Looking into new computer--advice?

Choppski

kyoto kid said:

...I use MSI Afterburner to monitor rendering and keep track of fan speed/GPU temperature. On average scenes that are say 11 to 12 GB in System memory take up around 3.8 to 4 GB in VRAM (rendering at Quality setting 2).

Hmm, then why did it render using cpu? Is there a setting in studio I need to change? It's been ages since I used iray, but In Studio it says I have 8GB of video ram. 

PerttiA

First, nevermind what the Task Manager says about GPU memory. Your card had 8GB's of VRAM not more.

Out of that 8GB's maximum 5.7GB's is available to rendering as the OS, DS and the scene create a baseload that also uses VRAM

kyoto kid

@ Choppski:  ...I have photoreal checked and CPU unchecked for Iray rendering.  There is a render mode that uses both the CPU and GPU when both are checked , but it really doesn't offer much in the way of a speed advantage.

@ PerttiA ... just did a test, first with only the OS and Afterburner indicates the Titan-X is at around 290 MB of VRAM usage (supporting two displays).  With Daz 4.10 (which I use for rendering in Iray) open and idle with no scene loaded, the usage increases to around 395 - 410 MB of VRAM. With a fairly basic scene loaded in texture shaded mode (one fully clothed character, a couple props and two sets using the Sun/Sky & Dome/Scene settings) but not rendering, the VRAM load hovers around 1.19 to 1.21 GB.  In system memory Daz and the scene take up about 2.46 GB which is about the usual 2:1 ratio.

Using W7 Pro.

outrider42

magog_a4eb71ab said:

outrider42 said:

magog_a4eb71ab said:

DDR5 RAM will be much faster at selling for those crazy enough to jump on the bandwagon right away. From what I've heard, DDR5 RAM at present isn't really faster than today's top spec DDR4 RAM. Its new, and just like DDR4, its going to take time to mature and improve before it blows DDR4 out of the water. I would wait at least a year after its introduced since you'll have to buy a new motherboard that supports it, which basically equates to building/rebuilding a whole system.

Maybe at first DDR5 will not be that much faster, but I expect that to change pretty quickly. I honestly don't have any info on why, I just have a hunch the spec will move quicker than DDR4 did. Things seem to be moving fast right now. They are already talking about DDR6 and it may be coming out in a few years. The long stagnation that seemed to hang around the Intel 4 core era is over. The arms race is back on again. The only problem is pricing.

But DDR5 will bring a serious spec change that many of you here will get excited about more: capacity. A single DDR4 stick is limited to 32GB. But a single DDR5 stick can have up to 128GB of RAM. On a single stick!

Now obviously we will need motherboards that can handle more memory, and these things will not be cheap. But the possibilities are there, this is a spec beyond even workstations and it can be done on a desktop. You will need a Pro version of Windows to go beyond 128.

We have 128, 256, and 512 GB DDR4 RAM sticks(RDIMMs, LRDIMMs, etc., limited to workstation/server boards), so those larger RAM sticks won't be anything new, but I wouldn't expect them to be making something like that for our average desktops anytime soon unless OS & everyday-use programs suddenly become much much more RAM hungry. My reasoning is they will still want to keep the workstations separate. I wouldn't expect it to be faster, but I could be wrong. It has a higher latency than DDR4 RAM, but that as you said should improve over time.

The line between workstation and desktop has been getting blurry for a while. We have 16 core 32 thread CPUs for desktops now. The 3090 is a gaming card with 24GB, and AMD has 3 different models that pack 16GB. Intel's GPUs are set to also pack 16GB.

There are many applications that are desktop focused and love memory. Rendering apps like DS and Iray are prime examples, but you also have video editing and other pro apps that benefit from memory but have no real interest in workstation features. These are growing fields, and you also have a growing number of people who want to be able to work and play on their computers rather than having multiple systems.

Choppski

kyoto kid said:

@ Choppski:  ...I have photoreal checked and CPU unchecked for Iray rendering.  There is a render mode that uses both the CPU and GPU when both are checked , but it really doesn't offer much in the way of a speed advantage.

OK, cool. THanks. I will uncheck CPU and see what happens. I found it hard to believe an image with a single figure some hair and a couple props would be too much for 8G of vram. What would you need to have 2 characters. 

BTW, what is afterburner? On my MSI machine I have dragon central that has a monitor of my system--memory usage, fan speed, temp, cpu etc. Is afterburner another program?

kyoto kid

...it's a free utility from MSI, works with any brand GPU.  Dragon sounds more like MSI's dedicated version of the CPUID Hardware Monitor (or the ASUS version I have) from your description. 

Here's the link for afterburner which is primarily monitoring and tweaking your GPU. 

https://www.msi.com/Landing/afterburner/graphics-cards

0oseven

This comparison of RTX GPU's may be of interest.

Note the huge diffeence inperformance between mobile [laptop ] versions and Desktop. eg RTX3080's 

0oseven

Ive read that Windows 11 is coming - apparently the way it handles resources is going to mean a boost to perfomance across the board.

