VHampton Posted November 30, 2014 Share Posted November 30, 2014 -Hi All, The rendered views which Chief can create are absolutely amazing. For those of you who have the patience to do the Ray Traces, how long does it take to do a typical Ray Trace for an exterior? I started watch each 'pass' during the process. By the time the counter made it to pass number 10, the computer sounded like it was about to blow up. ...My first I thought was, this can't be good....so I bailed out. Just curious if this process should take only 5 minutes or more like 45 minutes? Thanks for your feedback! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis_Gavin Posted November 30, 2014 Share Posted November 30, 2014 Val - that does not sound good. The only thing that I can think of is that the fan is kicking on to cool down your computer. Ray tracing is all CPU work. I am not a computer guru so your specs don't mean anything to me. IS it a lap top or a desk top. My last lap top used to blow up when I ray traced and tried to do too much else. It just crashed. In any event that is not normal. re: passes - most feel they can do quite well with 10 passes and exteriors are usually easier than interiors INHO. Having a tree and the sun with some shadows gives a more interesting effect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lbuttery Posted November 30, 2014 Share Posted November 30, 2014 Val: sounding like it was going to "blow up" is not good You should contact CA's tech support since CA prefers Nvidia video cards - maybe the ATI card ??? but as Dennis stated Rays use CPU ??? Lew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DRAWZILLA Posted November 30, 2014 Share Posted November 30, 2014 I think it's your fan covering the CPU. They are usually automatic speed depending on how hard your CPU is working, nothing unusual there, its normal unless you need a new fan. when you do a raytrace, at least one core of your CPU will be running at 100 percent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VHampton Posted November 30, 2014 Author Share Posted November 30, 2014 Thanks Guys. ...you're right Perry...Nvidia is known for being the preferred card for Chief. The excess whirring is coming from the video card fan which I suppose is quite normal. (it's an ATI). On a side note...every computer that I've ever had always revved a little faster when sending an elevation to layout for example. It's just that the Ray Trace process makes the video card fan spin like crazy (during the entire process) and I'd rather not wear the thing out. ...So what I'm gathering is that ten passes should be a typical parsing period for an exterior view. ...and if your fan sounds like an F15 ready for take-off, it may or may not be normal. I should have posted a poll, bu how long do you find that a Ray Trace takes on average (exterior view)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidJPotter Posted November 30, 2014 Share Posted November 30, 2014 I just finished some ray traces for a remodeling project here in Austin, I allowed each exterior render to run about 20 passes each (about five minutes with all light sources turned off except for the Sun). My PC also works harder during Ray Traces (makes more noise) but do not worry about the hardware, you bought it to serve you and it will until it wares out or is replaced. Your comfort and speed while working is more important than the comfort of your hardware. DJP 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DRAWZILLA Posted November 30, 2014 Share Posted November 30, 2014 Raytrace uses your CPU, not the video card GPU Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McQueen3D Posted November 30, 2014 Share Posted November 30, 2014 If you have a fan running rough you can try to clean it and see if that helps. If there is room you could add another fan to the case. If you think one might be going out even after cleaning it you can replace it, they are not expensive relative the the components they protect. My CPU has a closed loop liquid cooling system, but I do have a few fans in the case and one of them does spin up when the CPU works harder because the computer generates more heat. I have control over the others via a set of knobs on the front of the case. There is also a little free app called Core Temp which will tell you your CPU speed and temp. I use this to let me know how hard the machine is working. It's most useful if you're an overclocker. I also use Intel CPUs which for several generations have had a feature which will shut the computer down before the CPU fries itself. They are also very reliable, and many are specifically designed to be capable of overclocking (running faster than its typical spec limit) which means in normal use there is some overhead. If you have or had built your system to run Chief and had good quality components installed, you may run your raytrace as long as it takes to get a good result. I've had older computers crank on them overnight at full bore and have never had any problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug_Park Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 Ray tracing uses your CPU to full effect. Which is unusual for a typical computer. Overheating is a real concern. Jason's recommendations are good. Also, if you open up your system and blow the dust out of the cooling fins on your cpu and other areas that can help improve the cooling efficiency. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericepv Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 If you are working on a laptop, try Cooler Master. I have one for my laptop which acts as a small stand and has two built in fans to keep things running smoothly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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