Help Me Build My New PC
RCDeschene
Posts: 2,816
As the title says, I'm looking to get back into serious rendering and my PC of over 8 years finally crapped the bed. I'm looking for something that will allow me optimal rendering speed and graphic quality with all the necessary stability stabilization components (cooling, data processing, etc.). It's been a while since I cracked-open Studio and I'm aware the tech has evolved a bit since Gen 8. Any advice or recommendations is greatly appreciated.
Ideally, I'm looking for something stronger than my previous build. I'd like to budget myself at $2000, but I'm willing to give myself wiggle room up to $2500 if need be. Below is a link of the build I had up to now:
https://www.cyberpowerpc.com/orderstatus/receipt.aspx?o=P8THR4 \
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Comments
I am considering this and adding additional RAM to it:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CBL8N3FC/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_5?smid=A1U9HDFCZO1A84&th=1
Ooh! That looks interesting! I actually have extra RAM that I salvaged from the other PC. I might follow your lead on that one.
Though, it looks like we can get the same deal for something even more superior.
https://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/Prebuilt-Gaming-PC-GXL-99704#config-spec
If your computer was 8 years old, it is likely DDR4 RAM (if not, it will be late DDR3). Any reputable new system at this point should be using a DDR5 motherboard, and you should ABSOLUTELY NOT attempt to plug DDR4 RAM into it, or you will likely cook the entire system. (Seriously, I once saw someone try to plug the wrong type of RAM into a system. They cooked the CPU, the motherboard and the RAM simultaneously).
While it is still possible to buy a DDR4 system (although you shouldn't), plugging in RAM that old would likely actually be detrimental, as RAM is picky about compatibility, and mixing old and new RAM would probably drag down the performance and reliability.
I mean no disrepect by this, but if you're not already at least passingly familar with component compatibility, I would at this time strongly recommend you do not install additional components unless you are under the supervision of someone knowledgeable. There are some very expensive mistakes that can be made.
Old disk drives may be reusable, but it's unlikely much else is of much use and might be better sold on (assuming you can test it) to add to your budget.
I am wary of recommending 50 series cards for Daz right now, as they can only render Iray in the DS2025 Alpha (which, as "Alpha" implies, is incomplete and somewhat buggy at this time), and we don't know when a fully feature complete version will be available.
Also, as a general thing, the performance increase of the 50 series is actually relatively small for this kind of task. Most of the claimed improvements in gaming performance actually come from AI frame interpolation/generation and upscaling, features that Iray doesn't benefit from. If you look at the raw compute power, the RTX 4060 Ti is about 20 TFLOPS, and the 5060 Ti is about 23 TFLOPS - a fairly modest 15% improvement, at the cost of losing compatibility with being able to render in DS 4 (which may be required - certain plug-ins, such as some versions of UltraScenery, cannot be used in DS2025 at the moment, so you cannot render what they've generated).
*Personally*, my current recommendation for a decent but not top of the line system for Daz studio would be:
- A good recent processor; CPU performance dictates the speed of figure posing (and even more so in DS2025). Intel or AMD doesn't hugely matter.
- 64GB of DDR5 RAM, preferably in 2x 32GB rather than 4x 16GB configuration.
- One of the 16GB Nvidia 40 series cards. Preferably not the 4060 Ti, as it has a limited memory bandwidth, but it's not *terrible* if that's what's available.
- LOTS of disk space for scenes and assets.
(In an *ideal* system, you would actually also have a low-power secondary GPU - which doesn't have to be Nvidia, it could be AMD or Intel - to be used for running the monitor/other applications and thus free up as much VRAM for rendering as possible, but this may be difficult to get pre-built.)
This will provide something that will work with DS4 and will be perfectly capable with DS2025 going forwards.
(as already stated above) 5000 series GPUs will only work with Daz Studio 2025 Alpha. I think you should decide if you are going to commit to Daz Studio 2025 Alpha, or if you want the full functionality of Daz Studio 4.xx, and build from that premise.
4000 series GPUs are very overpriced now IMHO. There are MSI 3060 12GB still available for $300.
I have built several PCs over the past few years and continue to be impressed by MSI for motherboards, GPUs, monitors, and power supplies. I prefer Patriot memory, and Samsung SSDs. For air cooling I like Noctua. Systems with the above combos have been rock solid.
