IS 512 ENOUGH?

[Kelley]

I love A:M, but it seems to have a mind of its own...'squirrely' would not be too strong a term. Sometimes I get an image inside the yellow decal bounding box, sometimes not. [i switched Open GL for Direct3D] The first few applications of decal [2 or 3] work, but after that...nothing. Since that switch, the yellow boxes do not appear when items are to be sized. rotated or moved. Except in brief flashes. Then they disappear. On the day before yesterday, I got the fish to swim along its path. Last night [new fish] it would not. Lately, when I try to view animations in the Hash Films section of the website, all I get is a black box, though there is the Quicktime toolbar and sounds.

 

I realize that there may not be a common thread to all of these, but is it possible that I simply need more than 512Mb RAM? I'm running an HP Pavilion 762n, 2.26Mhz Pentium 4, 80Gb HD, 512Mb RAM [& Windows XP] 32Mb DDR SDRAM and a Radeon 9600 video card...and while I used to keep Photoshop open while working in A:M, I now close everything down.

 

Is A:M memory intensive? Any thoughts on what's happening? My list of 'untoward happenings' cited above is not by any means exhaustive, just what I can remember off the top of my head today. It just seems odd that things work well one day, and not the next.

[robcat2075]

Some of the display problems MAY be video card problems. 32MB sounds small these days, but I couldn't say for sure. The quicktime windows going blank... that suggests something wrong with the system entirely separate A:M.

[Kelley]

its the card .... never liked ati radeon's , go buy an nvidia rock stable , ati is bug ridden!

 

Very interesting. I'll look into this. Thanks.

[pwaslen]

I used to run AM 11.1 with 512 of memory and a 32 mb video card with no problems. The video card however was nvidia.

[Kelley]

Some of the display problems MAY be video card problems. 32MB sounds small these days, but I couldn't say for sure. The quicktime windows going blank... that suggests something wrong with the system entirely separate A:M.

 

Yeah, I agree that the Quicktime problem couldn't be laid at A:M's door. The films played just fine when I started logging on to the Hash site a few months ago. I tossed that into the mix because of the 'on-again/off-again' nature of my mixed bag of problems. In any event, I'll check out new video cards.

[jon]

your problems aren't ram related. have you updated your video drivers lately?

 

(ati is fine, by the way)

 

512m on an xp system is rock bottom, however... and not great for simultaneous applications on 2k either.

 

best of luck.

-jon

[robcat2075]

go buy an nvidia rock stable , ati is bug ridden!

 

On the other hand, I used to use a computer with a 16MB ATI card driving two monitors and it worked just fine. There must be more to it than the memory or the brand.

[itsjustme]

I haven't had any problems using 512 MB of RAM...it will slow down if you have extremely large decals and realtime display of hair or simulation data though. It will work fine with 512, but more is always better.

[Eric2575]

My P4 used to have 512kof ram with an ATI 9600 and did not experience the problems you describe. I tend to agree with Sandgroper that ATI products have had their share of trouble with drivers and it can be a toss-up to see if the new drivers would fix the issues. In any case, though, be sure you do get the latest drivers and be sure you also completely uninstall the existing drivers before installing the new ones.

 

Getting more RAM will help you with having multiple apps open, but it doesn't seem to do a whole heck of a lot with improving the running of AM in particular. Many computers will have apps or utilities running in the background when windows starts. I like to disable most if not all before going into an AM session. The more you eliminate, the fewer problems. When I did upgrade to 1.5GB of ram, I didn't worry about this so much, although it's now just a habbit. Photoshop is now running concurrently most of the time.

 

My experience with V.12.0.p of AM has been very pleasant. This version of AM seems to be much more stable than previous, although I did not find the same satisfaction with V.12.0.q.

 

On another thought, I have had my share of bad ram and can tell you it might be a good idea to get your ram checked. Bad ram can give you all sorts of weird problems that are very difficult to diagnose and are usually quite random. When I upgraded my ram, I removed my 512kb first, installed and ran the new ram, just to be sure everything was good with the new. Once I ran it for a week and found all well, I added the old ram for a total of 1.5GB.

 

Some more points to consider: Is your cache on your hard drive adequate? What I mean is, is your hard drive full, or does it have at least 10% free space? Are you always connected to the internet? If so, and even if not, do you have a regular, at least onece a week, virus check and spyware removal utility running? Do you regularly delete your temp folders to free up resources? Do you regularly check and clean your trash can? You do know that deleted programs are still in your trash can and take up memory and resources? I also clear my internet files including offline content at least once a week. Explorer gobbles up resources like a sponge and will bog down your system, especially with little ram. Another biggie is the cookie jar. Spyware is often hiding in there and will slow down your machine too. I know that when you clear your cookies, all your log-on info for cookie dependent apps and websites apps will have to be typed in all over again when you log on, but that's a small price to pay for a healthy computer.

 

This is probably more info than you need, but I have found that doing all these things really help eliminate most of the problems I have encountered over the years. Hope some of it helps you.

 

Cheers

 

Eric

[higginsdj]

3 of my 7 PCs (XP Pro, XP Home, Win2kPro) including a laptop, all use ATI Video Cards and I've not had any issues (mind you I have never had any issue with any video card over the last 6-7 years using AM - except with the el cheapo types that come onboard Motherboards these days)

 

Cheers

[steve392]

Im using ATI 9600 and having probs with open gl ,everytime I go to there site to update the drivers I can't decide wich ones I need ,there seems so many .I run dual monitors with hydrovision ,anyone know wich drivers I should go for ? Would very much appreciate your help

[Eric2575]

Done it too many times - Go to ATI's site and click on "Drivers and software" It will ask you for your operating system - choose it. Then choose which type of card you have - "Radeon". Next, choose "Catalyst 5.13...driver download." Follow the notes on the next page carefully. Download and install the "Catalyst Uninstaller." Also make sure you have Microsoft.NET Framework and Windows Service Pack 2 installed before installing the new drivers. Anyways, just follow the direction on that page and you should be good to go.

