What can I do with $300.00 +/-?
Petercat
Posts: 2,321
Okay, I am pretty content with my iray rendering speeds, but I wouldn't mind getting faster or otherwise improving my experience to the tune of another $300 or so. Any advice? I'm thinking that a larger, newer monitor might be my best choice.
Win7 Pro
3.4ghz Intel Core i3-3240
16Gig DDR3 (in two slots, all I have available)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 4gig
24" Gateway monitor, 10 years old...
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Comments
What I'd recommend would be over your budget. Looks like what you need is to get off that dual core processor and upgrade to a quad or hexacore with hyperthreading, which may also entail an upgrade in motherboard. Do you know what model motherboard you have (I'm assuming pretty old if only 2 ram slots)?
On that budget an upgrade to Windows 10 is the more sensible thing to do and wait for the iRay renderer to be optimized for DirectX 12.
second monitor
I cannot go back to one now, I had one die and had to rush out and buy another yesterday
once you have two one is not enough ever again
That's... way out of my budget.
No, I should have specified that I want to stay with Win7. Win10 has too many negatives for me, and doesn't offer any extra funcionality that I'd like to have.
If that's the case, then I agree with Wendy above. New monitor.
Yeah, a new monitor is probably where I'll go. Some pretty decent ones in my price range, too.
(I already have four monitors, my art computer, my internet computer, my video and still art computer, and a spare. So I'll have two spares, what the heck!
Given that Iray is being used upgrading the Processor won't really speed up rendering.It will help if you want to multi-task or render using 3delight.
If you have the power supply requirements and extra pcie slot you could always get another gtx 960 and almost double rendering speed for iray.
Definitely a monitor; you'll wonder why you waited once you've got it.
I'd recommend 2560x1440 if you can.
Will it be?
I'd make a decission on that after it's up and running. Because, frankly, too much spying with it.
It would seem unlikely to me - Iray uses nVidia technology, not Microsoft DirectX.
DirectX (or OpenGL) have nothing to do with Iray. Iray is completly separate from them, other than that they all three run on GPU.
I'm running a 23" 1920x1080 right now, the largest I can shoehorn in would be a 27". At 2560x1440 would I be able to read the writing in Daz?
My computer will stay Win7, Win10 has too much garbage in it that I do not want. Daz is the last non-Linux program that I have, it and paint.net are the only programs on my Windows box. Oh, and Arcsoft PhotoStudio, to run my printer.
Huh. I spent $100 to add Win7 to my computer so that I can run three free programs... Something's wrong.
Without knowing what your eyesight is like, it is hard to say; I have fairly small text but use glasses - not special ones. I can read Daz UI without issues.
I've attached a screenshot of Daz; you could take it somewhere that sells 2560x1440 monitors, and see how it looks; you can increase the text size in Windows. I have smaller, the default, there is medium and large too. I've no idea if they affect Daz's functionality.
Oh, if you're wondering where the start button is, I use 8.0 not 8.1. Going to have to upgrade to something soon as MS have stopped support. I hate 8.1, and don't trust 10; what we need is a version of Daz for Linux, it's the only thing really keeping me on Windows.
Indeed. Hence my suggestion to wait and see.
I can see the posbility of their being an ability to share GPU RAM, but I'd expect NVidia to have to implement that, and as they've just added a new card to the top of their range, would they?
Waiting to see seems the best bet to me.
What can you do with $300? send me a $300 Daz gift card! :D
Actually, I think (but I'm not certain) the new NVLink architecture supports memory pooling. It's part of the new architecture they've built for Pascal and thier HBM2 memory to go with it. Which is why I'm not upgrading my GPUs until I see what Pascal actually brings (and the initial price points for it.)
That's presuming all cards get HBM2; some might get GDDR5X; which I presume (I hate doing that) doesn't matter.
Unless you're desperate, I'd wait for Pascal.
But I'd still go for the new monitor. Get a good quality one and it will be better for your eyes in all likelihood too.
I would save my money, and watch craigslist and ebay for deals on Nvidia 780 6gb edition, or a Nvidia 980 6gb editon. If you wait and save your money and wait for the VR people to sell off their expensive high end cards for bargin prices you may be able to get yourself a great deal. For examble I got an ATI R9 380 for $90 dollars locally from someone who upgraded to a Nvidia 1070 on craigslist. My brother is a teacher so he does not have alot of disposable income so he is very happy with his new card which was in great shape, and he is using it as I write this to play Witcher III on Steam. Your rig is fine you just need to be patient and wait for the good deal. Most people who buy bleeding edge stuff are willing to unload their old stuff at a loss due to their need to have the latest and greatest. I am using my system to do mostly graphics and 3D so I have a Intel i7 6core DDR3 system with 64gigs of ram. I don't need a DDR4 system the speed vs cost is not worth it. Sometimes the latest stuff is not worth the price they are asking due to manufacures pushing the cost of R&D on the consumers. My advice is to save your money and wait for the good deal.
