RTX 3060 Laptop Purchase for Daz Work

vijayasimhabr

Hello Folks,

I am planning to deep dive into Daz 3D + Blender. I am looking for some computer hardware advice. I am a long time gamer myself so I already have some ideas about computer hardware and building my own pc. But my knowledge is limited to desktops only.

I currently have an ageing intel i5 with GTX 1060 GB + 16 GB RAM + SSD setup. I have may be 6 months of warranty on it. So, I have to get the next computer ready before this one goes out in flames or retires. Also, the graphics shortage is insane here in India. Even before the pandemic, computer parts were insanely expensive as my country has a 40% to 60 % mandatory tax on computer parts. For example, my iPhone MSRP is $1000 in US. In India, I ended up paying, $1500. Same policy applies to computer things.

I have a few low end RTX 3060 laptops (desktops and cards are impossible to find, so I can forget about building a gaming desktop) available on Amazon India. I have read online that laptop graphics card are simply bad. But, I am running out of choices. Even the cheapest RTX 3060 laptop costs $1800 here in India. I have to make this purchase count and need to finish the purchase within 6 months.

So, assuming that this is the right place to discuss this, would RTX 3060 laptop with SSD and 16 GB RAM and i7 be sufficient for the next 2 years of some DAZ plus Blender work? If this is not the right place, I do apologise.

 

 

mrinal

I would never recommend laptops for Daz related work given their limited upgradability options and heat dissipation (even for gaming laptops). 16 GB RAM may seem sufficient initially, but as the size of your content library grows, you would need at least 64 GB to sweep the inefficienies of Daz Studio under the rug.  The workload for gaming and Iray are somewhat different. Iray puts a consistent and sustained load both on CPU and the graphics card which could cause some throttling in laptops. Nvidia even recommends Studio drivers for graphics related workflows, so make sure that your future card supports it. Also you need to budget for high capacity  drives which are again not cheap in India.

Newegg does ship to India so you have that option as well, besides Amazon. But like with all pre-assembled PCs its always better to buy directly from a shop after physically inspecting the components. The online retailers may provide moneyback guarantee but that has its own downsides (restocking fee, return courier charges). With the govt. crackdown of cryptomining in China, and India's reliance on components from there, you need be very careful about some vendors using used graphic cards in the assembled configurations. If you live in a metropolitan area check with the local IT shops which are often clustered together, so you might even haggle a bargain. If you are buying online, if possible, I would advise buying a system w/o a graphics card and then buying the card separately from a reliable store.

It may even be better idea to postpone IT expenses for a few months till the market catches up both in terms of prices and options. Use the existing warranty period of your current setup to replace the thermal pads/paste and prolong its utility till then.

vijayasimhabr

@mrinal

Thank you for the detailed response. Very detailed.

I have been adding laptops to the cart and removing the next day on amazon for the last 4 to 6 weeks. In my gut, I know, there is a reason why I never depended on laptops for serious work. You words are echoing my own reasoning and sentiments.

Yes, I also fear that at least some retailers will try to push off used graphics cards as new.

Yeah man, your response has sealed the deal for me. I am not going to invest in a laptop, at all. I will wait out the shortage. Worst case scenario, I might decided to opt RTX 2060 desktops which are still available for $1500. But only after waiting out another 6 months.

Thank you for your advice man. Very grateful.

vijayasimhabr

@mrinal

a few days after talking to you, I lucked out on a RTX mini Desktop with a proper desktop graphics card and was being sold at regular prices. It's arriving this week. So, just wanted to tell you.
 

RL_Media

I think you made the right decision :)

vijayasimhabr

@RL_Media

Totally agreed. I have been using the new RTX 3060 desktop for a few weeks now. It's quite powerful, especially coming from the GTX 1060. I am sure, a laptop 3060 would have never given this kind of performance. More importantly, I would have regretted the purchase everyday, and that would have hurt me emotionally as well.

Very glad that I listened to the advice from the community.