Daz 3D is part of 
Connect
DAZ Productions, Inc.
7533 S Center View Ct #4664
West Jordan, UT 84084
Licensing Agreement | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | EULA
© 2025 Daz Productions Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Comments
Lol ... told you it was old ... lol.
I use primarily Daz Dynamics. I upgraded to my laptops four laptops ago and find them more useful than my desktop, anyway. All we use it for is watch TV, lol.
Well ... wish me luck on my shopping spree, tomorrow :D
...which ones have you settled on?
Since I have the opportunity to test the AW ALW141870SLV for thirty days for just $40, I'm going to see what all of the hype is about. If it perform the way I want, I can get it on sale for just over $1000. If it doesn't, I'll take that money and hopefully find something better than what I already have.
...hopefully 8GB memory will be sufficient. As I mentioned I've peaked memory usage at almost 11GB when rendering large scenes (for me "large" is 1,600 x 1,200).
I only have 8 now an regularly render scenes over 5000 pixels... but then again, I melt my machines, lol.
...I would really think about the Ailenware M14x. Spending a bit more now can mean getting a system the will last longer, with a better display, that will perform better, and you wouldn't have to keep purchasing a new one in a couple couple years as well as not having to deal with migrating all your setups over each time. While the M14x has two intake vents on the bottom, there is only one exhaust port n the back whereas the Saeger, MSI, and ASUS notebooks have dual exhaust ports. It is also said to be very noisy when running at full load (like during render process).
The M14x also has a small display which means (especially with Daz 4.7 if you use Smart Content) a small viewport to work in. My eight year old Toshiba has a bigger display. (15.5"). On my workstation I have a 1920 x 1080 display.
I know it can be a drain to put out more for a better system, but in the long run, I feel you would be more satisfied and it would be a better investment.
...just my two Zlotys.
I'm also in the market for a new PC. I not interested in a laptop but would prefer a tower. I was thinking about this:
ALIENWARE X51
$1,500 to $1,600
4th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-4790K Processor (Quad Core, 8MB Cache, up to 4.4GHz w/ Turbo Boost
Choice of Win 8 Pro 64 bit or Win 7 Pro 64 bit
Memory: 16GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1600Mhz
2TB SATA 6Gb/s (7,200RPM) 64MB Cache
Blu-Ray Burner
I already have a 22" Samsung monitor
Says it's easily upgradeable, and I was thinking of popping in an extra 16GB RAM into it for a total of 32GB
My Dream Computer:
I was also looking at the new wiz-bang iMAC with Retina 5K display: (27" all in one)
Starting price: $2,499.00
4.0GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 4.4GHz
32GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 4x8GB
3TB Fusion Drive
AMD Radeon R9 M290X 2GB GDDR5
The downside is that I would have to buy a separate blu-ray burner.
I had read comments that this is the ultimate computer for graphic design, but how about for DAZ?
My current PC is 6 years old, Windows Vista 32 bit, 4GB Ram. It's also an AMD processor which I've heard isn't the best for graphics. DAZ crashes during simple renders all the time. I'm grinding my teeth into powder.
is it pop in or is it take out the 16GB put in the 32GB and have 16GB modules sitting around or can you buy it straight up with 32GB RAM which will make more sense.
also just want to say I was working on an HP laptop just now and these modular parts are unforgiving. If you break one flimsy little thing your hosed. Too many points of failure on the mobo, too many modular connecters that are more delicate than a Faberge egg. It's gotten to the point if your laptop breaks you need to take it to a specialist because getting the parts from reputable distributors is going to be a huge markup if your out of warranty or a crapshoot on ebay. I need a microscope to work in these laptops lately, not worth it.
I would not recommend any all-in-one computer to anybody, UNLESS you are the kind of person who hates having options, and NEVER touches the inside of a computer. I've bought 2 tower computers at ibuypower.com and I'm pretty satisfied. They have regular specials. In this market, gaming hardware is usually the best place to start.
