Greetings and I hope my information in this post helps those of you wanting to get the most out of your PC's with regards to Poser software.

I had been previously working with an HP Desktop PC which was bought at Office Depot, running Win7 64-bit Home with 6 GB RAM.  I had added a 1 GB ATI Radeon 5750 after buying the unit two years ago.  So the system was about $600 up front plus an additional $200 for the graphics card.  The computer runs with an i3 Intel processor that can accomodate 4 threads with it's dual core.

It was pretty fast with Poser2012, but when utilizing a lot of the new features that began with PP2012, such as the subsurface stuff, my render times dropped from about three to four minutes to nearly 14 minutes each.  Add in a vicious hair with transparencies and it could take nearly a half hour.

I run Poser professionally as an artist and animator.  So I couldn't bear the speeds but I was craving the new look of the subsurface renders.

So, rather than dish out $1500 for a new system, I decided to upgrade my current system.  I checked with the HP website and found that my particular unit's motherboard, an 1156 model, could handle upgrades all the way to an i7 processor which is a quad-core, 8 thread unit.  In simpler terms, an i5 is about 10% faster than an i3...and the i7 is 30% faster than an i5.  So if I went from i3 to i7, I could reasonably expect to get 40% faster action.

I also discovered that my system configuration came with 6 GB of RAM.  Now my motherboard has four slots and supports dual channel RAM.  And I had 2GB bars in three slots.  As I found out by researching the matter, to utilize dual channel memory, you must have matching pairs of RAM.  So my system, as it was, was only getting dual channel on 4GB and then single channel on 2GB [6 total].  This was a reduction in speed for the RAM.

Well, I decided to purchase a new i7 processor from Intel [$350] and two new memory bars [2 - 4GB each].   Removing the old processor was no trouble.  You simply open the PC, unscrew or detach the fan and heatsink from the motherboard and then you see the processor itself.  Unhook the latch and remove it.  Be sure to pay attention to the exact way it comes out and on what corner the triangle is located.  The new one must go in the same way, or trouble!  New CPU drops into the slot, clamp it down with the clamp on the mother board, and then apply some thermal grease to your fan/heatsink assembly and reattach to motherboard.  The grease acts as a buffer between the back of the processor [CPU] and the heatsink [big thing with fins connected to the fan].  It allows heat to move from the processor chip to the core of the heatsink...where it dissipates and the fan cools both.

Without getting too technical, I do want to mention that you MUST have the exact processor required for your system...and your motherboard must support the upgrade.  I got lucky and my HP with it's 1156 motherboard supported the upgrade.  Not all systems will do this.  Consult your manufacturer's site for full details and specifications on your computer system.  You will need to know what type of motherboard you have in order to order the precise components [parts] needed for upgrades.

Also, I want to mention that my i7 processor came with a new fan and heatsink from Intel...but it did not fit the screw hole mounts for my motherboard.  I could have made it fit, but it would have required removing the board from the case and a lot of crap.  Instead, I decided to just buy a new fan and heatsink that run like $10.  My old fan and sink worked fine, but I wanted to put a bigger unit on it since the i7 processor was literally twice the i3...meaning probably more heat.

I also removed one of my memory bars and installed the two new 4GB bars.  This raised me from 6GB [4 dual , 2 single] and put me running a total of 12GB [all dual].  Also pay attention when upgrading memoory.  Most boards have four slots, two will be blue, two black [most times].  They are color coded to indicate dual channel function.  Blues should match and blacks should match.  In my case, I had 2-4GB and 2-2GB.  My 4's went in the blue slots, my 2's went in the blacks.  Biggest pair of RAM should always go in slots 1 and whatever color matches slot one.  In my case it was blue.  You determine which slot is 1st, by seeing which slot is closer to the CPU processor itself.  So those colors do have meaning.  Don't just plug your RAM in willy-nilly in simpler terms.

Anyway, once all this was done, I turned on my computer and the system automatically detected the new processor and new RAM.  I did have to reinstall the driver for my video card however, as apparently the processor is what retains the data for it.  Once I reinstalled it, my system was a little slow for about ten minutes, I think, as a result of it adjusting its configurations.  After I got the graphics driver reinstalled and rebooted though, all was back exactly the way it was before the upgrade and everything was working fine.  In fact, Windows began to respond quite a bit faster, so I was excited.

