Where is My Daz Studio Bottle Neck with This Computer?

Elgyfu

I have a very cheap computer.  I have recently come back to 3d modelling after about 6 years of not really doing much.

I have so much old content I can easily play for many years with just that, which won't push my system. But I am lured by the new shinies. Genesis 8 is lovely to use. I bought a few new figures and its love,lol.

I have been experimenting with the new stuff, and it is obvious that my poor PC is not exactly up to scratch.

What I would like to know is in what department is my biggest bottle neck, in other words, which bits should I update first, when I can afford to.

I like using Iray very much, the lighting is so much easier than before, and the HDRI domes make attractive renders so very easy, even for me.  I mainly render portraits of characters that I create or simple fantasy scenes.  I rather like playing with LAMH and the new Deforce draping is great. 

I can render single people fine, it takes about an hour to render Edward 8 HD as a close up portrait in Iray. I can do a person in an HDRI dome in about half an hour.  Add more things to the scene and the time goes up.  I have had a couple of times where Daz closed on me in disgust at my trying to add more to a scene.

I am using Windows 10 home 64 bit.
Processor - Intel i5 3330 @ 3GHz
RAM - 8GB DDR3, the mother board can take up to 16GB
Graphics - 2047MB Nvidia GeForce GT 730 (yes, I know, my son's hand-me-down)

So should I be looking at adding more RAM or updating the graphics card, or what? Any hints on how to improve with what i have would be appreciated.

Thank you very much indeed.
 

kenshaw011267

update the graphics card. But first you need to make sure that geezer has enough PSU and a connector to handle a new one. There should be a spare cable coming off the Power supply labeled PCIE with 6 connectors and a  small additional connector attached with 2 more. The power supply should also have a label saying its wattage. When you shop for a new graphics card make sure you existing power supply is well over that graphics cards recommended power supply, at least 50 to 100watts.

SpottedKitty

Extra RAM will help as well — 8GB isn't always enough these days. I have a similar system, and every now and then the HD starts thrashing as the scene runs out of system RAM. I can't use my GPU at all, it's NVidia, but it's even older than yours.

SixDs

In line with what Kenshaw and SpottedKitty, have already said, the two upgrades, RAM and video card are no-brainers if you really must use that PC for rendering in Iray. I also concur with Kenshaw that you really should also be looking at your aging PSU. Regardless of its rated capacity, you need to also consider the brand and its age. Power supplies are one of those computer components that tend to decline with age. They may not go "poof", but they may begin to lose their capacity to deliver clean, reliable power. Rendering in Iray is one of, if not the, most stressful uses to which an average person might put their PC. Its going to consume more power, generate more heat and generally stress most components in the PC continuously for extended periods of time, than anything else one might do. Everything needs to be up to the task. Cooling is going to be more critically important than in the past. So, you really need to consider four things if you want to use Iray.

1. Upgrade the video card

2. Upgrade (increase) your system memory (RAM)

3. Either use a digital multimeter to check the outputs on your PSU, or look at upgrading it to a newer, high quality and probably higher capacity unit in order to deal with the added requirements of the other upgrades, particularly the video card as Kenshaw stated, and the increased stresses associated with Iray rendering.

4. Ensure all your cooling solutions are in working order, particularly the fans, and explore the possibility of improving the airflow if possible.

You could also consider upgrading your processor to give your system a little more oomph. The i5 processor that you have is competent enough, but it does not support hyperthreading, so you are limited to the four actual processor cores it has. An i7 quad will support hyperthreading and give you eight virtual cores for a performance boost. The big downside here is that socket 1155 processors are no longer being made, so you can only buy used.

Ultimately, only you can decide whether you want to make the investments and how much you want to spend, versus setting your money aside for a better system.

kenshaw011267

You can get i7 3770's new but the prices are ridiculous. A used or recodnitioned CPU is a far better deal. But I'd save the money toward an entirely new system

Elgyfu

Thank you guys :)