Folks,

I've just got myself a new computer (a mini-pc actually) with a 3.2Ghz intel pentium4 processor, 1GB RAM and a 128MB ATI RADEON 9800 pro graphics card.

My previous computer had a much smaller spec than that so I'm hoping that the above will improve my render times.

I just wondering if there are any recommended bios settings that can help ?
Also are there any cache settings or graphic card settings that will help improve render times ?

Many thanks in advance.

Starkhorn

Hi Starkhorn,

Rendering is all about number crunching so it's mainly down to the CPU. A copious amount of RAM helps when rendering heavy scenes because if the machine does not have to swap, it is able to dedicate all its processing power to render.

IMHO, there is no need to adjust the BIOS. If you do, you are not going to get any obvious gain in performance to warrant rebooting your machine repeatly in order to find the “correct” settings.

As for cache, the fastest cache is on the CPU itself & it is locked to the CPU cycle which you can't adjust unless you overclock your CPU which is best discussed on other enthusiast forums or sites.

To improve render time, find ways to optimise your scene, for example, use a reflection map instead of raytracing etc, or render in layers & composite them. If a layer is not right, you just have to re-render that layer rather than everything again.

Cheers!
steven

ok thanks. So basically I'm good to go with this current set-up, i.e. no bios or cache settings will help improve my rendering time.

Good idea though about the layers….compositing is still a bit of mystery but if it makes rendering faster then I'll have to get more knowledgeable about that.

Cheers
Starkhorn

Hi Starkhorn,

So basically I'm good to go with this current set-up, i.e. no bios or cache settings will help improve my rendering time.

I wouldn't say there are no settings to help but I don't think it's worth the time & effort, IMHO.

Good idea though about the layers….compositing is still a bit of mystery but if it makes rendering faster then I'll have to get more knowledgeable about that.

It's always good to know a little about compositing.

Have fun!

Cheers!
steven

Hi there! Looking for some forum wisdom here.

I'm running a Dell Inspiron 8200 p4-2GHz Laptop, Running XP Pro w/ ATI Mobility Radeon 9000. (Stop laughing…its' all I got!)

I JUST loaded the latest drivers, hoping to solve some major crashing issues. This is v7.83-030120a1-007221C from Dell.

The result: NOTHING works (in Houdini!) Even resizing the workspace crashes Houdini (v5.5, 6.1, 6.5 and beta 7)
The following env variables were added:
HOUDINI_OGL_SOFTWARE = 1
HOUDINI_DISPLAYLIST_DELAY = 0
HOUDINI_OGL_DBL_BUFFER_FIX = 1

…and so the systems works, but is much slower than with the hardware in play. Any ideas to get back some of the performance?

Sorry…my budget dosen't allow for a new machine right now…
Thanx!

This thread [sidefx.com] might help. If you set HOUDINI_OGL_SOFTWARE, your CPU is doing the work hence the performance suffers. The only solution is to get the graphics card drivers to work.

Also, did you upgrade to XP SP2? If you did, that might be the cause of the crashing. Try to go back to SP1 if you can & see if Houdini works.

Cheers!
steven

Thanx, Steven…I haven't installed SP 2.0 for XP, yet. Still running SP 1.

We ARE a bit cramped on memory..currently running on only 512Mb, with a 2nd 512MB module on order, HOWEVER, it WAS somewhat working in Hardware mode prior to the new ATI drivers being installed.

If HOUDINI_OGL_SOFTWARE = 1 it works, but slow.
If HOUDINI_OGL_SOFTWARE = 0, or, if the variable is removed, it simply dosen't work. (Houdini will run, but even changing the window size will crash it)

Is there anything in the OPENGL panel that I need to tweek?

andyGravity
HOWEVER, it WAS somewhat working in Hardware mode prior to the new ATI drivers being installed.

Time to go back to older drivers then.