AutoDesk Maya 2013 GPU Acceleration
Similar to AutoCAD, Maya 2013 does not have any specific features or effects that are GPU accelerated, instead almost everything that looks 3D uses the GPU in some manner. You still need to balance a powerful video card with a good CPU and RAM combination, but the video card you use for Maya is an extremely important part of the performance equation. In this article, we will look at a number of desktop and workstation cards to see the performance difference between a wide variety of cards.
AutoDesk AutoCAD 2013 GPU Acceleration
AutoCAD 2013 does not have any specific features or effects that are GPU accelerated, instead almost everything that looks 3D uses the GPU in some manner. You still need to balance a powerful video card with a good CPU and RAM combination, but the video card you use for AutoCAD is an extremely important part of the performance equation. In this article, we will look at a number of desktop and workstation cards to see just how important a role the video card plays in the performance equation.
Adobe Premiere Pro CS6 GPU Acceleration
Premiere CS6 utilizes the Mercury Playback Engine to take advantage of the video card to vastly improve both the performance and quality of certain features, but there is currently very little information available regarding the performance of different video cards. In addition, the list of compatible cards from Adobe has not been updated to include the current NVIDIA 600-series video cards, which is further adding to the confusion of deciding which video card you should use for Premiere CS6.
In this article, we will be benchmarking a variety of video cards to find out how well the MPE in Premiere works with NVIDIA 600-series card, and exactly how much performance difference there is between a wide spectrum of video cards.
Adobe Photoshop CS6 GPU Acceleration
Photoshop CS6 utilizes the Mercury Graphics Engine to take advantage of the video card to vastly improve the performance of certain features, but there is currently very little information available regarding the performance of different video cards. In addition, the list of compatible cards from Adobe has not been updated to include the current NVIDIA 600-series video cards, which is further adding to the confusion of deciding which video card you should use for Photoshop CS6.
In this article, we will be benchmarking a variety of video cards to find out if Photoshop is actually compatible with the NVIDIA 600-series, and exactly how much performance difference there is between a wide spectrum of video cards.
Product Review: Asus P8C WS
The Asus P8C WS is a workstation class motherboard that includes many features sought after by businesses and home users alike. Most notably, it supports Intel E3 Xeon processors and ECC memory, making it a very stable platform. The varied types of ports and headers also makes it great for machines where backwards compatibility with older devices is critical.
Product Qualification: Intel S1200BTS Motherboard
The Intel S1200BTS (based on the C202 chipset) is a micro ATX server motherboard designed for small to medium-sized business applications. Puget Systems is already offering another micro ATX server motherboard – the Asus P8B-M based on the C204 chipset – but Intel motherboards are often better choices for a server platform than other brands. In this article we will be examining the Intel S1200BTS to determine if there is enough of a reason to replace the Asus P8B-M.
Product Qualification: Intel RS25DB080 RAID Controller
In this article we will be reviewing the Intel RS25DB080 8-port RAID controller which features two 800MHz processor cores with 1GB cache memory. Our testing however shows that this card suffers in terms of performance when compared to the Intel RS25DB040 and RS25DB080.
Product Review: Asus ASMB5-iKVM
The Asus ASMB5-iKVM is a BIOS-level remote management solution, allowing it to work at any point; whether the system is in the OS, the BIOS, or even halted due to a bluescreen. Most current remote management solutions are software-based, so they only work when an OS is running, which makes the Asus ASMB5-iKVM an attractive solution for network administrators and many home users alike.
Technology Primer – Power Supply Wattage and Efficiency
Power supplies are a critical piece of hardware in modern computers, but there are some aspects of them which aren’t well known or understood. This article will explain some of the less known aspects of power supplies, such as what wattage and efficiency ratings really mean, and what other factors you should consider when selecting a power supply for your next computer.
Best Practices for Computer Performance and Safety
In the course of my work as a sales consultant here at Puget Systems, I am often asked how I recommend setting up a computer. After all, providing advice like that on hardware configurations is my job! However, there are some deeper insights into how a computer can be set up which go beyond just selecting the right hardware. There are things I don’t often have the opportunity to discuss, and which aren’t really within the purview of a system builder. I wanted to take some time to write about the ideas and practices I use in my own computer setups, in the hope that some of this advice will help others to get the most out of their computers.