If I was building a system today 07/01/2025 and had $2500, it would be something like this.
____
CPU
AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D 4.7 GHz 8-Core Processor $472.02
CPU Cooler
Noctua NH-D15 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler $129.94
Motherboard
MSI X870E GAMING PLUS WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard $329.99
Memory
Patriot Viper Venom 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR5-6400 CL32 Memory $162.99
Storage
Samsung 990 EVO 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 5.0 X2 NVME Solid State Drive $129.99
Video Card
MSI VENTUS 2X PLUS GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB Video Card $489.99
Alternative (I would be looking to upgrade this in a favorable GPU market)
MSI GeForce RTX 3060 Ventus 2X 12G GeForce RTX 3060 12GB 12 GB Video Card $299.99
Case
Fractal Design Pop XL Air ATX Full Tower Case $109.99
Power Supply
MSI MPG A1000G 1000 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply $213.49
Monitor
MSI MAG401QR 40.0" 3440 x 1440 155 Hz Monitor $349.99
____
Total: $2388.39
____
per pcpartpicker.com
Only price and function was considered. No thought whatsoever was given to noise, color, or theme.
If you are wanting a prebuilt system my advice is an Nvidia based RTX GPU with at least 12GB of memory, at least 32GB of system memory, and no less than 2 TB of SSD storage, and 1000 Watts of power supply. More of everything would be better. The GPU is the most important factor for Daz Studio.
I think you should consider sticking with Genesis 8. I think it will help with the optimal rendering speed without sacrificing quality.
I am concerned about the GPU in that system. It is an RTX 5060 ti and DS 4 and below cannot utilize it. Only DS 5 which is still not a general release would be able to utilize it.
I usually go middle of the road when it comes to new tech. You could go top the line with expectations through the roof ( and a high cash output ) or you can settle with tried and tested platforms. thats my angle when it comes to purchasing newer pieces of hardware. The GPU however is a primary piece if your budget allows spend a bit more...the ram is totally a consideration again if budget allows do not chince on this resource.
Unless you have a machine with two GPU's, I'd be wary about a 50xx series card at the moment. DS6/2025 is only an alpha standard at the moment, and you can't use DS4 with the card. Have lots of RAM, the processors suggested are good. Just my tuppence. I have a 512Gb boot SSD. The second one. The first was killed by the death of the motherboard HDD controller. 512Gb is not huge with Win11 & the updates it does. Regards, Richard.
You will regret a 128gb boot drive. 32gb RAM min, 64 better. 12gb min GPU, 4gb card and you will be constantly dropping to CPU and rendering will take forever
A few things, nowadays you're better off with an AMD CPU IMO. Intel has been plagued with issues (13th & 14th leading to dying CPUs) and performance shortfalls.
A 16GB card is decent, but depending upon your use you may want more - although admittedly with the major stock shortages of the 5000 series cards the prices are high and you may not be able to do much better given your budget.
I'm looking to deal with stable Studio builds and other apps like Blender and Maya. That build you listed looks interesting, but I prefer black if I can, as it will match my room's color scheme. Funny you say 5060 Ti, as I have a friend in IT who says 5060 is, and I quote, "utter garbage" and that 5070 is preferable for graphic modeling. Also, is the $300 monitor necessary? Like I said in the OP, my ideal budget is closer to $2000 with the extra $500 as wiggle room only if need be.
Thanks for the info so far!
If it were a choice between the 5060 Ti 16GB and the 5070 for Daz Studio/Iray work, absolutely go for the 5060 Ti.
VRAM is really critical here; if the scene doesn't fit VRAM, the GPU cannot be used at all. And it's absolutely possible to exceed the 12 GBs of the 5070. It's still entirely possible to exceed the 16GBs of the 5060 Ti, but it's harder.
The thing you absolutely need to avoid though is the 8GB version of the 5060 Ti, because they've unhelpfully created two different specifications of the 5060 Ti. And these days, an 8 GB card doesn't really cut it for modern games or CGI work. (I did recently buy an 8GB 4060 that I'm very happy with, but it's a half-height one that I got as a replacement for my old 1650 monitor card, and its jobs are "run the monitor", "maybe occasionally preview small scenes in a second instance of DS", and in the future "play old games after I have to upgrade to a newer main card that doesn't support them any more". So I'm not expecting it to be top of the line).
