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Hardware related, don't see a hardware forum...

SovereignSovereign171 Posts: 0Member
edited December 2006 in Technical Questions and Answers #1
I have 3ds max 9. And a pair of 7900GTXs in SLI. Is there any possible way to accelerate 3D rendering in 3ds max when all you have under the hood are said cards? I know they're not meant for professional work, but is there any imaginable way (short of new card or cards) to cut down on render times? My 6800NU was faster... (and no I didn't softmod it) :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:
Post edited by Sovereign on

Posts

  • NamelezzNamelezz0 Posts: 0Member
    #2
    You don't mention what kind of CPU or ram you have. That can make a very big difference. Are you trying to do something else while having max render? I am only running an amd 1700xp+ with 2gig of ram and a Geforce 5900xt. Most of my wip images take about 5 or 6 minutes to render. I know that most of this is because of the lighting solutions. Most of that work is done on the cpu, so until the cpu is done with it, the vidoe card can't do anything and sits there idle.
  • ghanimaghanima331 Posts: 0Member
    #3
    Final Rendering through ANY 3D software is the task of the CPU NOT the GPU's.

    Buying any video card even if its workstation class will not accelerate final rendering times. What you would need to increase speed in rendering is one or a combination of the following: faster CPU, more CPU cores, more CPU's. Ideally: More faster quad core CPU's. Render farms are fast not because of the video card, in actuality you could have a single low end video card on a render farm server and it would work fine. What render farms have that does the job quickly are an abundants of CPU's. i've heard of some render farms that have as many as 128+ CPU's crunching numbers to render more quickly. Mental Ray runs on this principle. the more CPU's you have, the equal amount of little "squares" you have to solely render that potion of the image/animation [HyperThreading and multi-core CPU's also have this effect].

    Now the difference in getting a high end video card is that it allows for faster REAL TIME rendering as in games or even when working in a 3d app e.g. when rotating or zooming wireframe meshes.

    I may be slightly off on my technical knowledge - but i hope this answers your question.

    ON A SIDE NOTE. a good example of utilitizing your high end card when running 3d software is to turn your AA up as far as you can when working in your 3d app. [unless you are already have]: your wireframe lines and other visual options will look nice and smooth.
  • SovereignSovereign171 Posts: 0Member
    #4
    Thanks for the info guys...

    I have a 2.6GHz Opteron 170 (overclocked) and 2GB RAM. The RAM timings are a bit loose at 3-4-4-8 (which was needed for DDR500 operation) but the RAM is running slower than that at DDR432. Should I perhaps tighten up my RAM, or lose 100MHz on the CPU and go for 2.5GHz/DDR500?

    And as for real-time rendering, I'm working with 217k polys (when the ship is this big you don't need tons of detail on the sides and surfaces). Pressing "7" brings up a polycounter and FPS measurement. Realtime rendering shows no dips below 55FPS in Perspective.
  • NamelezzNamelezz0 Posts: 0Member
    #5
    I have found that with cpu heavy programs like 3d apps, overclocking hinders more than helps them. I let you cpu run a default speed and tighten up you ram settings. Your cpu is having to repeat requests for data from your ram right now. Any more, the only time I overclock my system is when I'm going to a LAN party. I'm so far behind my friends that it gives me a little boost and decreases my lag. Other than that, I leave my clock settings alone.
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