New PC question
cwlcak
Posts: 0
Hi,
My old PC has died. I will be buy a new one shortly. I have a question that I hope you good friends can help me.
I already have a i7 6850k cpu and a asrock x99 extreme4 mobo. I have a WD red 2tb hd. I will be buy new RAM, SDDs, graphic card, power supply, case. I sadly will have to use windows 10.
I was just starting to use DAZ and Poser when my old PC died. I only had installed them for about 2 week. Maybe they killed my PC 
I plan to buy much stuff once I learn to use the systems and eventually to make my own stuff (environments, characters, props).
My questions are
HOw much RAM do I need (is 16 enough or should I get 32 or even 64)
What are the best software to create environments, characters and props (daz, hexagon, bryce, carrara, zbrush, or something else)
What graphic card do you recommend for a new user that will last a couple of years of better use in future (I look at 1080 ti)
If I buy say 1000 items over the next year, do i load all of them into daz or is it best to load what is needed to create the scene and then unload them from daz. Does daz care how much things i have installed
thank you for your help and please excuse the english (not my first language).
FB
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Comments
If buying a new entire PC if you can wait for a little bit, and see what comes out after the dust settles so to speak with what AMD and Intel are up to.. Since AMD dropped a bombshell of Threadripper, Intel are scrambling to gain ground after being caught short..
On ram go for as much as you can afford 24 or 32 gig is good 64 gig is even better if you can afford it, but if you plan on using Iray or similar do not skimp out on the video card which you will want to be Nvidia, but again go with what you can afford tand if you can afford a 1080 Ti then go for that just don't send yourself broke doing it.. :)
Most ram and best video card you can afford. While cutting edge tech is great to look out for and have, it matters more with gaming, not rendering, just get the best you can afford.
I have yet to see any problems with having all items installed into my DS runtimes
You say "create" new environments, are you modeling them or just rendering them? Daz Studio (DS) is just for posing and rendering. Hexagon if just for modeling, Carrara does both but can't use the genesis 3 figures. Bryce is for creating environments and rendering them. Zbrush is for high end modeling. I would say if you are into creating and rendering environments mostly, then go with Vue.
I won't comment on the PC hardware but you also asked about software to create environments, characters and props.
Out of the ones you mentioned, Daz Studio can't create new figures. I really like Bryce. It has some modelling capability but it isn't very good for creating stuff to use in other applications. You can create landscapes in Bryce, import figures and props from Daz Studio and render them in Bryce.
Hexagon and Carrara are both general purpose modelling programs, Carrara can also render complete scenes and use Daz Studio and Poser content. Everyone has their own idea of what modelling program they like, I prefer Carrara tio Hexagon but they should both do what you want. ZBrush has a good reputation but it's outside my price range. There is also Blender which is a modelling and rendering program and it's free. I've never tried it, most people who have seem to either really like it or hate it.
It's about time AMD smacked Intel around a bit. Things have been too status quo for far too long.
Which hopefully will be good in the long run, as seeing how Intel are going backward in going forward.. With their 6, 8, 10, 12, 16 and 18 core CPU's being Skylake (old tech from what I gather) and their quad core CPU's being Kaby Lake (newer tech) and coming to a completely new socket design it really makes you wonder who is running the joint over there..
LOL, this is why it really doesn't pay to keep up with the latest and greatest. I built my new rig last year with the top of the line Skylake CPU and it runs great and needs less power than previous chips. kaby Lake was just hitting the market when I built mine, but I found out that it is the first chip that will not have have MS driver support for anything less than windows 10 which gave me pause even though I have windows 10 pro. I may upgrade to Coffee lake later this year since it is the same architecture and I won't have to change mobos and it reportedly has a 20% increase in performance over kaby lake.
I was an AMD user for years and went with Intel and Nvidia 6yrs ago and haven't looked back, so it will be interesting to see if AMD can step up to the plate
Power Supply - Do not cut corners here (Your CPU and projected GPU together are rated to use 400W under load before factoring in the rest of the system) I would play it safe and get a 1000W so it will allow for future upgrades.
