I'm planning to build a completely new PC for 3D work using ZBrush, Maya, Blender, Substance Painter, Mari, and Marvelous Designer. My main use will be detailed sculpting in ZBrush, plus rendering in Blender or Maya. I'm not planning to do animation, and I'm working with a limited budget. My current parts list is an Intel Core Ultra 5 245K, MSI B860M Gaming Plus WiFi motherboard, 32GB DDR5-5200 memory, Kingston NV3 1TB SSD, RTX 5060 8GB, 750W Bronze power supply, and an air cooler. Which component should I spend more on, and what would you change in this build for a smoother 3D modeling and rendering experience?
1 Answer
For detailed ZBrush work, RAM and storage capacity can become limiting before the CPU does. I’d aim for 64GB of RAM if possible, preferably a faster matched DDR5 kit, because high-resolution sculpts and texture-heavy scenes can use a lot of memory. The RTX 5060 should be usable, but 8GB of VRAM may restrict larger Blender or Maya scenes, so moving to a card with 12–16GB of VRAM would be a worthwhile upgrade if rendering is important. The CPU is reasonable for modeling, though a higher-end processor would help with CPU-based rendering. I’d also consider a better-known SSD with more capacity and verify the power supply’s quality before purchasing.
I’m mainly sculpting detailed models in ZBrush and then rendering still images in Blender or Maya, so I’m not doing animation. If I can only upgrade one part, would 64GB of RAM or a stronger graphics card make the bigger difference?