Workstation upgrade, double memory

[hardcak]

Hi,

 

I am looking to spend a little (uo to £200) money to upgrade my machine. I have the following spec:-

 

Intel Corei7 920

Asus P6T SE X58

3x2GB DDR3 1600

Win XP 64bit

 

I am trying to get faster render times on my still images, or speed things up when I am modeling and rendering at the same time!

 

How about doubling the memory to 12GB?? what will this do?

 

Thanks

[hardcak]

actually I think I know now that the extra memory will help with the dual application side of things (modeling/rendering at same time), but not really improve render speed!

 

If I get more memory and overclock the processor will this speed things up a lot??

 

What sort of % of render speed will I get from overclocking?

 

My PSU is a CAIR 550W PSU CMPSU-550VXUK, is this up to the job and do I need more cooling?

 

any info will help! thanks

[AJLynn]

Overclocking more than a very small amount does require an upgrade to CPU cooling, memory that is faster than the CPU normally requires (because one step in the OC'ing process is to increase the speed that the memory is used at), a better power supply than the un-OC'ed computer needs, and a motherboard that supports OC'ing. If you Google i7 overclocking guide you will find quite a bit of information. Be warned that aggressive overclocking can damage components.

[AJLynn]

Also, memory upgrades only speed up your computer if you were using more memory than you had. Say you're got 6GB, but your software only uses 3GB - then upgrading to 12GB would only add another 6GB of unused RAM. But if your software is using 8GB, it needs to offload the extra 2GB to hard drive, which is very slow.

 

6GB is a lot. You probably don't need an upgrade. If your CPU is running at 100% and your hard drive isn't working overtime while rendering, you don't have a problem. Also, all of this is completely useless unless you're running 64-bit Windows and 64-bit software.

[hardcak]

Thanks, but how do I know how much memory is being used by the software? I also dont want to lose any render time whilst modeling at the same time - will the extra memory help for this? May sound silly questions but I am relativly new to this.

[R.S]

Thanks, but how do I know how much memory is being used by the software? I also dont want to lose any render time whilst modeling at the same time - will the extra memory help for this? May sound silly questions but I am relativly new to this.

 

1. Task Manager, performance tab

2. Stop rendering and modeling at the same time. You could not have a more inefficient work-flow (assuming you are talking about final HQ renders).

3. If you really want to increase CPU power you will need to look at at-least a i7 940 (£400)

[Slinger]

Personally I would get a beefier PSU and get a better CPU cooler. With that, then I would overclock the i7 920. Buying a i7 940 is a bad investment, especially when you can overclock the i7 920 at or above i7 940s capabilities.

[hardcak]

I have started looking into clocking my processor – probably to 3.3Mhz max. Chris I’m going to look into the cooling and defiantly going to upgrade my PSU.

 

R.S I know that modelling/rendering together is not an efficient way to work, but I am a CAD designer, so don’t use my PC for professional rendering – just learning.

 

Thanks

[ihabkal]

my advice to anyone is don't overclock, yo uwill only get in trouble with warranties becoming void, to overheating, crashes now and then. plus modern cpus are so fast, why the trouble?

[kippu]

trying to get more than what is written is always nice .... plus the quadcores and the newer processor are so easily overclockable and less of a hassle than before that it will be such a loss not doing it ,

[Jimy]

Personally, I've been down the road of overclocking and it's over rated. As mentioned it does void most warranties, you'll need more cooling and it will become more crash prone, especially as you'll probably be pushing it anyway. I would rather 5-10% less performance for the sake of not crashing at that critical point!

 

You need to watch task manager (right click on bottom windows bar) while you're doing things and see what it's using. I find, in using 3DS Max and Vray, that loading textures into the viewport especially, big scenes and light cache in the rendering are most RAM hungry. CPU core speed comes down to processing calcs, like general tasks in max, and number of cores only comes into play at render time in the number of buckets rendering.

 

Watch task manager on your most extreme tasks and see what your PC needs for your tasks, otherwise you're wasting your time and money.

[R.S]

Personally I would get a beefier PSU and get a better CPU cooler. With that, then I would overclock the i7 920. Buying a i7 940 is a bad investment, especially when you can overclock the i7 920 at or above i7 940s capabilities.

