Better CPU for DAZ Studio: AMD or Intel?
gioloi
Posts: 57
Quite a techical question.
By the end of the year I'm going to change PC, and since one of the software I use most is DS 4.6 Pro, the question is not trivial: what's better between AMD and Intel?
The choice is between Intel i7-4790k and AMD FX-8350.
They're both high-end processors with similar operating frequency. The first is more powerful in single core using, while in multi-core there seem not to be material differences.
Since the 3D software rendering is a typical multicore activity, the 8-core achitecture of the FX-8350 should work well at least as the i7 one, at a much lower street price. This on paper. Practically, it depends heavily on how much DAZ Studio is able to work in multi-threading, taking advantage from the 8-cores of the FX.
Someone can tell me if there's a clear winner between the 4790k and the 8350 using DS, or if they're both suitable?
Thanks in advance.
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Comments
I'm not sure if there is much difference between the Intel an AMD processors like there used to be. This might help.
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answers/id-2032872/specs-modeling-rendering.html
I would go with AMD FX-8350 .
But both are good to use with any software .
my preference is the intel i7and intel dual Xeon but's just a preference towards intel for the moment. Either brand you choose is very good and the more cores the better.
I am eyeing the AMD FX-8350 myself (I have the fastest AMD quadcore). I wasn't able to get it recently because I had to invest in a 4TB external HDD and another 8 GBs of memory.
There are faster AMD CPUs than the FX-8350 but they need more power and cost more than the FX-8350.
http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/321/AMD_FX-Series_FX-9370_vs_AMD_FX-Series_FX-9590.html
http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/318/AMD_FX-Series_FX-8350_vs_AMD_FX-Series_FX-9590.html
I looked at the 9590 too. It seems to me that it gives only negligible improvements over the 8350, versus a much higher consumption.
you can't tell anything by the frequency when looking at different manufacturers.
the frequency is more like the revs. on a car, both a ferrari and a skoda can reach 3000 rpm
rendering benchmarks consistantly put that i7 around 30% faster.
if you can get it at a 30% price difference then the AMD makes sense in terms of 'bang per buck'.
otherwise AMD has nothing that can compete with the top intel chips, even last years models!
it currently looks like AMD has withdrawn from the high end sector!
Intel. You're getting what you pay for. Always look at the benchmarks of a given Intel model vs. its AMD counterpart before buying - if you google it you can find a LOT of these comparisons, and don't assume that because it's a sextet or octo from AMD that it can outcompete an Intel quad (unfortunately they mostly can't).
there are plenty of users here very happy with their AMD CPU's if you want to save some cash, and I'm telling you this as a total convert to Intel CPU's. I had many AMD's in the past, they were good CPU's at the time without being crazy expensive, but the one thing I could never justify was the price jump from the mid-line CPU's to the top line CPU's. Paying a 50% increase for a 5% performance jump is just not worth it. Take that money you might have spent and invest in RAM which you can apparently never have enough of when you work in 3D.
The render engine for DAZ Studio> 3Delight.
Is it limited to just 2 cores? No?
Yep! That's the point! I'd like if someone of DAZ's guys could unveil these technical specs about Studio.
Yep! That's the point! I'd like if someone of DAZ's guys could unveil these technical specs about Studio..
It's four cores for the free one, more than that you need the standalone with a purchased license.
Thank you, SickleYield. :) I guess that four cores are enough, given my typical use.
Summing up, it seems that both CPUs give what you pay for. AMD is not inadequate, but Intel gives you more (and costs more). None of them is a waste of money.
Budget-limited as I am, I had to settle for an AMD Quad-Core HP110 for $500 from Walmart. With only 8GB of RAM and (aghast when I opened it up) no expansion slots on the motherboard for a GPU... It's great for Daz. It's much better than that old 32-bit clunker.
At this point, I don't know what I'm missing from that $3500 i7 dream machine, (please don't tell me and ruin my bliss.)
Anything 64-bit, Quad-Core or better, which is what I got, is good with Daz. However, the advice I got was for best performance, with no sweat for a big budget, go for the Intel with as many processor cores as you can get.
I still use the old 32-bit clunker for gaming, etc. For the hours, and days if there's fog in the scene, it takes to make a final render I just shut off the monitor and do other things.
3Delight Stand Alone which you download from 3Delight.com is limited to 4 cores for the free version, but this is not the version that is compiled into Daz Studuio
3Delight which comes compiled with Daz Studio is using the licensed version which has no limitations with cores.
I have a 16 core dual Xeon Mac and when i render in Daz Studio all 16 cores are being utilized.
I need to see it to believe it. Can you record a video?
