i need to upgrade my business computer, and i can buy whatever i need, but i still don't want to be screwed paying top dollar when i could have got a better deal elsewhere for the same machine- and i also need a build DESIGNED with poser 7 in mind.

i'm looking for a desktop-replacement laptop.  so a couple of questions would be- does the PhysX processor matter at all?  Dell offers it in their brand new XPS super laptops.  also, it seems like getting dual 8700 MGT (i can't keep up with all the initials Nvidia uses) 512MB cards is very reasonable these days... but will it help?   is there a point to monster graphics cards for Poser 7?  i currently have a 6800 GTX Go, with 256 RAM on it... and P7 seems to really despise V4.

last issue is processor- i assume quadcore does nothing whatsoever for Poser.  but does a Xeon or Core 2 Duo Extreme etc matter?  or is a standard Core 2 Duo or AMD FX 2 64 (can't keep up with the initials there either) just as good?

i guess the bottom line is... if you want Poser 7 (i keep typing the 7 because every version of poser is COMPLETELY different vs. your system) to SCREAM- what are the parameters?  what does poser like?  is it a RAM hog?  4GB is certainly possible with a laptop these days (i have 2GB currently) does RPM make a big difference?  video card?  processor?  just sort of trying to get down to the nitty gritty...

when i upgrade my system i need to see a very significant improvement in poser's performance, or i'll be cutting it way too close on lots of projects.

so if any of you P7 backend gurus have the down low on exactly what makes it tick vis a vis your hardware, i'd love some advice!  thanks ;)

What does Poser like? great question. Poser is a very clunky legacy application, and takes advantage of very little technical novelty. The PhysX processor is supported by only a few applications, and Poser isn't one of them. Poser wants a very fast processor, multicore (supported only in render), as much memory as you can get, and a very fast hard drive. Hard drive is a big deal, particularly if you have giant libraries of props/figures/textures. Poser does not support the kinds of things seen in Lightwave, 3DS, etc. . . no hardware shaders . . . just a very barebones Open GL implementation. That's all. You should be aware that a new version of Poser, Poser Pro, is supposed to be released "any day now". The best performance solution for Poser is probably Poser Pro + Lightwave.

Poser Pro?  wait... wasn't that released before Poser 5?

so in other words, graphics cards really don't help much ie. the difference between a 256MB card and next gen 512MB card would be pretty much zero.

so high speed dual core, fast HD (is faster than 7200 easy to get these days?) and 4GB of RAM sounds like my best bet for a performance boost

Nah, that's Pro Pack, an expansion to Poser 4.  This is just called Poser Professional.

Can't offer any advice on P7 though.  I'm still with P6.

wow just checked it out.  so Poser Professional takes advantage of 64 bit... so does that mean all of us with dual core athlon 64s and core 2 duo pentiums will see a giant boost in render speed?

What do you mean with 'quadcore does nothing whatsoever for Poser' ?

I use p7 and it uses all four of my Kentsfield cores.

If money's no object, quad core should be your starting point and 64 bit no question and then stack it with 8 Gig RAM so when the pro version comes out it can utilize all the RAM available when rendering.
This is my current system which I mainly use with Vue6Inf andPoser 6 and 7

Quad core Q6600 processor
Nvidia 8600GT 256 Meg graphics
8 Gig 800 MHz RAM
Asus P5K-E Mobo
Vista Ultimate 64

This has really stabilized Vue in particular and I can put lots into scenes without anything choking. Even with this though if you put too much in a Poser scene and try to render it in Poser it will choke because Poser can't take advantage of the extra RAM available in 64 bit, Vue can because it's a 64 bit app. With the release of Poser pro that will change!
This is another reason that I render in Vue, I build the scene in Poser with as much as I want and then take it into Vue for rendering!

Crocodilian: Poser Pro plus Lightwave? What, will there be support for PoserPro scenes in Lightwave's fantastic renderor, is that what you are saying? That would be cool.

Making Poser 7 scream? With me it is usually the other way round....

10/19/07

I cannot make Poser 7 scream, but I can easily make it cry Uncle.  I guess (as usual for E-Frontier) it will be December before we hear anything more about Poser Pro. :(

You're going to pay premium dollar for a laptop compared to a like desktop.

yeah im really considering getting a desktop instead and still using my laptop when travelling.  any brand/store recommendations?  i'm through with Dell, they've had business trouble this past year and it shows.

Two stores I've used which have good prices.  The caveat for both is that sometimes the machine they send needs some work, such as an operating system installed or even a drive properly anchored.  

ibuypower.com

cyberpowerpc.com

I've also just purchased a Compaq for my father.  It's been a nice PC.

Get a thinkpad, their built to last.

I'm very skeptical that Collada will make Lightwave a Poser-friendly application, but I hope I'm wrong. Lightwave’s renderer might be the best there is.

If you really want to make Poser 7 scream, show it a screenshot of Poser 1!

i remember poser 1 lol... it was like playing with those faceless wooden theater dolls

When choosing between an intel quad core chip, and the far more expensive core 2 duo extreme chip, which is better for Poser?  i don't really care about games- but if the dual core extreme is a significant upgrade for poser compared to quad core i don't mind getting it.

and of course, if 4 cores makes poser run a lot faster than 2, quad core it is.

also, it sounds like even Poser Professional won't get any performance boost from dual video cards?