X10, Windows 7 video card

[JBHammer]

Hello,

I'm wondering if anyone can recommend a video card that works well with X10 and Windows 7? My old card (AMD 7570) is no longer supported by AMD, and 3D views that looked great in X9 look terrible in X10. Thanks

[DavidJPotter]

I have always stayed with PNY NVIDIA brand cards and NEVER had an issue of any kind. PNY is slightly more expensive than some other brands but like I said, in my opinion, they are worth it. The model 1080 is considered their best (it is also kind of pricey), any of the other 1000 series cards will serve you well for Chief. My laptop has a 980 NVIDIA card and my old desktop has the venerable 780 GTX which is still supported by NVIDIA. whatever you can budget for a replacement card will get you great support and performance.

 

DJP

[lbuttery]

CA highly recommends a good gaming video card for running Chief

 

Lew

[RL-inc]

Ditto on the Nvidia card.

I think my 970 was 400.00 new....worth every penny and still going strong.

[Kbird1]

On 3/17/2018 at 6:13 AM, RL-inc said:

Ditto on the Nvidia card.

I think my GTX 970 was 400.00 new....worth every penny and still going strong.

 

Yep the GTX 970 still a good card especially if not running in high resolution as it came with 4GB Ram. You would need to go 2nd hand for that now though.

 

Out of interest I downloaded the FFXV Video Benchmark  , my new 1070Ti is running just over 10,000 Points, which is about the same as a GTX1080, and about 1000 pts better than the 980Ti I had.... ( lost to RMA ). While the 6GB 1060 is 6400 , GTX 970  6021, the 3GB 1060 is just a bit slower at 5900pts, ( so very similar to 970 , though I have read the 3GB version can be an issue , though that was in games at High Res. eg 4k where the 970 beats it easily ) the GTX 950 is about 3250 pts. 

 

In comparison the Radeon 7700 is 1500 pts ( 7570 isn't listed )   and the newer Radeon  RX 550 2074 pts, Radeon 5800 & 6800 are both about 1100 pts.

 

Here is my Chart if you are interested , ( give it a second to load then scroll down, my score is in RED about 1/2 down in the 1920 x 1080 Standard section , if you want to see comparisons to other Cards or at Other Resolutions there are many there.

 

http://benchmark.finalfantasyxv.com/result/?i=15987978495aadd6af3ed92&Resolution=1920x1080&Quality=Middle

 

 

M.

 

[JBHammer]

Wow. Thank you very much for the excellent input. 

[JBHammer]

I'm looking at a GXT 1060, 6G. That will get me past the CA minimum by 2 Gigs. It seems like the only place I lack speed in X9 is in recording videos along a path. They can take up to 20 minutes for a large one and according CA you're not supposed to use your computer for any else when it recording. My question is, will this card speed that process up? My tech says the new card might not help with that. Any thoughts? 

[Kbird1]

I don't really do Walkthroughs, so I can't really give you a good qualified answer to that, as I am not sure if the encoding of the Video is done by GPU or CPU? but since it has to render 3D I am sure the GPU is involved heavily ...... Let me run one and see.....

 

@TheKitchenAbode Graham just bought the EVGA GeForce GTX 1060 SC Gaming ACX 6GB (06G-P4-6163-KR) and it pretty happy by all accounts.... he may have more info for you. 

 

this one https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01IPVSLTC/ref=ox_sc_mini_detail?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A33TB6JVOMNYYJ

 

 

 

[Kbird1]

1 hour ago, JBHammer said:

I'm looking at a GXT 1060, 6G. That will get me past the CA minimum by 2 Gigs. It seems like the only place I lack speed in X9 is in recording videos along a path. They can take up to 20 minutes for a large one and according CA you're not supposed to use your computer for any else when it recording. My question is, will this card speed that process up? My tech says the new card might not help with that. Any thoughts? 

 

See above post too , I forgot to quote it , so you get notified , but what settings do you use for your walkthroughs ? 

 

30 FPS for 60secs =1800 frames ?   PBR Mode ?

 

didn't time the 1st run at 24 FPS x 30 secs as I thought I'd get a time like in Ray Traces.... but GPU is used heavily watching graph in GPUZ for GPU Load , anywhere from 22%-100% , My 6 core CPU is working but no 100% loads there   , more like 15-30% ATM, running the above 60 sec. Clip but I suspect if you use those No#s above it will be 20 mins, though I haven't optimizied lighting or anything in this Plan as yet.

 

M.

 

 

 

 

[TheKitchenAbode]

32 minutes ago, Kbird1 said:

I don't really do Walkthroughs, so I can't really give you a good qualified answer to that, as I am not sure if the encoding of the Video is done by GPU or CPU? but since it has to render 3D I am sure the GPU is involved heavily ...... Let me run one and see.....

 

@TheKitchenAbode Graham just bought the EVGA GeForce GTX 1060 SC Gaming ACX 6GB (06G-P4-6163-KR) and it pretty happy by all accounts.... he may have more info for you. 