The ultimate desktop computer would be an engineering workstation like a HP Z840 or a Dell Precision Tower 7910. Going up to 36 cores and 2TB of Ram will cost you an arm and a leg, but they are ultra reliable. It's all server grade hardware. 24 cores and 128GB of Ram comes in around $12K. For professional use, I'd consider it.
I own a high end DELL desktop replacement laptop. Since Alienware and DELL are the same now, I can say I works well for me and I've been happy with the computer. I did pay through the nose for it, but the portability, video card, and such make it worth it.
It is nearly 2 years old now, and sill going strong, but may upgrade to a newer one next year.
Yeah, I'm aware, I could get a better desktop to run DAZ 3d software than a notebook, but I like the portability and not sitting at a desk when I get home from work is a big plus.
is it pop in or is it take out the 16GB put in the 32GB and have 16GB modules sitting around or can you buy it straight up with 32GB RAM which will make more sense.
Actually, I don't know. I will have to call their customer support and ask. The options are 8GB and 16GB. If it came with a 32GB I would go with that.
Yowser! That's WAY out of my budget! I'm just a newbie trying to get started and lookin' for a career change. Thanks for the tip regarding avoiding the All-in-one. I will check out ibuypower.com.
New Question:
What's better for DAZ, Windows 8.1 Pro or Windows 7 Pro?
Is there a difference besides getting used to the interface? I'm not really concerned about the interface because I'm a whiz at learning new software. It's supposed to automatically boot to the desktop if I don't have a touchscreen (so they say), and if not, I would force it to.
I've been using WIn7 since it came out and I'm a mac tech by trade. I like Win7, it was like MS got the whole thing right. Win 7 is no longer supported by MS as of yesterday but all that means is no more features, you will still be supported for security and if you buy a new video card the drivers will come from the distributor of the chipset (e.g. ASUS Nvidia card, the drivers come from Nvidia, not ASUS or MS)
I don't like Win 8, it looks like xbox, I have an xbox, I don't want my computer to be an xbox.
my $0.02
Ok, friends. I am home with this AW and have just under 30 days to see if it's a love connection or not.
So far, it's really quite, but I haven't tried to render anything, yet. I am installing Daz and need to know the best way to transfer my Daz files from the other laptop to this one.
Hints/tips?
I was checking out ibuypower.com and found a number of complaints out there for DOA PCs and terrible customer service. These items were dated 2013 and 2014. You said you were pretty satisfied. Did you have any issues with ibuypower.com?
I have to admit, the systems you can customize look pretty enticing... I'm slightly hesitant though, after reading complaints.
I was checking out ibuypower.com and found a number of complaints out there for DOA PCs and terrible customer service. These items were dated 2013 and 2014. You said you were pretty satisfied. Did you have any issues with ibuypower.com?
I have to admit, the systems you can customize look pretty enticing... I'm slightly hesitant though, after reading complaints.
If you think those complaints are bad, go read some on HP's website. Yowza! Personally, I will not own any HP laptops anymore. Had 2 lemons already, thank you very much. We use Dell Inspiron or Precision laptops at work, and they are generally rock solid. We use Win 7 Pro on those, but all the compute hardware is Linux. I do run Win8.1 at home, and it's not so bad. DS3, Bryce, and Hexagon all run OK on Win8.1.
My oldest daughter is an illustrator with a MFA. She's not into 3D at all, more Manga style. She got an ibuypower tower about 3 years ago, and it's her Photoshop workhorse. I got one last May with core i7 4770K, which already looks old by today's standards, but I'm happy with it. Since I did not pay extra for expedited service, it did take a while to arrive. That's what a lot of the complaints are about on that site. I expected it to take a while, and it did. Post-delivery, the only thing I had to mess with was installing the HDD, since I ordered it with a SSD boot drive and no HDD. I had a blank 2T drive in inventory, and migrated a second 2T from the old clunker.
There are other sites that will build to suit.
...I actually am working on plans for something not quite as "big" but still a monster of a workstation compared to what I currently have (my sponsor asked me to outline a new system instead of just an upgrade to the existing one I have).
