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

[Max]

Ozgur,
After much experimenting, etc., etc....I am now in progress of installing Server 2008 to my web machine as well as my CAD machine. I have to tell you my biggest goal has been to try and setup a system as efficiently as possible and gain the very best possible from both of my machines in order to be able to run just about any software I care to without jumping on the upgrade train.

I find one thing interesting when dealing with software vendors during the current economic downturn; that being the unwillingness to keep new releases of software efficient enough to allow users to maintain the status quo on their current hardware! As it is now, most are pushing for their users to upgrade to the latest OS which then pushes users to upgrade their hardware to the latest versions. By the time most folks have done this there isn't enough money left to buy the software! Well Duh!

Anyway...Anything is possible, right?! So..I have experimented with many different combinations of software and have dbl checked that each of my current machines are as updated as they can be based on the motherboards they are built around. As it turns out this Windows Server 2008 may very well be the extra kick I needed! The OS runs every title I own without flaw and runs the latest version of Chief without a hitch. The control over the system is really incredible and seems to completely eliminate the various problems seemingly inherent with the standard Vista releases.

Much to learn about the server OS but right now I am focusing on bare bones in order to give the software the full benefit of my current hardware. One thing that jumps right out is the fact that Windows now has use of ALL 4 gigs of my memory rather than just 3 gigs. Nice. Anyway, still working with it so more will come as I know it....

[portrait]

Ozgur,
I find one thing interesting when dealing with software vendors during the current economic downturn; that being the unwillingness to keep new releases of software efficient enough to allow users to maintain the status quo on their current hardware! As it is now, most are pushing for their users to upgrade to the latest OS which then pushes users to upgrade their hardware to the latest versions. By the time most folks have done this there isn't enough money left to buy the software! Well Duh!

Hi Max,
Great observation! 100% agreed.

On the other hand, i'm surprised that Windows Server 2008 has such a great performance with Chief. Actually it's not surprising that Server 2008 is superior to Vista, but after reading your comments i think that Windows Server could be as good as Windows 7 for Chief X4. Maybe even better?
Please keep posting your further observations about this yet unknown area which are really helpful for everyone.

[CARMELHILL]

Not to hijack this thread, but I just ran some Passmark tests on my system and I'm wondering if I can upgrade to a new system from Dell, (the expensive option) or just upgrade to a new video card. It looks like I originally paid WAY TOO MUCH for an NVIDIA Quadro FX 4800 with 1.5 gig of ram. It looks like the Geforce cards have better performance at 1/4 the price but Dell doesn't have them as an option (why not). Does anyone know why Dell only uses Quadro cards? And can I swap out my Quadro and install a newer Geforce GTX 580?

[lbuttery]

can I swap out my Quadro and install a newer Geforce GTX 580?

If the 580 is made for the intended slot I don't see why not ???

maybe you should check with Dell tech support first ???

then sell the quadro card on ebay ???

Lew

[CARMELHILL]

I'll check tomorrow with Dell. The $469 for a Geforce GTX 580 with 3 gig sounds like a better deal than a new Dell for $4000. Anyone else with some ideas?

[Sledge]

Make sure your Power Supply is up to handling such a card. Many of the PCIe x2 cards need a 4 or 6 pin power connector. Even if your Power Supply has such a connector, you need to make sure you aren't already running close to max with other peripherals in your system.

Dell power supplies are generally better than their stated rating, but it would be advisable to check Nvidias recommended spec and (as Lew also says) what Dell says you can run.

[perryh]

The 580gtx needs a min. of a 600 Watt power supply, and 1- 6 pin ,and 1- 8 pin connector. Dell does offer Nvidia cards, you might have to go "customize" to get it. You might try Alienware computers--Dell bought them a couple of years age, a little more high end gaming .

[CARMELHILL]

Dell checked for me. It's compatible and I have the power for it. They didn't have any available. I have two identical computers so I'm going to upgrade just one with the 4 gig card and compare the performance change. The numbers on the Passmark.com website say my current card is less than stellar.

Pheonixconstruction in post #25 of this thread has a nice system. He said his shaded renders onloy take 5 seconds. Mine typically take 30 to 40 seconds now. That's just too slow. Hopefully the video card helps. I'll have to wait till later this summer for a new computer with new CPU's to help with the Raytracing.

Looks like I pissed away a lot of money on these Quadro cards. The Geforce is much better bang for the buck.

[lbuttery]

Edward:

The Quadro's are suppose to be good for CAD systems like Autocad etc

Chief uses OpenGL

a few years ago CA started to recommend the Quadro's and I was thinking of getting one and then CA changed their recommendation

try selling the Quadro on EBAY

Lew

[Gary Doski]

I'll have to wait till later this summer for a new computer with new CPU's to help with the Raytracing.

Looks like I pissed away a lot of money on these Quadro cards. The Geforce is much better bang for the buck.

Well, don't piss away more money, put the card money toward your new computer. Then get a beast!

[Doug Park]

In general I would recommend looking at reviews of the video card you are considering that compare the performance with the high end cards.

It is really hard to tell by the name of the card how it performs. Even the price is not always a good indicator, although in general the faster cards cost more.

Quadro cards are marketed as CAD cards and usually enjoy an excellent bump in price for a modest boost in performance. I don't like the price performance of the Quadro cards in general, but some have had really good luck with them.

We have some Dell laptops internally that use Quadro cards that are quite good and some others that are not so good so our luck on them has been mixed.

[Joe Carrick]

I don't think I'd worry about Apps like Chief being located on the Web. In fact, only very simple applications such as an online store or forums like this one work at an acceptable speed in most cases - sometimes even those are too slow depending on the bandwidth and transfer speeds.

The processing power requirements to run any complex app over the internet would be extreme and application speed would decline drastically. It's bad enough just transferring data over the internet even with the best connections. Trying to work with the application remote would be a nightmare. Can you imagine CA having a server capable of running thousands of instances of Chief - one for each user? It's not going to happen - distributed processing is much more efficient.

[CARMELHILL]

The Geforce GTX 580 card came this evening. I'll runa few performance tests before, and after, and share my results. The card was $454 from Amazon.

I thought I already had a "beast", Geez, 32 gig ram and dual Xeon processors should be enough. So I'm only upgrading the card now. I need another computer and CA license for a possible new employee this spring, so I'll get them something a little less ""beasty".

[dshall]

The Geforce GTX 580 card came this evening. I'll runa few performance tests before, and after, and share my results. The card was $454 from Amazon.

I thought I already had a "beast", Geez, 32 gig ram and dual Xeon processors should be enough. So I'm only upgrading the card now. I need another computer and CA license for a possible new employee this spring, so I'll get them something a little less ""beasty".

I just bought the GTX 580/"The Perry Special" from Fry's for 395.00, throw in some tax and it was probably $454.00. I guess I like it.

[Joe Carrick]

Wow, I only have a GeForce 560M but I don't think my Laptop can use the 580.

What are the specs on that card? $454 seems like a lot to pay for a video card, but what do I know?