The fact that a graphics card has a fan doesn't of itself make it noisy.

See my earlier post about my graphics card.

because my PC runs fairly cool there's no amount of audio processing that i've been able to do that will trigger the fan on my GPU to spin up and become noisy.

So just because a graphics card has a fan doesn't eliminate it as a choice for use in a DAW.

I use progams like Premiere CS5.5 and Vegas 10 pro and you should see the difference in how those programs run with a high end graphics card compared to one that will just do and may be fine for SONAR because it's graphic requirements are relatively low.
It's the same argument as SONAR running on the minimum hardware requirements. Of course it will run but if you want optimal performance you need hardware components and an OS that will allow your DAW or other software to perform to its optimum.

Thorough research is essential, as is working out what you want to do with your PC and whether you get what you need or compromise. You may need to compromise because of budget which is a reality that most of us face but if we decide to compromise based on being misinformed, that's a shame. Another shame is that misinformation being served up is often becoming the case on this forum.

While we're on the topic of AERO and Video cards ...

I haven't been able to get an answer to this (Or if I did I missed it and I apologize.) so I'll ask one last time ...

I keep reading that you really need 1GB of Video RAM for X1 to run smoothly (graphics wise). I have a 512MB GeForce 9500GT (Non-SLI). Would I see any benefit if I added a second GeForce 9500GT (Non-SLI) so I would have a total of 1GB RAM or would only the 512MB on the card that the monitor is attached to be accessed?

Thanks,

Bub

mudgel


The fact that a graphics card has a fan doesn't of itself make it noisy.

See my earlier post about my graphics card.

because my PC runs fairly cool there's no amount of audio processing that i've been able to do that will trigger the fan on my GPU to spin up and become noisy.

So just because a graphics card has a fan doesn't eliminate it as a choice for use in a DAW.

I use progams like Premiere CS5.5 and Vegas 10 pro and you should see the difference in how those programs run with a high end graphics card compared to one that will just do and may be fine for SONAR because it's graphic requirements are relatively low.
It's the same argument as SONAR running on the minimum hardware requirements. Of course it will run but if you want optimal performance you need hardware components and an OS that will allow your DAW or other software to perform to its optimum.

Thorough research is essential, as is working out what you want to do with your PC and whether you get what you need or compromise. You may need to compromise because of budget which is a reality that most of us face but if we decide to compromise based on being misinformed, that's a shame. Another shame is that misinformation being served up is often becoming the case on this forum.

Yes, that's true. Most GPU's with fans are pretty quiet. Still, though, many of them are and can be noisy when they get hot, so its always been kind of de facto wisdon in the DAW world to get a fanless card.

SP

On graphic cards and Aero.

I don't have a graphic card. I run on the 2600K's iGPU. I have Aero turned on. But most visual fx's turned off. Here are some specs:

Adapter RAM: 216,762,368 bytes
Resolution: 1680 x 1050 x 59Hz
Bit-depth: 32
BIOS shared memory: 128 MB (used only if GPU installed)

I've already pushed the system quite a bit and visual performance is excellent. I really don't see any need at this point to purchase a GPU. Period. This is a dedicated DAW, meaning audio only.


System specs:

Windows 7 Professional SP1 (x64)
Asus P8Z68-V Pro - Intel Core i7 2600K @ 3.4GHz (default)
Noctua NH-C14 cooling solution (1 fan, low-profile configuration in an Antec Take 3 rackmount 3u case - 650w PSU)
16GB Kingston HyperX Genesis - DDR3 dual-channel @ 1600MHz (4 x 4)
1 x OCZ Vertex 3 @ 120GB - SSD (SATA III - 6Gbps)
2 x Maxtor Velociraptor @ 600GB - 10k rpm - 32MB Cache (SATA III - 6Gbps)


Here are some specs on the Intel HD Graphics 3000 from Anandtech:

[list]

The Sandy Bridge review

Different strokes for different folks I say... 

post edited by Alegria - 2011/08/17 13:46:56

Seth... 

My point was that depending on your needs, you can do fine with the integrated graphics from the 2600k and all the benefits that this implies. Such as reduced hardware components to deal with and the $ savings. I did my homework when building the machine and made the right decision for MY NEEDS (IMHO - and I'm not a DAW Guru builder). Also to confirm that you don't need gaming GPUs to run X1. 

Bub


While we're on the topic of AERO and Video cards ...

I haven't been able to get an answer to this (Or if I did I missed it and I apologize.) so I'll ask one last time ...

I keep reading that you really need 1GB of Video RAM for X1 to run smoothly (graphics wise). I have a 512MB GeForce 9500GT (Non-SLI). Would I see any benefit if I added a second GeForce 9500GT (Non-SLI) so I would have a total of 1GB RAM or would only the 512MB on the card that the monitor is attached to be accessed?

