AgentRedGirl
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Quick Update + Some Info + Some Good News
🕑 Added 2019-07-25 17:21:35 +0000 UTCHello all! So, this week has been a bit tough. I have had to do a lot of testing on Candice's rig, learn how to use her new "real hair" system, fine tune a bunch of her details, and get started on Amy's model. On top of that, my 2nd computer has been having some major issues and after a bunch of testing, trial and error, research, and talking to my computer repair store, I believe I need to invest in a new motherboard, processor, and cooling system to get the 2nd computer running the way I need it to. Its hard to explain how I got to that conclusion but I will say the simulation runs fine on my main PC (its just slow). Anyway, I already picked out the new stuff and I am going to go get everything started tomorrow on the 2nd computer.
OK so... some good news, in doing all of this, I learned something totally mind blowing (to me at least). In short, I use Redshift for rendering. Redshift is a GPU render engine (IE: it uses a graphic card to render). What I learned is that, if I install multiple graphic cards on my rendering PC, it will utilize up to 4 different graphic cards to speed up rendering. That is HUGE! Basically, for a one time investment in a new graphics card, I can spend up rendering by over 4 times! Taking my average 5 minute renders down to less than 2 minutes.
ANYWAY... as soon as I get the Mary and Bella scene completed, I am going to go get 1-2 more graphic cards installed on my rendering PC and hopefully I can blaze through rendering out the rest of the animation in record time.
Also, I wanted apologize that this week has been slow in terms of progress for AML 6. I have had to sort out all of this computer stuff and finalize Candice. Next week I will be 100% focused on animation and I am committed to finishing this section and starting on the Maggie and Anna scene.
EDIT: OH an I should have some previews of Amy's new model next week =)
Comments
Horsie
Two tips for your multiple-GPU setup: I'm sure you're using high-end GPUs, and they use lots of power, so check that you have a powerful enough PSU. For 3 or 4 GPUS, you'll need at least a good power supply with a rating of 1000W or more. Don't go cheap on the PSU, you may end frying your computer or having sporadic shutdowns when the PSU fails to produce enough power for the system. Second thing is heat management: a computer with several high-end GPUs is like a space heater. And computers don't like being too hot. So investing in a custom liquid cooling system with a big external reservoir and radiator is a good idea (also good for your hearing if you live near said computer)
bigwiggy
Great news. You're going to be a computer guru as well as a top notch animator by the time you're done Red.
Agent Red Girl
Heya Dunain! I have looked at it a little! Though, rendering isnt really my big issue right now... right now its that my 2nd computer keeps crashing during a fluid simulation. The simulation will take around a week with the computer running at full speed the whole time and the PC crashes after 1 or 0 frames =/
Dani Walk
So, I'm pretty good with PCs. I've built at least 200 of them over the years. A couple of quick thoughts: 1) Overheating is almost always related to either poor airflow or poor thermal paste between the CPU and the cooler. Sometimes, the cooler being used is just too small as well, especially if you're constantly cranking that CPU up to 100% (which you likely are). You may not need a new motherboard. It could be as simple as getting a better cooler and/or putting better thermal paste on the processor. 2) You may want to see which graphics cards are supported by Redshift. AMD Radeon cards tend to be slightly better for this type of rendering, and you can even get models that don't have any display outputs - they're used purely for rendering engines. People who do crypto currency use these types extensively.
Dunain
HI ARG :-) Reading about your PC problems, have you looked into or thought about using cloud computing service to provide servers for your renders? You could provision some pretty beefy servers when you needed to render, then take them down when they are not needed and only get charged for the time you used them. Just a thought, was not sure if you had ever heard of, or looked into it.
