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New install- is there an optimum choice of directory locations?

dmcl90dmcl90 Posts: 18
in Technical Help (nuts n bolts)

Hi folks.

My current hard drive seems inoperable so i'm going to do a fresh install of Daz. I'd like to use the speed of my ssd, but it doesn't have the capacity to store all my downloaded items/mats etc., so i was wondering how bad of an idea it is to install the client on my ssd and everything else on a new hard drive. I'm concerned about constant read/write cycles wear and tear and on the time that would take over an ssd. Would it be better to buy a high-capacity ssd and install everything on that, and sending the renders to the new hdd? I'm looking into building a new pc soon anyway, so throwing in a 1tb ssd is an option (even if i only use it for daz).

Thanks for your consideration :)

Comments

  • PerttiAPerttiA Posts: 10,024

    Don't know about "optimum", but if we are talking about a "real" computer instead of a laptop wink,...

    C: - Windows (SSD or faster, 500GB more than enough) - You never want to save anything worth while on to the same disk with the Windows

    D: - Programs (SSD)

    ...

    X: - Content (SSD)

    (Y: - Content\Data\ (SSD))

    (Z: - Content\Runtime\Textures\ (doesn't have to be SSD))

     

    Y and Z can be mounted with standard Windows tools to the relevant directories on X, thus preserving the directory structure, or you can use Sysinternals Junction (free) for more flexible solution.

  • dmcl90dmcl90 Posts: 18

    Thanks PerttiA.

    So i should just grab a nice big ssd and load everything onto it? Seeing as renders can take up a lot of space (relatively) I don't mind sending them to a slower drive. The next issue will only be solved by moving house, as my internet speeds are pretty crappy due to my location ^^ I expect it will take a day or two to re-dl my daz library :)

  • PerttiAPerttiA Posts: 10,024

    I prefer using separate disks for each drive (C:, D:, ... Z:) and upgrade them one at a time as they get too small, and they do get too small way too fastwink

  • chris-2599934chris-2599934 Posts: 1,807

    If you can afford it, all SSD is the way to go - quicker, quieter, and probably more reliable too - but at a price.

    On the other hand, you can get a LOT more space for your buck with a regular HDD. If you've got a big mountain of content to store - most of which goes nowhere near whatever it is that you're currently working on - then I'd stick with the HDD. Sure, it'll mean that it might take a few extra seconds to load a new scene, but it won't make any difference at all to render speed. Ditto saving renders to the HDD, do you even notice how long that takes now? How much of an improvement could an SSD give you?

  • dmcl90dmcl90 Posts: 18

    Thanks for your replies peeps! Chris, my concern with keeping my files/content etc on a hard drive is all the read/write operations every time i access something. As there are no platters in an ssd, wear and tear is minimal, which is why i'm thinking it will not only be faster, but last longer. Finished renders, on the other hand, i think would eventually take up too much space, so i don't mind giving them their own partition in a hdd.

  • dmcl90dmcl90 Posts: 18

    It's arrived, whee! Ok, a final question: it's been a while since i downloaded anything from the installer. When i re-establish my content library, do i just use daz central; will my bought items in DIM be transferred across? I haven't used daz central yet so any tips would be appreciated :)

  • chris-2599934chris-2599934 Posts: 1,807
    edited June 2020

    I've not used Daz Central either, and I'm in no hurry to do so given the horror stories I've read here. DIM works fine, why change it?

    What do you mean by "will my bought items in DIM be transferred across?" My understanding from your original post was that your HDD had failed, you'd lost your existing bought content, and would need to re-download it. If that is the case, then the list of items that you've bought is held on DAZ's servers and can be downloaded via DIM or DC as you choose.

    If you still have all those downloaded products somewhere accessible locally, then you can copy them to a directory of your choice and tell Daz Studio and DIM where to find them (Daz Central too, I assume, though this is where people seem to have had problems). I started a thread about this last year, when I moved my own content to an external drive: https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/332926/moving-daz-assets-from-one-drive-to-another

    Post edited by chris-2599934 on
  • dmcl90dmcl90 Posts: 18

    Thanks Chris, that's exactly it- i'll have to re-download my content from DIM probably, but at the minnute i'm having a postgresql issue when i start-up daz :/

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