suggestions for new pc for daz

dmjuggalo

Hello everyone.  I'll be upgrading my pc soon and would like some suggestions.  I have a gaming laptp now but doing Iray renders take waayyy to long.  Its running with amd radeon graphics crad with 8 core processor.   I know for Iray Invidia would be better, one reason for upgrading.  But Im unsure of what I would need more or whats better.  The graphics card or the processors.  I'm a somewhat new daz studio artist and learning more and would like to get faster render times.  ATM its taking over 2hrs to do a simple 2 person with a couple props and 1 light scene.  Cant imagine how long some of my bigger peices would take.  Any suggetions are greatly appreciated and welcomed 

AlienRenders

You need an nVidia card for cuda which iRay requires to run on your video card and to get better speeds. Don't get the new 1060 to 1080 as the drivers for cuda aren't out yet. Don't get the Pascal Titan X either though the original GTX Titan X is fine. GTX 960 to 980 is good. The 980Ti would probably be your best bet if you can afford it. The processor isn't that important but it does improve transfer speeds to/from the video card especially when starting a render.

FSMCDesigns

High end Nvidia card, lots of RAM. With quality settings, 2 hour renders isn't unheard of in many cases with a couple of fully clothed figures in it

kyoto kid

...actually everything  You need a good fast CPU (3.0GHz or better) to support a high memory GPU (especially if you install more than one) Memory should at minimum be roughly be double that of the GPU, though 32 GB has sort of become the norm today.  I would go with DDR4 memory, quad channel if you can get it.  Drive type is a personal decision if you want to go SSD (fast) or standard HDD (lower cost)..  Many systems use an SSD for the boot and application drive along with an HDD for storage. purposes.  Above all, do not scrimp on the power supply (this is often an issue with computers sold at big box stores), as this is the "heart" of your system.  As they are not terribly expensive I would suggest 750 -850 W. better to have some overhead (especially if you are running multiple GPUs) than cutting it close a for if the PSU fails it could pretty much take the entire system along with it.  Also a good case with generous internal "breathing room" (also makes it easier to service and work on when everything isn't tightly crammed together) and multiple intake/exhaust fans would be a good move, especially if you are not looking ot use liquid cooling (though these systems have come down in price significantly from when I built my workstation)

If you have the resources, I would suggest a custom build over off the shelf, that way you can pretty much get exactly what you want without a lot of stuff you don't need like bloatware and other unnecessary "features".  It costs a bit more, but you will get a better rig out of it.  If you have the knowledge and tech savvy, then build it yourself, however do your research first to make sure the components you get are compatible with each other before laying down the CC and ordering.  The last thing you want is to get everything put together, turn on the power switch, and something goes *poof*. 

I took the time and went from knowing nothing about how to to put a computer together, to building the workstation I currently am using (which sadly is now a bit outdated).

For GPU rendering in Iray, 4 GB is passable but 6 GB would be better for most scenes (unless you create extremely complicated and busy scenes like I do). Keep in mind that the new Pascal series Nvidia GPUs do not yet support rendering in Iray.  Supposedly it will at least be another month before this is ready (it basically depends on release of the Iray SDK and Daz implementing it as well so you have a bit of time to research and plan your purchase).  Two of the advantages of the Pascal GPUs is they are less power hungry than the previous (Maxwell) generation as well as faster.

Hope this helps.

dmjuggalo

Thanks a buch for the input :)  

thistledownsname

I always seem to get my computers on or around Black Friday.  Hopefully the new graphics cards will be ready for Iray by then.  I know Nvidia even has some now that are Full desktop size graphics cards that can fit inside a laptop, so I might be going that route.  Unfortunately I have to transport my rig around with me every day, so a laptop is required.  Still, my Aspire V17 Nitro has served me well so far.

kyoto kid

...well according to what I heard, the Pascal Quadro cards should be available sometime in October so I would hope for Nvidia's sake they get the SDK finished and to the various developers beforehand as those cards cost really big bucks and are designed specifically for CG production rendering, not gaming.  I'm sure the people who purchase them won't be very pleased if they are unable to render in Iray.

fred9803

Buying a new system will always be a Gordian Knot of - do I upgrade now or wait a bit longer until something better comes along?

Apart from those who've had their rig go up in smoke, there's absolutely no answer to that question. It's the cross that every computer user has to bear.

kyoto kid

...I for one am glad that I held out several years ago until the i7 was released.  Originally I was looking to save money by staying with a Core2 Quad CPU, but several people mentioned it was getting to the end of the road and the i7 would blow it away.  So I waited save up a little more, and indeed, they were right.  Not only was the i7 better  with hyperthreading but that was also when DDR3 tri channel memory came out  While most systems at the time were running with 6 - 8 GB of memory I decided to go with 12 which back then made my system a total beast (with the option to upgrade to and unheard of 24 GB).  Now I've been talking 64 GB even 128 GB w the latter which costs about what 24 GB would have back when I built my current rig.

At the time the Quadro 6000 was the "bomb" with 6 GB GDDR5, if you had about 4,000$ burning a hole in your pocket. (the only Fermi mass market card that came close was the EVGA's GTX 590 with 3 GB). Of course GPU rendering was still something us hobbyists and enthusiasts back then simply talked and dreamed about, so for most purposes, 1 GB was more than sufficient to support the display and the Daz Viewport.