 

0oseven

I also want to upgrade and have my eye on this

MSI GP66 Leopard 11UH-024AU 15.6" Core i7 Notebook Win 10 Home, BONUS Games via Redemption!* BONUS Game!*

Web ID: 30809

CPU: Intel Core i7-11800H || 8 Cores 2.3GHz (24MB Cache, up to 4.6 GHz)
Screen Size: 15.6" FHD (1920 x 1080), 240Hz, close to 100% sRGB
GPU: Nvidia RTX3080 8GB GDDR6
RAM Size: 32GB DDR4 RAM (16GB x 2, 3200MHz)
SSD: 1TB NVMe PCIe Gen4x4
Ethernet Port: 1 x LAN Port
Wireless Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax) + Bluetooth 5.2
Display Outputs: 1 x HDMI 2.1(8K @60Hz / 4K @ 120Hz) || 1 x Mini DisplayPort
USB: 3 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A
Audio Outputs: 1 x 3.5mm Combo Audio Jack
Other: SD Card Reader || No Optical Drive
Operating System: Windows 10 Home
, BONUS Intel Gamer Day Bundle Coupon, BONUS Available (Conditions Apply) Check Product Page or www.computeralliance.com.au/promos ONLY WHILE STOCKS LAST!
Manufacturer Warranty: 2 Year
Manufacturer PN: 11UH-024AU
GTIN: 824142250846
Manufacturer Website

$3499

Thats Australian dollars  - roughly $5000 US and suppsed to be a discounted price !!!! Seiously now looking at desktop as more bang for buck

 

 

 

j

LeatherGryphon

Yea!  Win11.  Bah humbug! 

No rush to jump onto the Win11 bandwagon.  Just ignore all the Win11 chatter and play happily with your Win10 (or whatever) for a couple more years.  Win10 still has about 5 years of support left, let the first 3 or 4 years of that be for bug smashing on other people's computers.  Then start looking for that Win11 machine on new hardware that's designed for it, at real-person prices.

PerttiA

LeatherGryphon said:

Yea!  Win11.  Bah humbug! 

No rush to jump onto the Win11 bandwagon.  Just ignore all the Win11 chatter and play happily with your Win10 (or whatever) for a couple more years.  Win10 still has about 5 years of support left, let the first 3 or 4 years of that be for bug smashing on other people's computers.  Then start looking for that Win11 machine on new hardware that's designed for it, at real-person prices.

+1 

kyoto kid

0oseven said:

I also want to upgrade and have my eye on this

MSI GP66 Leopard 11UH-024AU 15.6" Core i7 Notebook Win 10 Home, BONUS Games via Redemption!* BONUS Game!*

✂️

Manufacturer PN: 11UH-024AU
GTIN: 824142250846
Manufacturer Website

$3499

Thats Australian dollars  - roughly $5000 US and suppsed to be a discounted price !!!! Seiously now looking at desktop as more bang for buck

 

 

 

j

...hmm just ran that number through a currency converter and 3,499 AUD would be 2,550 USD 

kyoto kid

PerttiA said:

LeatherGryphon said:

Yea!  Win11.  Bah humbug! 

No rush to jump onto the Win11 bandwagon.  Just ignore all the Win11 chatter and play happily with your Win10 (or whatever) for a couple more years.  Win10 still has about 5 years of support left, let the first 3 or 4 years of that be for bug smashing on other people's computers.  Then start looking for that Win11 machine on new hardware that's designed for it, at real-person prices.

+1 

+2 

KCMustang

I have no interest in or room for a desktop (although the 3090 performance is impressive) and run a RTX3070 equipped laptop with 64GB of system RAM. For people looking for laptops remember also check if the Nvidia card is a Max Q version, they don't quite have the same performance as a full power card. I'm not sure if there is much difference rendering but there is a difference gaming.

The one I have is an Infinity which is the Australian / New Zealand version of the XMG NEO. They have good reviews for cooling and using a cheap cooling pad the GPU stays around 65 - 70 degrees Celcius while rendering, which isn't too bad for a laptop.

 

nonesuch00

Well I was doing the math budget for all I need to buy and do by next Sep 2022 and sadly it looks, unless the RTX 3000 series drops down to MSRP prices, I will not be buying a RTX 3000 series GPU in the next year. So I guess I will shot for an RTX 4000 series in the year that follows. It's only for special use stuff outside of rendering that I really want one anyway so a much faster Ada Lovelace RTX 4000 series makes more sense for me.

However, for those that are in the market for a RTX 3000 series in the next year I've had a EVGA GeForce RTX 3070 XC3 8GB GDDR6 Graphic Card (08GP53755KL) in my eBay shopping cart for the past week at between $1000 - $1099 "Buy It Now" and it actually hasn't sold. So maybe that an indicator the prices are ready to come back down to earth in the next few months.