Aftereffects lagging?

[XanderFX]

Here are some performance enhancements that I have done that helped quite a bit.

In your preferences under the general tab turn off Synchronize time of all related items. If you have multiple nested comps it has to adjust through all of the comps before you can perform the next operation. Reduce your display quality to half in your preview window or reduce the size to 50%. Reduce the level of undos that are saved by AE down to 10 or so. Purge your image cache every once in a while. Turn off any effects that you don't need to see. Get more RAM 512MB is not nearly enough to run any sort of video editing app especially once you get past the basics, 1 or 2GB would be best. Also make sure your overflow volumes are set to a different drive than your OS and what AE is installed on.

[Astraz]

Few years ago I got same problem then worked with divx-video files. Never use codecs, maybe just QT allow for fast work.

[oodle]

yes it is annoying..its a bug in afx 6.5
update to 6.5.1 wil fix the prob

[IanMJ]

yes it is annoying..its a bug in afx 6.5
update to 6.5.1 wil fix the prob

Speaking of update, I have updated to 6.5.1 and I still get the processor at 50% cpu usage when after effects is idle.

Should the update have fixed that?

[beenyweenies]

I would think your biggest issue is lack of enough RAM to adequately feed AE. 1GB+ should be used. Also, you didn't say which version of the AMD64s you have. if it's the 2800+, while it's a good chip for general use, it IS a budget CPU and probably won't get you a ton of AE performance. Also, you didn't say what you were doing when these problems arise - are you working with HD footage or simple text elements? Need to know the circumstances to really judge the problem.

And finally, others will probably differ on this opinion but when I used a Radeon consumer card (the 9800 pro) AE suffered HORRID performance problems - lock ups, UI issues etc. As soon as I went back to an Nvidia card those problems went away. I think the issue may be openGL or simply that Radeon's drivers have always been behind Nvidia in quality, reliability and features.

[IanMJ]

Hi,

Does anyone else still get the high cpu usage when AE 6.5.1 is inactive?

[ratbaggy]

just as a follow up here are a few project management tips that can make handling larger projects on lower spec amchines a bit friendlier.

:)

http://www.thoughtography.net.au/students/afterEffects/tutorials/projectManagement/projectManagement.htm

[oodle]

thanks, nice tips :thumbsup:
however it seems that "lagging" in afx is confirmed as bug in machine with machine big memory (i read it somewhere a long ago) as it happen to me i had 2 gig of memory
now after update to 6.5.1 that lagging issue dont seem to appear anymore

i never experience high cpu usage on idle..before or after the update:shrug: so..cant help u with that, sorry
maybe u can try to update your system driver(chipsets,graphic,sound,etc..)

[IanMJ]

Thanks for the reply oodle,

Yes, I also have 2 gig of RAM. After effects doesn't lag, just the CPU goes to 50% (its a hyperthreaded machine) when doing nothing. If you leave a dialogue box on screen however, the cpu drops to 0%!

Crazy! :)

[alvinseah]

I think you guys have misinterpreted the guy. He said "freeze", not "lag". I am running AE 6.5.1 on 2 gigs of ram and I experience the similiar "1-minute freeze". It only happens when I'm doing deep-compositing. The only workable solution I've discovered is to Purge All, then everything goes back to normal. But after some time, the "1-minute freeze" would happen again and I would have to purge again. Anyone else experienced this?


hi guys,
i'm running afx here on an AMD64, 512RAM, 320gig hdd, K8NNXP MB, 128mb Radeion 9800pro...

thing is, i noticed that every now and then, when i drag a simple layer back n forth thru a timeline the comp literally freezes and takes minutes to do the thing.. its kinda weird, any solution 2this?

thnx in adv

[IanMJ]

Sorry alvinseah,

Some of the guys provided help regarding the freezing at the beginning of the thread. I was just following up with the lagging issue (as 6.5.1 is supposed to fix this).

I've experienced the freeze but I put it down to the complexity of my comps and stuff having to be read from the hard disk cache. Does this happen whether you use OGL of your graphics card or not?


I think you guys have misinterpreted the guy. He said "freeze", not "lag". I am running AE 6.5.1 on 2 gigs of ram and I experience the similiar "1-minute freeze". It only happens when I'm doing deep-compositing. The only workable solution I've discovered is to Purge All, then everything goes back to normal. But after some time, the "1-minute freeze" would happen again and I would have to purge again. Anyone else experienced this?

[Kargokultti]

You guys did uncheck that Synchronize time box under General settings? It worked for me, didn't have to do anything else to avoid the freeze.

Edit: Oh, you did. It's nice when thing sometimes work out that way.

[mdurwin]

I'm having the same issue. As a matter of fact I have that fun spinning wheel we mac lovers have come to adore. I downgraded my undos to 10, turned off the synching. I also have a dual 2.7GHz machine running with 2.5GB RAM. I'm trying to change the length of a stroke, complicated huh?
Still got that wheel of doom...
Well, looks like I have time for a round of battlefield 1942 before it unfreezes. I've noticed that it only effects AE.
Oops, it's done spinning. Yeah!
Hopefully AE7 fixes this.

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