Multi GPU? (Again but different issue)

Bro, does your rig even lift?
dannysting
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Re: Multi GPU? (Again but different issue)

Post by dannysting »

drazkers wrote:Here is a question. Whats the budget?
At first, it was $2000 but I wanted to do more than just get a video card or something similar to it, like the X4. I could do the others little by little but make the club/venue look great. I can always ask for more if I know this will be worth the investment. Since I have the Catalyst as backup, the X4 will work.
Now that Oaktown gave me the idea, I could use the X4 to do a wraparound on the venue.

Do you have any ideas or other options, Drazkers?

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drazkers
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Re: Multi GPU? (Again but different issue)

Post by drazkers »

The X4 is a great piece of kit, but your not actually gaining anything for that price if its an install compared to a second video card. I have a lot of Nvidia dual(and triple) card systems that would handle your setup easy.

Now if this was for personal use i'd say X4 alllllllll day. As it can save so many gig situations.

Resolume has a fixture profile similar to the catalyst that is supported by most modern boards(chamsys, hog4, ma2). With that budget I'd suggest a mid level second machine's and budget some of that for your time to properly sit down, program and control everything from your lighting board. Its actually my favorite method to trigger content over multiple machines via a MA2 or Chamsys(now if we could get CITP i'd be over the moon.) Most venues don't wanna pay you to come in early or on off days, but if you make it part of upgrade budget they usually are down with it.

What board do you have in this venue? My suggestion hinges on this, and when properly programmed running everything from your board instead of multiple surfaces will bring a better, smoother show. Just because you don't need to bounce around.

These are all great suggestions tho and none are really better, its more personal taste at this point.

dannysting
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Re: Multi GPU? (Again but different issue)

Post by dannysting »

I see...
I think I'll just stick to the original plan and use the two cards. I think it will be more versatile.
drazkers wrote: Resolume has a fixture profile similar to the catalyst that is supported by most modern boards(chamsys, hog4, ma2). With that budget I'd suggest a mid level second machine's and budget some of that for your time to properly sit down, program and control everything from your lighting board. Its actually my favorite method to trigger content over multiple machines via a MA2 or Chamsys(now if we could get CITP i'd be over the moon.) Most venues don't wanna pay you to come in early or on off days, but if you make it part of upgrade budget they usually are down with it.

What board do you have in this venue? My suggestion hinges on this, and when properly programmed running everything from your board instead of multiple surfaces will bring a better, smoother show. Just because you don't need to bounce around.
I saw the profile for the Resolume but haven't really had time to do the whole programing. Which is why I bought the cheap MIDI controller. Ultimately, I want to control everything from the board, which is a Martin M-1. I used to do so with the Catalyst and the show would look great.
Here's a video I recorded 7 months ago. I have more lights now and back then I was using Catalyst so I was a little limited.
Image
I'm working full time at this venue so any time I have, I can use. Lately hasn't been much but I eventually want to have everything setup, CITP included.

By the way, thank you very much for your help. I really appreciate it.

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4eyes
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Re: Multi GPU? (Again but different issue)

Post by 4eyes »

Just get a second graphics card, It will save you loads of money and get you the outputs you need. Matching cards are nice, but you can also just get the cheapest Nvidia card possible that does 4 outputs for your secondary. It doesn't do any of the actual rendering, from what I understand the primary card that has your interface displayed on it does all the work.

X4's are nice, but unless you are in a situation where you truly need them (capped out outputs/PCIE slots/laptop) or you have money to burn you can get by without them.

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Re: Multi GPU? (Again but different issue)

Post by dradutu »

i'm not going to make another thread for this because it's a similar matter. i want to buy another graphics card for my pc, was thinking about the 8600 since it was the minimum recommended for resolume a while ago, don't know if that's still the case but if it was ok for a main graphics i guess it's ok for a second as well.anyone using this as a second card? i'm not going to search for anything older since this is cheap enough, like $10. i might try a hackintosh thing with my pc, everything else in compatible so i'd be willing to pay a higher price for that compatibility.
any other suggestions? any sweet spots for second graphics card? my main one now is a nvidia 680. maybe the mods could confirm a 8600 would be ok for the next version as well, at least as secondary

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Oaktown
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Re: Multi GPU? (Again but different issue)

Post by Oaktown »

dradutu wrote: i'm not going to search for anything older since this is cheap enough, like $10.

There is a reason why these cards can be bought for $10! Have you actually read the specs on these cards?

I would stay away from used GPUs as much as possible and remember that the GPU is probably one of the most important pieces of hardware you'll own and the most likely to be a bottleneck and give you issues so it's not a good place to save money. If you want to be able anything out of your second GPU, I'd get another GTX 680 at least.
4eyes wrote: Just get a second graphics card, It will save you loads of money and get you the outputs you need. Matching cards are nice, but you can also just get the cheapest Nvidia card possible that does 4 outputs for your secondary. It doesn't do any of the actual rendering, from what I understand the primary card that has your interface displayed on it does all the work.

Take a look at this post by Joris: viewtopic.php?f=12&t=11874&p=48673&hilit=+render#p48673
4eyes wrote: X4's are nice, but unless you are in a situation where you truly need them (capped out outputs/PCIE slots/laptop) or you have money to burn you can get by without them.

I disagree with you! Once you start using an X4 I find that it's really hard to get by without it. In your list, you forget that the X4 is a very powerful and flexible video processor that gives you tons options that are not available with other gear such as:
  • the ability to slice and dice your input however you want
    each of the four outputs can have its own resolution and scale,
    each can be DVI/HDMI or VGA
    gen lock multiple X4 units
I use the Datapath X4 all the time and the combination of Resolume Arena 4 and Datapath X4 is hard to beat. I've designed systems up to 15 XGA projectors (using one Dl8 and four X4s) off one output of an Nvidia GTX 980 (DL DVI or DP) and they run rock solid at 30Fps.

Most of the work I do is live performance so these days my favorite use of the X4 is simplify signal distribution by pairing it with fiber optic converters so that I can easily place my rig several hundred feet from the projectors and only run 1 cable.

dradutu
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Re: Multi GPU? (Again but different issue)

Post by dradutu »

i checked the specs and searched for minimum requirements for resolume, that's how i came across the 8600. i actually had a 9600 that worked [can't remember how well] with my old 275. now i'm looking for a single slot, low powered gpu since i don't have the space, the watts the money and hopefully the need for a second powerful one. the problem with specs is you can't find them expressed in technology generations or values [open gl/cl x, y mb of vram, z shaders, rops] when it comes to resolume. i get it that there are more important things to work on than releasing a spec sheet for secondary gpus though.
it seems to me that the second card would just be handling the pixels rendered by the main card anyways so i don't want to go overkill. it also seems to me that the hit comes just from adding a second card, even if that is a titan - that's what they were talking about - or a 680, or a 8600. i'll still have my triplehead for max performance, but i'd like to try this option too since it might be much cheaper. that's a big 'might', but also a big 'much'. actually i should've used caps lock.

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