 

this one https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01IPVSLTC/ref=ox_sc_mini_detail?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A33TB6JVOMNYYJ

 

 

 

 

The 1060 has been great, huge improvement when PBR'ing and handles everything I've thrown at it. I don't do walkthroughs so I can't comment on that aspect. 

[JBHammer]

See above post too , I forgot to quote it , so you get notified , but what settings do you use for your walkthroughs ? 

 

30 FPS for 60secs =1800 frames ?   PBR Mode ?

 

didn't time the 1st run at 24 FPS x 30 secs as I thought I'd get a time like in Ray Traces.... but GPU is used heavily watching graph in GPUZ for GPU Load , anywhere from 22%-100% , My 6 core CPU is working but no 100% loads there   , more like 15-30% ATM, running the above 60 sec. Clip but I suspect if you use those No#s above it will be 20 mins, though I haven't optimizied lighting or anything in this Plan as yet.

 

 

That's similar to the settings I use. I don't usually go higher than 35 fps. If I go to a solid state drive that may help.

 

this is the card I was looking at:  https://www.amazon.com/MSI-GAMING-GTX-1060-6G/dp/B01IEKYD5U 

[Kbird1]

The Walkthrough I did earlier at 30FPS x 60sec PBR mode, ran about 30 mins but was Corrupt and wouldn't open...maybe a PBR issue?   I'll have to try STD View and Vector...

 

I remember now why I don't do walkthroughs --huge file sizes mean they can't be emailed to Clients.  the PBR one was 4GB which is why I think it was Corrupted? I seem to remember some 4GB limit on single files but maybe that was Fat32 not NTFS?   And I can't move the Chief window while it run , can't minimise it etc....thankfully I have two screens....

 

Vector Took 6 mins...ran it while looking at amazon link.... running it again in STD View for comparison.... maybe I should make the Viewport smaller ? didn't think of that , I am at 1723x1073pixels... ........1/2 way ( 900 frames) on STD mode and am at 16min 15sec.... GPU is working hard , much harder than the CPU.....

 

Do you have a Full Sized Case ? , I don't think Graham does, which is why he went for the smaller single fan model.....It's a big card looking at some reviews and a tight squeeze for some..... it also takes 2 slots (space) because of the Cooling fans but most better videocards do now..... not sure about your old card.

• Card Dimension(mm)         277 x 140 x 39 mm

[OkcDesigner]

I have to say after hearing Grahams experience with going from 745 to 1060. I upgraded my 760 dual 4GB card to EVGA GTX 1060 SSC 6.144GB (06G-P4-6264-KB) and have seen a difference. 

 

Just did a 5 minute video, 13277 frames at 70 fps, took about 45 minutes 

CPU and GPU never got above 50%.

[JBHammer]

 

Mick,

It sounds like walk through speed will not be helped by a better card. That's okay, my whole reason for doing this is to be able to use X10.  A solid state drive will probably help with that though. I use a website called We Transfer to send large video files to clients. Cost about $100 bucks a year. I can send huge files and people download them for viewing on their own computer or iPad. Some are as large as 90MB. My regular email has a limit of 25. Very seldom to clients come into my office any longer. I always use standard view. I send jpg rendered views and pdf floor plans along with the package. I do this as part of a phases design process for custom homes and remodels. 

[Kbird1]

I think the new card will help but I wouldn't take my advice as far as Walkthroughs are concerned , as I don't do them , that's why I asked for your settings , so I could perhaps give you an idea.... I'd also need a copy of your plan so we can do an apples of apples compare. 

 

So far I have tried 4 times and each time the file is 4GB and Corrupt , so I am doing something different than Marc, as he is having no problems..... Not sure what type of view he used though..... or how he is monitoring his GPU as mine certainly spikes to 100 in PBR but average is 22 or so?

 

You say 90MB but I am getting 4GB  (45x your size) for a 60 sec video so something is wrong here.... and perhaps my results are not a good comparison

[JBHammer]

It won't let me upload the plan file. It says the limit is 25mb and the file is only 16.9, so I'm not sure why. I could probably email it to you.

[KirkClemons]

Walkthroughs are heavy to render regardless of your card. I believe most of the video compression process takes place on the CPU while the creation of each frame is rendered on the video card.

 

That means that your card can help by being fast at rendering each frame more quickly. The time saved for each frame adds up, though it's not a huge change overall.

 

Other ways a walkthrough can be sped up is by lowering the amount of compression in your codec settings and in the walkthrough settings. However, this may not be an option if you need to send the video via email or Dropbox as it will produce a larger file in the end. But, it is a good option if you are simply going to upload the video to a video service such as Youtube or Vimeo since they will take in the raw video and convert it to a web-friendly format anyways.

 

Or, lowering the number of frames per second(FPS). A typical video on youtube, for example, is rarely over 25fps and depending on your scene, you may not need more than 15fps.

