You'd think Blender would run better...

#24

Blender does cache some stuff to the disk like simulations, but you have to explicitly tell it to do so. I’d upgrade the motherboard, processor, memory, and operating system before considering a SSD.

While the machine isn’t necessarily old, it was a poor choice of components for computer graphics work. It’s on par with a typical computer graphics workstation from a decade ago because the processor is just awful.

When you want to upgrade the machine or build a new machine check back here. We’d be happy to help select components based on whatever budget you specify. For example this is what I would’ve built two or three years ago for a budget minded computer graphics workstation (six processor cores, 8GB of memory, 64-bit operating system, etc.).

http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=898207

Of course today I would pick different components but you get the idea. A passable machine doesn’t have to cost a fortune!

#25

I’m already planning an I7, but by the time I get serious about it all that may be obsolete, too. I’m sure in the meantime I can do a good bit of workaround methods. Wally world didn’t have an adapter, so I may try RShack next month. I avoid them because they want big bucks for something that costs a buck online. I have a lot to learn in Blender, still, so I think my poorly chosen machine will suffice. It really isn’t all that bad; I just want more, more, more…

#26

One thing I probably neglected to mention is the particular TV I’m referring to has a VGA port built right in to connect say a laptop to. I’ll probably give it a whirl later this week when I can pry the other half away from it for a BBQ to nuke the fleas in the house. The card does have a DVI port, but no Display or HDMI port.

#27

http://www.outletpc.com/intc001-intel-core-i7-4770k-cpu-and-motherboard-combo.html

This is what I’m thinking of going to. Probably next Spring or late Winter.

#28

That’s a pretty good choice, but a year from now that processor might not even be on the market or there might be something better for less money. Do the research and pick the components when you’re ready to do the upgrade. :thumbsup:

#29

That’s pretty much why I take my time and don’t go overboard with upgrades to a particular machine. The G41T does reasonably well with my own CAD program (If you recall I write stuff like that and made a clone of ProE5…) so I can more than limp along with it. What I’m anticipating is that particular MoBo/CPU combo may come down in price by spring, so I’ll work at getting what I have to work for me while becoming more proficient at Blender. I’ll likely add a 64 bit OS and a 1 or 2 Tb HDD to it, although I’m considering the SSD just to see what tricks I can do with it.

For the next couple months it’s DIY home improvement. Are you familiar with what a chateau awning is?

#30

Socket 1150 just got released a few months ago. I think you don’t need to worry much about being obsolete for another 2 years or so.

#31

Do you think the OutletPC price is a good one? What are the odds the price will come down in a few months? It appears it has already reduced a bit.

#32

It’s really probably only worth worrying about that when you are looking to buy. If you live near a Microcenter they usually have the best prices on processor/motherboard combos. If not it’s worth looking around online. Amazon, NewEgg, etc. When it is time to buy look at price to performance. I think Tom’s Hardware does some value comparison’s so you can get the most for your money.

#33

http://www.amazon.com/Intel-E8500-Processor-Socket-LGA775/dp/B00116SLZS/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1379360253&sr=8-5&keywords=duo+core+processor

I was looking at the G41T-M5 MoBo manual and it says it will take an Intel Core 2 Duo Pentium. Since it has the LGA775 socket, do any of you think this upgrade would work in the board? If so, will it be an improvement or a waste of money?

#34

Upgrading to a dual core at this point would be a compleyte waste. 4 cores should be the minimum for consideration.

#35

Even though it’s going up over 3 Ghz and increasing the cache by 2Mb? (Also… ulterior motive is I have another G41T-5M MoBo that’s doing nothing and might be good as a utility machine :wink: ) You don’t think I’d get any noticeable performance increase at all?

#36

For $68? Why not. It isn’t a bunch of money and should be a better processor. I think only you can really say if it is worth it. I don’t know that it will be mind blowing but it is better than that Celeron. If you have $70 you don’t mind burning, go for it. If you build your own or money is tight that is $70 you could put toward a much better system.

#37

The money for the much better system comes next year. My thoughts about buying upgrade components is sort of like “get 'em while they’re hot.” Sooner or later their availability could be not. For instance I haven’t seen any DDR(1) memory around for quite some time, but have an old machine that could use some and some programs and data on the machine are still handy to have on that machine. It makes a nice security type utility machine and I picked it up at a library sale for $75 about 4 years ago. It has no drivers for the onboard audio, so isn’t good for much else. Getting a sound card for it would be like finding one in a rummage sale… and I rarely go to rummage sales.

#38

This is the latest. Some of this is pretty much unbelievable, but here goes…

I did purchase two things. I bought a DVI/VGA adapter for the second monitor. I also bought an Intel Duo Core 8400 (3.0GHz w/ 6Mb Cache) for $48. All arrived ahead of schedule.

