Hi i'm new. any rendering tips (on speed)

[nerdyguy227]

I just got a new computer and I was wondering, are there any
ways to speed up rendering?

The new computer has:


3.0 GHz
800 MHz sys BUS
2 GB of ram (400 MHz)
SB Audigy 2 sound card
18 in. LCD flat pannal moniter
DVD +RW
52x32x52x CD-RW
120GB hard drive
Alienware (a computer manufactureing company) http://www.alienware.com


seems like it wold be fast but it seems to be almost as slow as my old computer.

I'm 12, so sorry for any spelling mistakes

[jb_gfx]

I don't understand why you posted that image of the lensflare??

Can you explain where it's slow and how fast was your old computer on specific scenes?

[mufty]

Have you tried the benchmark scenes in the Scenes>Benchmark folder? I assume (from the image you posted) that you were using lens flares to test, but they are a post-render effect and do not really give an accurate rendering speed assessment.

Nice system by the way :)

[js33]

Well if you're only 12 years old and can afford a computer like that surely you can figure out how to work it. :D

Cheers,
JS

[nerdyguy227]

Well my dad bought the computer ($4,128) because I'm into 3d
rendering.

My old computer had:
1.3 GHz
533MHz sys BUS
256 MB RAM
60 GB Hard Drive


I posted the image of the lensflare because it was my first image

On my new computer when ever I am rendering and I press control+alt+delete, the task manager says the cpu is only running at 50%. Is there any way to make it run at 100% and render faster

[js33]

I assume this is a P4 3 Ghz? It should have Hyperthreading and you should see 2 CPUs in the task manager. If not is HT enabled?
A 3Ghz P4 should scream pretty nicely.

Also your Dad sounds pretty cool to buy you a PC like that. :D

It will take some time to learn LW so read the manuals do some tutorials and make your Dad proud. I'm sure he will appreciate the investment when he sees you turning out some cool stuff.

Cheers,
JS

[mattclary]

Make sure Hyperthreading is active and make sure you are using 2 threads. It runs in my mind that LightWave doesn't use 100% of the CPU, can't remember the details. It may only be when HT is active...

[spinn]

dammit, lad! don't you see how damn lucky you are to just GET a computer like that? stop nagging about your renderspeed and start producing some images! make daddy proud.

[Matt]

I'm interested, what does your Dad do for a living?

[jtimberlake]

And would he like to adopt another son.

LOL

[nerdyguy227]

He will not adopt a son!
He works for Prudental (I think I spelled it right)
but thats all I can really say over the internet.

Anyway it goes faster with 8 threds than 1,2,or 4
Thanks a lot for the tip but its still a little slow.

How do you enable HT?
I have a p4 3.06 GHz that supports itbut I dont know if I
enabled it

[lone]

you should thank your dad every single day.

[spinn]

you got the hell of a computer. you should se my crappy old p3! i find it rude to complain about renderspeed when you haven't even paid for the computer, and show me some works for christ sake. 3 ghz and all you can come up with is a lousy lensflare? come on... :)
just face it sonny, rendering takes time.

[EremiticWolf]

I remember a show talking about a scene in Spawn, where Spawn crashes through a skylight, if I remember correctly I think they said it took them three days just to render that scene.
On my system the renders can either be slow or fast at times just depends on scene complexity.
I have a

Dell Deminsion P4 3.06HT
512 megs of RDRAM Memory
500mhtz FSB
2 120 GB HDs 7200rpm
128 AGP GeForceFX 5200

I've rendered out my first explosion, took all night to render. If you would like to see it you can get it from my website.

Right click link, then select Save Target as......
Explosion (700 KB) (http://www.wolvenshire.com/Explosion.avi)
I should mention that the animation is compressed using DivX.

Like I said before this is my first explosion, so there is no flying debris or andything like that. :-)

[Extent]

Heh, If I leave a render running and it finishes before I wake up I feel like I haven't turned on enough features :D :D :p

[nerdyguy227]

Thats how I feel.
If my computer where to render that it would take all weak (litraly)!!!

[spinn]

render something and show it to us, and we'll tell you if your computer is slow.

[trentonia]

Well...you guys know what I have to say...use millions of polygons, set ray recursion to 999, turn on radiosity to the max (sorry, i should say maximum), load up a couple thousand lights, and then go to http://www.respower.com and kick back and smile.

[nerdyguy227]

Okay I'll try to make an image but it could take a while
I'll try to make a livingroom and tell you the time and every thing

[EremiticWolf]

Well the computer that was rendered on was tweaked allot. Mainly performance tweaks to be exact. Took a couple of hours to do all the tweaks.

I would look on the net for Windows XP tweaks(that is if you are using Windows XP) and you'll find a whole bunch of tweaks for it.

One tweak I have done was increase the virutal memory from the default to around 1 gig minimum to 5 gig maximum. The computer never seems to use the virtual memory while rendering, but it's there if needed.

One more thing to keep in mind, all computers are different, so a tweak that speeds up my machine might slow yours down.

Good luck. :-)

[nerdyguy227]

My computer is Wimdows XP. I found that increasing my virtual
memory slows down my computer because it uses it insted of the ram a lot.I'll soon be posting an image of a living room. The first one won't be very high res. because I'll need to test this first since this is my first full filled photo reallistic scene. Plese tell me how to tweak some rendering speed things like how to increace the buffer size or somthing like that.

[Signal to Noise]

One tip to speedy renders, especially for final output, is: Composites. Do your rendering in layers. And usually, no matter how fast a PC is, rendering will still take a long time. Speed is relative.

Compositing: Look it up in the CG Dictionary For 12 Year Old Rich Kids:p


(Oh, and tell your dad that next time he spends oodles on a PC for you to get one with a spellchecker;) )

[nerdyguy227]

Okay I admit I can't spell anything (almost). The forum doesn't
have a spell checker so I am really sorry for spelling mistakes.

I'm not really that rich.I go to a public school. My dad was just willing for me to custimize almost any computer I wonted so I could procied with my intrust.