Thanks, Jim!
My computer’s running on the 64-bit version of Windows, so I guess that means I can use 64-bit version of ZB after all.
I don’t know where would be the right place to post this but I notice that we have measurement capability with the transpose, I also notice that there are brushes in Zbrush that project a loop around the geometry. Which leads me to my question, can we measure girths in ZBrush?
If not will we be able to do so in R7 and if not could it please be added when possible so that we can?
It’s gotta be getting close now… Really close …
I think i have come to the conclusion that i am going to rename my copy of 4r7 when i get it to… Zbrush 4Rhooked on crack! Lol so excited!
Pixolator has just posted a status update. You can read it here: http://www.zbrushcentral.com/showthread.php?190635-Status-update
Thanks aurick, January is fine with me. I just need to remember not to spend my ZBrush money on partying over the Christmas break, which starts today. 
With 4R7 your primary concerns will be RAM (amount and speed) and CPU.
Since 4R7 will have be available in a (beta) 64-bit version it will be able to use as much RAM as your system has. This will primarily benefit you when dealing with lots of SubTools, layers and subdivision levels.
The CPU will affect rendering speed and how smooth your interaction with the mesh is while sculpting. More cores is a more important consideration than core speed. The easiest way to compare CPU’s is to multiply the speed by the number of cores, then compare the resulting values. So a dual core processor at 4 GHz (value of 8) is actually inferior to a quad core processor at 3 GHz (value of 12).
SSD will not make much difference at all – especially with the 64-bit version of ZBrush. This is because it only comes into play when ZBrush has to write to disk. That’s primarily when saving files and compacting memory. The former is an infrequent operation and the latter will rarely happen in a system with lots of RAM. I’d just go with a 7,200 rpm mechanical drive.
And no, your GPU doesn’t play a role at all.
Of course, all of this only applies to ZBrush. If you’re using other apps that require GPU and/or do a lot of writing to disk, then keep those in mind.
so A good cpu makes your drawing smoother,but more ram helps you with dealing with lots of layers and sub tools, but layers and subtools make your sculpting not so smooth. I need to know if i upgrade my ram will it help the the layers and sub tools not make my sculpting lag???
I don’t agree with the ssd statement, if you have the means to get an ssd go for it. I have one and it speeds everything up. Doesn’t matter if you have a fast cou and lots of memory if your hard disk sucks it will still have a slow response time. To be honest having a fast cpy lots of memory and a decent had disk is the way forward in my opinion.
plus factor with ssd is you don’t have to worry about fragmented drives but you do have limited writes to it.
I assume my 32GB and hexa core Xeon are good enough? 
plus factor with ssd is you don’t have to worry about fragmented drives but you do have limited writes to it.
Yeah, you have limited writes but it’s A LOT of writes. Also, you can move vmem off to a secondary HD which may be helpful if you don’t want like 400 files writing to your SSD every time you open Zbrush. I have an SSD and a regular HDD and I love it. I know someday that SSD is going to go splodie but I hope that’s a long time from now.
To answer Thebest12:
RAM doesn’t speed up your sculpting. How smoothly you interact with the mesh with each brush stroke is entirely based on your CPU. More RAM simply controls how much data ZBrush can keep immediately at hand so that it doesn’t have to read from and write to disk as often. It also lets you work with larger files where you have huge SubTools or lots of 3D layers, UV’s, PolyPaint, etc. So having more RAM will let you work with more polys but the smoothness of your interaction with those models will still be based on your CPU.
That being said, a 64-bit version of ZBrush will do a better job at taking advantage of your CPU. So if you load the same model on the same machine, you should interact with it more smoothly on the 64-bit version of ZBrush than the 32-bit version.
Regarding SSD’s:
They are, hands down the fastest option for reading from and writing to disk. Absolutely! But they have NO impact whatsoever when you are not reading or writing. So no matter how much RAM you have and which flavor of ZBrush you’re running, an SSD will let you save or load your files faster. But how much of your time spent in ZBrush is opening or saving projects? Compared to your time sculpting, it’s pretty minimal. Textures, materials, brushes and the like are smaller files and so they are downright fast to load or save no matter what speed your hard drive is. In the big picture, loading that brush in 1/32nd of a second compared to 1/2 of a second is not going to have much impact on you. 
So when else does ZBrush read and write? When it has to use virtual memory. When does it have to use virtual memory? When you don’t have enough RAM. Which costs more per GB – RAM or SSD? The SSD is more expensive. So, assuming that you’re working with the 64-bit version of ZBrush and assuming that your motherboard will support it, more RAM is a better investment than an SSD. You’ll see a much higher improvement in performance by adding more RAM vs. using an SSD.
That being said, all of this applies to ZBrush. Other programs can see a bigger improvement in performance with SSD’s than ZBrush will. And of course not all motherboards can handle equal amounts of RAM. I have an SSD for my system’s primary drive and I love it because the machine boots faster, has less loading time for big programs, etc. It just doesn’t have much bearing on ZBrush’s performance.
