New Computer For Carrara
Steve K
Posts: 3,418
I'm just starting to think about a new machine and would appreciate any thoughts. I'm currently using an AMD 12core/24 thread machine with a middling video card, and getting good frame render times, in many case less than ten seconds with standard lighting, etc. I'm thinking a faster AMD CPU and still just a middling video card (for the previews, right? - I use Carrara's native renderer.) Also, I recall folks reporting no problem with Carrara on Win 11.
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OK, thanks. My point about the GPU is that I do not plan on serious gaming on the machine, e.g. I'll use a PS5 for GTA VI ... someday. So the machine is pretty much dedicated to Carrara, VUE, Photoshop, VEGAS & plugins, some sound FX and music programs. I don't think these are GPU intensive. And BTW, my current AMD machine has been running great for five years and still is, but don't tell my wife.
OK, thanks, sounds good. I'm not a hardware person, I just want to drive the car, not build it. I get my machines custom built by a man I've worked with for years, I rely on his judgement after we discuss my needs, but input like yours helps me discuss hardware with him. So far, very good.
anything that will run Photoshop will handle Carrara easily.
My laptop from 2011 still runs Carrara
min specs I would imagine would be something like
R7 or R9
32 gig+ RAM
Nvidia card 4000 or 5000 series ( I don't use DazStudio )
My ACER Nitro tower handles all and is a i7 with 32gig RAM 1660 video card and is plenty of storage for me.
but I'm also thinking of updating as Windows takes up more and more.
I've been looking at an R9 with 64gig RAM and 5080 I think it was video card. Saying that my 2nd computer is a mini R9 with 64gig RAM with intel graphics and it does it all for me as well.
OK, thanks. I'm pretty much headed that way. The goal, of course is fast frame rendering, e.g. for the 48 Hour Film contest (two days to do a five minute video given a random genre, prop, character, and line of dialogue). I typically need less than an hour render to do a cut (10sec +/-), and I've been sticking with 1280x720 which looks OK on the medium size screens the contest uses for screenings. But then there are retakes ... "his hand goes through her head at 5sec?"
P.S. "The average shot length in movies has generally decreased over time, with action films having shorter shot lengths (around 4 seconds) and horror films having longer ones (around 15.7 seconds)."
you can never have too many
renderfarm
Yes, thanks, I've considered that, but I'm just too lazy to set it up. If I ever go to longer videos and 1080p, it'll probably be necessary. So far, my five minute 720p are manageable on a single, fast machine.
And
.. would at least look at these _ even if you dont buy one they are worth a look
+ Thanx
_ Dell Outlet: Certified Refurbished Laptops, Desktops & Monitors _
https://www.dell.com/en-us/dfh/lp/outlet
Yes, some pretty good markdowns there. I have used Dells in the past and had pretty good luck. But years ago I had a machine custom built by a local vendor and have been doing that ever since. The machine I'm typing on is eight years old (Intel i7 7700K) and runs great. My newest (!) machine is five years old (AMD Ryzen 9 3900, 12 core 24 thread), runs Carrara really nicely. In many cases, render time is under 5 seconds per frame 1290x720. So I'm probably going a similar route again, with a newer AMD CPU. Besides great performance, another advantage is no bloatware.
I installed a virtual machine on Windows 11 to run the Carrara plugin and Octane Render. It seems to have a lot of compatibility issues with Windows 11.
The last GPU supported by that plugin is the RTX 20xx.
In any case, the virtual machine has a lot of issues with camera control. The only viable solution seems to be to run Carrara on my old PC.
well that alone is a good reason for me to stay on Win10, I use Octane with my 2080Ti and then apparently then that's as good as it gets
~ alrite then Thanx ~
OK, thanks for the heads up. Just to clarify, you say "the Carrara plugin and Octane Render". Is that all one thing, or is "the Carrara plugin" something else from Octane Render? I don't use Octane, but I'm still running Win10 on both of my desktops. The newest one (5 years old) has an nVidia GeForce 2060 RTX video card.
the situation has changed since I bought botn outright
Otoy now has a subscription model
I bought Octane render standalone which was required plus the plugin when it was Octane render 3
I upgraded to 4
it now runs without needing the standalone installed but you need to own it
this configuration is no longer for sale since they moved to a subscription service
I also own the DAZ studio plugin for 3 that I paid for before it was free for 4 but since it clashes with Ultrascenery and we have iray for D|S it is no longer installed
I don't have a subscription
TLDR
its no longer for sale so don't worry
you can look into what the subscription service at Otoy offers
OK, thanks.
One more clarification: I sounds like you did not install the virtual machine for Carrara alone, i.e. Carrara Pro 8.5 runs OK with Win11? I've heard form others that this is the case.
Yes, I'm a little paranoid about Windows upgrades and my trusty old programs ...
Carrara 8.5 Pro runs fine on Windows 11. You still get a hangup every now and then maybe from a rogue DS product or a whoopsie in the modelling room but no more that what you get from Windows 7 & 10.
These Daz3d forums hang up more than 100 times more than Carrara does on Windows 11.
OK, thanks, good to know.
This is true.