Video Card Optimization

[deke-kincaid]

QUOTE(guy_iti @ 07/27/06, 12:56 PM) [snapback]243586[/snapback]
One comment though, at least on PC, the bandwith given for PCI is a shared one (meaning shared between all PCI devices), and the 120 Mb/s are very difficult to reach. I have the problem right now with a 4 drives RAID array on a promise PCI controller, and the output is lower than with a single SATA drive.
The G5 and most highend pc motherboards will have 2 pci busses so you don't saturate a single one. Also like most PC's these days, besides the video card, everything else is onboard and done through the main controler. So your not wasting pci slots on sound, firewire, usb, etc...

The thing is it sounds like a driver issue if 1 drive is faster then 4. Either that or you have all your pci slots full. Are you striping the drives or simply spanning them?(big difference).

I have used a g5 with an 4 drive sata raid and a kona hd card which captures 125 mb/sec 1080p footage and saves it to the array. So I know it won't be a problem getting those speeds on the G5. I don't see why it would be any different on the pc unless it is a really bad motherboard or bad drivers. The technology on both are exactly the same.

[director]

Although I may try and upgrade my system after Ihear what Apple releases in the end of September, I have upgraded my current desktop.

I now have a Dual 2.5 GHz G5 computer. It is based in PCI-X which many of youhave explained and I have been doing tons of research on over the past few days. Can someone recommend a good video card, preferably at least 256 MHz that is compatable with the PCI-X technology my current computer uses?

I did a diagnostics check and all this machine has right now is:

ATI Radeon 9600 XT:

Chipset Model: ATY,RV360
Type: Display
Bus: AGP
Slot: SLOT-1
VRAM (Total): 128 MB
Vendor: ATI (0x1002)
Device ID: 0x4152
Revision ID: 0x0000
ROM Revision: 113-A13602-121
Displays:
Apple Cinema Display:
Display Type: LCD
Resolution: 1600 x 1024
Depth: 32-bit Color
Core Image: Supported
Main Display: Yes
Mirror: Off
Online: Yes
Quartz Extreme: Supported
Rotation: Supported
Display:
Status: No display connected

It apears this card is AGP. Can someone reccomend a specific card for me?

[user_deleted]

there's only about 4 high end video cards for the G5 iirc.. go to the apple store and make a BTO G5 and see which cards are available. barefeats.com also has some nice shoot outs and some info about flashing a cheap pc card.

i doubt you'll see any imporved performance for rendering in shake though, better invest in a fast raid or a cheap iMac Core Duo as a render node (actually the Macbooks are great value too, i'm just a bit sceptical about heat if you tax the CPU 200% 24/7 in a consumer laptop)

++ christoph ++

[deke-kincaid]

QUOTE(director @ 07/31/06, 10:33 PM) [snapback]243942[/snapback]
Can someone recommend a good video card, preferably at least 256 MHz that is compatable with the PCI-X technology my current computer uses?
Ok, more things to confuse you. There aren't any PCI-X video cards.

PCI was too slow, Intel invented AGP for video cards and only PCI/PCI-X slots for everything else. Then PCI-Express came out which is faster then everything(AGP&PCI). So we went from PCI for everything, to AGP only for video cards and now to PCI-Express for everything again.

So 6800 GT for AGP is the fastest card you can get for your machine.

[director]

I cannot find a 6800 GT for AGP ....only 6800 GT for PCI Express. The website I was looking on was www.newegg.com

[deke-kincaid]

I guess Apple doesn't sell them anymore, only the nvidia 6600. So the next best be would be a Radeon X850 or X800. Either that or look for a 6800 on ebay.

[director]

Is that still the best bet? They still make a 6800 AGP, just not a 6800 GT for AGP.

[user_deleted]

Shake renders in software, true, but the GUI is hardware rendered. G5s at work are more responsive in Shake Interactive when used with an Nvidia 6800 rather than the default Nvidia 5200 (or something low end)

Matt Hermans,

Fuel International
Newtown, Sydney
Australia

[director]

Are all nVidia 6800 GT cards for AGP compatible with Apple Computers?

[director]

I bought one. It's on the way.

Apple nVidia GeForce 6800 GT DDL for PowerMac. Thank you everyone who helped with this topic.

[user_deleted]

Congratulations!
Please let us know where you got the card and for how much.

And in a few days tell us if you thing it's worth it. I'm also stuck with the default card comming with my 16 months old G5 but i didn't think a video card upgrade would do much though...

[deke-kincaid]

You will see significant speed differences with a 6800 over the lowend card that came in the g5(radeon 9600/9800, fx5200). Especially if you do any 3d or use apps like motion.

[director]

I did tons of research. Beaker was a big help. I still need to get the RAID mentioned somewhere in this topic, but I'm sure the video card will help a lot with the system I'm on now.

[user_deleted]

I don't really think you will feel the difference much.
Maybe if you get to sell the www.filmvfx.com domain you are offering at the forum you get more money to waste but on Shake I'd say there won't be any difference...
Please let me know if you think I'm wrong... and tell me how much you payed (a 6800 was ard. 500 euro when i last checked... i got a Decklink card for that price and it really made a difference!).
enjoy your new toy ;-D

[director]

I think you're wrong. lol.

For everything I do in video and film, and with all of the applications I use including Shake, right off the bat I am moving from a 128MB card to a 256MB card.

I'm sure if I would have shopped around more I may have found it for less.

Here is the model I bought:

Apple nVidia GeForce 6800 GT DDL for PowerMac

Email me directly and I will tell you how much I paid for it ... if you still want to know.

[user_deleted]

You say you have increased the amount of memory the your video card, therefore you expect a power boost... But i'd say it is mainly used for textures in 3D apps... Any 128Mb can handle dual 1920*1440 displays, the rest of the memory won't be used to load your video footage.
I'm sure you are happy and think it is worth it, that's plain ok. The thing is knowing if you SEE it is worth it when you are working.
You'd be really kind if you tell us how you feel your workflow has improved with the new card.
At the prod. house i work they have a G5 Quad qith a Quadro and i felt no real power cominf from the card (although it's nice with its advanced Genlock and we use it to output)

[director]

As of January 1st we are going to be offering 3d Animation, so the added performance will help. I havn't even gotten the thing hooked up yet as of now. UPS delivered it 35 minutes ago though.

[director]

The new cards works great. Finally, the end of this question.

[user_deleted]

So now Shake runs faster, is it?

PS: Shake runs as good on my MacBook Pro as in the Quad G5 at the office... We'd rather start saving for a Mac pro ...