Render Test HDV benchmark tests...weird flucuations

Jon McGuffin · June 26th, 2007, 09:05 PM

I'm pretty happy to find that the Quad Core CPU truly does "double" the rendering performance. That's huge..

Jon

Alex Thames · June 26th, 2007, 09:09 PM

Okay, just did the .mpg2 test. 5:39. This was at 100% CPU usage during the entire render period, so I can't get a better time than that with my system.

Sorry for the stupidity. Quad core does almost double performance.

As far as preview playback, Vegas 7.0e with my machine seems to be able to play native .m2t HDV 1440x1080 files back smoothly without a hitch for the most part in "half" mode on "best." That's a pretty big preview resolution. There are a few instances where it lags just barely, but not a big deal. In those cases, I might switch to "good" or "preview" mode, or even lower the preview resolution. I'm quite pleased with the editing processes. No more rendering out to intermediary files (unless I need to do compositing or whatever, but I'm not that advanced yet).

Still, my original question is still there. Why does my CPU drop to 50% or even to 70% sometimes while rendering? And how do I fix this so it stays at 100% all the time during rendering?

Mike Kujbida · June 26th, 2007, 09:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jon McGuffin

I'm pretty happy to find that the Quad Core CPU truly does "double" the rendering performance. That's huge..

Here's a real-life example for you.
A 10 min. video I did at work last summer took 3 hr. to render (on a P4, 3.4 GHz HT), primarily because of a LOT of chroma key and other assorted FX.
I tried it after I got my quad core.
Render time was 27 minutes!!

Alex Thames · June 26th, 2007, 09:39 PM

Wow, but then again, P4 is really slow compared to Core 2, especially quad.

Mike Kujbida · June 26th, 2007, 09:44 PM

At the time we bought them though (2 years ago), a hyper-threaded P4 was a powerhouse of a machine.
Ain't technology wonderful :-(

Jon McGuffin · June 26th, 2007, 10:02 PM

Nothing to be sorry about. I don't think you should worry too much about the little "drops" you see in CPU Utilization. I watched mine as well and though it never dropped below about 85% it was bouncing back and forth 85-100, mostly staying on 100.

Why it slowed down 10-15% in subsequent renders I have no idea but we could probably spend a lifetime trying to figure that our or you can practice your editing skills! :)

Alex Thames · June 26th, 2007, 10:57 PM

Well, I think I could live with 85%, but 50% is quite a bit lower and can't be considered a "little" drop. I'll definitely be doing more editing now, but still, I'd like to see if I can figure this out and fix it during my breaks from editing hehe.

EDIT:
I have to report that the E4300 CPU is not keeping up with native .m2t editing. It has lagged severely (contrary to my earlier post) now that I'm really getting into the nitty gritty of editing an HDV project that is about 2 hours long on the timeline. Even on draft mode > quarter, it still lags severely sometimes. Other times, even on best > half, it doesn't lag at all. The CPU usage performance is jumping all over, from very low to very high as I edit.

Jon McGuffin · June 27th, 2007, 07:53 AM

Mine doesn't keep up either at half preview when I apply transitions, color correcting, etc. So this is probalby more the norm than you would think. If I can maintain about 15-20fps or better, I find that this performance is acceptable.

I'm curious what the Quad Core guy gets.... Wonder if Quad Core helps for preview work..

Mike Kujbida · June 27th, 2007, 09:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jon McGuffin

I'm curious what the Quad Core guy gets.... Wonder if Quad Core helps for preview work..

I don't shoot with HDV (yet) so I'd only be able to tell you what it's like with clips I've downloaded from various sites - and, due to family commitments tonight, I won't be able to try anything until tomorrow night.
Hopefully another quad core user will chime in here :-)

Alex Thames · June 27th, 2007, 02:45 PM

Do you think overclocking the stock clock speeds on the CPU will help noticeably in terms of previewing the work? When I get a Q6600 2.4ghz, I plan to OC it to around 3.3ghz or so. Right now, I'm working with a dual core E4300 at 1.8ghz, which is much slower than your E6600 at 2.66ghz, and even that lags apparently.

