Needing Hardware Advice for Running and Rendering with DAZ
Holy Bacchus
Posts: 5
Hi there,
I've been interested to learn DAZ rendering for a while now and tried it out on my current latptop a bit, but as it is a 4 year old, out-of-the-box laptop, it is not up to the task, as you might expect. I have been meaning to get myself a new laptop for a while now and I'm probably going to need one soon as I just recovered it from a blue screen crash, so its days could be numbered.
However, when it comes to all the hardware jargon, I haven't got a clue what any of it really means and I so I find it difficult to know what to look for in a laptop. I know a desktop tower would probably be better for DAZ rendering, but those are not only above my budget, I also do not have the space for a desktop setup and so a laptop is the best I can get.
I know that the graphics card needs to be a certain type or number, but I'm unsure of what that would be and I also do not know what would be best in terms of memory, processors, cores, etc. Ideally, I'd be looking for a configuration that allows the program to work smoothly without getting too slowed down by other processes, and one that can render a high-quality image fairly quickly.
Any and all help in this regard would be greatly appeciated, particularly if you could do so in as simple terms as possible because, as I say, I'm very much a noob when it comes to this sort of technical information. Also, I'd like to know if it would be better to get a custom-made laptop or if there are any pre-built laptops out there that might do well.
Thank you.
EDIT: I am from the UK and so would be looking for suitable hardware available here.
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Comments
A mid-range desktop tower would be cheaper than a mid-range laptop, and usually much better for programs like Daz Studio, but if space is your main consideration then you may not have that option.
The first thing that you need to decide is which rendering engine you are wanting to use in Daz - 3Delight is the older one, and renders on the CPU (the processor). Iray is newer and can render on the CPU, but is very slow, or can render on a nVidia graphics card - note that only nVidia graphics cards can be used with Iray.
Assuming that you are wanting to render with Iray, you don't need a very powerful CPU, and this can be either AMD or Intel.
I would recommend a GPU (graphics card) with at least 6GB of video RAM (VRAM). Ideally, more VRAM if you can afford it.
The usual recommendation is to have twice as much RAM in the machine as you have VRAM on your graphics card.
It might be helpful if you mention what country you live in, as then people can recommend places to buy from, with the best prices.
Thanks for the advice. Have been looking at some UK retailers but unfortunately it seems all but impossible to get a laptop with a pre-built or even customised configuration to my liking that is not prohibitively expensive. Based on your advice, I'd say the ideal setup I'd be looking for is an Intel i5 or i7 processor, 6GB Nvidia graphics card, 12GB RAM, and a 1TB HDD with a price tag of around £800-1000, but the best I've been able to find in that price range are ones with 4GB graphics card and 8GB RAM.
I would go to your local computer shop (smaller the better, 'Mom and Pop' the best) and ask them to build one;
i7+fan+32GB (min)+GTX1660TI 6GB+750W PSU+480GB SSD+5TB USB HD+Case = around 1500eur here in Finland all new.
They may even have older stuff (motherboard, i7 processor, case, PSU) around which they could sell cheap
24" monitor, mouse and keyboard go for little over 100eur if you dont have them and cannot find used ones cheaper.
I wouldn't accept less than 32GB RAM, the price difference is so small between 16GB and 32GB.
The GTX1660TI 6GB was the cheapest 6GB GPU at 345eur - 4GB will do, but again paying good money for something that you will soon find in need of an upgrade that you could have made with just a small increase in price...
480GB SSD is enough for your system and programs, and an external 5TB USB HD can hold the library for couple of years
Unfortunately not possible to go to any stores right now as we're still in lockdown, so I can only check out online retailers.
The thing is that, right now, I can't really justify spending so much money on something that might not go anywhere. I'm really just looking for a machine that can at least function smoothly with DAZ so I can get a feel for it and learn the ropes to see if this is something I want to commit more time to, and if it doesn't go anywhere then at least I have a decent functioning laptop for the next few years. Spending upwards of £1500 on something that might end up only being used to browse the internet would seem like a waste of money to me.
If you are on a very tight budget your best option is 3Delite. It will render on your current laptop and pretty much any replacement you get.
I would recommend taking a look at PCSpecialist - they do pre-configured laptops for immediate dispatch, or custom configurations that take 1-2 weeks before delivery.
Here are two of their pre-configured that would run Daz Studio with iRay:
https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/computers-next-day/laptop/622/
You can also start with one of their standard laptops and then change parts until you are happy with the price/performance. Even if you don't buy from them in the end, it will give you a good idea of what you want.
One important thing to note - if you are going with a laptop, I would also look at getting a large external HDD to put your content on, otherwise the SSD on a laptop will fill up very quickly.
There are only two reasons to get a laptop as opposed to a desktop; space is at a premium; you need to move the PC more than occasionally.
Otherwise you get more for less with a desktop.
Main considerations other than cost are:
I use Scan (especially when building a new PC or doing a significant upgrade.
https://www.scan.co.uk
One option is to check Ebay UK, for used or refurbished complete packages.
As your budget is below £1000 and you don't have any re-usable accessories (Case, PSU, monitor, keyboard, mouse) to start with, a used or refurbished one could just be the way to go.
Do not make the mistake of bying a complete new system that fits your budget for the sake of fitting the budget, because you will probably (most likely) end up with components that cannot be used if you do find that "it's going somewhere" -> Ditch the £1000 computer to a bin and buy a new one for £2-3000.
I myself just spent 980 euro for an upgrade to my 4 year old rig, and I didn't get anything else than a new GPU (RTX 2070 Super) and 64GB DDR4 to replace the previous 32GB DDR4.
If I had upgraded the motherboard, processor+fan and the PSU at the same time, it would have been around 1500 euros more, and still no SSD:s, HD:s, monitors or any other accessories included - Luckily the GPU+RAM upgrade had big enough effect on everything that I can postpone the next system upgrade at least to next year (rendering the same scene came down from 10.5 hours to 25 minutes)