This is all great for those of us who own or even care to have KeyShot, but some of us don’t. Would be nice if being able to more easily adjust materials, lighting and render beauty shots more easily, as well as being able to paint specularity and transparency more easily was updated and integrated…not having to depend on some outside software out of the 50 of which I’ve bought, isn’t one that I do own or care to have.
It’s fine to enhance compatibility with other software, but I feel this is more of an add-on than actual progression of ZBrush…not to mention the amount of time we’ve been waiting for an actual update.
To answer Thebest12:
RAM doesn’t speed up your sculpting. How smoothly you interact with the mesh with each brush stroke is entirely based on your CPU. More RAM simply controls how much data ZBrush can keep immediately at hand so that it doesn’t have to read from and write to disk as often. It also lets you work with larger files where you have huge SubTools or lots of 3D layers, UV’s, PolyPaint, etc. So having more RAM will let you work with more polys but the smoothness of your interaction with those models will still be based on your CPU.
That being said, a 64-bit version of ZBrush will do a better job at taking advantage of your CPU. So if you load the same model on the same machine, you should interact with it more smoothly on the 64-bit version of ZBrush than the 32-bit version.
I just thought it was odd I spent (years ago ) 1,100 on a Intel core i7 980x 6 core 12 threads, and when when I divide up to 12 to 15 million poly with 2 layers the sculpting really start to suffer,i hope 64 bit sort this out…I have 12 gig of ram and I am upgrading to 24 gig , we will see
by the way are you saying ram will help you with layers? Meaning it shouldn’t interfere with sculpting smoothness
Layers are basically morph targets. (There’s more to it than that, but it’s a good way to think of things.) So if you have a 15 million polygon with 2 layers and both layers are active then that’s 45 million polygons that ZBrush is keeping track of in real-time.
That right there should answer your question about why you were surprised to discover that your performance was suffering. 64-bits will certainly help in that area because it takes better advantage of your CPU but the more polygons you ask ZBrush to push, the more your CPU will have to work. There will always be limits.
It should also answer your question about why more RAM will help with layers. If each layer is a copy of all the points in your model then those points have to be stored somehow. When the layers are active, they can’t be offloaded to virtual memory very well, right? So having more RAM will let you work with more layers to begin with.
Hi Pixo… while you are sweating away and perfecting 4.7, don’t you want to have a look at the program Manic Time - http://www.manictime.com/ I love to use it as we designers tend to loose track of time while working… this program track your activity and can be a plus for many as i am sure many of you out there do yourselves in when invoicing clients… try it!
Only problem is it sees ZBrush but not active files as it does with other programs - somehow it doesn’t seem to see the name of file one is working on…
Could the guys at Pixo see if they can address this is issue… but don’t let it side track you from the main task at hand…
Aurick I know I must send a ticket… will do later…
Ziggy
psiclone wrote: This is all great for those of us who own or even care to have KeyShot, but some of us don’t…
Fair enough, just don’t buy it.
The Keyshot function isn’t a compulsory with 4R7 purchase, but for those who do want to have it the option is appreciated.
Does anyone know what Angle of View Zack Petroc recommended? I swear someone asked him during the summit.
Thanks!
Eduardo
It’s definitely an add-on, and that is absolutely a good thing.
First off, it’s not as if the preview for ZB4r7 doesn’t boast a number of highly significant improvements in itself. The jump to 64 bit alone is worth the price of admission (the price being completely free to registered users, of course), and there is so much more in those preview videos. So even if the Keyshot package doesn’t interest you, you are still getting what looks to be one of the most significant Zbrush updates in recent memory. For free.
No update ever does everything that everyone might want, but you always end up with a much better Zbrush. In addition to the program updates, they’ve faced a truth about Zbrush–that the road to making Zbrush into a fully featured high end raytrace renderer with real global illumination, emissive surfaces, and compelling sss and transparency is a much longer one than it is to improve the content creation aspects of Zbrush that most people use the program for. Any full featured rendering is likely to come in the form of an add-on in any event, as Zbrush just isn’t built around that kind of architecture.
So in addition to the huge upgrade in native Zbrush capability, they’ve arranged to leap frog years of native Zbrush development. They’ve partnered with a highly regarded insustry rendering specialist to provide that kind of functionality right now, and all at a price that keeps it accessible for hobbyists, because against all odds Pixologic is a successful high end graphics software company that actually cares about that sort of thing. You may very well see further development in this area in Zbrush internally, but in the meantime, Pixologic made a great move to do what it can for the needs of its users right now.
I don’t see any call for negativity in any of this. None at all.
100% Church! Fully agree Scott.
Spyndel you nailed it! It’s plenty of battles over the greatest render program…
Pixologic is definitely on the right track