Mac how to speed up renders

Mon Jan 05, 2015 10:48 pm

I've tried to search the forum but couldn't find how Mac users are setting up their computers to speed up the render process. Is a network render the best bet or setting up a separate computer with a couple of video cards in it? I have an iMac that i am using at the moment witn an Nvidia GeForce GTX 680MX 2048mb. I also have an older desktop that has an ATI Radeon HD 5770 1024 mb card in it but i'm not sure that is compatible.

The scenes i'm rendering aren't overly complicated but are taking a good 24 hours to render. Would appreciate any advice and suggestions.

Tue Jan 06, 2015 12:53 am

Only CUDA-Enabled NVIDIA cards are supported.

For further information regarding Hardware/Software requirements, see:
http://test.render.otoy.com/faqs.php?faq_show=cuda

Tue Jan 06, 2015 6:11 am

RouseandFable wrote: The scenes i'm rendering aren't overly complicated but are taking a good 24 hours to render. Would appreciate any advice and suggestions.

hi,

if You have MAC laptop or one of those "not-so-expandable" All-in-one units, check this thread: http://render.otoy.com/forum/viewtopic. ... t=external

think it's one of the best & most affordable solutions - You can choose whatever GPU You wish =)
combine that with PSU for Your needs & future plans =)

Tue Jan 06, 2015 1:55 pm

24 hours

try to learn optimisations and tricks to improve times. Also you need better gpus.A 2gb gtx680mx should be slower about 10-15 times against 2x780ti desktop pc.

Wed Jan 07, 2015 7:11 pm

Hey guys, thanks for your feedback. After doing a bit more research, it seems that 2 video cards might be the best way to go. I do have a laptop but i also have a 2010 tower so i thought i would load the 2 cards in that in hopes of speeding things up. I ordered 2 EVGA GTX980 cards along with a Corsair AX860 power supply.

I do think the long render times have something to do with my settings as well. During one render i had Octane Render selected as the main renderer but i also noticed that Global Illumination and Ambient Occlusion were checked. Not sure if that is affecting the render times or if the Octane renderer is selected, it overrides any other settings?

Wed Jan 07, 2015 9:43 pm

Using 2010 mac's here. We ended up in this situation pictured below. I can confirm that renders take the same amount of time as only turning on two of our PC's Titans.

Wed Jan 07, 2015 9:57 pm

SVITAdmin, what video cards and power supply are you using? I ordered two EVGA GTX980's cards. The cards show two fans however, unlike the one you have in your machine. Are the cards with the silver casing just newer? Any differences between the two?

This is the one i ordered...
http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GTX980-Super ... ds=gtx+980

Thu Jan 08, 2015 2:22 am

I have two EVGA Titan cards in there.

Sat Jan 10, 2015 8:03 pm

SVITAdmin, are the cards Mac Edition cards? I just received my EVGA Geforce GTX 980 cards and have the latest Nvidia driver (343.01.02f01). The dropdown on my desktop has Nvidia selected but the card is not being recognized when i reboot. Would i have to return the cards to get the Mac Edition versions?

Mon Jan 12, 2015 4:46 pm

RouseandFable wrote:SVITAdmin, are the cards Mac Edition cards? I just received my EVGA Geforce GTX 980 cards and have the latest Nvidia driver (343.01.02f01). The dropdown on my desktop has Nvidia selected but the card is not being recognized when i reboot. Would i have to return the cards to get the Mac Edition versions?

If you are running 10.9 or later, you shouldn't need to install any drivers at all. OS X has them built in. You do not need Mac Edition cards. Not even sure why they bother still making those. The Titans in my Mac's are the exact same ones in have in my PC's. The only thing i had to do was download the CUDA driver for Mac and everything just worked in Octane.