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Macbook Pro, VCP doesnt run on discrete gpu (nvidia)
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nj3dprint  
#1 Posted : Wednesday, February 14, 2018 9:07:38 PM(UTC)
nj3dprint

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MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2014)
Quad Core 2.5Ghz i7
Nvidia GeForce GT750M 2048M
Mac OS 10.10.5
Viacad Pro 10.0.1 Build 1354
External HDMI attached monitor
Nvidia GPU Driver 10.4.2 310.41.25f01

Using a utility called XRG I have found that on my system VCP only uses the “integrated GPU”/Intel
and never touches the discrete gpu/Nvidia GT750M.

I’ve have tried “gfzcardstatus” numerous times to try to force it to the descrete gpu. Nothing.
In the energy save control panel, I switched to higher performance which is supposed to force
everything to the descrete gpu. No.


So, feature or bug? Any suggestions?
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UGMENTALCASE  
#2 Posted : Thursday, February 15, 2018 2:44:17 AM(UTC)
UGMENTALCASE

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I can't speak for Mac, but in windows it does indeed work with NVidia. I have to add the program in the NVidia control panel, but to be honest it runs SOOOOOO much better without it. I have Intel and NVidia 940M in my laptop, and when I use NVidia it's littered with graphical issues. Zooming in and out on a drawing, things disappear, jump around on the screen, in modelling if I click a start of a line, zoom out move my curser zoom in, it leaves behind some hideous trial of where the curser has been and you can't follow where you're up to.

I've had no issues with using Intel, however I've not opened anything big enough to warrant using NVidia in this program.

Windows changes to visual basic mode when it starts, maybe it's something to do with that on a mac? Maybe you can't use high performance in a mac when it's dropping graphics when it starts? Not sure?
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Todd Quinlan  
#3 Posted : Thursday, February 15, 2018 8:28:15 AM(UTC)
Todd Quinlan

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With Hybrid Video set ups, where a lesser card is the full time card and the higher end card is the discrete or render card, the high end card is only called upon when a program calls for rendering power. This type of graphics set up is great for video gaming, or movie making/viewing. However, with the CAD products, the higher end card is only called for when doing photorealistic rendering. The rest of the time, the programs are using the lesser card. Unfortunately, in most cases that I have seen, the lesser card is not robust enough to handle the program.

Generally, from a support aspect, we suggest finding a way to either switch the primary and discrete cards or, as mentioned by UG, assigning the higher end card to be full time for the programs.
Todd Q
CAD Support Specialist
Encore Software/ IMSI Design
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Jolyon  
#4 Posted : Thursday, February 15, 2018 11:09:26 AM(UTC)
Jolyon

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Hmm ... according to the prefs for energy settings, it should be clear

>> just to be clear - on the Mac ... is VC / Shark over-riding the preference setting ?

Would be good to know for sure, thanks !

Jol

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nj3dprint  
#5 Posted : Thursday, February 15, 2018 2:24:55 PM(UTC)
nj3dprint

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Originally Posted by: Todd Quinlan Go to Quoted Post
With Hybrid Video set ups, where a lesser card is the full time card and the higher end card is the discrete or render card, the high end card is only called upon when a program calls for rendering power. This type of graphics set up is great for video gaming, or movie making/viewing. However, with the CAD products, the higher end card is only called for when doing photorealistic rendering. The rest of the time, the programs are using the lesser card. Unfortunately, in most cases that I have seen, the lesser card is not robust enough to handle the program.

Generally, from a support aspect, we suggest finding a way to either switch the primary and discrete cards or, as mentioned by UG, assigning the higher end card to be full time for the programs.



Ouch! Sounds like you have run across this more than a few times. So the simple answer is to get off a MacBook and get onto a
desktop either Mac or Windows. Hey, it's only money...

As I understand it, VCP is written to use opengl for the graphics. Both the intel and the Nvidia gpu's support opengl.
Could this be something to do with my Nvidia opengl is not up to the same opengl rev as VCP or something like that?

I'm not pointing fingers, just want to learn so I can make better decisions.


Thanks
Dennis
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Jolyon  
#6 Posted : Thursday, February 15, 2018 3:16:07 PM(UTC)
Jolyon

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I would like to understand too - though my feeling is that the painful bottlenecks are CPU centric.

VC/ Shark - indeed most apps can only use one CPU core most of the time. (Rendering and faceting are exceptions and there are more as time goes by)

Beware crap analogy - Since a modern laptop (i7?) has 4, (double it to 8 for usable cores) ... all the water from the roof is running down number one of 8 drainpipes - it's no wonder it's backing up.

The other 7 tubes are carrying various sock rinses and mouth gargles : )

It's no wonder it chokes

So - what is a good machine to run VC / Shark on ?

High frequency i5 with a single fast video card and lots of RAM ? (and how much is lots ?)
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Todd Quinlan  
#7 Posted : Thursday, February 15, 2018 4:21:42 PM(UTC)
Todd Quinlan

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Originally Posted by: Jolyon Go to Quoted Post
Hmm ... according to the prefs for energy settings, it should be clear

>> just to be clear - on the Mac ... is VC / Shark over-riding the preference setting ?

Would be good to know for sure, thanks !

Jol


This is the first case I have heard of on a MAC platform. All of the reported issues I have dealt with have been on PCs and I can tell you that the program does not override the settings. In most cases, setting the program to run on the high end card does the trick. I will have to look into the MAC to see if it changes the preferences, but I doubt they do. (stay tuned on this one)

When asked about ideal computers (keeping in mind I am, by no means, a hardware expert) I suggest avoiding machines labeled as gaming because they are generally geared toward rendering power and a lot of them have the Hybrid set ups which I also suggest avoiding for VC/Shark. Typically, a single video card is best for sure. As far as how much RAM, keep in mind that 64bit programs like VC/Shark has a 4 GB threshold (32bit programs have a 2GB threshold) and systems use a good amount just sitting idle, so I typically suggest 8GB minimum. But as always, the more the better.
Todd Q
CAD Support Specialist
Encore Software/ IMSI Design
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nj3dprint  
#8 Posted : Thursday, February 15, 2018 7:40:54 PM(UTC)
nj3dprint

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Fogot to answer the question from jolyon.

Yes, automatic graphics switching is not selected.
So this **should** send everything to the discrete gpu (gt750)
and it is not.
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Jolyon  
#9 Posted : Friday, February 16, 2018 3:58:37 PM(UTC)
Jolyon

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Graphics card is not a serious bottle neck for me - however, VC / Shark should allow the discreet GPU to be set as default when run.

I'd be disappointed if the prefs on the Mac are disregarded - so let us know what you find Todd !

Jol
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