Rendering 3D stuff ..

[POISON]

Hi folks .....

Im a student at a local university in Dubai .... I spend much time on designing and making any 3D model comes to my mind ...

so, my question is ... when I render a 3d model (using Autodesk 3D MAX 9) , which part of the PC really do this job ??? is it the CPU ? or the GPU ??

and .. If I work on photoshop ... do I in a big need for a graphic card ? does it matter having a powerful graphic card in processing images ? or a powerful CPU would be enough ???

these question I ask to determine which part of my PC (CPU or Graphic card) should I upgrade .. because I dont have enough money to upgrade both in the same time !

thanks !

[Force Flow]

The CPU primarily handles 3D image rendering.

You wouldn't need a gaming card for 3D rendering or photoshop.

What hardware do you have now?

[POISON]

hmm .. I have a laptop which I work on it right now ... (Pentuim Dual Core @ 1.6GHz + 2GB RAM + ATI HD2400) ... but , I want to upgrade the desktop so I can work on it too .. actually its very good machine but .. maybe I would upgrade it if u recommend that .. (desktop: Pentuim 4 HT @3.06 GHz + 1.5 GB RAM + ATI 9550) ...

so , any advice ? or its good ?