Dang IT! As I feared

[OldNick]

I am still exploring. So far I have not hit this wall I so feared when using other than simple imported files to control visuals.....

Win 7 64 bit Home Premium. Nvidea GEForce 610 video. Attached screengrab shows PC

I discovered the GLSLShader. Ahah! Sounds almost like a full programming language. So while I run away from that these days, it had REAL POWER! Tomorrow I control the WORRRLD Pinky! I face a whole new world of interest and confusion.

But...many of the more speccie .txt files simply bogged down my PC.

So. PC inadequate? Video card needs to be a gamer's special? Trouble is here that I know SONAR is both processor and Video heavy

The story is that if I try to use MIDI etc input from an active DAW (SONAR: CC#19 to control speed), while running some of these txts (the very 3D looking stuff like blobs(x).txt), my machine just bogs down and hesitates in a way I have not seen for ages.

If I drive the same files with an audio/midi file imported into Magic, not a problem.

Thanks for any help.

Nick

[OldNick]

BTW. I may be wrong, but to show I am not a complete ignoramus: wrong maybe but clueless no.

I am guessing that these .txt files are interpreted and that takes considerable processor power to do in real time.

[Sadler]

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answers/i ... -card.html

[OldNick]

Thanks for that.

But why does that make my entire PC stagger?

Also I placed this card in there because my old card was causing all sorts of weirdness. What DO I use?

Nick

[Sadler]

TANSTAAFL
https://magicmusicvisuals.com/downloads ... quirements

[blackdot]

i would assume because these things are gpu intensive and your gpu is too weak. ergo low framerate. and maybe it's so fully occupied that also the rest it displays, the os, your mouse cursor, etc, gets laggy.

your cpu is 8 years old and your gpu 5. maybe it's time for a new computer?

[OldNick]

Hmmm...yeah. Not what I want to hear of course.

I used the Resource Monitor. SONAR and MVV are definitely the hogs here....but....The total CPU is running at around 40% when this is happening. Two of the CPUs are parked. The HDDs are running at around 500KB/s peaking at maybe 1000 KB/s, which should not be a strain.

As I say if I use an embedded audio file to drive the same GLSLShader, there is no trouble. If I use Audacity to play a file to drive the GLSLSHader there is no problem. MVV and SONAR are both highly video intensive programmes. So yeah, it may well be the video card, either because it's carp or has not enough onboard RAM.

This is why they call it the bleeding edge.

Nick

[blackdot]

from what I've learned magic can be quite gpu intensive, so upgrading your gpu should be the first priority (should be anyway because it seems to be a turd according to that tomshardware link). but theres more to it.

i have bought a friend's old computer as a second desktop. it actually has a similarly old cpu like you have. i was doing a lot of testing to figure out exactly how much worse it performs than my regular desktop. i plugged in my older (gtx 660) and also my newer (gtx 980) gpu and ssd, so the only difference was but the mainboard and the cpu.

interestingly the 980 didnt perform as much better than the 660 as i would have expexted it to, sometimes not at all. so some of the performance loss and bottlenecking may probably be attributed to the cpu, but it also never was occupied at 100%. so i concluded that other factors must also play a role, eg. pci-e 2 vs 3. both my gpu's require pcie 3 while the mainboard only has pcie 2. maybe other buses are slower as well.

so if you actually would upgrade your gpu and want to use it at its full potential you'd need a new mainboard as well. which probably would require a new cpu and new rams as well

[OldNick]

Ahhh well...guess I can try a new video card and then if that does not work I will then look at a new PC.

Trouble is I have no justification fro all this. I did once, but that's gone. It's just playtime for me. A new PC is a bit much to support a $100 programme....but then if it gives me 20 hours of interesting time it's as good as any other entertainment and better fro my brain than moet.


Nick

[OldNick]

HAH! That's "most"....

[blackdot]

A new PC is a bit much to support a $100 programme....

thats true of course . but also the case with any modern pc game.

[OldNick]

HAH! Yeah. But I am decidedly not a gamer. My "wasted" dough goes on boats and such. Love sailing, but it's a total waste of time....'cept I love sailing.

Nick

[blackdot]

maybe you could do visuals that rely less on extensive stuff like glsl and what not as a compromise. maybe make video recording of the oceans, or i dont know .

[OldNick]

Yeah except even trying to manipulate a jpg image caused trouble. I had forgotten about that.

Obviously I need to sell the boat! Concentrate my activities.

No seriously if I take on this audio-visual thing it's in me to do whatever it takes, or chuck it. I always drive stuff to the edge. I usually find faults and in this case it looks like it's my old hardware.....don't tell my wife.

Nick