Thanks Ohki and hborre,

Hope it's okay to link to it ...

https://cgaxis.com/bundle-2300-pbr-textures-bundle-nw24-03/

Apparently, this is hundreds of dollars of materials on sale as a bundle for $49

the sale has 32 more hours to go. 

::::: Opera :::::

Thanks 3D.

@ 3Drendero

Microcenter 85 miles away, not necessarily a deal killer.

Per your link to lenovo ...  3Drendero, you probably won't like this ....

I am stuck on Intel. I tried AMD processor 20 years ago, and "had issues." I know that might be irrational, but to go with AMD now I'd have to get past that prejudice I have.

::::: Opera :::::

@3Drendero

The OptiPlex has 64 gb RAM, the Inspirion 16 GB.

Difference in price, $150 .... $1200 vs $1050

I would probably call Dell as my purchase window gets closer, to sort out all these different models.

Thank you for your analysis and links.

Side note: seems computers don't include optical drives any longer. I guess they expect us to stream everything?

I would recommend the following if you are DiYing it:

I'm thinking about DYI. I have a case and a power supply here ...

Thanks for your Bill of Materials!

::::: Opera :::::

NikKelly posted at 12:15 PM Sat, 19 August 2023 - #4472970

IIRC, many 'legacy' mobos may be upgraded to Win_11 support by adding a plug-in 'Trusted Program Module' (TPM). Buys a couple more years for hardware...
Snags are header-types vary, and there's a bit of confusion at present due a lot of TPMs using Chinese chips: YMMV...

Firefly, so CPU-only renders ?? Yes, get lots of nimble cores, the more the merrier...

Uh, do Firefly renders use 'Render Queue' reliably ? If not spending fortune on bleeding-edge GPU card, you may be able to split your budget to get a multi-core, basic GPU, network-render 'Box' to supplement your main system. Set up your scene, check with 'fair' resolution local render, increase resolution and send job to 'Box'...
Next ??
;-)

The Dell system I linked has 12 cores. Is that the same as "nibble cores?"

3Drendero posted at 12:52 PM Sat, 19 August 2023 - #4472978

"Yes Firefly is CPU rendering only, but dynamic cloth is mentioned and there are some GPU (nvidia CUDA) accelerated options out there."

I am reading the posts and this point about GPU or not for Firefly/ClothSimulation helps. If the clothroom and dynamic hair room tap into GPU power, I'll won't diminish the importance of it.

I'm aiming at a budget of $1200 without monitor.

I believe I don't need a huge internal SSD, since .pz3 projects are saved off into two external HD as the work increments.

https://www.amazon.com/Dell-OptiPlex-7000-Business-Bluetooth/dp/B0CB642KFG/ref=sr_1_38_sspa?th=1

Thanks for all the suggestions and debate, my purchase timeframe is mid-Sept, so important but not urgent. I have time to think.

::::: Opera :::::

RedPhantom, do they offer a free or modest cost version of Daz I could run just to do that?

I guess you would only get the mesh, no materials.

::::: Opera :::::

RedPhantom posted at 1:27 PM Thu, 17 August 2023 - #4472784

for 2 figures and only firefly, I'd focus on CPU and maybe ram, but I wouldn't put a ton in.  Then I'd look at a fast ssd for faster loading. I'd go with a mid-range video card since firefly doesn't render with the gpu

I didn't know it was up to Poser 13 by now! I'm on Poser 11. I wonder what I'm missing. Have there been any animation improvements.

::::: Opera :::::

If it were my choice, I'd pay more attention to your "Windows 10" requirement ..."

Whoops. My phrasing misled you. I didn't mean "it has to run windows 10 forever," I actually meant "not Mac." I should have just said ...... "windows."  Sorry for that.

::::: Opera :::::

subthread from a day or two ago ......

Dynamic draping ... one teacher said something 50 years ago that stuck: "A still image must be composed as if an instant in a flow of action. Visualize what happened right before the pose, and right after."  This means the clothing has to sing that song. It has to drape.

V4/Sasha16 turned out in arabesque attitude allongée. Dynamic gown: Nuisette #3 by carib98. Firefly render.

::::: Opera :::::

A missed moment a few years back... a lot of fuss could have been avoided .... V4 was nearly perfect ....  add SASHA-16 by Karina to the base V4 model .... male version included in Sasha system ... amazing morphs like you can barely imagine ..... advanced direct manipulation in the viewport.

However, Karina was distracted by other things in life, and did not assert this model. He did not turn it into a practical  "product."

I am obliged to show renders with her nude, so you can see the figure. Artistic nudity ahead ...   

::::: Opera :::::

The sounds intuitively good. Thanks for the clear description.

The characters shown just above by ethin and Kalypso are fine in and of themselves.

However, I have a question: since there is no sign of Asian features in the faces (except Azrea & Sylph), what is the point of 'crediting' Aiko?

Aren't they variations of V4?

::::: opera :::::

Another of Aiko4 with a lot of realism dialed in.

Mixed ancestry, brown eyes and hair from her mother's side. She likes to dance in the nude. Very serious.

::::: Opera :::::