NVIDIA gpu Advice
GenX3Dx
Posts: 10
I'm looking into a gaming laptop specifically for Daz Studio. I know theres all different prices and speeds of gpu's, but my main concern is buying only what I need. I don't want to get a laptop with an expensive gpu if it won't be used to it's full potential. I won't be gaming with it at all. I really just want it to be able to render HD images at a pretty good speed. I can live with an hour or 2.
love to hear any suggestions
cheers
Post edited by GenX3Dx on
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Comments
Iray will use an Nvidia GPU to it's full potential, no matter which GPU it is.
A relatively simple scene can still take more than a couple of hours with anything less than a GTX 980TI, GTX 1070TI or above, or RTX 2070 Super or above.
If that is your goal, your laptop will cost more than a desktop machine and generally not be further upgradable.
Thanks. I'm not super concerned with upgrading. Plus I don't want a desktop really. I was looking at a Dell with a 1660Ti. I think that might do.
The problem with iRay is that it will go full CPU mode as soon as the scene doesnt fit in VRAM.
So that will give you an idea of how large your scene files are vs how much VRAM you can afford in a laptop.
Alternative is using Octane Renderer which supports using Nvidia GPU even if the scene doesn't fit in VRAM.
My Nvidia GPU has only 2GB VRAM but pretty fast using Octane. Though using external renderer means you may need to tinker with materials because even though material conversion is pretty good, it won't always be 1:1 match with how it was designed in iRay due to iRay specific features not existing in other renderers.
It really depends on what you are trying to do with it, and what models you use. Some models have material settings that make them render a lot faster, though generally the more complex ones will look better (not always, depends who made it). Environments can vary wildly in size and rendering speed, and finally your output resolution and render settings all matter.
If you are just rendering one character with no background and say about 2K or so pixels then a 1660ti might do. It is totally possible you could get renders in just about 5 to 10 minutes with that, maybe even less for simpler model. But if you are thinking of being more ambitious with more models and a true 3D environment then maybe it isn't enough.
So it is always hard to recommend something. Personally I think laptops are a total waste unless you absolutely need mobility. You can easily spend more than twice what a decent desktop would cost, and have zero upgrade path.
I'd even go as far as buying a cheap laptop to go with a good desktop, and stream the desktop to the cheap laptop through remote play. Considering the prices of laptops, you can actually buy a desktop+ a cheap laptop for the same price as a decent laptop. And I have done this. My laptop is a cheap piece of junk that cannot even open Daz Studio its so bad. But I can access my desktop through remote play and still use Daz that way. It does require a good low latency internet connection for best performance.
But I am not you. If a laptop is a must, then I suppose a 1660ti will do. But a 2070 or 2060 Super would pretty big boost to speed while offering an all important 2 additional GB of VRAM.
There are some benchmarks you can look at to compare. HOWEVER, since you are talking about a laptop here, keep in mind that laptops will downclock the GPU and CPU in order to reduce power and heat. Meaning that a laptop 1660ti will not be quite as fast as a full desktop 1660ti, especially if the 1660ti is like a Max-Q variant, which can greatly downclock the chips.
You can also take the benchmarks yourself, so you can directly compare what a 1660ti might offer you VS what you currently have. However a 166ti is not listed here yet, but it is little faster than a normal 1660. There are also benches in my sig.
https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/341041/daz-studio-iray-rendering-hardware-benchmarking/p1
I've been researching for a new laptop for over a week now, and just pulled the trigger on an MSI GT76 Titan (custom build). To make a long story short, I went with a RTX 2070, mainly because it was about $400-$500 more for a 2080, with only a 10-18% performance boost (interesting note, the 2080 is only 1-2% faster for rendering with Vray). Since it will also be used heavily for Blender (model creation and animation), SFM photogrammetry, and GIS/Lidar analysis, a good CPU was also very important, so I got a i9-9900K (I also needed 128Mb of RAM, which limited my options as well). For me, a desktop really wasn't an option as I will need to travel to collaborate with others on the project, so a "desktop replacement" class machine was what I really needed. I've been using laptops for 3D for years now (over 20) and the most important thing is cooling.