Before doing the upgrade, I had set up a Poser scene and character and done a render, timing it.  It took 13 minutes and 33 seconds.  I saved the file in Pz3 form exactly as it was rendered.  Once I finished my upgrade and all was working well, I decided to open Poser and whip out my test render.  Setting it to render the exact same scene once more, I found that it took only 7 minutes and 27 seconds.  A little more than just half the time of the previous system render.  I got my 40% improvement and then some.

Long story short, before you invest in buying a brand new system to work with new features of Poser, take a look at upgrading your current system.  If you've got a line manufactured system [bought off the shelf in a store]...chances are your motherboard may support an upgrade.  I have found that PC's with Intel are much easier to deal with and get parts for.  And for a total of about $400 bucks, I managed to make my system the equivalent of a top of the line i7 system that would have run $1300+ bought new.   And this self-upgrade nearly cut my render times in half.

The i7 allows 8 threads rather than the 4 that my i3 had.  With Poser, this dramatically increases render speed using Firefly.  Also the additional RAM, now all on dual channel, probably helped quite a bit as well.

I am also looking at upgrading my graphics card in a few weeks, now that the big nasty is done and over with.  So this will probably help with my Poser speed as well.

Reason I posted this article was to let people know that processor upgrades are extremely simple and easy to do.  And rather than buying new computers it's much easier and cheaper to just upgrade your existing system.  And I also wanted to let everyone know that the upgrades make one helluva difference with render speeds.

Happy Posering...

J

I always upgrade...Still using WinXP 32 bit though but

Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU    Q6600  @ 2.40GHz

2 drvies each has 2-500GB drives Plus external drive..

Nvidia GeForce GTS 450...I'm also a games so have desktop...Laptop won't do

I've built over 200 computers.

I'll never build or upgrade another. I hate it now. I used to love computers... then one day.... like someone flipped a switch I went from being the guiy who fixes when users whine to the guy who wihines..

It's awesome.

My old rig's (about 4 yr old) had a bad hd that died twice (both times warrantied). It was a Core 2 Quad 2.4 Ghz with 8 Gb of RAM.

I decided to build a new one last November. I chose an Abit Mobo with Z68 Chipset. I paired it with a Core i7 2600k (3.4 Ghz), 16 Gb of 1866 DDR3, a 60 GB SATA III Solid State Drive and a 2 TB Western Digital Caviar Black Hard Drive in raid 0 configuration.  I overclocked it slightly to 3.8 Ghz.

I just installed Poser 2012. Rendering is way faster than my old rig.

JV

O run an e-machines T2899 from 2004. Its awesome  !  1 amd athlon processor running at 2.08 ghz, 512 mb ddr pc-2700 ram , 70 gb hard disk all running win xp. It runs Poser 7. 

:woot::woot::woot::woot:

My method of upgrading will be really, really simple. 1. Open Wheelie bin. 2. Drop old computer right in there. 3. Buy the biggest, fastest system with the biggest, fastest drives I can afford. Get my buddy Taf to build it and test it. 4. Sit back and gloat. Simples.

Well I thank you all for the input, but I wasn't really posting the original message as a discussion, more or less, I intended it as a knowledgeable "it works" notice for anybody who might be thinking about whether upgrading was worth it or not...even if it's to upgrade to a pre-bought, pre-built new computer.

Again, appreciate the input...but...

Quote - Long story short...

Too late.

"I wasn't really posting the original message as a discussion"

Too late...

Thanks for the thread. My old Poser machine will not allow a better processor or more memory. About all I can do is add a larger hard drive. For those who can upgrade their old systems, it is the cheapest boast for Poser they can get. As you point out, it is a must to know what upgrades are supported before buying.

The I7 now comes in several hyperthreaded 6 core versions, but this would cost considerably more than the $400 (USD) that you spent, and one would need to be sure that the motherboard would support the CPU.

For those rich enough to afford it, there are hyperthreaded Xeon chips with 6 cores, and motherboards with sockets for two CPUs and 32 GB or more. [drool]

Only the preview (not the rendering) of Poser 9 and Poser Pro 2012 will benefit from an upgraded video card. Maybe a future release of Poser will take advantage of powerful GPUs and video memory.

lmk

lkendall - thanks for pointing out that fact about the graphics card.  I had not considered that.  Very good point.