I went back to my work area where I have an aluminum plate surface for ESD protection grounding. I went to hook up the second monitor Tuesday, after we had a torrent of rain the day before, and shrieked! The 1st monitor’s vga plug was wet! Brown liquid. When I’m working on a machine I often place the keyboard on top of the tower and this was one of those times. The liquid was in the keyboard, too. I have a few leaks in my roof, but never there. I went ahead and installed the adapter. I hadn’t turned the machine on since the last time I posted to this thread; nearly a month. I did right then. It didn’t.

Till today, I was kicking myself for not anticipating such a possible leak. I suspected the PSU might have blown its fuse. Today I removed it and opened up the PSU. All looked normal. Fuse is okay. Connected it back to the MoBo and peripherals. Tried it. Nothing. Then I noticed the connector to the power switch was disconnected and I hadn’t pulled it apart. Even more weird, the connector to the HD was connected wrong, when normally I tag in there with the main power switch. Because the area where I live has quite a few idiot savants whose skill is to be a sneak or a burglar, it had me wondering. I’m dismissing it all as simply errant perception on my part, even though it’s possible for a real skinny person to get into some areas where I’m doing home improvements. I mean sheeeeesh! I have 7 foot high privacy fences surrounding 3 sides of the property.

So much for that puzzlement. I haven’t had time to install the 8400 yet. What are the opinions as to whether I should expect improved performance?

#39

That 8400 is a low-end mid-range cpu, about two-three times slower than my aging i7 920. It should do okay with most things, but do not expect great performance. For rendering it’s pretty bad: compare Cinebench 11.5:
8400: 1.7
my i7 920: 6.1

An Intel 3930k sits around 10 - and can easily be overclocked as well.

More importantly, to improve the opengl performance you ought to read this:
http://www.blenderartists.org/forum/showthread.php?257323-What-everybody-needs-to-know-about-Blender-Viewport-performance&highlight=opengl+performance

All consumer Nvidia cards starting with the 5xx series no longer support double-sided lighted polygons in Blender, and this really slows down the viewport. To improve the overall performance read the tips in the forum post above.

#40

Ohhhhhh were you guys soooooo wrong about the HDTV being used as a monitor. I finally had the chance to try it this morning. The other PC decided to give me a fit again this morning, so I tried it with my Acer laptop. I can’t describe it as anything except sweet. No. The colors are actually brighter and the TV lets me adjust all that if I so desire anyway. FYI, this is an Emerson 32" LCD HDTV flat screen. The Acer lets me use it as a second monitor in “extend desktop” mode, so I can have more screen icons. The laptop actually produces a better HD picture than the TV station. Might just have to get one of those Rabbit TV doo dads.

And the moral of the story to remember?

Wherever you’re at,
There you are.

#41

I upgraded the G41T-M5 to 4Gb RAM and added a Galaxy GT620 2Gb RAM graphics card.

The GT620 is the lowest-end graphics card from the 600-series. It should be no surprise you’ve got performance bottlenecks. That card is great for MS Office or maybe Photoshop, but for 3D… You really couldn’t do much worse. No offense, but that’s certainly a huge bottleneck.

As for using a TV instead of an actual monitor… Well, that’s rather ridiculous, but if it’s keeping you working then keep at it! Just don’t expect any precision, print compatibility, or decent imaging from it.

Really you need the proper tools for the job. There are many such proper tools, but you’ve listed none here.

#42

620 isn’t going to cut it, eh? Well there are a number of possibilities stemming from that. I could be certain it recommended graphics, but I can go a bit deeper (no pun intended), buy a better card, knowing the Galaxy cards works in my machine, and use that one in some other machine. I’m planning to upgrade the OS to 64bit before too awful long. Beyond that I wouldn’t mind getting a better card.

#43

Ultimately it has to be up to you to decide what parts to buy, its your machine and your budget, we dont know your financial situation etc. But I have to say, whilst the parts you have picked will work, they are all the absolute bottom end minimum possible to run the software. In car terms, its like telling us you plan to go camping with the wife and three kids and will need to tow a trailer… and then informing us youve just bought a 700cc fiat micro car to do it with. Whilst it will technically work, its on the absolute border of what will work and give you the worst possible performance.

eg. $60 would have bought you a nice fast 4-core 3.8ghz amd cpu, instead youve saved the price of a big mac and fries and gone with a cpu which is less than a third of the speed. The same goes for the gfx card, the 620 card is the absolute pits, its so slow that many of the 620 dont even need a fan to cool them. If this is genuinely as far as your budget stretched, then fair enough, but I think its best to inform you that spending a tiny fraction more would net you a substantially better machine.