Still, for compatibility reasons, I would prefer a 40 series card for at least the near future; the 50 series can't be used on DS 4.
The thing is, though, the 40 is a good couple thousands outside of my buget alone. So, how screwed would I be if I went with a 5060 Ti?
Also, is it worth noting that I salvaged my Samsung 870 2TB & 970 1TB EVO cards?
@RCDeschene I couldn't work on the 20 inch monitor you listed which is why I added it. If you are good display wise disregard it.
I run out of GPU memory fairly often with 12GB. For a new build I would really want 16GB (or more) if possible. The next 16GB 5000 series MSI GPU is the 5070 Ti at $839.99. You might be able to trim on system memory, 32GB instead of 64GB, go with an 850B Motherboard (MSI Tomahawk is on sale at MSI) and perhaps recycle your current case and get a build in at just under $2100.
If you have enough storage with your old SSDs that is another $130 saved.
Again just for clarity, if you go with a 5000 series GPU you will need to use Daz Studio 2025 Alpha.
Okay guys, how's this?
https://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/AMD_Ryzen_9X_Configurator
EDIT: Actually, should I go with the Ryzen™ 9 Processor 9900X or Ryzen™ 7 Processor 9700X and save a few dollars?
For DS CPU is not really crucial - most of the processor-intensive stuff will be handled by the GPU, memory permitting. How much system RAM are you getting? The general experience is that your system memory needs to be two to three times the GPU mmeory, ideally at the upper end of that scale, or you will find scenes that would fit in the GPU not getting handled or being very slow to transfer to the GPU (so with a 32GB system you might be limited to scene up to 10-12GB, despite your 16GB GPU). Of course RAM is geenrally a fairly easy upgrade at a later date - especially if you can make sure the configuration you gt leaves some slots free, so you don't have to remove existing memory in order to add more..
Someone suggested 64GB, so I'm going with that.
If you can stand the small additional cost for the 1000w power supply I would go with a name brand such as Corsair gold or Thermlake gold instead of the standard plus gold.
Looks pretty solid to me for Daz Studio. If it was my build I would need to consider making the stretch for the Seasonic 1000 watt power supply and go with MSI boards. Gigabyte makes good products though.
I doubt you will be able to perceive a difference between those CPUs in Daz Studio as long as your scene fits in GPU memory, you might in other modeling programs though. Would saving on CPU enable you to upgrade another component? It's a judgement call.
I'll note that figure posing is CPU dependent, because of the need to update control links (and this also directly affects the time of dForce simulations that are simulating from a pose or on a timeline).
Now, it is true that DS4 is extremely limited in its capacity to multi-thread - so for DS4, different processors from the same generation are fairly equivalent, as these days what tends to differentiate CPUs within a generation is mostly core/thread count. However, DS2025's ability to multi-thread is *massively* better, so going forwards, the tier of the CPU within a generation will prove a lot more significant when it comes to things like responsive posing and dForce simulation.
(These things can be tested by limiting CPU affinities to see how long it takes dForce simulations to carry out posing; no change on DS4, a notable one for DS2025)
While I did say that I would be wary getting a GPU based on DS2025, I'm more confident in recommending a CPU based on DS2025, because a higher-spec CPU won't hamper your ability to use DS4 - but a 50 series GPU *would*.
It is done.
https://www.cyberpowerpc.com/orderstatus/receipt.aspx?o=C6UD7M6J
$500 more than my budget, but oh well. From what I learned in this thread, I'll eventually need to be savvy to upgrade the GeForce to 50XX once Studio 2025 becomes more stable.
I can't for the life of me work out where the $2800 is going on that build. Edit: The company's own website has a machine with the next model processor up and a 5080 for $100 less. [not that I'm recommending 16 core CPUs for Daz]
https://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/Prebuilt-Gaming-PC-GML-99655
Not being an American, I have no idea on which PC builders are reputable or not, so won't try to suggest a direct alternative, sorry.
Edit2 Hunting for where the money is going: Looking at your order, you have a 360 size water cooling in your build - thats a big ass raditor. On a CPU that doesn't really need watercooling.