[Kbird1]

1 hour ago, KirkClemons said:

Walkthroughs are heavy to render regardless of your card. I believe most of the video compression process takes place on the CPU while the creation of each frame is rendered on the video card.

 

That means that your card can help by being fast at rendering each frame more quickly. The time saved for each frame adds up, though it's not a huge change overall.

 

Other ways a walkthrough can be sped up is by lowering the amount of compression in your codec settings and in the walkthrough settings. However, this may not be an option if you need to send the video via email or Dropbox as it will produce a larger file in the end. But, it is a good option if you are simply going to upload the video to a video service such as Youtube or Vimeo since they will take in the raw video and convert it to a web-friendly format anyways.

 

Or, lowering the number of frames per second(FPS). A typical video on youtube, for example, is rarely over 25fps and depending on your scene, you may not need more than 15fps.

 

Thanks for the info Kirk , I have always though 24fps was pretty much standard , which comes from the Film industry I believe but that most (digital) video is rendered at 30fps.

 

Which Codec do you use for Walkthroughs? IYUV or MSCRAM ?  can others be installed.  I am just not sure how I get a 4GB file for a 60 second Video but something seems wrong?

 

M.

 

[Kbird1]

2 hours ago, JBHammer said:

It won't let me upload the plan file. It says the limit is 25mb and the file is only 16.9, so I'm not sure why. I could probably email it to you.

 

If the File is open in Chief it won't attach as Chief Locks all file While working on them , if that isn't it I'd try zipping it and then attaching. Otherwise we can email if needed but

If it's here then Others too like Marc, can give it a run for you too, for other Comparisons , but I think Walkthroughs are tough on a System like Ray Traces and need all the resources they can get.

 

Also, it would  good to have your Forum Signature filled in,  a Name to go with the "Handle" is nice too ..............see mine below in Blue for how to do that.
If you don't see my Signature then you have them turned off for the Forum ,Toggle it on in User Name>Account >Signatures...... go to the Upper RH Corner of Forum Window.

 

M.

 

 

 

 

 

[KirkClemons]

5 minutes ago, Kbird1 said:

Which Codec do you use for Walkthroughs?

I like this one:
https://sourceforge.net/projects/x264vfw/

 

10 minutes ago, Kbird1 said:

can others be installed.

Yes, the link above is one that I like but this one works well too:

https://www.xvid.com/

[Kbird1]

Just now, KirkClemons said:

I like this one:
https://sourceforge.net/projects/x264vfw/

 

Yes, the link above is one that I like but this one works well too:

https://www.xvid.com/

 

Thanks , I have used Xvid in the past actually , perhaps I forgot to install it on this machine though, which would explain why I don't have it as an option currently, since I never do Walkthroughs, as I always seem to have Issues with them.... I'll install them both and see if it helps.

 

Do you know anything about the 4GB File size Limit or why I might be hitting it?

[KirkClemons]

15 minutes ago, Kbird1 said:

I am just not sure how I get a 4GB file for a 60 second Video

This is related to the codec. The codec contains the instructions on how to compress the video frames. Some use lossy compression (lower the quality in favor of a smaller file). And others use lossless compression (as small a file as possible without sacrificing the quality).

 

Xvid defaults to lossy compression but, the x264 codec allows you to choose lossless compression.

[Kbird1]

11 minutes ago, KirkClemons said:

This is related to the codec. The codec contains the instructions on how to compress the video frames. Some use lossy compression (lower the quality in favor of a smaller file). And others use lossless compression (as small a file as possible without sacrificing the quality).

 

Xvid defaults to lossy compression but, the x264 codec allows you to choose lossless compression.

 

thanks again I will try Xvid , though I am not sure why on an NTFS HDD I have a 4GB file size limit which then corrupts the file.... I thought this was a FAT32 Limitation.

 

I assume Chief uses it's Temp Folder while encoding? or does it use the File Storage Drive for Temp as well ? in this case F:  a 500GB Drive with 240GB free formated NTFS. I will try saving one to C:\   which is a 500GB PCIe SSD with 300GB free , (NTFS) so should be plenty fast with no space limitations either.

 

Thanks appreciate the Help.....

 

M

[KirkClemons]

You are more than likely encountering a memory limit with the video player. Not the size of the file. The file happens to be 4GB, but the media player can't load that much into RAM.

Try a different media player. Maybe the 64-bit version of VLC.

[Kbird1]

On 3/20/2018 at 9:25 AM, KirkClemons said:

This is related to the codec. The codec contains the instructions on how to compress the video frames. Some use lossy compression (lower the quality in favor of a smaller file). And others use lossless compression (as small a file as possible without sacrificing the quality).

 

Xvid defaults to lossy compression but, the x264 codec allows you to choose lossless compression.

 

Thanks Kirk , those two Codecs make a HUGE Difference in the file Size  , the 4GB 60 sec videos are now in the 11-12mb region.... might have the setting too low currently at default for VFW , so will play some more with those....

 

M.