If I bought a CRAY super computer will CA be faster?

[sherpa_jones]

I've just learned to take a deep breath and relax while chief seems to do something too slow for my liking. I lean back on my chair and stretch, clear my mind, and do some deep breathing. It is a good opportunity to clear the stress of the day's work. And if I get really worked up about it, I just hit save, close, and I take 15 minutes and go for a walk. I don't think Chief will ever run as fast as I would like, or that I will ever own a machine that will make this possible. Regardless, Chief is a very powerful program compared to what was available 20-30 years ago. It is like people who are impatient at airports. You are flying across the country in a matter of a day! 300 years ago that trip took a lifetime, and you left home as a newlywed and arrived as a grandfather!

[sutcac]

Nice bit of wisdom there Rod.

[Karlo]

David is right. A "Super Computer" probably runs Unix os or a some super duper os of it's own kind. Not Windows! I see my GTX-570 ranks pretty high on that list. For another 200 skins I could have got the top of the list. I was having computer lockups during renderings with my El-Cheapo video card. Not any longer.

[Max]

...No self-respecting "Super Computer" would have any Windows Operating system on it so your question is moot...

Sorry, I beg to differ...just a matter of time

http://www.zdnet.com/news/microsoft-...mputers/136241

[Max]

Another article shows Cray and Microsoft have had a combined solution since 2008.

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/microsoft/...rcomputer/1589

[portrait]

Another article shows Cray and Microsoft have had a combined solution since 2008.

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/microsoft/...rcomputer/1589

That's also what i have heard also. http://www.chieftalk.com/showpost.ph...4&postcount=15
I don't ask this for only Cray super computers, before i purchased my current workstation my computer advisor had told me that the best OS for this configuration was MS Server 2008. However i didn't want to use an OS which i was not familiar with, and wasn't sure if all the programs including Chief i had been been using were compatible with Server 2008. So i decided to use Windows 7.
This is why i wonder if anybody tried to install and use Chief under MS Server 2008...

[Max]

Ozgur,
Now that you mention it, I recall I have access to a free copy of MS server 2008 as a part of a development subscription. I may very well download it and test Chief on that platform.

[portrait]

Max, thanks! That will be great! Please don't forget to inform us.

[PhoenixConstruction]

Here's my "Mini-Cray"

And yes, the GeForce 590GTX is the fastest I've seen (for now ). Your 280 is pretty dated.

[PhoenixConstruction]

Sorry, I guess none of this answered your real question, as we all focused on the Cray computer. Difference in render for me with shadows off and shadows on - Off=2 seconds, On=5 seconds (3 second difference)

[dshall]

NVIDIA ran through numbers like 7000, 8000, 9000 and then switched over to 100, 200, 300, 400, and 500. The 500 series is the latest at the moment.

In answer to your Cray question. The first Cray super computers are slower than your iPad is now. Current technology would be a lot faster than what you have currently, but assuming Chief ran on a super computer, which it doesn't, you could still build models that take a long time.

Thanks Doug, very clear answer.... here is my computer man's response...

Here’s the main issue: When considering computer performance, you’re only as fast as the slowest component. Since we recently upgraded your RAM, we’re essentially left with the following:

1) The program has to pull data from the hard drive. (Textures, data, etc). Solid state drives are much faster than traditional hard drives. The most noticeable symptom of this would be slow loading times, but theoretically once the file is fully loaded, shouldn’t be much hard drive access.
2) The CPU performs calculations. Your processor, Core i7-920 is very fast, but there are faster.
3) The GPU (graphcis card) performs calculations. This is the upgrade you’re considering. I spent a bit of time reading forums/support for CA and it seems that certain views/renders are more CPU intensive whereas others are more GPU intensive.
4) Software limitations. Certain programs have limitations of exactly how fast they can process information based on the way the code was written. Regardless of the speed of the hardware, sometimes the software simply can’t go any faster. I found this support article from CA regarding things that can cause slowness on larger drawings. http://www.chiefarchitect.com/suppor...?faqNumber=521 One of these items was:

Chief Architect does not recommend reusing plan files by deleting everything out of an existing plan file and renaming it.

It is important to always start new plan or layout files from a template.

Not sure if any of the above suggestions are relevant, but essentially I’m hesitant about recommending an $800 video card without knowing specifically what is causing any of the slowness. It may not even be the graphics card that’s holding you back.

Also, part of the problem with the GTX 590 specifically (aside from very limited supplies)…. The GTX 590 is essentially two cards on one physical board, joined through what is called “SLI” technology. Each of the individual cards is slower than the card that is one step down (the GTX 580) but with two joined together, the performance is greater…IF the program supports it. Not all programs support SLI mode, so even with the fancy dual card, under the hood the software can only make use of one of them. I was unable to find anything on CA support as to whether or not it supports SLI mode. If it doesn’t, you’ll actually get superior performance by using a GTX 580 which is a significant savings.

We definitely would like to get the performance up to snuff for you, just want to be careful that you’re not spending money on an item that isn’t going to provide a good benefit.

Any additional comments before I spend Lynn's X-Mas money on a computer upgrade?

[Joe Carrick]

Scott,

Get the 580. My Laptop has a GTX 560M.

BTW, I concur with the "New Plan" for each job. You should consider organizing your Library and putting reusable stuff there rather than dragging all that extra stuff from Plan to Plan.

[David J. Potter]

Scott,

It seems to me that the "SLI" question came up when it was first introduced as an option and the answer I remember from Chief people (Doug, Dermot or the like) was that Chief is not written to take advantage of SLI architecture as some video games are.

DJP

PS: I am appreciative of being reminded of the save-as/reuse of older plan and layout files for future use. I have done this in the past and found it problematic empirically, any apparent time "saved" is lost due to the plan or layout's earlier associations to earlier plan files.

[dshall]

Thanks guys, sounds like the 580 is the way to go. Yes, I was a bit confused how sli played into the decision.

As far as tha SAM goes, I have found no problems, I have been using it for over 3 years.

[Joe Carrick]

As far as tha SAM goes, I have found no problems, I have been using it for over 3 years.

Are you sure about that? Seems like you may have found a problem but aren't ready to admit it.
Sometimes it results in something remaining that wasn't intended - some of which could be memory hogs.