Nuke Studio Machine.

#1

We are fleshing out the specs for our VFX pipeline moving forward, and the main supervisor machine specs going into Nuke Studio.

So my first question is regarding the main artist machines. To avoid too much of a speed bottleneck we have talked about moving files down from the network to a local SSD while working and then flushing the files once the artist have stopped working on it.
Have any of you guys been using this workflow and how is it working / any issues?

For the main supervisor machine, we have looked at the “certified” machine The Foundry have made. And i have a few questions regarding that.
The specs outline the Quadro k5200 and i wondering what speed benefits and in what areas of comp and review we can expect greater performance compared to gaming cards? I know that we could expect faster performance on the few GPU accelerated nodes but is that it?

They also only state 32GB ram, however i have heard alot of people talking about Hiero taking up 40+ GB ram. Is this correct?

#2

There are no gaming card with 8 gig of video ram, which the k5200 has. This means that the k5200 can process scenes that no consumer grade gpu can.

#3

But, does it make sense? I mean… i have never “not been able to process a scene” in Nuke. So im just wondering how much speed benefit i am getting compared to a regular gaming card?

#4

You never did, maybe because you’re not the target audience for such product…
Think of a multi complex high poly at 5 or 8k+ res scene. It has to fit in vram…

We use those card where I work for fluid simulation in an hydro-electric generation setting to see how the water molecules impact on turbines. We need both the precision and reliability of the Quadro and it’s rendering performance when dealing with huge, complex models.

#5

My question was regarding a Nuke Studio (2D) machine, not fluid simulation machine.
As we deliver for standard digital projection (cinema) we don’t work above 4k.
I refer to the specs from the foundry Nuke 4K playback certified machine.

My question is STRICTLY regarding Quadro for 2D GPU accelerated work, and how much of an advantage it will give. I have searched the forums here but i can only seem to find info regarding 3D applications.

#6

The end result of any 3D software is a 2D image unless you print it with a 3D printer. Even 3D display uses 2x 2D images to fool your eyes in seeing them in 3D.

Nuke as a couple of feature which does benefit from a powerful GPU:

In-timeline, real-time Soft Effects :

Powerful GPU accelerated effects can be added right in the timeline, letting artists quickly experiment, polish and achieve the high-end look they need.

and of course the scene as to be rendered into the end product, and the render uses the GPU processing power.

There are very very few pure 2D software available today. Even application like Photoshop, Corel Painter or Krita uses 3D functionnality in displaying and manipulating 2D image. Even your OS desktop environment is 3D accelerated.

#7

While i love your sales pitch, I am sorry to say it, but your answers does not cover my question.

Anyone working with Compositing or Pipline td’s who can give me a in-depth answer?

#8

First it isn’t a sales pitch… You asked if the Quadro would have an impact. I answered to the best of my ability with facts. Beside, the maker of Nuke also think it does make a difference, since they offer it in their “certified” workstation, why are you arguing and being rude about it?

The K5200 is just about the most powerful GPU available on the market presently, being surpassed only by the K6000 with 12 gig of vram.

#9

I am not being rude. I am just saying that your answers does not cover my question even if to the best of your ability. And I really don’t want the thread to be derailed and thought of as answered, so i ask if someone else have the answer. Hence why i am specifically are asking for compositors and td’s.

#10

fast storage and as much ram as possible is often times the priority for 2d vfx.
once you got that part right, spend the rest on cpu and gpu power. I think the Geforce Titan would be enough. No need to buy those overpriced Quadros. They are all about OpenGL performance and stability

#11

We pretty much got all that covered, some ok fast SSD’s but im just wondering about the 32gig recommendation. Not that 32 gig costs that much more… just wondering.
And the same goes for the Quadros, i see many people recommending them, but i also see quite a few who don’t think they pay off for 2D work.

#12

You OP didn’t specify which kind of person should respond to it and you specifically asked about the K5200…

And because like I said earlier, there isn’t any pure 2D application anymore. All graphical application benefit from 3D acceleration and gpgpu functionnality. All the main graphical engine like Direct X on Windows or the one use on the mac use 3D functions for 2D.

If you don’t intend to use the real time FX functionality of Nuke that they mention on the product desc page, I guess you won’t really need a beefy GPU like the k5200.

Anyway, I’m done…

#13

The Quadros are a bit outdated, already. A 980, Titan, or even 480 will do you just fine in Nuke. Rarely will you fill up the VRAM processing video, so save yourself some money and spend it on SSDs or system RAM, or monitors, or whatever else you need. You may even consider the FirePro cards instead of Nvidia, for Nuke, although I generally prefer Nvidia for Maya.

The upper-crust WS-class GPUs are generally unhobbled versions of their gaming counterparts. It’s kind of a setup; a manufactured need. It doesn’t cost them any money to leave a GPU unhobbled, since they are manufactured that way to begin with. The price premium is simply in place for profit margins.

#14

Thanks alot for your reply, much appreciated!