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Advise on Upgrading Graphics Cards (or maybe transcoding footage)
Hi, I have a Nvida 550 Ti graphics card which kind of works OK for prores but I am now trying to grade GH3 MOV (50 mbps) and it is really struggling, only plays 15 fps and tracking takes ages.
I am currently a student and have not got any paid grading work yet so need to keep the cost down.
My first reaction was to think of upgrading the graphics card to one of the supported ones. It is fairly cheaply to pick up the 2GB versions but resolve specified the 4GB versions. Will this make a lot of difference?
My other option is to transcode the footage but as I am on windows pores is not an option. Is there another good codec I can use, is this a good solution.
Regards,
Ben—
Ben Edwards – Freelance Picture Editor
https://www.funkytwig.comi5 550, Windows 7 / Mac Lion, Nvida 550 Ti, 8GB Mem
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4 Replies
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If you have problems with a specific codec, you might have a problem elsewhere, no need for changin the GPU.
GPU is responsible for grading. So if you can playback a footage without any correction real-time but as soon as you use 3-4 nodes you lose real-time, GPU will be the problem, definitely.But, there are codecs (for example C100 AVCHD, C300 MPEG2) which are very hard to decode.
For these, you need a faster CPU (I see you’re using an i5 in your machine. I have two four-core Xeons in a Mac Pro, but still these formats make them sweat.
So you could check your CPU usage during playback..One clue also is if the thumbnails for the clips load sloooowly.
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If you can find a second GPU, it could make some difference. I’m using the GTX 285 for the interface and GTX 580 for image processing, and it’s a good combination for me (I’m also on Windows, with i7 CPU)
Like Laco says, some codecs are quite processor-intensive. It’s possible to render your material to a good-quality 10-bit intermediate codec, like Avid DNxHD. You can download it free from Avid, it’s a package named “Avid Codecs LE”. That way you can take some load off from the CPU.
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Timo,
Thanks for replying. I am using the lite version so can only use one GPU. I notice that the officially supported ones are the 4GB versions. How important is the extra memory, I can get a 2GB one fairly cheaply.
Currently I am learning CC/Resolve but just did a 40 minute doc (unpaid) and it was a great experience, turned out looking good, director very happy (just been brought several pints at our local pub by him).
I have come across the Avid Codec, that was my play (or prores).
Ben
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Ben Edwards – Freelance Picture Editor
https://www.funkytwig.comi5 550, Windows 7 / Mac Lion, Nvida 550 Ti, 8GB Mem
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You can use one GPU for GUI and one for image processing on Resolve Lite.
I’ve run out of GPU memory on complex sequences with a lot of clips. Got a 4GB GPU, and never had that problem again.
I hear that for v10, the more Vram, the better. So I would get 4 GB if I was buying a new GPU.
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