Question on rendering speed...

Drew Ott

Drew Ott

Wish I were banned.
My computer used to have 512mb of RAM and Vegas would always render really slow... (1 hour for 5-10 minutes of video). I just got 2 x 1gb PC 2700 RAM and I tested out the rendering and it is just as slow... My PC usage is 100% to Vegas. I clicked on my windows task manager and checked performance and the PC usage is full, while the PF usage is about 5% maxed out. My physical memory is 1/5 of what it is capable of.

I thought that adding RAM would greatly help my rendering times but it does not appear so. Does anybody know why this is?

I have an AMD Athlon XP 2500+, 1.83GHz processor, and 2gig of RAM.

Anybody know how to make it faster?
 
RAM will help to a point, but rendering is an entirely processor intesive task. Things that RAM can help with is live preview and realtime performance, but things that still have to be rendered before they can be cached in the RAM. The thing that will speed up your rendering is a faster processor.
 
A dual core processor would help..but you might increase your page file settings since you added more ram and it might still be the setting when you had you old ram.


start/controlpanel/system/advanced/performance/advanced

Change to background services vs programs

In virtual memory -use custom size and put in recommend amount for initial and maximum.


In addition..you should have your data on a separate partition or drive and not in your C drive...in which it will slow your rendering down because it is sharing the same partition as you system files.
 
Thanks for the help I fixed my file settings to utilize all of my RAM. Now I'm going to figure out how to overclock.
 
With that barton you should be able to get to 2200mhz easy (200x11) You might have to pump up your vcore voltage to at least 1.675-1.7v depending on your board and up your memory voltage to 2.7 or more. Here is a site to show you how to do it correctly since everyone has different results. In addition. if your 2500 is locked then you will have a harder overclock. I had mine on a NF7-S up to 217x11 at 1.8v but decided that running it at 2200mhz was more stable and was equal to xp3200 speeds. But if you want to use it for editing then I would not recommend overclocking at all or if so very little because you don't want to stress your components anymore than you have to when rendering your projects.


http://forums.extremeoverclocking.com/showthread.php?t=138046
 
Thanks for that link, a lot of good info in there. I'm a PC noob so I don't really even comprehend your post (yet).

You don't recommend overclocking at all for editing? I would think that it would atleast help a little bit.
 
It's sounds more like a disk problem. Try the standard things like defragging, unplug the network cable ( I actually disable the network card) turn off antivirus & adaware, only when off the network. You might try a new disk drive, if yours is more than 3 years old. Newer drives are much faster.
 
OK I just did another test in Vegas. I previewed an HD clip and checked my physical memory, and vegas was only using 150mb out of my 2gig of RAM.

I did what Smithy said, and increased my page file settings to 3,000 on both of those inputs.

I can't play HD in real time at all, I get maybe 2 fps, and with 2gig of RAM I would expect it to be a lot better.
 
If you have a dual channel MB try switching your ram in other slots..sometimes MB's are picky on ram positions. Also what type of board do you have? You may also use memtest86 to see if your ram is defective. If a lot of errors then RMA and get it exchanged. Be sure to test ram one stick at a time.

www.memtest86.com
 
I just went into my BIOS and changed my PC to "high performance" instead of "auto."

I did not notice many differences that it changed but it video caching is now enabled so that could possibly help I think.

Anybody know what to do to get optimal BIOS settings? I don't really know what most of the stuff means and I don't want to go fooling around and break something.
 
I took a screenshot of my system performance in the middle of rendering something.
Clipboard01-2.jpg



What I am concerned with is the lack of physical memory being used.
Any more help at all will be greatly appreciated.
 
When rendering, my comp looks like that as well. It doesn't take me as long as you to render, however.

Rendering is a really processor intensive task. Having more RAM is always good, but at the end of the day it comes down to your processor speed. (I cannot comment on your CPU cause I don't know AMD) Make sure you have two drives, one for programs and the other for footage, and that you are rendering to the footage drive.

Even real-time HD previews are mostly processor based. I would say your computers behavior is normal and you might have to accept that the RAM you just bought will not help in the manor you expected.
 
Thanks. How much does real-time playback depend on the video card?

I can hardly view high-quality SD in Vegas without skipping.
 
Try this, it should help

1. Turn off Virtual memory in windows if you have enough ram (this will Help a LOT)
2.(in Vegas) Set the Dynamic Ram Preview to Max
3. Save the render file to a different drive then the source (ex: source at driveA, render save to driveB.)
4. Video card does not matter rendering time but matters when you previewing Magic bullet effects. Nvidia video card allows you to do real time preview.

Just for reference, I have a xp3800 dual core w 2G ram, a 5 min + 3 layers of Magic bullet is about 35 min rendering time.
 
1. Turn off Virtual memory in windows if you have enough ram (this will Help a LOT)
Click to expand...

Is 2gb enough to turn it off? I'm kind of confused what this will do, even after reading a few explanations.
 
Ok I just turned off virtual memory and allowed vegas to use 1791mb of RAM for preview. I opened a 720x480 project and put in an HD clip. I turned preview to draft auto and it was previewing at 180x120. I could hardly get 2fps.

There must be something wrong. My video card is 128mb, I have my BIOS set up for high performance, and it is overclocked to 2.2ghz. There are no other programs running. I also restarted my computer like I was asked to after I turned off virtual memory.

Any advice?
 
2gb is enough. But check your setting again, I'm also using 2gb and vegas only allows max 1024mb on the ram preview, I'm running v6d.


are you editing HD or DV clip? and how fast is the harddrive? If you are cutting HD stuff..it's a different story. For HD, use two 100'00rpm or four 7200 rpm drive in raid will have no problem. For DV....regular one 7200rpm drive should do the work.

Defrag your drive, and leave at least 20% empty on the drive.

Also try the same clip on a different comp if you get a chance. I just tried DV files on a old 5400'rpm XP1800 comp and it runs fine (preview in 360x240).
 
The clip I'm talking about in my last post was HD. I don't know how fast my harddrive is, but I usually do everything on an external drive plugged into the USB. That might be a probelm.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top