Spec a New Computer for Daz - Late 2022
paulawp (marahzen)
Posts: 1,448
I'm planning on updating or replacing my current computer and figured I'd start a thread about thoughts, suggestions and experiences for spec'ing a new (or improved) system intended for use with Daz, which could be helpful for anyone else with similar needs. My current computer: i7 with 32GB RAM, a 3060ti (8GB), 512 SSD (C drive) and 1T (D drive). It's a Dell; I'm not a hardware person but I'm told that upgrading components can be a pain. The computer itself has never let me down, and the critical issue is that 1T just doesn't go as far as it used to.
If this isn't the right place for this thread, feel free to move it. I looked and didn't see a similar, current thread, but if there is, feel free to redirect me.
Thanks!
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Comments
there are several threads on systems, but its good to be fresh. Wow though, I was just looking at a 3080 system for an upgrade thinking I will be really rockin for a few more years. . I'm on a 2070 super right now and it does pretty much anything i need it to do.
I haven't messed around with large manufacturer built PC's in a while, I've been putting them together.
Big question is what i7?
Obviously you have a Nvidia 3000 series card, the biggest upgrade will be getting one with more VRAM. I'd have my eye on a 4090 if budget allows, otherwise a 3090. They both have 24 GB.
Your existing power supply is probably sufficient as it wasn't designed for it. You might be able to upgrade it and keep your existing system - worthwhile if your CPU is good enough.
Otherwise I'd look at an Intel 13th gen or preferably an AMD - for Black Friday the 7950 is at a screamin' deal, I'm tempted myself even though I don't really need it. You won't use all those cores with current Daz Studio, not sure about 5 whenever that comes out. You may use other apps that take advantage of the cores as well.
What is you budget?
The biggest problem with your current computer is the 8GB GPU, a 12 GB (Nvidia RTX) GPU would allow you to render about twice as heavy scenes.
Although 32GB's of RAM is ok, if you render heavier scenes, 64GB's would be better.
Getting a 4TB external USB drive for DAZ content would take you the rest of the way
These would be all your computer needs, but if you want to buy a whole new computer, that's an other thing.
You already have a pretty modern computer, what exactly is your goal? If speed is your goal, you will not see tremendous improvements. A 3090 will be faster, but not twice as fast. To get faster than than that, you would need a 4090.
If VRAM is what you want, the 3090 again becomes a choice. But...you need more RAM, too. 24gb of VRAM is simply not going to work with 32gb of RAM. You will fill up your RAM long before you get even close to filling up your VRAM. So a 12gb card makes sense. But is that enough?
But you have other problems to think about. You bought a prebuilt computer. These are typically made to work with exactly what they are built with. A 3090 uses a lot more power and is much larger. I bet the power supply they gave you is not enough. The case might be too small as well. The 4090 is absurdly huge, and I would bet it will not fit in your case at all. Plus it uses even more power than a 3090, meaning you need a better power supply. You power supply might not even have enough connectors.
More power also means more heat. So does your case have enough airflow to keep a more power hungry card cool?
You have to do some homework on this. First you need to understand what your rendering goals are, and what they require. Daz Iray is very GPU focused, but your power supply, RAM, and physical case size all matter.
If you pick your parts right, you can set yourself up so that only need to swap the GPU in a couple years and not worry about the rest.
Another option for more speed is to add a 2nd GPU to your system. This will give the biggest speed boost of all. What is faster than a 3060ti? How about 2 of them? Or a 3060ti plus a 3080, that would be faster still. But this route requires all the things I mentioned already as well. Obviously you need more space in the case and a good enough power supply to handle 2 GPUs.
But if you can do it, that would be the fastest upgrade, a 2nd GPU. The problem is most prebuilts are not going to be designed with this sort of expansion in mind. Iray can use any number of GPUs you can throw at it, as long as they have enough VRAM. VRAM is a constraint.
the thing I see is the expense. Wow ... Yeah, the prebuilts are OK if that's as far as you're taking that system. Even some different ram will not work in them. I'ver been researching now for a few months. I'm hoping the prebuilts drop in price with the 40x series coming out. Right now the lowest I've seen that has a somewhat decent spec is around $2400. 32gig DDR5 ram, 3080 GPU, i9 12900kf processor, but small 512gig SSD and way too small HDD at 1T. Easy enough to throw a larger one in though. Every hundred or so drop reduces the GPU or CPU spec to the point it really isn;t worth spending the money on them. Build your own saving a couple hundred, but the GPUs are still pretty darn expensive ... 3080Ti 3090 over a grand easily. Even some 3080s. Every one I've tried to build to what I want ends up over $2500. I suppose for some people thats not too much but my cap is lower than that.
Hey, all, thanks for your comments. The backstory is that I bought this computer in the summer of 2021 when I first started dabbling in the hobby. I got a fair price on this prebuit at a time when video cards were outrageously expensive and it's been a great starter computer. Now that drive space is getting a bit tight, I'm at a crossroads, considering my options - do I see if I can get a bigger hard drive into this one, which should have many more miles in it if I otherwise leave it alone, or if I decide to get a new purpose-built computer, what buys a meaningful improvement on what I have (and what literal and figurative price) and thus justifies itself. The computer people I know IRL are gamer types, with what I suspect are somewhat different specific needs - hence why I'm reaching out here for some pointers and expertise.
In response to the question up thread, this I7 is an 11th gen Intel 17-11700 (2.50 GHz).
What model Dell is it? Does it fit a multi-slot video card? I've had Dells that did and Dells that didn't. And what's the PSU? If it's a game-oriented system you can often replace the PSU with a stonger one. If it's a office model (Optiplex, for example) you can't.
And render machines have a lot in common with gaming computers, with a higher need for RAM.
Actually, your needs for Daz and for gaming are similar. High core count doesn't really help (except in some other applications, and maybe Studio 5), you're stuck with Nvidia cars (and higher VRAM most preferably), and more system RAM.
Basically, take an Nvidia gaming rig but go high end with the xx90 for the VRAM, and more system RAM. Done.