[ANSWERED] Isadora 3 and graphics Cards

joeartist

I am working on specifying a new computer for use a theatre applications. I am looking at graphics card option and am wondering what people out there are using. I am hoping for a card the does 4 outputs of the same connection type. I am currently looking at AMD 7100 and 9100 graphics cards. Has anyone had success with these cards with Isadora 2.6?

Other current computer specs:

- 32G of memory
- i9 9820 3.3GHz CPU
- 2TB Samsung 983 PCI-E M.2 SSD

Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Woland

@DusX

Thoughts?

Fred

@joeartist I would take a look at a 2080ti for that money. Open CL runs on nvidia cards but cuda will not run on amd cards. This is not super important for Isadora and the cards have somewhat comparable performance, but for creating media it makes a big difference.

I would not worry about having the same output (display port/HDMI etc). Even though it needs adaptors I would chose display port 1.4 or higher as my output just for flexibility.

The 9100 card comes in a variety of memory Configs though, that can outrun the 2080ti but for big money. I'm not sure about current machines but these were the cards inside the D3 media severs before they became disguise.

CitizenJoe

I know this doesn't address your question, but I would definitely recommend a second fast SSD for data.

Cheers,

Hugh

joeartist

@fred Thank you for your thoughts on this. I will take a look at the 2080ti. This computer would not be used for creating content, only playback. But I do see what you are saying about CUDA cores. The 7100 and 9100 are cards that come in Watchout media servers as well.

Fred

@joeartist last bit to think about is pure performance. The firepro series are workstation cards, with ecc memory (there are a lot of discussions on why these are overkill outside of mission critical applications (like high end parts design for industry). What the firepro series does offer is more outputs (6 vs 4 on the nvidia cards). But the W series cards are now 4 years old and have significantly lower performance gpu wise (some benchmarks show 50%). There are newer and workstation cards like the SSG series (seriously expensive) that use more modern parts like hbm memory).

Considering the extra cost you pay for ecc memory and the outdated architecture if could be worth going for a high end NVIDIA card like the 2080 or 2080ti and getting a data path unit for the extra outputs. You will have better performance, (with a data path also more outputs), newer architecture and cuda if you ever need it.

Here is a comparison, there are many others, https://versus.com/en/amd-fire... The 2080ti will leave you with change enough to get a data path and a bunch of adaptors.

Considering AMD are now supporting pcie 4, and the looming release of the new new Mac Pro expect to see some new pcie4 cards coming soon too.

joeartist

@fred thanks for your thoughts here. I believe I am going to consider the 2080ti as the GPU.

Cheers!

primaldivine

I am putting together a Windows PC tower too for Isadora 3, but need it to handle plenty of live processing and video mapping. My designs are often interactive-heavy also

I am in the Arctic (true) and have access to buying a new machine right now with this AMD card... that says it can handle CUDA... Or do I read this incorrectly? It is only a 2060 but...for nwo with covid, and being remotely located, I feel I can go far with this and upgrade the card later as needed.

I guess I am asking if you guys think it's a lemon or in the circumstances I should go for it, for now?

Asus Rog Strix Geforce Rtx 2060 OC 6gb

Jamie

DusX

@primaldivine thus is not a AMD card but a nVidia card.

The 2060 will offer you lots of power. I run a 1070 in my laptop and I nearly never max the video card out. . Cpu always maxes first for me.

This may change if your running many outputs with stacks of effects, but I think you will find this card very capable.

The 6bg memory limit is probably the only restrictive spec. I've run into problems with 4 displays (1 operator) when loading large jpegs for manipulation before. Best to keep an eye on vram usage while working (task manager will show you on the second tab)