Is 8 GB ram enough for very basic projects, without textures

[joepal]

You should be able to do very basic stuff with blender with a computer with these specs, but it will by no means be a smooth ride.

It is possible you will be able to create humans using MPFB too, as long as you don't use any procedural skin shader.

But I'd really recommend at least twice as much memory and a discrete graphics card, preferably with an nvidia chip.

[Ricardo2020]

I get asked about graphics programs and machine requirements regularly since I build and refurbish machines for others to use. It does not matter which camp you choose, either Intel or AMD. However, know that the former has fewer workarounds and less heat. Thus, the Intel stuff tends to be more stable, even though the latter has better drivers and can go faster.

If you want to run Blender on an Intel CPU with an NVidia GPU, it needs to meet the spec below for smooth operation.

CPU: Any socket 1155 or later will do as long as there are at least four cores and eight threads. Go for a 2.4GHz minimum clock on all threads before turbo boost kicks in.

GPU: Any Keppler or later part operating on 16 PCIe GEN3 lanes with 4GB of DDR5 will work. Consider nothing older or smaller than the GTX 970 Founder's Edition.

RAM: It is good practice to have four times the system RAM as you have VRAM. Thus, the GPU needs 4GB and the CPU needs 16GB. The RAM needs to clock no slower than 1333MHz on two channels.

PSU: Since larger CPUs and GPUs are power hungry, consider a PSU no smaller than 600 watts. Make sure there are enough case fans to dissipate the heat, too.

Storage: You need two drives. The first one, preferably a 500GB SSD, is the booter for the OS and other software. It will also be where hot files go, that is, the stuff being worked on. The second drive can be a conventional 1TB spinning rust HDD for storing cold files, that is, the stuff you save for later. This is also where you keep backups waiting to be USB fobbed or burned to optical discs.

Granted, you can get by with less, but you will encounter longer load and save times, instability, excess heat, and potential crashes. Linux tends to need less machine resources than Windows. This is due to the leaner nature of the system since it has no antisocial media garbage or bloatware getting in the way. The iMAC is also a good choice since it, like Linux, is mostly a UNIX environment. Go for an older Intel based Apple, since these can be completely upgraded (CPU, GPU, RAM and storage.)