 

Lot's of luck

 

Cheers

 

Eric

[Kelley]

My P4 used to have 512kof ram with an ATI 9600 and did not experience the problems you describe. I tend to agree with Sandgroper that ATI products have had their share of trouble with drivers and it can be a toss-up to see if the new drivers would fix the issues. In any case, though, be sure you do get the latest drivers and be sure you also completely uninstall the existing drivers before installing the new ones.

 

Getting more RAM will help you with having multiple apps open, but it doesn't seem to do a whole heck of a lot with improving the running of AM in particular. Many computers will have apps or utilities running in the background when windows starts. I like to disable most if not all before going into an AM session. The more you eliminate, the fewer problems. When I did upgrade to 1.5GB of ram, I didn't worry about this so much, although it's now just a habbit. Photoshop is now running concurrently most of the time.

 

My experience with V.12.0.p of AM has been very pleasant. This version of AM seems to be much more stable than previous, although I did not find the same satisfaction with V.12.0.q.

 

On another thought, I have had my share of bad ram and can tell you it might be a good idea to get your ram checked. Bad ram can give you all sorts of weird problems that are very difficult to diagnose and are usually quite random. When I upgraded my ram, I removed my 512kb first, installed and ran the new ram, just to be sure everything was good with the new. Once I ran it for a week and found all well, I added the old ram for a total of 1.5GB.

 

Some more points to consider: Is your cache on your hard drive adequate? What I mean is, is your hard drive full, or does it have at least 10% free space? Are you always connected to the internet? If so, and even if not, do you have a regular, at least onece a week, virus check and spyware removal utility running? Do you regularly delete your temp folders to free up resources? Do you regularly check and clean your trash can? You do know that deleted programs are still in your trash can and take up memory and resources? I also clear my internet files including offline content at least once a week. Explorer gobbles up resources like a sponge and will bog down your system, especially with little ram. Another biggie is the cookie jar. Spyware is often hiding in there and will slow down your machine too. I know that when you clear your cookies, all your log-on info for cookie dependent apps and websites apps will have to be typed in all over again when you log on, but that's a small price to pay for a healthy computer.

 

This is probably more info than you need, but I have found that doing all these things really help eliminate most of the problems I have encountered over the years. Hope some of it helps you.

 

Cheers

 

Eric

 

Thanks Eric. I'll always go with a thorough analysis of the problem. Every time. You've given me some things to think about before I rush out and get a new card. Fact of the matter is, I'm pretty sloppy about computer housekeeping. [i tend to figure they run by magic] I'll start on your list.

[Eric2575]

* *

[steve392]

Got it ,Thank's a lot Eric,that is so much easier ,even if a bit scary lol ,now I'm all up to date

[Eric2575]

I actually have ulterior motives for giving a hand: It gives me that warm fuzzy feeling all over

[steve392]

Well more warm and fuzz to ya

[gsellis]

As the former OS/hardware integrator for a large company, ATI is fine as is nVidia. There are issues with using OpenGL at times in A:M, but I don't believe they are completely related to video cards.

 

Now running ATI X200 and X800XT AIW (replaced 9600XT).

 

I cannot state this for A:M, but the latest review at CGTalk shows that nVidia Quadro still kicks CG butt.

[gsellis]

good to know the ati arse is still being kicked!

Now, now... As is nVidia's in my NLE. Different hardware for different goals.

[Kelley]

Since I got such a fullsome response to my question here, I thought I'd clock in and let everyone know: IT WAS THE GRAPHICS CARD!

 

Last night the image/workspace part of the screen went haywire [green & purple static zig-zag lines] and then it seemed to recover. Then I got a dialog box saying: "VPU has re-set your graphics accelerator as it was not responding to graphic driver commands." I clicked through, and all seemed well for about ten minutes and it did it again. This time it had me restart the machine. I did, but when I came back to A:M the workspace image was super-grainy and distorted. And I couldn't open any menus with the cursor. A:M was frozen. But only A:M. I quit for the night.

 

This morning it seemed OK for a few minutes and then it started all over. However, my other 3D programs, and Photoshop, work fine. I called my Tech people, who suggested that the glitch had corrupted A:M. Uninstall and do a fresh install. I uninstalled, but cannot re-install. The "Install Wizard Screen" comes up for a brief second and disappears.

 

The Tech people will be here tomorrow. I'll post the results, but the culprit is almost certainly the Radeon 9600. [i'm attaching a pic. of the project I was working on.][attachmentid=13369]

[jakerupert]

Wow, I like your style, nice picture

 

;>) Jake

[Kelley]

Wow, I like your style, nice picture

 

;>) Jake

 

 

Thank you very much. Now...if the video card problem gets fixed today, there'll be more.

[teh1ghool]

I just have a comment about one of the first posts. GeForce cards are anything BUT rock stable. They give you latively stable fs in games, true. But when you turn on antialiasing(very good looking in games) it totally kills the card. ATI cards get little to no effect from it, and they generally give a higher but less-stable framerate. Or at least that's what I've observed about the behaviours. I know the antialiasing part for a fact though.

[Kelley]

In the end, it seems to have resolved itself with the mere additions of fresh, updated drivers. All systems are a 'go'. I'm appending a pic of the project I'm using to test my abilities to install bones and make characters walk and talk. [lots of modeling experience, but this is the Big One!][attachmentid=13500][attachmentid=13501]

[Dhar]

This is a big one alright!

 

Awsome scene BTW