Sprucing up the ol' PC for GPU action at DVinfo.net

Sam Renkin · March 13th, 2013, 12:57 PM

After 6 months of distraction with many projects, I'm finally upgrading my aging Core i7 XPS Studio 435MT with a new monitor (HP 2311xi), faster memory (12GB), a new 600W PSU, and a video card that allows Vegas 11 Pro to use GPU acceleration. I got a ZOTAC GeForce GTX 650 card w/2GB memory, two DVI and two HDMI outputs. About $450 in all.

The XPS came with an ATI Radeon HD 4850 which actually worked quite well but bogs down with certain codecs and doesn't meet the GPU requirements of Vegas.

Graham Bernard · March 14th, 2013, 01:01 AM

OK (?) ..... Do you have a question?

Cheers

Grazie

Leslie Wand · March 14th, 2013, 03:08 AM

me thinks op's actually a statement.

rather hasty - i would have researched the perceived advantages of a 650 prior to buying one.

Sam Renkin · March 14th, 2013, 10:38 AM

I guess it was a statement, sometimes I get excited by progress.

Leslie, I chose the new graphics card with a price target in mind (around US$150), knowing it had to be compatible with Vegas's GPU requirements and two DVI connections. I read the owner reviews before buying. But I can't say I researched every option out there.

I'm always looking for good advice - if you kknow of a better option please share?

Randall Leong · March 14th, 2013, 11:23 AM

Sam,

Did you perform a forum search regarding incompatibilities between the new Kepler GPUs and Vegas Pro 12's GPU acceleration feature? You see, the GTX 650 is part of the Kepler GPU loneup - but the repeated crashes in Vegas Pro 12 with GPU acceleration enabled with these newer GPUs has forced many Vegas users to semi-permanently lock the program to the CPU-only rendering mode (no GPU acceleration whatsoever).

And as I tried to state, even the latest release of Vegas Pro 12 does not properly support the newer Kepler GPUs. The most recent Nvidia GPU it supports for GPU acceleration is the now-obsolete GT(X) 5xx series.

Sam Renkin · March 14th, 2013, 12:15 PM

That information is very helpful - thanks!

I'm using Vegas 11 Pro on a Core i7 machine with PCI 2.0 architecture - but I'm guessing it makes little difference. I've been using CPU-only processing since I had Vegas 8 Pro. I wanted to purchase a card that would enable GPU processing - not cause crashes!

I'm a much better shooter/editor than I am a technician, so the world of NVIDIA, Radeon, GPU, CUDA, Keppler and all that stuff is hard to get my head around.

Again, your wisdom is greatly appreciated.

Sam Renkin · March 14th, 2013, 01:44 PM

Would something like this work?

EVGA 02G-P3-1568-RX GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card - Newegg.com

Jeff Harper · March 14th, 2013, 03:00 PM

Sam, on top of the other consideration, please be aware many of us find GPU accleration to be of limited or no value.

Among other things, it appears that for some of us Vegas users, that the amount the GPU feature helps is dependent on the relative speed of your processor, though evidence is anecdotal.

The short version of what I'm trying to say is to expect very little from your GPU, and you won't be disappointed. If it works better than expected you'll be happy. If it doesn't, you won't feel as badly.

Sam Renkin · March 14th, 2013, 05:21 PM

Thanks Jeff, I'm now thinking its better to invest in more RAM (or a new PC) than a video card and PSU.

Leslie Wand · March 14th, 2013, 11:25 PM

+ 1 jeff's comment.

i7/920 and 550ti - cpu is faster.

that said, i wouldn't even think about gpu until scs comes out with some software that's guaranteed to work with gpu - and not the hit and miss affair we have at the moment.

Jeff Harper · March 16th, 2013, 10:29 AM

It seems to me Sam that who the GPU thing helps is all over the place, we just don't know if it will help until we actually buy the card and try it. Many people it helps seem to be folks with slower processors but I've seen those with faster processors that liked it too.

In my case it is always better to turn it off, my performance suffers with the GPU enabled, but I do not have one of the better cards either. I personally feel money is better spent on a fast CPU.

As Leslie says so well, it is very hit and miss.

March 13th, 2013, 12:57 PM	#1
Sam Renkin Major Player Join Date: May 2008 Location: Atlanta GA Posts: 211	Sprucing up the ol' PC for GPU action After 6 months of distraction with many projects, I'm finally upgrading my aging Core i7 XPS Studio 435MT with a new monitor (HP 2311xi), faster memory (12GB), a new 600W PSU, and a video card that allows Vegas 11 Pro to use GPU acceleration. I got a ZOTAC GeForce GTX 650 card w/2GB memory, two DVI and two HDMI outputs. About $450 in all. The XPS came with an ATI Radeon HD 4850 which actually worked quite well but bogs down with certain codecs and doesn't meet the GPU requirements of Vegas.