So far:
CPU Intel Xeon 8 core @ 2.4 Ghz (second CPU to be added as upgrade)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U9DXi4 90mm SSO2 (second CPU cooler to be added as upgrade)
MB: Supermicro MBD-X10DAI-O with dual LGA 2011 sockets and 16 x 288pin memory slots.
Memory: Crucial 64GB (4 x 16GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM (upgrade to 256GB - 16 x 16GB).
GPU: Sapphire R9-290x 8GB GDDR5 (eventual upgrade to FirePro W-9100 with 16GB GDDR5).
Boot Main Drive: 1TB Mushkin Enhanced Reactor SSD
Storage Dive: 2TB 7200 PM
PSU: Corsair HX Series HX1050 1050W ATX12V / EPS12V
Case: Fractal Design Core 2300 FD-CA-CORE-2300-BL) Black Steel ATX Full Tower w/extra fans.
This is a "start up" workstation intended for future upgrades as needs and finances dictate without having to "scrap" a lot of components in the process. My target is having dual Xeon 8 core CPUs with 256GB memory which should cover most composition, modelling and rendering needs for a while.
Initial cost, around 3,400$ (sans OS and extra displays).
Unfortunately will need to go to Win 8.1 Pro as it supports up to 512GB and 2 CPUs, 7 Pro only supports a maximum of 192GB and Windows Server OSs which support 1TB and upwards are terribly expensive (so no 1TB "beast").
For the price of the top line Dell (which oddly has only two 256GB SSDs and 64 GB memory at nearly 10,000$ - a good portion of the cost being the Nvidia Quadro K5200) I could build the above with all the planned upgrades from the start.
Daz is installed in the new system.
What's the best way to transfer my already-organized-the-way-I-like-it content folder to the new system?
I understand the desire for a better laptop. If I could afford a 2nd, I'd have a desktop as well, but since I can't, I like having the option of taking my computer with me. I killed a fan on my last one within 6 months of getting it, but that was some years ago. The one I'm using now is a Samsung Series 7 Gamer, and I love it. One of the things I love about it is that it has two fans, so keeping it cool has never been a problem. I've got a render going in Lux right now that's been going for 4 days straight and probably still has another week, at least, left to render. I've also been surfing and playing games (though nothing intense) and watching movies on netflix on it while rendering. Despite all this, it's still cool to the touch and very quiet.
OMG ... If I had to wait four days for a render I'd cry, lol. I think it's bad when I set a scene to render and I have to do it over night and finish in the morning, lol.
Copy the whole folder from the old hard drive? ISTR you don't use categories or smart content.
ISTR?
No, I don't use the smart content tab. Mostly Poser content tab, unless something only shows up in the Daz folder.
...yeah, Lux in CPU mode takes time but the results are worth it.
The current version supports GPU assisted and pure GPU rendering (fast) but this is fairly new and there are quality issues compared with the CPU mode. This is still in development. One also needs a fairly beefy GPU (at least 3 - 4 GB of VRAM) as like I may have mentioned, the entire scene needs to fit in Video Memory. For now it's something to simply play around with but it will be a bit before this is perfected to where it can match the quality of CPU rendering.
The nice thing with Lux (at least when using Reality, don't have Luxus so I don't know if the same is true for it) is once you submit the scene to the render engine, you can close it out n Daz and go work on another, or even close down Daz completely to do something else as LuxRender is handling the entire process independent of Daz. You can also pause and resume rendering if you want or need to shut the system down. In Reality you can also assign how many cores you wish to render with if you want to work on other projects. Makes those new Haswell 8 - 12 core i7's and Xeons worth considering (basically an 8 core CPU will allow you to dedicate say, 8 threads to rendering and 8 threads to another task).
I've noticed that my system runs even cooler rendering in Lux compared to 3DL. The one point to remember though is anything that is 3DL dependent (like AoA's Atmospheric Cameras, UE, Daz lights) will not work well or at all in Lux. The latest release does work with Daz SSS though.
Well, I just work in Daz. I'm lazy, lol. Daz render then post in Photoshop.
I do, however, need to start moving stuff from the old to the new.
Best way to do that?
