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Mac how to speed up renders
Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2015 10:48 pm
by RouseandFable
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.
Re: Mac how to speed up renders
Posted: Tue Jan 06, 2015 12:53 am
by hellguy
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
Re: Mac how to speed up renders
Posted: Tue Jan 06, 2015 6:11 am
by glimpse
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 =)
Re: Mac how to speed up renders
Posted: Tue Jan 06, 2015 1:55 pm
by aoktar
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.
Re: Mac how to speed up renders
Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2015 7:11 pm
by RouseandFable
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?
Re: Mac how to speed up renders
Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2015 9:43 pm
by SVITAdmin
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.

Re: Mac how to speed up renders
Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2015 9:57 pm
by RouseandFable
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
Re: Mac how to speed up renders
Posted: Thu Jan 08, 2015 2:22 am
by SVITAdmin
I have two EVGA Titan cards in there.
Re: Mac how to speed up renders
Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2015 8:03 pm
by RouseandFable
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?
Re: Mac how to speed up renders
Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2015 4:46 pm
by SVITAdmin
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.