Good morning! I am relatively new to the CG community (at least seriously) and am wondering if anyone knows what type of computer requirements I should have at minimum to do intensive work on Blender? I currently use a basic laptop. i5 processor CPU. It has no GPU. It can handle most things just fine but when I go to try and do high-polygon or advanced sculpting it has problems.
This I guess is a two part question because I also am wondering if it’s better to meet the minimum requirements and upgrade as needed, or go for the way overdone right away. I would put Blender on my work computer (I can seamlessly edit 8K REDCode RAW footage with that) but I am not allowed to add software to the computer. Any suggestions at this point would help! Thanks.
I mean, it sounds like you answered your own question. If your PC is having trouble doing the things you want it to do, get a better PC.
You could meet the minimum requirements, but then you're limiting yourself to a shorter lifespan. Things will continue to improve and require more power. But, maybe you don't have to go complete ultimate power right up front, either. Find something that has decent power for what you want to do that exceeds the requirements so you don't have to upgrade as often and doesn't break the bank. Find a hardware friend, research hardware, and try out PC Part Picker to build your own PC.
Personally, when I made my PC, I went a little heavy on the hardware. I put in an i7, Nvidia 670, 8 gb ram. That was 5 years ago, and it's still going strong. I did upgrade my GPU to a 1070 a couple years ago because it was cheap at the time and I can take even more advantage of Blender's GPU rendering support. Now that I'm getting into more heavy-handed modeling software, I don't see myself needing an upgrade quite yet, except maybe for Substance products (which I'm still exploring). So, I suggest finding something in the middle ground that will last you a few years or more before needing an upgrade.
Also, if it's against work policy to install unapproved software, don't do it. You risk losing your job.
Just to make trouble. You can run Blender on a computer without admin rights if you download the zip file instead of the installer and run it from the extracted folder.
train30 I dont think so. At least on Windows 10 if you dont have the rights you can run Blender (loading will take much more time) but you wont be able to save your project. It also depends on local policy setup.
aaep197 I second Silent on this. If you dont have rights to use the software at work, just dont do it.
Edit: You should invest in a new computer but build it as powerful as you can afford. Dont get me wrong, the most expensive isnt always the best. I did this two years ago and i have no problem.
Well i5 CPU is a good processor to do the normal work for anyone. If its a kind of work like yours then you should focused on the graphic abilities as well to perform the basic function without any problem. I would recommend RTX 2080 Ti graphic card and you shouldn't be worrying for long time. It will cost you fortune but its one time purchase. More if they's not a lot to spend for then there some other best GPU that can work for you better. Look for the best fit and enjoy your art and designing.