGI and animation.it seems a great idea to make the leap and join the discussion. I'm from Spain, but currently based in Miami, Florida for work.

I'm aware there's a world to learn and I'm more than willing. Also, making new professional acquaintances that share the same passion is always welcome.

Overall, I'm here both to discover and to help in any capacity.

here in the Sunshine state - dodging covid-19 on daily basis, still writting / cutting and still learning.

Best, Gael
 
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FrankB

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Hi Folks, my name is Frank.

I wear quite a few hats (and not only to cover up my bald spot) -- I'm a lawyer, martial arts school owner/instructor, and photography buff. To support my and my wife's businesses, and our soon-to-be online courses, I create simple videos.

It's time to upgrade my PC. Starting to do the research, I came across this amazing site. Man, am I learning a lot by just starting to go through the info here!
 
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Kimon

Kimon

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Hello there,

Thanks for having me.

I’m a Maya character rigger. Although this is a relatively nondemanding task in terms of workstation specs, I find myself wanting to rediscover the creative aspects of CG and do a bit more rendering, hence lurking around this wonderful site in anticipation of a new box build.

Many thanks for the great resources. The PC builder tool in particular is awesome. It’d be great if it had a ‘blend’ option between ‘types’, e.g. 30% CPU rendering / 70% GPU rendering and so on.
 
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Alex G.

Alex G.

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Hi everyone!

My name is Alex.

I'm just a college student who is looking for some guidance on how to properly build a good gaming PC. I have never done that before and that makes me a bit anxious about putting together my new PC. I am also interested in diving into some video editing as a hobby but am not sure if I will just stop there, so I would really love to have a machine that would be able to handle those tasks.

I also would like to thank you for providing your readers/users with such a great tool as The PC Builder and very comprehensive articles regarding similar topics.

:)
 
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Nanapom

Nanapom

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Hi everyone! My name is Nana.

I am a beginner who just start leaning in Blender and video editing. My goal is making a original short 2d/3d animation using blender. Maybe I also want to try unity or unreal engine to make a game in the future...

My PC (iMac 2017) has been crushing a lot while I am using blender or movie editor (davinci resolve). I thought about using external SSD or eGPU to give some upgrade to my iMac. But then I just had a idea of building my own PC! 🤩 (Also I share my iMac with my husband so I need my own.)

I am hoping to understand and learn how to build a PC in here with you.

I would like to thank you for giving us this great opportunity to learn. I didn't even know that you can build a PC on your own...
 
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Arthur

Arthur

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Hello, I'm Arthur.

As a freelance interactive designer, I mostly do dekstop/mobile UI interactions and 2D motion design projects for a living. I've been interested in 3D for a very long time and have a very little experience on C4D.

This year, I decided to learn 3D as a hobby first, then maybe take it to a professional level :)

I mainly work on a 2019 Macbook Pro setup (intel core i9 2,3GHz - 8 cores / Radeon Pro 560X 4 Go) and I know by far that it's not enough. Moreover, it's not even compatible with Redshift & Octane and I really want to try them without getting frustrated by low perfs !

That's why I'm here to build a new PC that covers both aspects : what I do for living, and what is now a hobby but might become more in the upcoming years ;). Already posted my build in the forum, hoping Alex will take a look at it!

Anyway thanks guys for everything, I've learned a lot on cgdirector. Keep up the good work!
Cheers
 
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Mojo

Mojo

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I’m Mojo, a retired Mechanical Engineer Who now has a small home business repairing and customizing saxophone mouthpieces. I have over 50 How-to videos on YouTube showing the craft of mouthpiece refacing.

My wife and I played in several community bands until the pandemic shut it all down. Now I am helping to produce music videos while our members are all separated. They film at home on their smart phones and I edit the audio/videos to combine them. I recently made a 3 min video with 18 musicians. My 5-yr old PC crashed a few times while trying to complete this edit. So I am looking to upgrade. I already tried adding an external SSD and that helped some.

I use Audacity for audio and Power Director 18 for video editing.
 
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dondragon

dondragon

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Hi everyone! I´m Jorge.

I´m a freelance motion designer who has been stuck with Apple for a while, always waiting for the next Mac Pro to be as versatile as they once were (if you could say that). I´ve been lurking cgdirector.com for a while, and the time has come for me: I´m building the PC I need. I mostly do 2D animation using After Effects and some 3D in C4D, which I´m hoping to get deeper into with my future build (and finally try Redshift and Octane!)

See you around, guys!

Cheers!
 
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soundboutique

soundboutique

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Hi everyone! And hi Alex!
Alex has been a tremendous help to me and this site has been essential to my move towards GPU rendering and editing on several (at this point) PC's that I now own. I've also built my first PC, a two GPU beast that I'm loving.
I keep recommending people to come see all the important info and advice this site has to offer.

I'm already planning my next PC build and will come back to get Alex's excellent advice!

Thanks!!
 
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fsphoto

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Hi,
Great to find a website that has PC building information geared towards content creators.
Finding lots of great information to help improve my knowledge and make better choices for my next PC.
Thanks for putting this together!
 
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RobH2

RobH2

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Hello,

This looks like a very useful site for builders. I'm an Industrial Designer and Visualizer for 25 years now and except for my first machine, a Gateway 100 with 16mb (yes, mb, and it cost me $800 to upgrade that to 32mb) of ram, I've built all of the dozens of machines I've had. Back then it was difficult to find info and compare components against real world usage feedback.

I look forward to this site as I plan my next machines. 60% of my time is spent in 3ds Max or CAD and the rest is After Effects, Photoshop and the host of other post production tools we all use.
 
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Avamid

Avamid

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Location
Tehran, Iran
I am Mehdi Khosravi and I live in Tehran, Iran ... I am a hardware engineer from Ahvaz Jundishapur University and also an architect from Pishva Branch of Azad University ...
I have many students whom I teach Revit and also I guide them in buying and providing suitable architectural hardware.
Your excellent information and tips have made it possible for me to better help my students ...
Dear Alex, the most important softwares used by Iranian students and architects are Revit, 3DMax, Enscape, Lumion and of course VRay Next ... If possible, please explain a little specialized about the appropriate hardwares for this software ...
 
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DanielFaster

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A warm welcome to all new users! :) We are excited to see this community grow and look forward to having interesting and fun discussions with you!

I am Alex and, together with my team, run CGDirector. I love helping out in any way I can, but mostly this is by writing in-depth articles on PC-Hardware and Content-Creation workloads, or by helping the community fiddle with their new build and hardware components.

I'm extremely interested in optimizing processes such as rendering, or analyzing performance bottlenecks in order to make my and your work more efficient.

Tell us a little bit about yourself! :)


After Introducing yourself, here are some of the things you can do to get started:
- Get an expert opinion on your planned PC Build or Hardware Upgrade
- Discuss Content Creation or Gaming Workloads
- Get some feedback to us

... and more :)
Hi Alex,
So glad to find this site and forum.
I produce short videos and am working on a trailer for a feature. The director asked for an i7 Mac with 64g cpu memory and 8g on the Radeon graphics card which we purchased at B&H. One week later it is not able to handle Cinema4D so we need a PC and hopefully can use parts from our crypto miner with its 6 high speed graphics cards. We need the best PC to animate monster demons for the movie without buying a BOXX. Hopefully our mistakes can help other members.
Daniel
 
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