Video acceleration?

[doctordale]

To accelerate or not to accelerate, that is the question. I've read in several different optimization documents that is is wise to reduce the video acceleration on DAW machines, maybe even turn it off. I'm having trouble understanding how this helps. In my little brain, it seems that reducing this feature would force more traffic on the bus, which is one of the things I thought optimizing for audio was striving to reduce. Is the argument different for AGP vs. PCI video cards? To me, reducing hardware acceleration to improve performance is non-intuitive. Can anyone shed light on the subject?

 

[Opus2000]

The Doc has a great question...
Video Acceleration and how to use it..Lets put it this way..If it aint broke..dont fix it!! The only time you want to lower your acceleration is if you are seeing issues with video performance or having a driver issue with an audio app...certain video card's drivers can cause wierd issues with some programs..One of the most common issues is with the Console for the MidiTimePC from MOTU..when you try to open the window it crashes..bringing down the acceleration bar to the second to last notch always fixed it!
Two important things to realize...AGP is the best way to go. It takes the strain off of the PCI bus and allows other devices to use their full bandwidth. Getting the most RAM intensive Video card is NOT reccomended. This can take more performance to draw the meters or the graphical displays and make your audio app run a little sluggish. I reccomend getting a 16MB video card..that is plenty of RAM for the graphics.
Setting the Acceleration down will only cause the video card to not run optimally and cause jittery graphics..only bring it down if you are having wierd issues and use it for troubleshooting only..that's what it is there for. PCI video cards should be avoided at all costs especially for audio recording.
Hope that helps

Opus

 

[doctordale]

Thanks Gary. I'm not having any issues with video acceleration. Fact of the matter is I don't see any difference on any of my systems while running audio apps whether my hardware acceleration is cranked all the way on or off. I guess, for me, this is a philosophical question until I buy some hardware that is actually sensitive to it. Granted, since video and graphics are pretty low on my list of priorities, my video cards are simple and have 16Mb of ram or less. I guess for those doing video editing or something like that, spending $500 for a video card makes sense, but not for me (yet).

 

[seclusion]

Gee this sota reminds me of the Tascam site..
Hey guys..

The only problem with the small video card is most only have 1 output..
Me likes the new Maxtron 32meg dual output card with 2 17" screens...
Logic new looked so nice..

 

[Opus2000]

Dual Monitors is the only way to go...I have an Appian Gemini 16MB AGP that just sooo rocks..smooth graphics and all..I dont know how I can work with one monitor ever again!!

Opus

 

[kent powell]

Okay, I may have a case where setting a lower accelloration might help. My Logic mixes freeze up with no more than 16 tracks and no more than two time-based plugs (one each of reverb and delay). Yeah, I have eq's and comps inserted on several of those tracks, but I don't think it's truly enough to prompt the system overload error I get when playback stops.

I have an ABIT BE6-II with a Celeron OC'd to 790MHz, 384MG RAM and a Voodo 3dfx graphics accellorator. I looked in BIOS, but could not find an option that would allow me to adjust the AGP accelloration rate. Any ideas?

While I'm at it, is there a way to disable bus mastering for the video card. Someone suggested Control Panel-Display-Advanced but there's no box there about bus mastering to uncheck.

 

[Opus2000]

Couple of things...you dont and shouldnt have to mess with the AGP bus mastering..leave it alone. Second..you're using a Celeron which is a lower grade Processor that may not be able to do all the things you want to do effeciently. Sorry to burst your bubble but the Celeron is something to be avoided in the DAW world for PC's.
Make sure your BIOS has Video Shadowing Disabled..usually it is. It's pretty much default seting these days. What your frined may be thinking of is the refresh rate or called adapter rate in some video cards. It's in the advanced settings but may not always be there depending on the card..I would leave it at the default anyways. What size memory is the Voodoo? 16MB? 32MB?
Opus