X5 64 Bit Not Recognizing GPU

[Oakriverman]

Has anyone else had issues with the 64 bit version not utilizing (or using) the graphics card for standard and vector rendering?

I have installed the viewer to do a quick test and it works great. I have a GTX 670 - which is supposed to be a screamer - and by installing system monitors I have found that x5 64 is only using the cpu to render (not talking about raytracing here) and there is no evidence that it is using the graphics card. I'm talkin' flat line.

Drivers are updated. Onboard card disabled. I've tried everything.

I had the same issue on my old machine as well. I'm starting to think it goes beyond the physics of this world and is linked to the physical location of my office because I can't seem to find anyone else saying anything about it.

[Glenn Woodward]

Aaron,

What do you see at Preferences...Render...Video Card Status?

PS. Are you trying to do a vector view or a standard render view - you mention both in your post?

[Jvon]

I'm dealing with this exact problem, and it's definitely software related. I'm in college for game development and every other program runs fine... Autodesk, Cryengine , Unity, Zbrush, and often I'm dealing with billions of polygons.....

[Oakriverman]

Glenn,

It is the same with both standard and vector. The video card status tab in the preference panel recognizes the video card and says there are no errors, but it is obvious that there are. I have a this software called EVGA precisionx which allows you to fine tune your graphics card, including GPU Clock speed, Memory Clock speed, Fan speed, voltage and much more. When this program is running, 3D applications will show white text in the upper left hand corner showing temperature, usage, etc. This shows up when I have the viewer open (which I assume is 32-bit) and does not show up when I have 64-bit open.

-A

[Doug Park]

If the video card information is showing up in preferences that is what Chief is using. I can't speak to the other software. Does it work with other 64 bit applications?

[Oakriverman]

Doug,

The video card works with everything other program on my system. I would be happy to skype, share my screen and demonstrate this to you. The X5 viewer renders smoothly with lightning speed and no lag what-so-ever, but X5 premier 64-bit has a 1 second lag time - allow me to demonstrate: smoothing 25%-50%-75%-done, smoothing 25%-50%-75%-done, smoothing 25%-50%-75%-done, smoothing 25%-50%-75%-done, smoothing 25%-50%-75%-done, smoothing 25%-50%-75%-done, smoothing 25%-50%-75%-done, smoothing 25%-50%-75%-done, smoothing 25%-50%-75%-done, smoothing 25%-50%-75%-done, smoothing 25%-50%-75%-done, smoothing 25%-50%-75%-done, smoothing 25%-50%-75%-done, smoothing 25%-50%-75%-done. -Frustrating to say the least

I believe I have made progress in locating where the issue may be coming from. It seems that it is possible that integral pieces of the application such as .netframework 4 may not be installing correctly. I say this because in my troubleshooting efforts I installed a program called Heaven Benchmark. At first, the program wouldn't open saying something about a file not being found on the machine. So, I installed another app called 3D Mark 11 hoping that it would resolve the issues with the missing files. Heaven Benchmark now opens, but X5 still behaves the same (see demonstration above). I have also tried installing a 3D Shoot-em-up game that a friend told me would have a lot of the intergral pieces, directx etc., that are necessary for 3D apps. No improvement.

-A

[MarkMc]

Do you also have an intel card installed? I had to go into the nVidia control panel and specify that each version use the card.

[Oakriverman]

Mark,

I do have an onboard, but it has been disabled. Could you give a little more info on what you did in the nvinia control panel?

-A

[jcaffee]

You need to tell the driver how to interact with the software (Very Specifically w/Chief Architect and other graphics intensive applications) via NVIDIA Control Panel. Similarly, you need to go into Preferences>Video in CA to tell Chief how to interact with your hardware.

jon

[Ryan Matern]

Could you post exactly the settings you have in Preferences -> Render and Preferences -> Render -> Video Card Status?

Is the slowness related at all to the complexity of the 3D scene? Does a particular plan exhibit this problem where others do not?

[Oakriverman]

Ryan, Here are a couple shots showing my preferences and the model that I am using. This issue is not model specific, even though this is a fairly detailed model.



Jon, I have added chief to the list of programs to customize. If you could post optimal settings for CA in the nvidia control panel I will be glad to try them. As for telling CA how to interact with the video card, I have yet to find ways other than what is posted in the above pics. I don't see "preferences->video" as an option to chose from.

BTW, thanks to all helping out with this!

[Ryan Matern]

If you disable Aggressive Cache Flushing do you see an improvement?

Also note that enabling Software Edge Smoothing will make the render many many times slower. With that level of an NVIDIA card you may be able to achieve similar visual results at much higher frame rates by enabling Antialiasing in the NVIDIA control panel.

[jcaffee]

Aaron, I don't know that there are "optimal" settings. That's a bit too broad. My video card is not your video card. If you want the GPU to do the work, then tell it so in both the NVIDIA CP and the CA Preferences. For example; in the CA Preferences, turn off software smoothing while re-setting the video card to handle all antialiasing tasks. It's a balancing act. Play with the settings to find your unique settings for best performance vs. quality. And remember, none of the Chief Architect product line uses DirectX... so you can turn off all the GPU settings that apply only to DirectX.

jon

[Oakriverman]

Jon and Ryan,

By turning off the software edge smoothing I am seeing a dramatic difference. Thanks!

One thing that is still bothering me is that the GPU still just seems to be idling at around 324mhz. I have the card overclocked to about 1020 mhz and I would think that I would see the GPU clock and the temp go up. As I said before, the EVGA Precision X software is supposed to put white text into the upper left hand corner of all apps it recognizes as being 3D, and it does so on the CA viewer. The CA viewer also pushes the GPU clock up to around 800MHZ. CPU core monitors shows that the top core is really the only one that is being used - for that matter it is the only portion of the hardware that I can see any evidence that it is being used at all.

I'll post any other modifications that result in improvements.

-A

[Sledge]

The curious part is why is there a difference when he is running 32 Bit Vs 64 Bit?