win7 maya 2011 x64 -- tesla 2050 + quad 4000 -- issues

[Chris80]

Hello, I just tried out the demo version using the batched .ocs files. Besides the sheer awesome performance, there are a few issues I have encountered.

First and foremost, after playing with the renderer for 10-15 minutes, I noticed my hardware's temperature (tesla was selected) went very very hot, to the extent the back of my desktop was burning hot even with the fan. I am therefore wondering to what extent this kind of workflow can actually handle rendering animations over a period of several hours. Is there something I should adopt in workflow to address this issue? Otherwise I cannot imagine it won't burn down the hardware...

Also, I noticed a message in red within the device manager saying: Must deactivate SLI in order to use multi-gpu. I actually thought SLI was precisely what allowed 2 gpu's to tackle one task... In my case, "straight out of the box", I cannot...

A third issue is when running a render, with the quad or with tesla, my windows task manager tells me one (and only one) of the threads of my CPU goes through the roof (xeon 6 core). Practically speaking, hiding Octane and trying to do other tasks will lead to instability (although the system has 24go ram, and the batched .ocs require a fraction of that).

This following question addresses the use of Octane for a scene generated in maya 2011 x64. For some reason, I cannot load an .obj exported from within maya (I have no other 3d software to test). Also, a friend of mine that has a similar setup as me couldnt use the Maya Exporter for Octane. From what he says, the error box at the bottom right hand side of the ui, usually red or yellow to indicate an error inside Maya, comes up with a description of root folder, camera position and other technical things in plain text. But nothing is actually exported.

For information, he summons the exporter from the mel with "source octane2maya;"
I would have thought there was a way to load it up from the plugins manager.

I would be very grateful to hear your input on these issues.

Chris

[Chris80]

a little error in my post. Actually the maya to octane exporter, upon clicking "render" does lead to the creation of an .obj and .mlt file. But they weigh 1 k, and Octane's File>Open will not spot them...

[mib2berlin]

Hi, some tesla cards are working with 105 ° Celsius without problems. For long term use add a second or third case cooler.
What card do you use?
One core is always use 100% is a well knowing thing but no problem for a quad or six core system.
Cuda software don´t use SLI.
For export settings have a look to the manual:

http://www.refractivesoftware.com/forum ... =21&t=4071

Next days a new demo version comes out with less bugs and many more features.

Cheers, mib

Edit: ups, had to read the title of the thread

[Jaberwocky]

Hello, I just tried out the demo version using the batched .ocs files. Besides the sheer awesome performance, there are a few issues I have encountered.

First and foremost, after playing with the renderer for 10-15 minutes, I noticed my hardware's temperature (tesla was selected) went very very hot, to the extent the back of my desktop was burning hot even with the fan. I am therefore wondering to what extent this kind of workflow can actually handle rendering animations over a period of several hours. Is there something I should adopt in workflow to address this issue? Otherwise I cannot imagine it won't burn down the hardware...

Also, I noticed a message in red within the device manager saying: Must deactivate SLI in order to use multi-gpu. I actually thought SLI was precisely what allowed 2 gpu's to tackle one task... In my case, "straight out of the box", I cannot...

A third issue is when running a render, with the quad or with tesla, my windows task manager tells me one (and only one) of the threads of my CPU goes through the roof (xeon 6 core). Practically speaking, hiding Octane and trying to do other tasks will lead to instability (although the system has 24go ram, and the batched .ocs require a fraction of that).

This following question addresses the use of Octane for a scene generated in maya 2011 x64. For some reason, I cannot load an .obj exported from within maya (I have no other 3d software to test). Also, a friend of mine that has a similar setup as me couldnt use the Maya Exporter for Octane. From what he says, the error box at the bottom right hand side of the ui, usually red or yellow to indicate an error inside Maya, comes up with a description of root folder, camera position and other technical things in plain text. But nothing is actually exported.

For information, he summons the exporter from the mel with "source octane2maya;"
I would have thought there was a way to load it up from the plugins manager.

I would be very grateful to hear your input on these issues.

Chris

I will try and answer some of the questions.

Octane only loads one of the cores presently to prepair the scene for the GPU.It then loads the scene into the memory of one or more of the GPU's depending on how many are installed.The more cards installed the better.You do need to switch of SLI though as it is not needed by Octane to use multiple GPU's.

The cards tend to run hot as they fully stress the GPU's and will tax the GPU's up to 98% so good airflow through the case is a must.I have succesfully undervolted my GTX460 a bit to get the GPU temp down so you could try that using MSI afterburner.It may help.

Also be aware that Refractive will be uploading a new up to date version of the demo version sometime in the next day or so.Give that a try as the current demo is seriously out of date.

I hope that answers some of your questions.

The Jaba

[GeoPappas]

I noticed my hardware's temperature (tesla was selected) went very very hot, to the extent the back of my desktop was burning hot even with the fan. I am therefore wondering to what extent this kind of workflow can actually handle rendering animations over a period of several hours. Is there something I should adopt in workflow to address this issue? Otherwise I cannot imagine it won't burn down the hardware...

Get a better airflow / cooling solution for your hardware.

[Jaberwocky]

mib2berlin is probably a bit faster at the typing than me.
he beat me to the answers.

[Chris80]

Thanks for all your insights. Will definitely check on the update.