computer upgrade

ruswoj wrote on 10/29/2012, 12:24 PM
I am sure this subject was discussed a numerous times here but I thought somebody went recently through the same dillema and can share his findings. I am running VMS Plat.11 on HP pavilion with i32120 3.3 GHz and 6MB memory. Last night, it took 3h40m to render 63 min film. I would like to ask the members if this is something comparable with their experience and also, whether upgrading to 8GB and/or equip myself in video card with 1GB on board would have any significant effect on this process?

Comments

Steve Grisetti wrote on 10/29/2012, 2:35 PM
Your rendering time depends not only on your processor but also what type, format and resolution of video you're starting with and what type, format and resolution of video you're rendering to.

But, yes, replacing an i3 processor with an i7 processor would still improve things greatly. Althought 3 1/2 hours to render a 60 minute movement isn't that far out, depending on what you started with and what you rendered to. (Hi-def, for instance, takes significantly more time to render than standard def video.)
ruswoj wrote on 10/29/2012, 7:24 PM
Thanks for the response. I am just considering upgrading my system to better suite this program and trying to get the feeling where I can benefit the most. Today I added another 2GB of memory since my software crashed twice last night and I suspect this should help. Also I am thinking of adding video card with 1GB and finally change the processor to i5 (four core vs 2 currently installed). The guy in the store advised though not to spend money on i7 if the software is not taking advantage of hyperthreading. Can anybody comment on this?
Steve Grisetti wrote on 10/30/2012, 8:39 AM
Version 12 will most certainly take advantage of the upgraded hardware on a Windows 7 64 bit system.

But any version will run much better on an i7 than on an i3 -- just like any car will be faster with a 6.5 litre engine than it will with a 2.0 litre engine.
Chienworks wrote on 10/30/2012, 8:46 AM
Tell me, with the 6.5 litre option, do you get a bigger gas tank, fill the trunk with gas, or have a gas truck follow you around?
Steve Grisetti wrote on 10/30/2012, 9:32 AM
My old GTO made great time between gas pumps, Chienworks.
ruswoj wrote on 10/30/2012, 8:25 PM
Going back to my original question, both i5 and i7 are four core engines so either of them would speed up the processing, but does anybody knows if VMS is taking advantage of hyperthreading? Also, how this program would benefit from installing video card with 1GB memory? I am new to this forum and went through some earlier postings but can not find the answer to my questions. Perhaps somebody remembers previous threads on this subject?
DocSatori wrote on 10/30/2012, 8:59 PM
Looking at the hyperthreading question:

Well, certainly the application can take advantage of hyperthreading. From the in program Help menu:

Go to Options Menu > Preferences > Video Tab on the main window menu banner:

There is a "Maximum number of rendering threads" field where you can set the number of threads you want to make use of when rendering.

The Help file reads:

"This setting specifies the maximum number of threads that will be used for rendering files."

and has the following significant note:

"Not all video plug-ins are capable of multithreaded rendering."

Not sure how many people's rendering problems are caused by this rarely remembered fact.
ruswoj wrote on 10/30/2012, 9:24 PM
Thank you for directing me to the proper source...