March 14th, 2013, 01:01 AM	#2
Graham Bernard Old Boot Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: London UK Posts: 3,633	Re: Sprucing up the ol' PC for GPU action OK (?) ..... Do you have a question? Cheers Grazie

March 14th, 2013, 03:08 AM	#3
Leslie Wand Trustee Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: upper hunter, australia Posts: 1,410	Re: Sprucing up the ol' PC for GPU action me thinks op's actually a statement. rather hasty - i would have researched the perceived advantages of a 650 prior to buying one. __________________ www.lesliewand.com.au

March 14th, 2013, 10:38 AM	#4
Sam Renkin Major Player Join Date: May 2008 Location: Atlanta GA Posts: 211	Re: Sprucing up the ol' PC for GPU action I guess it was a statement, sometimes I get excited by progress. Leslie, I chose the new graphics card with a price target in mind (around US$150), knowing it had to be compatible with Vegas's GPU requirements and two DVI connections. I read the owner reviews before buying. But I can't say I researched every option out there. I'm always looking for good advice - if you kknow of a better option please share?

March 14th, 2013, 11:23 AM	#5
Randall Leong Major Player Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Melrose Park, Illinois, USA Posts: 936	Re: Sprucing up the ol' PC for GPU action Sam, Did you perform a forum search regarding incompatibilities between the new Kepler GPUs and Vegas Pro 12's GPU acceleration feature? You see, the GTX 650 is part of the Kepler GPU loneup - but the repeated crashes in Vegas Pro 12 with GPU acceleration enabled with these newer GPUs has forced many Vegas users to semi-permanently lock the program to the CPU-only rendering mode (no GPU acceleration whatsoever). And as I tried to state, even the latest release of Vegas Pro 12 does not properly support the newer Kepler GPUs. The most recent Nvidia GPU it supports for GPU acceleration is the now-obsolete GT(X) 5xx series.

March 14th, 2013, 12:15 PM	#6
Sam Renkin Major Player Join Date: May 2008 Location: Atlanta GA Posts: 211	Re: Sprucing up the ol' PC for GPU action That information is very helpful - thanks! I'm using Vegas 11 Pro on a Core i7 machine with PCI 2.0 architecture - but I'm guessing it makes little difference. I've been using CPU-only processing since I had Vegas 8 Pro. I wanted to purchase a card that would enable GPU processing - not cause crashes! I'm a much better shooter/editor than I am a technician, so the world of NVIDIA, Radeon, GPU, CUDA, Keppler and all that stuff is hard to get my head around. Again, your wisdom is greatly appreciated.

March 14th, 2013, 01:44 PM	#7
Sam Renkin Major Player Join Date: May 2008 Location: Atlanta GA Posts: 211	Re: Sprucing up the ol' PC for GPU action Would something like this work? EVGA 02G-P3-1568-RX GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card - Newegg.com

March 14th, 2013, 03:00 PM	#8
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	Re: Sprucing up the ol' PC for GPU action Sam, on top of the other consideration, please be aware many of us find GPU accleration to be of limited or no value. Among other things, it appears that for some of us Vegas users, that the amount the GPU feature helps is dependent on the relative speed of your processor, though evidence is anecdotal. The short version of what I'm trying to say is to expect very little from your GPU, and you won't be disappointed. If it works better than expected you'll be happy. If it doesn't, you won't feel as badly.

March 14th, 2013, 05:21 PM	#9
Sam Renkin Major Player Join Date: May 2008 Location: Atlanta GA Posts: 211	Re: Sprucing up the ol' PC for GPU action Thanks Jeff, I'm now thinking its better to invest in more RAM (or a new PC) than a video card and PSU.

March 14th, 2013, 11:25 PM	#10
Leslie Wand Trustee Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: upper hunter, australia Posts: 1,410	Re: Sprucing up the ol' PC for GPU action + 1 jeff's comment. i7/920 and 550ti - cpu is faster. that said, i wouldn't even think about gpu until scs comes out with some software that's guaranteed to work with gpu - and not the hit and miss affair we have at the moment. __________________ www.lesliewand.com.au

March 16th, 2013, 10:29 AM	#11
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	Re: Sprucing up the ol' PC for GPU action It seems to me Sam that who the GPU thing helps is all over the place, we just don't know if it will help until we actually buy the card and try it. Many people it helps seem to be folks with slower processors but I've seen those with faster processors that liked it too. In my case it is always better to turn it off, my performance suffers with the GPU enabled, but I do not have one of the better cards either. I personally feel money is better spent on a fast CPU. As Leslie says so well, it is very hit and miss.