Test 4.9 vs 4.8 vs Old Computer

Petercat

Okay, I built a new computer, and since I had to go online to authenticate Windows 7 anyway, I decided to go ahead and install Studio 4.9 before pulling the plug for good. Then I installed 4.8 as well.

Did a quick same-scene iray render comparison between 4.8 on my old computer and 4.8 and 4.9 on the new.

The scene was simply Village Road http://www.daz3d.com/village-road. I chose this one because it was easy to use, and a nightmare to work with on my old computer. Moving the viewpoint was so jerky that the only way to adjust it with any precision was to create a camera and use the positioning sliders, for example.

My old computer is an Intel i3 3.4 ghz with an Nvidia 960-2g with 16g of DDR3 1600 RAM.

My new one is an Intel i7 4.0 ghz with an Nvdia 980ti-6g with 32g of DDR4 3200 RAM. No SSD. Yet.

Render old, 4.8: 150 iterations in 20 minutes

Render new, 4.8: 712 iterations in 20 minutes

Render new, 4.9: 1512 iterations in 20 minutes

And moving the viewpoint on the new computer was as smooth as silk.

So not only does 4.9 on my new computer render 10 times as fast as 4.8 on my old computer, it's twice as fast as 4.8 on the same computer. But that's not all.  What about the quality?

I pulled up an old scene of mine and let it render in both studios until it hit 250 iterations. And of course, I can't find the images to upload now! But the 4.9 images were better, it was like comparing the grain in images shot with ASA 400 and ASA 100 color films. (ASA is for the old grainy film).

Is 4.9 perfect? No, I have a list of complaints. But those aren't for this thread, and most can be resolved.

Is it better that 4.8? In speed and quality of results, no contest. In usability? See above sentence.