June 26th, 2007, 10:57 PM	#22
Alex Thames Major Player Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: New York Posts: 508	Well, I think I could live with 85%, but 50% is quite a bit lower and can't be considered a "little" drop. I'll definitely be doing more editing now, but still, I'd like to see if I can figure this out and fix it during my breaks from editing hehe. EDIT: I have to report that the E4300 CPU is not keeping up with native .m2t editing. It has lagged severely (contrary to my earlier post) now that I'm really getting into the nitty gritty of editing an HDV project that is about 2 hours long on the timeline. Even on draft mode > quarter, it still lags severely sometimes. Other times, even on best > half, it doesn't lag at all. The CPU usage performance is jumping all over, from very low to very high as I edit. Last edited by Alex Thames; June 27th, 2007 at 01:18 AM.

June 26th, 2007, 09:05 PM	#16
Jon McGuffin Major Player Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Carlsbad, CA Posts: 634	I'm pretty happy to find that the Quad Core CPU truly does "double" the rendering performance. That's huge.. Jon

June 26th, 2007, 09:09 PM	#17
Alex Thames Major Player Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: New York Posts: 508	Okay, just did the .mpg2 test. 5:39. This was at 100% CPU usage during the entire render period, so I can't get a better time than that with my system. Sorry for the stupidity. Quad core does almost double performance. As far as preview playback, Vegas 7.0e with my machine seems to be able to play native .m2t HDV 1440x1080 files back smoothly without a hitch for the most part in "half" mode on "best." That's a pretty big preview resolution. There are a few instances where it lags just barely, but not a big deal. In those cases, I might switch to "good" or "preview" mode, or even lower the preview resolution. I'm quite pleased with the editing processes. No more rendering out to intermediary files (unless I need to do compositing or whatever, but I'm not that advanced yet). Still, my original question is still there. Why does my CPU drop to 50% or even to 70% sometimes while rendering? And how do I fix this so it stays at 100% all the time during rendering?

June 26th, 2007, 09:39 PM	#19
Alex Thames Major Player Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: New York Posts: 508	Wow, but then again, P4 is really slow compared to Core 2, especially quad.

June 26th, 2007, 09:44 PM	#20
Mike Kujbida Inner Circle Join Date: May 2005 Location: Windsor, ON Canada Posts: 2,770	At the time we bought them though (2 years ago), a hyper-threaded P4 was a powerhouse of a machine. Ain't technology wonderful :-(

June 26th, 2007, 10:02 PM	#21
Jon McGuffin Major Player Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Carlsbad, CA Posts: 634	Nothing to be sorry about. I don't think you should worry too much about the little "drops" you see in CPU Utilization. I watched mine as well and though it never dropped below about 85% it was bouncing back and forth 85-100, mostly staying on 100. Why it slowed down 10-15% in subsequent renders I have no idea but we could probably spend a lifetime trying to figure that our or you can practice your editing skills! :)

June 27th, 2007, 07:53 AM	#23
Jon McGuffin Major Player Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Carlsbad, CA Posts: 634	Mine doesn't keep up either at half preview when I apply transitions, color correcting, etc. So this is probalby more the norm than you would think. If I can maintain about 15-20fps or better, I find that this performance is acceptable. I'm curious what the Quad Core guy gets.... Wonder if Quad Core helps for preview work..

June 27th, 2007, 02:45 PM	#25
Alex Thames Major Player Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: New York Posts: 508	Do you think overclocking the stock clock speeds on the CPU will help noticeably in terms of previewing the work? When I get a Q6600 2.4ghz, I plan to OC it to around 3.3ghz or so. Right now, I'm working with a dual core E4300 at 1.8ghz, which is much slower than your E6600 at 2.66ghz, and even that lags apparently.