Update:
I actually recieved an unexpected bonus that let me build a new computer! i7-4 core, 980Ti gold, 32gig DDR4-3200, 2x2TB and 2x4TB WD Black in RAID1 arrays (because no digital storage is foolproof) and the rendering speeds are much improved. Still using the old monitor, though.
Saving up for a 3440x1440 monitor and another 980Ti gold... and another 32gig of ram... maybe an SSD... a couple more fans... a coolant pump... and so it goes. $$$
I actually saw an i7 Asus Tower computer with 1GB HHD and an GT970 nVidia include if you called in and requested it on the order (I think that's what is was called) and 8GB the the new memory spec but I forget what that spec is called on Amazon not long after you wrote that for $350 on Amazon. It sold out quick there was no beating that deal.
Petercat: Regarding your use of RAID 1 "because no digital storage is foolproof", I hope that I am misinterpreting what you are saying. I hope that you are not saying that you believe the redundancy built in to a Raid 1 array will ensure that you never lose your data. If that is what you are thinking, I really must rain on your parade. A little background on RAID is in order. Originally RAID technology was intended for use in servers, and it was common in such use for many years before it became a marketing fad for mainstream use. However, there was a lot of misunderstanding surrounding its use in mainstream PCs. Notably, the misconception that the redundancy built into certain RAID configurations was a type of backup was a widespread belief. And it was wrong. No system admin would ever rely on RAID redundancy to protect important date - proper backups were always implemented in a server environment. The redundancy was used for one purpose only: in conjunction with hot plug/hot swap capabilities it allowed for the replacement of failed drives in the array without data loss where zero downtime was imperative. In other words, the failure of a drive allowed the server to continue functioning without interuption, even through drive replacement.
If one looks at the PC use of RAID hot swapability/hot plugability are usually not an option. But that is fine since shutting down to swap drives is usually not a major issue. But the idea that you can never suffer data loss if RAID redundancy is enabled is erroneous. RAID configurations themselves can become corrupted, especially when using "software RAID" which is often the case with PCs. If the configuration becomes corrupted, the data on the drives will become inaccessible and the array needs to be rebuilt from scratch and all data is lost. Similarly, a failure of the RAID controller itself will result in similar problems. In the last case, the array might be accessible through replacement of the RAID controller, but the replacement must be identical to the original. If the RAID controller is built in to the motherboard, as it often is, replacement is not possible and all data on the array is lost.
In short, do not treat RAID redundancy as a replacement for proper backups.
Sorry for the long-winded post, but I hate misleading marketing. If I was misinterpreting your comment, then accept my apologies and nevermind. Oh, and congrats on the new PC!
I guess I wasn't clear, sorry. My main worry is hard drive failure, every company produces a lemon once in a while, some more than others. With my current setup, if (when) I lose a drive I won't lose my data. I purchased an SSD a few months ago from a quality producer and it failed in five weeks. I'm sure it was a fluke, but it just reinforces my belief that no electronic storage is perfectly safe, constant backups of all data is wise. Which RAID 1 provides, for the OS, programs, and data.
"But the idea that you can never suffer data loss if RAID redundancy is enabled is erroneous." I never espoused that idea. What RAID does is minimize the risk, it doesn't eliminate it. I still backup my data to external drives. Which I keep in a fireproof fire resistant safe. Because my house might burn down. I guess I could start burying copies out in the woods somewhere...
For keeping your data safe, you should invest in a NAS (e.g. Synology, QNAP,...). Together with a good backup program like Acronis, you can make regular backups to the NAS and also access data on the NAS without switching on the main PC.
If I understand NAS correctly, it is internet-based. My computer never goes online, for security reasons.
A NAS connects to the local network, and should be accessible purely over the local network - some of them do use set-up routines across the web, via the manufacturer's website, including the one we had here (that after a while could not be reset so the HD was recruited for my PC and the NAS box binned) but I'd hope other models did not force this.
Oh. Thank you for the explanation. I don't have even a local network, as my computers have different purposes. My internet computer is a Linux box, for example, with nothing on it that I don't want anyone else to see or steal. Well, except for the scanners that I use when I download things for my graphics computers! I could replace the whole thing off Craigslist for $50.00.