Adobe Media Encoder CPU or GPU?

[codyf51]

Hello,

 

So I have a Mac and it takes over a hour to render a basic 30 second AE project. So my plan is to build a EPIC RENDER SERVER for adobe media encoder to run. I want to virtualize it either with VMware Hypervisor or UnRAID so I can run a web server on the side. I know that GPU support is a mixed bag on VMware so it is possible to render with just the CPU's? Rather is it even worth it? If not can anyone recommend a good GPU to passthrough to a Win 10 VM? Here are the specs I am thinking of. I appreciate any advice.

► ASRock EP2C602-4L - http://www.ebay.com/itm/301679379636
► Xeon E5-2670 - http://www.ebay.com/itm/SR0KX-INTEL-X...
► EVGA SuperNova 750W G2 (2 CPU Connectors ) - 
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00I...
► 64GB DDR3-1333MHz ECC RAM - http://www.ebay.com/itm/141852227400
 

[The Sloth]

it uses cpu and gpu together, pick up an older titan or a rx480. 

[codyf51]

Thanks for the quick reply! I think Linus used the 480 for his two gamers 1 CPU build, but do you know is VMware hypervisor would support it?

 

[codyf51]

No he used the R9 nano, I think

[The Sloth]

Just now, codyf51 said:

No he used the R9 nano, I think

its a nano, just remember you need good cooling 

[codyf51]

noise is not a problem, as it will be on there side of the house. I wonder if anyone has use the RX480.

 

[Electronics Wizardy]

After effects doest use the gpu for anything so having the gpu won't make it any faster. Why not just install Windows on the server and use hyper-v?

[codyf51]

So install windows and then use a class 2 Hypervisor, like VirtualBox? Well So most of the time the windows VM will be powered off because this server will be running NextCloud a. web app which will connect to a 30TB FreeNAS box over NFS or ISCIS. So really the Windows Render VM is a secondary objective, I could build two boxes but one would be off most of the time....

[codyf51]

O did not mention, I will be using two CPU's

 

[Electronics Wizardy]

2 minutes ago, codyf51 said:

So install windows and then use a class 2 Hypervisor, like VirtualBox? Well So most of the time the windows VM will be powered off because this server will be running NextCloud a. web app which will connect to a 30TB FreeNAS box over NFS or ISCIS. So really the Windows Render VM is a secondary objective, I could build two boxes but one would be off most of the time....

use hyper-v a class 1 hypervisor. Its built into windows.

 

 

For video rendering or after effects, a single 7700k would be faster and cheaper than dual 2670's. Adobe stuff doesn't like all of those cores.

[codyf51]

It  sucks that is not a optimal server config tho.... no ECC and only 4 cores. Maybe a separate build is the best option?

[Electronics Wizardy]

Just now, codyf51 said:

It  sucks that is not a optimal server config tho.... no ECC and only 4 cores. Maybe a separate build is the best option?

You can get the xeon e3 if you want a 7700 with ecc(but ecc won't make a difference here)

 

But these cores are faster. It will render video faster. Core count doesn't matter, system speed matters, and in this case that quad core is faster.

[codyf51]

Yeah ECC is more for the web server VM. Maybe two of these? I could just give windows one tho. https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA9AX4JJ4435&cm_re=intel_Xeon_E3_processor-_-9SIA9AX4JJ4435-_-Product

[Electronics Wizardy]

I'd get a xeon e3 1230 v5. You can only run these in single socket. 

[codyf51]

? Intel... What would recommend for RAM allocation to that VM?

[codyf51]

I wish I could just take a Xeon board cut it in half and glue it to a consumer board. 

[Electronics Wizardy]

So what are you doing? With hyper-v by default it has memory ballooning so the vm only takes up the memory you need. 

[codyf51]

Yeah but you can assign a limit. Im just trying to get a idea of how much RAM AE encoding can take advantage of.

[Electronics Wizardy]

Just now, codyf51 said:

Yeah but you can assign a limit. Im just trying to get a idea of how much RAM AE encoding can take advantage of.

Depends on what your doing, but it can easily chew up 20+ gb of ram. 

 

 

[codyf51]

So to be honest I am new to After Effects. What should I expect for decent rendering on a simple project, say under 1 minute. Is 1 hour crazy?

[Electronics Wizardy]

Just now, codyf51 said:

So to be honest I am new to After Effects. What should I expect for decent rendering on a simple project, say under 1 minute. Is 1 hour crazy?

what are you doing in the project?

 

What export settings and resolution?

 

Hour seems a big long.

[codyf51]

Nothing crazy. Here is a frame. The final output is 1080 30 FPS. about 1 minute

[Electronics Wizardy]

Just now, codyf51 said:

Nothing crazy. Here is a frame. The final output is 1080 30 FPS. about 1 minute

What effects are you using?

 

[codyf51]

Its actually just a templet.https://videohive.net/item/media-travel-parallax-slideshow/19435629

[Electronics Wizardy]

1 minute ago, codyf51 said:

Its actually just a templet.https://videohive.net/item/media-travel-parallax-slideshow/19435629

And what system are you using?

 

Normally after effects is fairly single threaded and likes lots of ram.