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minimal computer

brw31415brw31415 Posts: 0
in New Users
  1. Hi, I'm looking for a minimal starting computer to get  into this. Can anyone tell me if this would be suitable.

Apple Mac mini 2.26GHz Core 2 Duo (Late 2009) MC238LL/A

  • 2.26GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor
  • 2.0GB (2x1.0GB) PC3-8500 (1066MHz) DDR3 SO-DIMM, supports up to 8.0GB
  • 160GB Serial ATA hard disk drive @ 5400RPM
  • DVD-RW/CD-RW SuperDrive-DL
  • NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics with 256MB DDR3 shared memory

http://www.macofalltrades.com/Mac-mini-2-26GHz-C2D-Late-2009-p/mm-226-l09a-e.htm

 

Thanks

Comments

  • Richard HaseltineRichard Haseltine Posts: 96,738

    2GB of RAM is probably too low for anything. You would find CPU rendering pretty slow even with more RAM (at least 8GB, I'd think) and would not be able to use the GPU to help with Iray so all rendering would be using the CPU.

  • Seven193Seven193 Posts: 1,064

    That computer has no upgrade path either, so you will be stuck with a 256 VRAM card forever.

    If you built a custom PC, you could start with minimal components, and then later upgrade, without having to throw away your entire computer.

  • alexhcowleyalexhcowley Posts: 2,310

    Further to Dave's comments, I would suggest a Windows based PC, rather than a Mac.For all their techical merits, Macs tend to be poor value for money by comparison  with Windows PCs.

    As a veteran of over a third of a century in commerical computing, my advice is always buy the computer to run your selected software, not the other way round.

    Cheers,

    Alex.

  • arielgracesnapparielgracesnapp Posts: 0

    I am lost getting my basic setup as well as a new user. I purchased this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0747W15QL/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

    I'm willing to return it though - am I better off with another option or can I simply add RAM, etc? Thank you for your help.

  • Richard HaseltineRichard Haseltine Posts: 96,738
    edited April 2018
    arielgracesnapp said:

    I am lost getting my basic setup as well as a new user. I purchased this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0747W15QL/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

    I'm willing to return it though - am I better off with another option or can I simply add RAM, etc? Thank you for your help.

    The issue there is the GPU - it's an AMD, so it won't do anything for Iray rendering (it will help with dForce simulations, though). 8GB of RAM is not a lot, but it may be OK (and is probably upgradeable).

    Post edited by Richard Haseltine on
  • arielgracesnapparielgracesnapp Posts: 0

    Thank you. Is there somewhere where I can find suggested specs? 

  • Richard HaseltineRichard Haseltine Posts: 96,738
    edited April 2018

    There's https://helpdaz.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/207530513-System-Recommendations-for-DAZ-Studio-4- , but that is not a minimal system (it's better than my current system in several respects, though it's been a while since I have had time to work on a complex scene to stress test it).

    Post edited by Richard Haseltine on
  • Freightliner FoxFreightliner Fox Posts: 67

    You'll want at least 8 GB of RAM. And I'd strongly recommend 16. If you are on a seriously tight budget, you can get by with 4 GB. But be aware some of the newer models aren't going to work well with only 4 GB, even if you don't have much else in the scene.

    Also, like Dave and Alex, I'd strongly suggest you go with Windows instead of Mac. I don't want to start a platform war here. My reasons for suggesting Windows instead of Mac are purely practical. Daz makes some great software (like Bryce) that hasn't been updated in a while and doesn't work on newer versions of Mac OS. Windows simply does a much better job at keeping backward compatibility for older software intact. The vast majority of software written for Windows 95 will still run just fine on Windows 10. The same is not true for Mac OS. Apple seems to break backward compatibility with older software every other OS version or so. And if the software vendor doesn't update their software to work with the newer version of Mac OS? Well, you are pretty much screwed.

    Bryce, for example won't run on anything newer than OS X 10.6. In my opinion, it's not really an option to run a version of Mac OS that old unless it is not connected to the Internet. 10.6 is no longer supported and is no longer getting security patches. You open yourself up to security vulnerabilities if you run 10.6 on an internet connected machine

    Bryce still runs just fine on Windows 10. Again, Windows does a much better job of maintaining backward compatibility with older software than Mac OS does.

  • Freightliner FoxFreightliner Fox Posts: 67
    arielgracesnapp said:

    Thank you. Is there somewhere where I can find suggested specs? 

    Just as another thing to consider: Don't use the Iray renderer. Either stick with 3Delight, or use LuxRender, or export to Blender Cycles for rendering. The problem is not your AMD card so much as the fact that Iray is made by Nvidia and only works well with Nvidia graphics cards.

    I use AMD cards myself, which is fine for me, and saves me a fair amount of money on hardware since AMD cards are usually cheaper than Nvidia cards for roughly equivalent capabilities. I'm not a fan of Iray anyway. I just don't like the results it gives me. My overall opinion of it is that (a) It's inferior to LuxRender if you are looking for photo-realistic results. (b) It's no better than 3Delight when it comes to producing non-photorealistic results, and it is harder to work with because 3Delight gives you much better control over how light behaves in your scene than Iray does.

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