 

Overclocking may be fine for gamers and enthusiast but making a recommendation to someone that overclocking is a better investment for a professional is fool hardy at best. By the time you buy a quality PSU, Cooling, RAM (yes you do need good ram for a successful OC) you could have bought the faster CPU. As others have said there is no guaranty for a decent OC and the likely hood for a crash at a critical time increases dramatically. It only takes one crash during production to kill any cost savings you might have incurred, time is money.

[ihabkal]

Overclocking may be fine for gamers and enthusiast but making a recommendation to someone that overclocking is a better investment for a professional is fool hardy at best. By the time you buy a quality PSU, Cooling, RAM (yes you do need good ram for a successful OC) you could have bought the faster CPU. As others have said there is no guaranty for a decent OC and the likely hood for a crash at a critical time increases dramatically. It only takes one crash during production to kill any cost savings you might have incurred, time is money.

 

well said my Canadian friend.

[Slinger]

Overclocking may be fine for gamers and enthusiast but making a recommendation to someone that overclocking is a better investment for a professional is fool hardy at best. By the time you buy a quality PSU, Cooling, RAM (yes you do need good ram for a successful OC) you could have bought the faster CPU. As others have said there is no guaranty for a decent OC and the likely hood for a crash at a critical time increases dramatically. It only takes one crash during production to kill any cost savings you might have incurred, time is money.

 

 

I use my system to render at home. I have a Q9550 overclocked to 471x8.5(4ghz) stable. my renders fly now, compared to when it was at stock 2.83 and is insanely faster then my work machine at the office which is a dual core 2.33ghz machine. I bought my PSU for $120( Corsair HX750). I have a Tuniq Tower cooler for my cpu($50). If you know what you are doing, don't cut corners on parts, set your system up and run stability programs to make sure your overclock is stable, it is no different then a processor clocked at stock settings. Overclocking does not void your warranty unless you burn your processor up and then try to send it back like nothing happen.

 

Also, you may want to do some research on the i7 920 compared to the i7 940. Anyone who buys a 940 just for a bit faster clock is throwing money away. With his set-up now, I would not be running a 550watt power supply to begin with.

 

Call the recommendation of overclocking foolish if you want, but I stand by my remarks based off his specs and his budget. A beefier powersupply and aftermarket cooler is the best solution.

Edited January 28, 2010 by Slinger

[hardcak]

Yep I'm going to OC (as safely as I can) - after bying a good PSU and cooler!! I have attached a screenshot of my task manager whilst rendering. I`m guessing that I dont need any memory! It says 1.4Gig at all times! This mean its not using memory? confused

 

Any comments on the readings?

 

Thanks

Edited January 28, 2010 by hardcak

[raterry]

I have a similar set-up. I recently just pieced together my own machine and after extensive research I went with the i7 920 and spent 50 or so bucks on a nice CPU cooler with the intent to overclock it. I have it up to 3.4Ghz and it is very stable. The difference is significant. Why spend an extra 200 bucks on the 940? It doesn't make sense.

[Jimy]

Yep I'm going to OC (as safely as I can) - after bying a good PSU and cooler!! I have attached a screenshot of my task manager whilst rendering. I`m guessing that I dont need any memory! It says 1.4Gig at all times! This mean its not using memory? confused

 

Any comments on the readings?

 

Looks as though you're running Vista. Vista allocates memory to certain apps based on your previous (average) usage.

 

This is a source of constant confusion as XP was just what you used at the time, as it didn't pre-allocate RAM for apps. Vista is actually more efficient in this respect because it already has the RAM ready for that app to use. But it does show as it using RAM when it's not really doing anything, hence the confusion.

 

If it's reading as 1.4 then at least it isn't using over this so no you don't need more RAM... until you start on heavier scenes. If it starts moving above what you've got then you might need more, but you'll have to test and see.

[Slinger]

Yep I'm going to OC (as safely as I can) - after bying a good PSU and cooler!! I have attached a screenshot of my task manager whilst rendering. I`m guessing that I dont need any memory! It says 1.4Gig at all times! This mean its not using memory? confused

 

Any comments on the readings?

 

Thanks

Since you are overclock i recommend downlaoding a few programs to help you get stable.

 

1. real-temp and core-temp. both of these programs watch the temperature your cpu cores are at.

 

2. prime95. this is a overall stability test. you can test cpu only or do a blend of cpu and ram.

 

3. intel burn test. this test is the big enchilada of stability test. if you can run this thing 20 passes you are stable for sure.

 

 

All of these programs are free. I recommend them for sure in getting you stable.