Loading...
> >

Looking for Advice

pkappeteinpkappetein Posts: 506
in Technical Help (nuts n bolts)

I currently use a Asus - ROG G75VX with a Nvida Geoforce 670MX and 24 Gb of RAM for my 3D rendering.

Since the Iray is slow, and other processing is not as fast, I am looking at something new.

 

Would this a good machine for that?

 

Asus - ROG G751JY 17.3" Laptop - Intel Core i7 - 16GB Memory - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M

Comments

  • KaribouKaribou Posts: 1,325

    In a word... Yes, it's better than what you've got.  You'll pretty much always get better speeds per dollar with a desktop over a laptop, but the rig you've described above is good.  Mobile GPUs are not as fast as their desktop counterparts (just google the benchmarks, an example shown on this page: http://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Nvidia-GTX-980M-vs-Nvidia-GTX-980/m15596vs2576) but when you compare what you have with what you'd be getting, it's night and day.  The 980m has 8GB RAM and can therefore hold a fairly large Iray scene, and the i7 processor (any generation) is oodles bettter than what you have at present.

    I'd always invest in a desktop over a laptop for rendering because you get MUCH more for your dollar, but if space or portability are limiting factors, the rig you described is good.  I've had ASUS laptops in the past and have had very good experiences with them.  Hope that helps!

  • pkappeteinpkappetein Posts: 506
    edited August 2016

    Thanks.

    my laptop currently has a I7 processor in it as well.   But going to look into your links.

    Space is not an issue... but always use a laptop  where ever I go, and sold my desktops since i was never using them..

    edit:

    compared with mine:  http://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Nvidia-GTX-980M-vs-Nvidia-GTX-670MX/m15596vsm7874

    big difference...

    I wish I could update the laptop,  cause the new one is pretty much the same, except a different video

    Post edited by pkappetein on
  • KaribouKaribou Posts: 1,325

    Yeah, that's the other reason I finally shifted all rendering back to my desktop -- with the exception of adding RAM or swapping out a hard drive, laptops aren't really upgradable.  You're right about the processor, too -- if you're looking for faster renders with DS and Iray, it all comes down to VRAM and CUDA cores.  A newer i7 is faster than an older one, but not by much in terms of an increase in render speed.  GPU rendering makes your CPU much less relevant.  I had a GTX650 (still do -- it runs my monitor) in my desktop before upgrading to a 970 and I was blown away by how much faster render speeds were.  For less than the cost of a new, high-end laptop, I could buy a Titan-X and install it in my current desktop rig and leave my current speeds in the dust.  I have a laptop for work, but I never render on it anymore.

  • pkappeteinpkappetein Posts: 506

    ok ordered the Asus - ROG G751JY 17.3" Laptop - Intel Core i7 - 16GB Memory - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M

    Will add 16Gb more memory...   

    Hopefully I can start using Iray as a default... and no more insane long waiting times for 3Delight etc..

    Now with my 24Gb, I7 and 670Mx  a 1266 x 768 image takes about 20-30 minutes to render...   how fast would it be with this video card?

     

  • pkappeteinpkappetein Posts: 506

    ok, got the new laptop ROG G751JY 17.3" Laptop - Intel Core i7 - 32GB Memory - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M

    With 3Delight rending for an animation it still takes forever :(

    IRay preview is descent...  if i change something, it takes a bout a minute or 2 before i can do something again in my scene

    and rending an Iray  takes about 15-20 min for an image..

    So far, I was hoping to have a better speed improvement..    

    I only have the GPU ticket for the setting,  should I check the CPU too?   since i tried but didnt notice a difference.

    I would have thought that 3Delight would have speed up a lot...  unless it's not using the grapics card at all?

     

  • DrNewcensteinDrNewcenstein Posts: 816

    3DL doesn't use the GPU, which is why Iray was such a big deal when it was added.

    Don't use Iray Preview. You'll need 16 top-end Nvidia Quadro cards on a monster desktop to get real-time preview running smoothly. I'm running a Desktop with a 6GB 980 and a 12GB TitanZ and Iray preview is slow, though it does only take a few seconds to straighten out after turning the camera. I use that only to see if my lighting and Bloom settings are OK, then switch back to Textured Preview.

    Adding the CPU to the Rendering devices with the GPU will speed Iray renders slightly, however, if the scene exceeds the amount of video RAM (different from system RAM) then it's going to make the CPU do all the work.

    However, adding the CPU to the GPU for rendering also means your computer is tied up, and you should disable as many other processes as you can until the render is complete.
    If you can assign some of your system RAM to the video card, let it use at least 10GB of it and shut down background processes.

    For animations, render to file instead of the screen. It's faster. Step through it frame by frame to find pass-through and other bad collisions, fix what you find, and then set the render options to Direct To File.

    In that event, I don't think the GPU is going to have any bearing on the speed of the render.

     

  • pkappeteinpkappetein Posts: 506

    Thanks for the info.

    I thought I was doing it directly to file already..  i do see on the screen the frame moving 1 by one, and it just creates the files.

    the card has 4 Gb on it..  can you adjust that?  or do I need a card upgrade then..

    Since the laptop doesn't seem to work right anyways,  I am going to return it, and buying it elsewhere...     everything has a brown glare to it..  it's not really white/grey..  Can't seem to find the issue.  fighting it for 4 days now.

  • pkappeteinpkappetein Posts: 506

    the one I am going to send back has a  980M  4 Gb in it..   

    the other laptop i am looking at has a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 w/ 8GB GDDR5 - NVIDIA G-Sync Enabled card in it..

    Seems like it would be a better choice...   But I remember reading somewhere here about the higher end cards...  is Iray not supported for that yet?

  • nicsttnicstt Posts: 11,715
    edited September 2016

    It's a Laptop, so no.

    But that is because I feel you are paying more than for an equivalent desktop; but if you must have a laptop, it looks decent.

    TBH, I'd wait and look to get a laptop (if it must be a laptop) with a 10 series card in it; they are very close to their desktop equivalent, unlike earlier series cards. Cost may be prohibitive though; and a caveat on IRAY as it doesn't yet work on 10 series cards. Maybe this month, and certainly(?) before christmas.

    Post edited by nicstt on
  • pkappeteinpkappetein Posts: 506
    edited September 2016

    Yes, it has to be a laptop, since I don't use Desktops anymore.

    Noticed has the M2 drives in it too. and the latest gen processor.   but if iray doesn't work with it yet... then  maybe i should stick with the original  980m  then.  and save me 1K 

    you can't render Iray at all with these cards yet?  Guess if it's supported later this year, i guess it doesn't matter.

    edit: found this:  https://forum.nvidia-arc.com/showthread.php?14632-Will-the-Geforce-GTX-1080-be-supported&highlight=1080

    Please realize that we require CUDA 8 for supporting Pascal, and that this is still in release candidate mode

     

     

     

    Post edited by pkappetein on
Sign In or Register to comment.