...pretty much myself as well, though I find it nice to be rendering one scene while working on another, working on my latest RPG scenario, or my story without having Daz open and 3DL hogging a good portion of my system's resoruces.
As to moving setups from one system to another, not very up on that. For me, when I get the new system built, I'll just remove the Data drive (where all my library and runtime setups are) from my current system and put it in the new one.
Yeah, being able to render in one window while working on another scene would be nice, Now, when I had both DS3 and DS4 both on my system at once, I could do just that. They my dynamic control plug-in went wonky, and I couldn't re-install it in DS3, so had to just make the final switch.
For the moment, I have my Samsung, which is still working, just starting to warp due to hard use, and I'm testing the Alienware. So I can move the Daz files from the Samsung to the AW, until the old one goes out, I'll be able to work on two scenes at once.
And thanks to the advice above, I'll get the content gatherer to swap the scene from one to the other to do it.
Maybe if all I do on the old one is render, and so all of my Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, and internet work, which usually all going on at the same time, on the AW, plus scene creation and testing, maybe the Samsung will last at least another year or so, being taxed less, until I can afford to buy a decent desktop for remote rendering.
:D
If you think those complaints are bad, go read some on HP's website. Yowza! Personally, I will not own any HP laptops anymore. Had 2 lemons already, thank you very much. We use Dell Inspiron or Precision laptops at work, and they are generally rock solid. We use Win 7 Pro on those, but all the compute hardware is Linux. I do run Win8.1 at home, and it's not so bad. DS3, Bryce, and Hexagon all run OK on Win8.1.
My oldest daughter is an illustrator with a MFA. She's not into 3D at all, more Manga style. She got an ibuypower tower about 3 years ago, and it's her Photoshop workhorse. I got one last May with core i7 4770K, which already looks old by today's standards, but I'm happy with it. Since I did not pay extra for expedited service, it did take a while to arrive. That's what a lot of the complaints are about on that site. I expected it to take a while, and it did. Post-delivery, the only thing I had to mess with was installing the HDD, since I ordered it with a SSD boot drive and no HDD. I had a blank 2T drive in inventory, and migrated a second 2T from the old clunker.
There are other sites that will build to suit.
Excellent! I will take another look at ibuypower.com.
My other alternative is to research the components and take the list to a computer shop to build it for me. I had done this before at a reliable shop, but I have moved away... about 200 miles away! On the upside, I can make the trip and visit my mother-in-law who's in the same town. That'll be two trips, the second one to come get the computer. =o)
Forgive me for not reading the whole thread, but I'm on my lunch break and only have a couple minutes.
I know nothing about Alienware other than I've heard both good and bad. As the saying goes, "your mileage may vary". In general, they're probably just fine!
My favorite laptop for Windows users is the Asus "Republic of Gamers" (ROG) line. These are comparable to the Alienware line, but what I like about the Asus machines is that they have 17" screens (the new ones have IPS screens!), can have up to three SSDs/HDDs internally, have beefy fans, often one for CPU and another for the GPU, and big ductwork to handle the airflow.
The current line of ROG laptops is the G751xx (where "xx" is a 2-letter code based on options). They have a big i7 mobile processor and an Nvidia GPU which I assume would work for you Octane users. I own an older G73 from late 2011 which I would love to replace (and probably will in the next year or two), but the damned thing just won't quit!
Gaming laptops usually have big CPUs and competent GPUs, so they often also make good 3D content laptops, as well as music composition/creation machines. You just can't expect to render while they're running on battery power.
If you're like me, you'll probably only buy one of these every 5-6 years, so don't go cheap on the guts. If I could buy one today, I'd max it out with 32 GB RAM and almost immediately I'd replace the hybrid drives with one or two big 1TB SSDs.
Here's my current favorite, the Asus G751JY. Yes, pretty expensive at $2800. But as I said, you won't need to buy another one until 2021. Besides, look at all the crap you're probably wasting your money on these days. Cable TV; really? Adobe CS for $600 per year? Seriously? ;-)
Well, I have started the arduous task of copying files from the Samsung to the ext hard drive, then onto the Alienware.