Thanks,

Bub

Bub, my experience with Nvidia cards in SLI is mixed. I had two identical cards in SLI and the system could only access the ram on the primary display adapter. The performance was not doubled, I would say there was a 40% to 50% improvement. What really did double up was the heat, noise and power consumption.

For a gaming machine it doesn't matter but for a DAW I decided to go with a single video card. The other thing is the potential glitch factor of SLI. I never had any problems but simple seemed better to me. One less thing to troubleshoot.

Seth Perlstein [Cakewalk
]

jm24


So, does Sonar-X work best with all aero functions on deck?

j

It does, as long as you have a modern system and GPU that is designed to work with Vista/ 7. With Aero on, the GPU does more of the graphics related work, including refreshing SONAR, etc. This means the graphics stuff takes no cycles form the CPU, which is good when doing intensive A/V stuff like using SONAR, editing video, etc.

SP

Thank you for this.
 
But I am still confused. 
 
I am using a basic 7 theme, no transparancy, set to best for performance, yet I still can use the auto-arrange features.
 
So, is "aero" off? Or are just some of the possible options disabled?
 
Is the aero core still sending video to the graphics card?    (I got a good fanless one.)
 
j
 

Something that's kind of related to all this hardware talk but doesn't get mentioned that often: Depending on the environment your computer is in, it's really important to blast out all your fans with compressed air every once in a while. My apartment's really dusty, and every two months, my CPU temp goes from 40 degrees Celsius to more than 60 degrees. If the CPU and MB get too hot, SONAR projects actually begin to crackle, and there's obviously a chance for MB component damage. So I make sure I check my hardware monitor software every so often to see where the temps are at. Of course, I may just be living in dust hell, but I've seen bad things happen to other people's machines when they get clogged with dust. Not good.

StepD


Something that's kind of related to all this hardware talk but doesn't get mentioned that often: Depending on the environment your computer is in, it's really important to blast out all your fans with compressed air every once in a while. My apartment's really dusty, and every two months, my CPU temp goes from 40 degrees Celsius to more than 60 degrees. If the CPU and MB get too hot, SONAR projects actually begin to crackle, and there's obviously a chance for MB component damage. So I make sure I check my hardware monitor software every so often to see where the temps are at. Of course, I may just be living in dust hell, but I've seen bad things happen to other people's machines when they get clogged with dust. Not good.

Spot on.

Bad things in my case [sic] included several BSOD's whenever the inside temperature rose above a certain level and a thorough balsting of of all fans & heatsinks with compressed air usually fixed the problem - at least for a couple of months.
I'm not talking about my DAW, this was on my general Internet/office machine.

  All the advice I have seen on the amount of graphics card memory is 512 mb to 1 gb for Vista/Win 7.  

I am not sure why you would compare an office computer running MS Word and a DAW. Further if one has a dual monitor system (unlikely in an office) with hi res displays the more graphics mem the better.

My last graphics card had 64 MB on it under XP.  This one has 512 MB. It cost less then the older one.  

Windows video memory handling isn't simply a matter of maintaining a bitmap the size of the screen. It attempts to maintain a fully working image of every open application and window in video memory, whether it's minimised, in the background, whatever. That can mount up pretty fast. It seems reasonably sound to assume that anyone who wants to use multiple monitors is doing so precisely so they can have lots more open views at once. There's also another factor, which is that Win7 tries to get everything video related it possibly can out of system memory and into video card memory. XP is less efficient in this regard, and keeps a redundant back up of all video memory in system memory at all times anyway. So the more video memory you have, the freer your general purpose memory (and memory bus) is.

You can get a third monitor via USB>VGA adaptor  particularly if you keep to the smaller sized of monitor..good for synth rack, manual etc... ..one of the better ones is
http://www.amazon.com/Plugable-Multiple-2048x1152-1920x1200-DisplayLink/dp/B0038P1TP4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1313675619&sr=8-2

 
trimph1

John


All the advice I have seen on the amount of graphics card memory is 512 mb to 1 gb for Vista/Win 7.  

I am not sure why you would compare an office computer running MS Word and a DAW. Further if one has a dual monitor system (unlikely in an office) with hi res displays the more graphics mem the better.

My last graphics card had 64 MB on it under XP.  This one has 512 MB. It cost less then the older one.  

Hey!!! Leave my office aaaaallllooooooooooonne!!!


I actually have a dual monitor set up in my office at w**k. Both run off of a GTX550 card really well.


As for the home set up, I am starting to think about going with three monitors...wondering how to go about that one..any card suggestions?