Use the GPU for video encoding?

[jranaudo]

So my machine is painfully slow at video encoding. I was thinking of building a new i7 machine them someone pointed out a trend that some software can utilize the GPU to handle the encoding and not the CPU.

Example would be an nVidia card with CUDA technology.

So question is, could I increase my machine's speed when encoding by just using the GPU instead of building a new machine?

 

[WR2]

What are you using now?

 

[WR2]

I guess I should also ask what you are encoding and what software you're using.
Have you checked to see if the software is Cuda enabled?

 

[jranaudo]

Sorry. I am using a Core2 Duo E6400 and Sony Vegas. I dont think vegas is cuda enabled but there are other apps out there I can use to do the encoding. Badaboom is one that I found.

 

[nikorr]

Sony VEGAS PRO 10

Users with CUDA-enabled nVidia video cards are now able to encode to the Sony AVC format with improved rendering performance and speed.

Do u have this version?

 

[joelmartinez]

What's your current GPU?

 

[jranaudo]

On board video is a 256MB nVidia GeForce 7900 GS.

Didn't know that about Vegas. Sweet! But will I actually see performance gains?

 

[joelmartinez]

You should get a new GPU, that will make your machine a lot faster, also virus removal and hard drive defragmentation and registry cleanup.

What res is your monitor (eg. 1400x900, 1680x1050, 1920x1080)

I would suggest the gts 450 for your uses if on 1680x1050 or below for 1920x1080 get gtx 460 and for above that gtx 560 ti

 

[Computerrock1]

I would suggest not using hardware accelerated encoding. Even though it is more efficient, currently software encoding has a noticable quality improvement over the GPU encoding. Enthusiasts and regular pc users will still have to wait for another year or so till gpu encoding becomes a practical practice, where performance and quality are equal! That's my two cents...

 

[jranaudo]

You should get a new GPU, that will make your machine a lot faster, also virus removal and hard drive defragmentation and registry cleanup.

What res is your monitor (eg. 1400x900, 1680x1050, 1920x1080)

I would suggest the gts 450 for your uses if on 1680x1050 or below for 1920x1080 get gtx 460 and for above that gtx 560 ti

SO are you saying that a new GPU card would free up the core CPU? I thought that there is simply an on board nVidia chip which handles the graphics.

 

[joelmartinez]

Yes, For Vegas Pro, a new GPU should help speed up your computer significantly

 

[amnotanoobie]

SO are you saying that a new GPU card would free up the core CPU? I thought that there is simply an on board nVidia chip which handles the graphics.

To run CUDA applications, you'd need at least an 8xxx generation video card. Yours is a 7xxx generation and wouldn't be able to run CUDA even if it tried (there are hardware modifications made just to be able to run these).

And if you're concerned about quality, I wouldn't recommend CUDA or Stream accelerated encoding. Tom's did an article on it, and there are quality differences between the two. I would only recommend these if you're on a rush and maybe you just need some videos for your mobile (iPod, iPhone, Zune, etc).

Stick with cpu encoding if you're doing it for your HTPC.

 

[jranaudo]

Yes, For Vegas Pro, a new GPU should help speed up your computer significantly

In what regards? How does the GPU get used in Vegas? Would it be due to the Cuda technology or just freeing up the main CPU?

 

[batuchka]

+1 stick to CPU/RAM bound encoding

 

[vvhocare5]

Core2Duo PC? Seriously? You arent even in the game when talking video encoding with that.

Go build an X58 PC with a current NVidia card overclock it and then you can talk about video encoding between CPU and GPU.

 

[jranaudo]

Core2Duo PC? Seriously? You arent even in the game when talking video encoding with that.

Go build an X58 PC with a current NVidia card overclock it and then you can talk about video encoding between CPU and GPU.

good point.

 

[jranaudo]

Core2Duo PC? Seriously? You arent even in the game when talking video encoding with that.

Go build an X58 PC with a current NVidia card overclock it and then you can talk about video encoding between CPU and GPU.

good point.

 

[jranaudo]

Best answer selected by jranaudo.