*The case: Seems to be a Cyberpower exclusive model, so can't put a price on it. Doesn't look too outlandish.
*The power supply. Looks to be an end of line model? Can't see the any mention of the new standards in its spec. Whilst 1000 Watts is overkill for the build, it does allow you to consider a future 2nd hand 5090 purchase if you want that as an option.
*The motherboard. Worth $250.
*The SSD is only 2TB. The cheaper model I linked too had a 4TB one.
* "SERVICE: 3 Years FREE Service Plan (INCLUDES LABOR AND LIFETIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT)" : I guess this is what you are paying for buy going pre-built. The value is subjective.
VIDEO: GeForce RTX™ 4060 Ti 16GB GDDR6. Having a quick look at some alternate USA PC makers, it's frustrating that 90% of offerings are with the 8GB model. And the 5070ti isn't that common.
Edit3: Alienware Model: ACT1250 $2299:
Intel® Core™ Ultra 7 processor 265F (20-Core, 66MB Total Cache, 1.8GHz to 5.3GHz)
NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 5070 Ti 16GB GDDR7
64GB Dual Channel DDR5 (2x 32GB - Green) 5200 MT/s
4TB NVMe M.2 PCIe Gen4 SSD
1000W Platinum Rated PSU, Air-Cooled CPU & Clear Side Panel
My decision was an accumulation of everyone's suggestions, including yours. Everyone said that Studio 4 doesn't use Series 50, only Studio 2025, which isn't stable yet. AMD is apparently the CPU for 3D modeling and rendering where Intel is the CPU more ideal for gaming. I'm looking to create art on this thing, not play AAA games. As for the power, it was the power on the PC I just scrapped giving-out on me is what got me to this situation in the first place, so I'm making sure this new build is going to last me a long time. Yes, I'm well aware I could have saved a couple hundreds by replicating most of the build on other outlets, but I'm looking for specific colors and uniform, which wasn't much of an option elsewhere and the the GeForce 40XXs components on there were up to $3000 by themselves!
Actually the latest AMD chips are good for gaming and intel is for modelling. I'm putting together a PC right now and the video reviews i've seen show the Ryzen cards running games really well, but when it comes to apps like blender intel tends to be better. But I'm not getting the latest intel chips because you can get the same performance from chips made just a few years ago.
Where are you seeing those reviews? Because Googling articles, asking questions here, and even talking to my IT friend seems to have the overall consensus that I'm better-off with AMD for modeling/rendering. There was another voice here that said it didn't matter as much as the GPU card does.
Should I cancel my order and reedit the build?
I'd cancel. I hate my negative post, but figured it might be in time for a cancel. Even if it were just swapping to the other one from the same supplier I linked. I don't think that one is bad value, and you never know, the 16 cores might become relevant during its lifetime.
...here is the upgrade setup for my 13 year old (DDR2/PCIe 2,0) system. Keeping the PSU, Daz "library" and storage drives, as well as a 3060 12 GB (still in the box) dual 23" displays and case.
The new componets are
Asus PRIME B650-PLUS WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard
AMD Ryzen 9 9900X 12C/24T CPU
Arctic Freezer 34 eSports DUO CPU Cooler
Corsair Vengeance 96 GB (2 x 48 GB) DDR5 6000 memory
Western Digital WD Black SN850X 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive (Boot)
Kensington SlimBlade Pro Bluetooth/Wireless/Wired/Wired trackball (replacing my old trackball that is not supported by Win 11)
Windows 11 Pro OEM (DVD).
Total 1,288 USD.
This is designed with upgrading in mind which includes provision for an additional 96 GB of memory and RTX Pro 4000 GPU with 24 GB VRAM (not into gaming)
I also don't trust the new Intel CPUs, plus don't care for the core "split" between single threaded "Efficiency" and hyperthreaded "Performance" cores (seems more appropriate for mobile systems than one that is permanently plugged into a power soruce).
Xeons (compatible with DDR5 memory) are far too expensive.
I don't want to deal with "mights", though, I need certainty. That's why I'm going with GeForce 40' instead of 50', because I know Studio 4 is going to be the standard until Studio 2025 becomes fully developed.
...staying with the 40xx series is a good choice. You can always upgrade later once "Daz 6" has a stable general release with all plugins updated.