Win7 driver config for GTX680 and Quadro 4000?

[Dwaine Maggart]

Assuming you are installing Resolve V9, you want to use the Config guide recommended NVIDIA GEForce 301.42 driver for both cards.

I don’t know what UpdateCom.exe is. It’s not on our Resolve equipped Windows systems, nor does it show up in a casual Google search. Are you sure its an NVIDIA app?

Dwaine Maggart
Blackmagic Design DaVinci Support

[Jay Mahavier]

It really appears to be. When the warning comes up it displays the green Nvidia eye logo. The version number that it list matches an application I located named ComUpdatus.exe. And when I went into Services and stopped NVIDIA Update Service Daemon the warning has stopped popping up. So I’m thinking it’s most likely related. I found ComUpdatus in

C://Program Files (x86)/NVIDIA Corporation/NVIDIA Update Core

I also see it listed when I go to the Nvidia Control Panel, select the System Info at the bottom left, and then select the Components tab and go to the bottom to the NVIDIA Update section.

Both cards are using the 301.42 driver that I downloaded for the GTX680. I just want to make sure I have the config right. One thing I am seeing is when doing a test of exporting for dailies, converting to QTs in the DNxHD36 codec, if my source is ProRes4444 I’m seeing about 50fps to 55fps on my export. If I use ArriRAW files, then the export rate drops off to about 10fps, and runs in bursts and pauses. Is that right?

Thank you,
Jay Mahavier

[Dwaine Maggart]

I currently have a single GTX460 in my test system. It’s rendering 2880×2160 ArriRaw files to DNxHD36 QT’s at about 20 FPS. Rendering 1920×1080 ProRes444 files to DNxHD36 QT’s at about 25 FPS.

It could be that the large size of the ArriRaw is making it slower than the PR444 file. What resolution was your ArriRaw and PR444 files?

At any rate, your ArriRaw source file render speed seems low.

Depending on resolution, the ArriRaw .ari files are going to need much more disk bandwidth than the PR444 file. Are you sure your disk I/O where the .ari files are stored is adequate?

If you look in Resolve Preferences, under System Overview, does it show your graphics cards being used as expected, i.e. does it show the 4000 as a GUI card and the 680 as a GPU only card?

Dwaine Maggart
Blackmagic Design DaVinci Support

[Jay Mahavier]

In System Overview it lists

Video Card 1: Quadro 4000 – GUI Only
Video Card 2: GeForce GTX 680

It does not list the GTX as GPU only.

The drives I know are an issue. I haven’t gotten the FC card in yet so I’m using some internal temporarily to do some basic functionality test with. So that could be a big part of the low frame rate.

The ProRes4444 is 1920×1080. The ArriRAW is 2880×1620, doing a scale to 1920×1080. Both workflow tests have LUTs being applied and a data burn-in being done. Export is to a separate internal drive so read and write is happening to different drives.

Thank you,
Jay Mahavier

[Dwaine Maggart]

The System Overview is good. It won’t actually say GPU Only by the GPU card. If it’s in the list, and doesn’t have a GUI label, it’s being used as a GPU card.

So I would guess your low ArriRaw render speed is probably storage related.

Dwaine Maggart
Blackmagic Design DaVinci Support

[Jay Mahavier]

More info.

While waiting for the FC card to arrive to connect to the SAN I have temporarily installed a eSATA card and connected a couple of gTech G Speed drives. Each one is configured into it’s own Raid0. I put my ArriRAW source media on one drive and used the other as the write too drive.

I have a sequence that is just over 35min long. It contains 26 ArriRAW clips. Each is set to it’s own LUT and I am also applying a window burn of Source TC/Frm number and the Source File Name. And I am rendering to DNxHD36. It starts off fine. Running consistently at about 31fps for about 4min of the timeline. Then it starts to process in bursts of frames. Stopping for a few seconds and then processing for a few seconds and then stopping, then processing, etc. Effectively making for a frame rate of about 11fps or 12fps.

Staying in the Delivery section, this same sequence will play about a herky jerky 22fps. Usually running at 24fps, but often dipping to 20fps and then compensating by a bust of 25-26fps. And it will play like this through the entire 35min of the timeline.

So then I tried the same DNxHD36 export setting, but instead on setting it to Max render speed I set it to 50% render speed. It then would hold a solid 10fps on the render through the whole timeline.

So then I tried a different destination codec all together. I tired h.264 Medium Quality (same resolution and frame rate and other settings as the DNxHD36 settings) and had it set to Max speed. It did the same thing as the DNxHD. At about 3min into the timeline it start to run in bursts.

So then I tried DPX RGB 10bit. Right out of the gate it was not smooth. 28fps to 13fps, to 22fps, to 18fps, to 12fps, to 25fps, just all over the place. But it rendered the 35min timeline in about 45min. So not to shabby for that.

So I’m not sure what I have wrong, but I’m getting the not so great feeling that being fiber connected to the SAN is going to make that big of a difference.

Jay