dual processors

[artunemedia]

windows xp pentium II dual processors service pack 1 Hash 12 and 13b

 

Is there a dual processor render option? Did a search on forum, did not find easliy any info.

 

Thanks,

 

Also, What is the most efficient path to follow for tutorials, any opinions appreciated. I noticed forum members are ranked, how is this done?

 

I see there are forum tutorials, AN matrix tutorials, Sherwood Forest tutorials and manual tutorials, as a Zbrush artist, I am so bogged down in making zbrush textures that I was wondering what is the fastest path to getting to know the in's and out's of AM

 

All the best,

 

Michael Angelo

[SirSpectre]

Unfortunately, A:M doesnt have dual CPU capabilities. I would love to have it, seeing I also have dual CPU. They way i bypass this, is by opening 2 instances of A:M and setting affinity of each instance to a seperate core/cpu. After this is done render as a targa and render opposite frames or render certain ranges on each core/cpu. Now, you ahve to have both Instances minimized in the taskbar other wise your computer may lock up. ( Ive had this happen a few times) Also seems to render a tad faster when its minimized anyway.

 

Hope that helps!!

 

PS: Watch your CPU temperature!!! if it gets to hot, get more fans or only render with normal affinity set.

[artunemedia]

Unfortunately, A:M doesnt have dual CPU capabilities. I would love to have it, seeing I also have dual CPU. They way i bypass this, is by opening 2 instances of A:M and setting affinity of each instance to a seperate core/cpu. After this is done render as a targa and render opposite frames or render certain ranges on each core/cpu. Now, you ahve to have both Instances minimized in the taskbar other wise your computer may lock up. ( Ive had this happen a few times) Also seems to render a tad faster when its minimized anyway.

 

Hope that helps!!

 

PS: Watch your CPU temperature!!! if it gets to hot, get more fans or only render with normal affinity set.

Dear Sir Spectre,

 

Thank you for the pointer, I have searched in the Help files for the term affinity. Would it be possible to define the process. Is it simply a matter of opening two projects and then firing them off one at a time and the PC will say, "oh yeah, I'll use two processors", or is there a flag in the software?

 

Thanks, as my version 13 keeps hanging or crashing when I run a render.

 

Sincerely,

 

Michael Angelo

 

http://www.michaelangeloart.com

[MMZ_TimeLord]

The process to set the affinity of an instance of A:M is to hit CTRL+ALT+DEL and select "Processes" tab, then right click on the 'Master.exe' process and set it's affinity there. (For windows 2000 & XP)

 

As to using a single instance of A:M with dual-core/hyper-threading, it is currently not possible.

 

As far as NetRender goes, William Pickering has stated that he is working on a way to run more than one instance of RenderMessenger/RenderSlave for mulitple-cores/hyper-threading/multiple-CPUs.

 

If you don't know, NetRender is an 'upgrade' that allows you to run A:M without the CD (it uses a hardware key [uSB Dongle] for copy protection.) and also allows you to create a 'render farm' out of multiple PCs.

 

Hope that helps

[artunemedia]

Thanks for the tip.

 

 

Michael Angelo