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Home ? Tech Help ? Finding the right computer for Muvizu

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08/08/2014 23:20:11

Muviwho
Muviwho
Posts: 3 		Hi again,

I switched computers, installed Muvizu onto my laptop (it took hours) and when it finally finished, it wouldn't let me run it because I don't have the right graphics card or something.
So I looked again at the system requirements:
Window XP or newer.
2.4 GHz processor
Grapics card with "Shader model 3"
2.3 GB of free hard disk space

I want to try to install Muvizu on another computer, but I don't understand the system requirements, and I want to know what I'm doing and be sure it will work before spending hours waiting for it to install.

1. Windows XP or newer. My laptop was a windows XP, but would anybody care to list what the "newer" are or give me a link to a list?
2. How do I find out if my computer has a 2.4 GHz processor?
3. Ditto for the "Shader model 3"

So if anyone knows how to figure this out, it would be great to have some help! Thanks!
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08/08/2014 23:51:17

ziggy72Muvizu mogulExperimental user
ziggy72
Posts: 1988 		Newer than Xp? That'll be Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8. Shader model 3? That means 'not on an old laptop'. Muvizu uses a game engine to run it, so you need a gaming capable machine to run it. Desktop machines are the way to go, or a gaming laptop (or any laptop made in the last couple of years should be capable, but slow). In the technical specs for the video card, you'll find the shader model listed. Hope that helps
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09/08/2014 04:58:24

Muviwho
Muviwho
Posts: 3 		Thanks! Do you think that THIS


http://www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-15-6-laptop-intel-celeron-4gb-memory-500gb-hard-drive-black/7288011.p?id=1219262036899&skuId=7288011

laptop would work for Muvizu? Or one like it?
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09/08/2014 06:13:13

primaveranz
primaveranz
Posts: 520 		Not really, you need one with a dedicated graphics card. nVidia or AMD Radeon.
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09/08/2014 18:53:25

ziggy72Muvizu mogulExperimental user
ziggy72
Posts: 1988 		Yeah, like Primaveranz says, it's still kinda low spec. Does it HAVE to be a laptop? You're painting yourself into a corner if you get one, because your upgrade path is practically nil. Gaming laptops are not cheap - typically 6 or $700 for a basic one. If your budget is less than that, go for a second hand laptop with a higher spec, or bite the bullet and get a proper desktop PC so that you give yourself some options. The machine you linked to is more of a netbook than a laptop anyway - you need power!!! The video card is EVERYTHING in this situation - in fact, I built my PC around the video card I knew I needed to get Muvizu to, erm, Muve


(It's an Nvidia 660Ti, btw)
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10/08/2014 09:01:06

oziabla
oziabla
Posts: 59 		I'll echo what has been said above - once you get into video editing and animation, you cannot have too powerful a machine. That laptop you linked would grind to a halt very quickly.

I'm using a latest i7 desktop with 32 GB of RAM, 12 TB of disk and a 3GB nVidia Quadro 4000 video card.
http://www.amazon.com/NVIDIA-Quadro-K4000-Graphics-PNY/dp/B00BLTE7X0/ref=pd_sim_e_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=1EZ0C8E1GEYSRY2HDNJA

And while most would agree that this is a fairly powerful machine, I can still make it splutter at times.

So save your pennies and buy something that can actually do what you want it to do. And don't get a laptop unless you absolutely need one.
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10/08/2014 10:51:50

ukBertyMuvizu mogulExperimental user
ukBerty
Posts: 975 		Oziabla,

That's interesting - I too have a 660ti like Ziggy but wondered if upgrading to something like a Qudaro might improve things. My issue is not rendering so much as loading sets. Some of my sets are 180MB+ and can take 5-10 mins to load (hence I run two versions of Muvizu at the same time - one is usually just loading something).

I've tried everything to speed it up - the 660ti, i7, 12GB RAM, SSD HDD for c:\ and often reinstalling Muvizu (this does seem to help but I'm not sure why - I have a copy of the software when it was a fresh install and I just keep replacing the Muvizu program folder with this).

Could I trouble you to do a test for me - could I send you a couple of sets for you to time how long they take to load - I can't see how else to test it - we can talk card specs but I don't know which resource Muvizu is short of.

What do you think ??
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10/08/2014 15:02:30

ziggy72Muvizu mogulExperimental user
ziggy72
Posts: 1988 		I use a site called Passmark to help guide me through my hardware options, and checking the benchmark scores for the k4000 as opposed to other high end cards gives me this : http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu.php?gpu=Quadro+K4000&id=2272


Stick with the 660Ti is what that's telling me
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10/08/2014 22:00:09

oziabla
oziabla
Posts: 59 		Ziggy - that's interesting. The Quadro performs better (allegedly) at 3D rendering than the more gaming oriented cards, but as it turns out, I've hardly done any. Having more CUDA cores for video effects would have been far more useful to me.

UKberty - by all means. Send me a dropbox (or similar) link.
edited by oziabla on 11/08/2014
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11/08/2014 08:45:54

MrDrWho13Muvizu mogulExperimental user
MrDrWho13
Posts: 2220 		Muviwho wrote:
Thanks! Do you think that THIS


http://www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-15-6-laptop-intel-celeron-4gb-memory-500gb-hard-drive-black/7288011.p?id=1219262036899&skuId=7288011

laptop would work for Muvizu? Or one like it?

I would say aim for something that's ÂŁ500 or more if you don't want to have lag issues.
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15/08/2014 05:49:35

ukBertyMuvizu mogulExperimental user
ukBerty
Posts: 975 		oziabla wrote:
UKberty - by all means. Send me a dropbox (or similar) link.


Oziabla - I have sent a private Muvizu message with the link and details - check the inbox on your account. Let me know if you've got it as sometimes the messaging system can be erratic.
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15/08/2014 09:24:32

oziabla
oziabla
Posts: 59 		Yeah got it, sorry. Been ultra-busy. Will have a look tomorrow.
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15/08/2014 23:36:48

BrianGray
BrianGray
Posts: 45 		Hi Muviwho. if I may add a piece of advice. That laptop is nice but something important needs to be said... Getting a Hard Drive that has at least a 7200 RPM spindle speed instead of 5400 RPM will help ALLOT. Also Windows 7 as the minimum OS will be better for several multimedia speed and security reasons. I know lots of people want a Laptop for multimedia development but truth is you can get MUCH MORE POWER for LESS MONEY with a Desktop. Hope this helps.



Sincerely, BrianGray.
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17/08/2014 16:18:09

ukBertyMuvizu mogulExperimental user
ukBerty
Posts: 975 		oziabla wrote:
Yeah got it, sorry. Been ultra-busy. Will have a look tomorrow.


Just in case anyone is interested Oziabla's Quadro loads my sets in around 40% of the time that it takes my 660ti. The rest of our PCs are about the same.

This proves that with Muvizu it's all about the video card, which is hardly surprising.

Thanks again Oziabla
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18/08/2014 03:01:25

oziabla
oziabla
Posts: 59 		The new NVidia 800 series cards get released next month, and the rumour mill says they are extremely impressive.
http://www.lazygamer.net/general-news/leaked-nvidia-800-series-benchmarks-show-massive-performance-jumps/

So either wait for an 800 series card, or take advantage of the inevitable price drop of the 780 when the 800s arrive.
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Muvizu is easy to use 3D animation software that allows anyone to create high quality animations quickly and easily. Muvizu’s animation engine is ideal for storytellers, animators, teachers and businesses looking to engage, enchant and delight audiences with animated content.