I bought Octane Render & Octane Render Plugin for DAZ Studio, but now I have to buy a very expensive video card to use Octane Render (plugin). I have an NVIDIA GeForce GT 620 4GB and only 2 GB can be used to create renderings. And I can not add many things in the scene for that.
I would have to buy a TITAN Z, but if I can use more than 2 processor cores, I would buy a 8 processor cores.
I need to see it to believe it. Can you record a video?
I bought Octane Render & Octane Render Plugin for DAZ Studio, but now I have to buy a very expensive video card to use Octane Render (plugin). I have an NVIDIA GeForce GT 620 4GB and only 2 GB can be used to create renderings. And I can not add many things in the scene for that.
I would have to buy a TITAN Z, but if I can use more than 2 processor cores, I would buy a 8 processor cores.
Ditto, this would affect my future purchasing as well.
I need to see it to believe it. Can you record a video?
I bought Octane Render & Octane Render Plugin for DAZ Studio, but now I have to buy a very expensive video card to use Octane Render (plugin). I have an NVIDIA GeForce GT 620 4GB and only 2 GB can be used to create renderings. And I can not add many things in the scene for that.
I would have to buy a TITAN Z, but if I can use more than 2 processor cores, I would buy a 8 processor cores.
16 Cores all rendering in 3Delight from within Daz Studio at the same time,
DS will use all the cores you have - 8 here - it uses them 100% !
Just did a test .
Wow, that's good to know!
Hmmm... more and more confusing.
So, back to my original question, in your opinion could the 8-core architecture of the fx-8350 get an advantage over the i7-4790k, or be at least at the same level (but at much lower price)? Or is the i7 still better?
The information really is out there. This compares these exact two CPUs.
(Short answer, still Intel on everything except price.)
http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-4790K-vs-AMD-FX-8350
Anandtech have a database of assorted benchmarks, including several rendering ones:
http://anandtech.com/bench/product/697?vs=1260
Cpuboss is not very reliable. It compares technical specs and benchmarks, but doesn't make tests "in the field" with specific software packages.
I already saw some rendering comparison tests, but with software other than DAZ Studio. And you just confirmed that a render engine that use either 4 or 8 cores can change materially its throughput depending on the CPU (and other hardware).
That's why I made my question directly in the DAZ Studio forum, hoping that someone had got direct experience with these (or similar) cpus.
I know that on paper the 4790k is better than fx-8350, but would be nice to understand if, in the specific use of rendering with DS, AMD can give similar (or even better) performances, given its 8-core architecture and the fact that 3Delight exploits all the available cores.
Doesn't that require one of us to have invested in both CPUs at one time?
Not necessarily. You can have one, and have shared your experience with someone else that have the other one. Is it so unlikely?
Anyway, not to be misunderstood, my first hope was that this kind of info could come from DAZ guys. This shouldn't sound that strange.
They are effectively the same, performance wise.
Note the newer Intel Motherboards, (z-97 and x-99) are significantly better than anything you can get for an AMD MOBO.
If you don't need to do it Today, then I highly recommend waiting for the Broadwell processors from Intel to go with an X99 Motherboard.
Note that a Titan-Z is two Titan Blacks on one slot and are SLI linked. Octane does not, last I checked, work with SLI. If you have an ASUS Z-97 WS MOBO or one of the X99 MOBO's then you are much better off with two Titan Blacks (And it will save you $1000).
To be honest, my idea was to buy a Christmas gift for myself. ;)
Why do you suggest to wait for Broadwell?
Consider that rendering is an important part of my pc use, but not exclusive, as I use DAZ Studio only for amusement and not for work.
I'm planning to mount a GFX 970 because it performs well with games, but it should allow me to exploit CUDA with compatible software as well. As far as I know, there are plug-ins for DS that should already benefit from CUDA technology, right?
To be honest, my idea was to buy a Christmas gift for myself. ;)
Why do you suggest to wait for Broadwell?
Consider that rendering is an important part of my pc use, but not exclusive, as I use DAZ Studio only for amusement and not for work.
I'm planning to mount a GFX 970 because it performs well with games, but it should allow me to exploit CUDA with compatible software as well. As far as I know, there are plug-ins for DS that should already benefit from CUDA technology, right?The Broadwell is a significant step up from the 4790 (which is actually the generation before the current Haswell one) and will have a minimum of 6 cores, with 8 also available. Also the Motherboards that support the Haswell/Broadwell, allows for more PCIE lanes making multiple graphic cards, and pci-e SSD cards have more speed if you are pushing the limits. Also they allow 64 GB of DDR-4 RAM instead of hte current 32 GB of DDR-3 Ram.
For multi-CPU, your only choice is Intel: LuxRender pounding away at 40 logical cores
This one machine is twice as fast on its own at LuxRender as the three older machines I've used for ages combined together...