Get 32GB of ram for right now, if you budget allows for it. (your motherboard supports quad channel memory. Make sure that you buy 4 sticks that add up to the amount you decide on so that you can upgrade later. 4x4GB for 16GB, 4x8GB for 32GB or 4x16GB for 64GB. This will leave 4 slots free for upgrading later)
Keep looking at the GTX 1080 ti and get it without hesitation. That 11GB of Vram is great for complicated scene rendering in Iray (if you end up needing to compromise and save a bit of money the regular GTX 1080 is still a very capable card 8GB is still a good amount of Vram)
SSD, you want at least 480GB (your motherboard includes a M.2 socket, use this for your SSD) Make sure to purchase from a reputable manufacturer for any SSD (PNY, Sandisk, Western Digital, Corsair, Crucial to name a few) I personaly would stay away from Patriot brand, as I have had multiple issues with their SD cards.
The case is completely up to you. Multiple large diameter fans (120mm or larger). I always like going to a retail store to shop for cases, so I can touch them and look fo the build quality issues.
...as your CPU is Broadwell and the X99 MB has a LGA 2011-v3 you could run in W7 pro or 8.1. There are still OEMs available (here in the states Newegg has them for about 139 USD for an OEM of W7 Pro 64 bit and 179 USD for the full version of 8.1 Pro 64 bit [not an OEM]).
I agree with others on no less than 32 GB of system memory.
With 11 GB on the 1080 Ti you probably won't "outgrow" it.for a while.
For environment creation software that is affordable, Carrara would be the best option as you can integrate Daz figures (up to Genesis 2) into scenes as well as pose and morph them within the programmes (Make sure it is the 6 4 bit Pro version). Carrara also supports vertex modelling if you look to head in that direction. Carrara's native render engine does not support GPU rendering but still produces very nice results. The downside is Carrara sees little if any development support and has not been upgraded for several years.
A bit more expensive is Vue. You would want at least the "Studio" version which includes the necessary plugins to enhance rendering and create your own full ecosystems. Price is 399 USD. The drawbacks:
1. You would need to "pre-pose" your characters and import them as .objs (which for things like hair and other trasnmapped surfaces will increase the polycount) as well as adjust textures after importing since Vue does not recognise Daz's .duf format.
2. Vue uses it's own proprietary file format for scenes and content (.vue) however it will import .3ds, .lwo, .obj, collada, and Poser .pz3/.pzz.. There is also a fairly extensive library of Vue-specific content which can be purchased. OF course that would increase your costs.
Bryce is an old programme that uses fractal technology for terrain building however it is still only 32 bit and like Carrara has seen little if any development or updating in the past 4 or so years. There are some people here who still swear by it and create some incredible scenes. There is a bridge from Daz Studio to Bryce to import sets, props, and characters (as with Vue characters need to be pre-posed" before importing). Bryce isa bit more limited in scope compared to Carrara and especially vue when it comes to creating complete ecosystems, particularly with regard to plants.
As with Carrara, Vue and Bryce have their own render engines, neither of which support GPU rendering.
Hexagon is a dedicated modelling programme which has not been updated for about five years. Like Bryce it is 32 bit only and prone to instability at times. It does have a lovely elegant and clean UI that (at last I find) is fairly intuitive and has a nice array of tools. Hexagon does have a two way bridge with Daz Studio which is one of its advantages. Several vendors here who make some very nice products use Hexagon for modelling
For now, Daz Studio is really not set up for full 3D environment creation. If it was, it would be much more complex if not unwieldy to use and take up a good chunk of system resources. Most "large" environment sets available for it are HDRI based, so what you see is all you get in the sense you are pretty much stuck with sets of fixed photo based environments.
Agreed, and am gong AMD next to show my support. Whatever I get will be at least a semi-decent upgrade from my current i7, which is three ish years old. Fed up of Intel ripping us off.
Alot of thanks for the replies. I already have the i7 6850K and the asrock mobo so I am not going to change those. I got them in package deal for $530 US and grabbed that deal. Just need to build new PC around them now
Vue is a little expensive for me, especially since I am build a new PC. I will have to wait on that for a little time and will start with hexagon since it is so cheap to buy.
Thanks you for the responses.
Happy rendering
FB