Ian Nelson & Ben Silverman
of Bubba’s Chop Shop – Motion Design, Animation & VFX
The Interview
“Once we started getting into 3D modeling, texturing, rendering, lighting, and really needing to use every bit and piece of the machine, our (Macs) just couldn’t take it anymore.”
The Problem
Maxing out using Cinema 4D
Ian: About a year ago we started to realize that our computers weren’t as fast as they needed to be. We’ve got all sorts of computers and we started getting into Cinema 4D, and quickly realized that Cinema 4D just wasn’t cutting it even on the Trashcan. And we had that thing just maxed out.
The Solution
We built an i-X2
Ben: It (the Mac Pro Trashcan) really just wasn’t pulling the power that we needed to. And it’s really interesting, the second we got the i-X2, and we loaded up the activity monitor, we all just got really excited and stoked of how powerful this machine actually is.
Once we started getting into 3D modeling, texturing, rendering, lighting, and really needing to use every bit and piece of the machine, our computers just couldn’t take it anymore. And now we have the i-X2, which is an incredibly powerful machine, and it’s really allowing us to get these faster render times.
Ian: We call it the Mini Fridge at Bubba’s Chop Shop. It’s like a box.
Ben: It’s funny because when people come over and when they see our computers they’re drawn to this really cool, dynamic casing. It’s definitely different. It’s a pretty powerful machine, but it also looks really cool.
When we get into a job that needs the power then we know we have the tool for that job.
From Mac to PC
Everything is achievable
Ian: One of the things I was really nervous about with getting a PC is we have ten Macs. How is it going to behave if I have all these Macs, and then if I’m adding PC files in? So I actually got on the phone with somebody who has a similar setup, who has made the leap, and is working with both Macs and PC’s. He gave me the confidence to say, “Hey there’s going to be differences, you’ll have to change the way you do things, but everything’s achievable.”
Ben: And I understand why everybody has told me, when you’re doing a lot more visual effects and you’re doing a lot more heavy lifting you definitely need the power behind something like an i-X2.
Ian: It’s not like we don’t use our Macs anymore, but I think what we do is when we get into a job that needs the power then we know we have the tool for that job.
The Product
i-X2: The Ultimate Workstation
With hi frequency dual Xeon CPUs, the i-X2 is ideal for either CPU rendering or GPU rendering. As the fastest CPU rendering workstation we offer for the price, the i-X2 is ideal for Cinema 4D physical render, and for well-multithreaded CG applications like ZBrush. With 80 PCIe lanes and 7 PCIe slots, it is also our fastest rendering workstation with dual Xeon CPUs at this price point, with space for up to 7 single slot PCIe cards, or 4 double wide Geforce, Quadro or Tesla GPUs, and support for up to 512GB DDR4 ECC RAM for the most demanding CPU or GPU rendering environments.