OK, so I have tested the settings and results again, and here's what I found:

- the difference in BluRay 50i output (combing under Vista, lack of it under XP) was due to the preview window size difference; when I set it to same size, it's combng under both (which is right, but that should NOT depend on the preview window size!!!)

- the difference in CPU utilization is still here. In fact, I lost the ability of Vegas using 100% of all 4 cores under XP, regardless on any settings and using any kind of render settings. And this is what worries me most - anybody's suggestions?

OK, so I reinstalled Vegas. Now it's even worse - whatever settings I choose, whatever rendering format I do - it doesn't even exceed some 30-40% of my CPU resources (YES, all 4 cores/threads are working, but never above 40%). Goodbye Vegas justifying my over $1,000 investment into the QX6700 a year ago?

But Hey, under Vista it's still using 100% !!!

What went wrong - perhaps some Windows update?

Any comments welcome!

How much RAM do you have? I believe Vista uses RAM differently.

I have 4GB of RAM, but it wasn't an issue at my previous rendering - Vegas used to render at 90-100% of my QX6700 CPU, under both XP (32bit) and Vista (64bit).

check this, maybe something like this is causing the problem

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=60416

Thanks for your hints, but no - my PC is perfectly configured, and any benchmarking/torturing tests (like Prime95.exe) run on all 4 cores, squeezing the same results of all 4 cores as before.

It's only Vegas that for whatever reaosn stopped doing so recently. Right now I'm rendering a 1080/24p project; only some 30-40% used!

For the last couple of weeks I've been only working under Vista x64 on my dual-boot system, and everything was OK (i.e. 100% CPU used at rendering in Vegas). Today I had to switch to XP, because one of the applications I'm using to earn some money ( :) ) will not run under Vista. As usually after such a long break, Xp downoalded and installed a bunch of updates - after that, Vegas uses just 40% of each core... Nothing else changed!

turn OFF simulate device aspect... in preview

also check yoru default render settings, for HD theyre usually set to good for speed, but best is much better by a mile

C'mon, I've said my configuration was optimal since Vegas 7.0 and nothing changed.

I have exactly the same setting under Vista, and it uses 100%.

Under XP, it's now rendering at 1 (one) fps !!!

Can you roll the XP installation back to the point before you installed the updates?

Rob Mack

having chosen the 1440x1080/50 i BluRay template, What good is speed if the fieldings incorrect?
I've come across some interlacing problems when converting to the blu-ray format.

Guys, guys, guys!

Whatever "fielding" (or other settings) I choose, the rendering is done at some 40% max of CPU resources.

It used to run at 100%.

Is the priority setting for Vegas the same in XP and Vista?

I had a similar problem in XP-SP2 not rendering at 100% on a Quad core. I was running at something like 25-30%. This was on a P35 Gigabyte Mobo. I have another machine running the same motherboard under Vista 64 and that was running at 100%. On the XP mahcine, John Cline's rendertest-hdv.veg was rendering at about 8-9 min. In my case, I reset the bios to "load optimized defaults" on the XP machine.-- wham! -- the machine was now rendering at 100% cpu usage with all 4 cores pumping and the render test time dropped to 2 min 12 seconds. I have no clue what I changed in the bios that could effect things that dramatically. I was not doing any overclocking. But something was up on the XP mahcine. Might be worth a shot in your case.

Yes, the priorities, affinities etc are exactly the same. Also this is the smae PC, dual-booting the two OS'es.

I will probably reset the BIOS as xberk is suggesting, but am afraid it's a software (system) issue as it's only affecting the XP installation. The Vista installation uses exactly the same files, partitions and settings, yet behaves differently.

I'd like to stress again that also my XP installation used to run at 100%, and other appllications (mainly testing and benchmark) still use the Quad at 100%. It's only Vegas that got so lazy :(

So it sounds like a windows update is doing you in. Sometimes you can't back out of those with system restore but I'd think it's worth a try.

There are things in BIOS like No Execute and Virtualization that might be dealt with differently in the two OS's, so it might be worth just browsing through your BIOS.

I wouldn't be surprised if an update was targeted at a BIOS feature and you're getting caught in the wake.

Rob

After further investigation into the problem (without resetting the BIOS yet, or uninstalling the last Windows updates), I'm finding that the 30-40% of CPU utilization I'm getting is only with 32bit video projects. Go back to 8bit - and voila! Back to 90-100% of CPU!

In fact, the hdv-rendertest.veg file (8bit) renders into 1080/60i HDV template in just 01:50 (yes, that's just 110 sec).

The problem is still not solved though - under Vista x64, the same 32bit projects run with full 100% of CPU utilization.

Now my question to all Quad users out there: please check, and double check whether - under Windows XP - you're alway rendering at full 100%. Perhaps it's only so fast when in 8bit, just like here?

If this is the case under XP, it'd mean that running Vegas under Vista x64 has advantages over the XP x86, perhaps due to the better memory management (I have 4 GB of RAM).

I'd really appreciate your input on this, before I loose more time digging into my BIOS etc. TIA!

Really, can anybody ysing a Quad confirm Vegas can render a 32bit project at 100% CPU load, jsu like an 8bit one?

I have dual boot xp/Vista Ult64 and am not seeing what you are. I'm seeing 100% usage in both XP and Vista in both 8 point and 32 point, granted I have not updated XP recently (don't use it much anymore).

Thanks blink, may I know how much RAM you have?

4 gig with a 4 gig page file