That being said, personally I would avoid any "thin/light" laptops. I've heard of some working well (just a few), but a roomy case with good airflow will ensure your system is usable for years. My current laptop is a large gaming laptop over three years old, has a GTX 970m, has run thousands of renders (some over 72 hours), and is still going strong. It's main problem is the 32GB RAM limit, which is not adequate for the project I'm starting (which is where I got some of the funding for the beast of a laptop). It would seem that the high end Alienware M51 might be a model to stay away from, as some people have had over heating issues with them (might be a simple component issue that has been fixed - but just in case).
Since your new laptop will have Win 10, I would try to get a GPU with 8Gb of memory, since it seems that Win 10 may be more memory hungry the Win 7 ... my current laptop is running Win 7, and I have 6Gb of RAM on my video card. I've found recently 6Gb can be a bit limiting with some of the new memory hungry stuff sold here, so a 6Gb GPU with Win 10 could be even more limiting. I would say the 1660Ti would probably do quite well at rendering, but I think it is limited to 6Gb, which will mean you'll need to be more aggressive about managing your memory. What you get really depends on your budget.
Also look at the the CPU and GPU specs on any laptop your interested in, and check any reviews you can find. Manufactures will sometimes reduce the clock speed to keep the laptops cool (especially true for the thin/light laptops), while others will sometimes actually overclock components trying to get the fastest frame rates in their "class". The performance of a 1660Ti will be about the same as a 1070, so it's pretty decent, and certainly capable of doing simple to moderately complex renders pretty quickly (more complex will always take some time). A lot depends on your budget. You can get a decent build with a RTX 2070 for under $2,000 if you shop around (should be several available for early Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals). A machine with a 1660Ti will be around $200-$400 less, depending on a few other factors like the CPU, memory, etc. (plus the 1660Ti wont need as much cooling or power as a 2070, which should help reduce the price). One final thing to note, depending on the CPU/GPU combination, the laptop may come with dual power adapters. This can make them a little less "portable", and more like "luggable". Definitely something to watch for if you decide to go with a 2070. Some of the 2070 laptops with mobile CPU's do come with single power bricks, but the real high end units all have dual power bricks
Here's an interesting question.... There are external video-card modules for laptops. Basically a portable box with a cable coming off it that plugs into a port on the laptop, and you install a video card in that, or it comes with a card already in it. Assuming one has, say, a 2070 card in that.... anyone know well how one of those would work with Daz Studio?
(I'm not really looking for a laptop-based Daz Studio set up, but this struck me as an interesting alternative to getting a way costly laptop with a 2070 card integrated into it, plus the external box would presumably be more readily upgradable.... or simply replace the whole box with another one.)
I was going to mention this too. If the laptop has a USB C 3.1 (Thunderbolt 3) port, then the addition of an external GPU (eGPU) would be an easy way to upgrade. Not as convenient or as cost effective as just changing out or adding a card in a desktop, but it does provide an easy upgrade option for laptops, with virtually no hit on performance, and no additional heating issues. I've seen the external enclosures for as little as $199, which isn't too bad for extending the life of a laptop or improving the performance. These may also make more sense than "upgrading" the GPU in the laptop (yes, a few do have upgradable GPU's). Typically the cost of a laptop GPU card upgrade is ..... umm .... ridiculously high, making it rather impractical (adding an eGPU would typically be less expensive).
I've never used one with DS, but I do know of people who have (do) use them for GPU rendering, and other GPU/Cuda applications. So I would think they would be usable for DS and Iray (logically, they just look like another GPU to the system/OS). A Thunderbolt 3 port was another thing that I wanted with the new laptop, as the addition of a second GPU might be needed at some point.
USB C 3.1 =/= Thunderbolt 3. USB C is a specification for connectors, ports, and cables; Thunderbolt 3 is a superset of USB C 3.1, in that the connector adheres to the USB C spec, but requires additional hardware to implement. USB C and Thunderbolt devices are PLUG compatible, but they're not necessarily PLAY compatible. Thunderbolt 3 devices are specifically identified as such by the Thunderbolt lightning logo. If a USB C form factor port/cable/device doesn't have the Thunderbolt symbol on/beside it, it's not a Thunderbolt 3 port/cable/device.
This is all thankfully about to end USB4 will be Thunderbolt 3.