Nvidia GTX 285 Installation
I always leave upgrades until I HAVE to. I pay for everything (no piracy) and so for a freelancer like myself, things can take a little longer to upgrade and buy. So I can shove some more details, texture, 3D and bouncy Newton physics (see motionboutique.com) fun into my broadcast graphics for BBC Childrens this month, I purchased an NVIDIA GTX285 Graphics card for my 2008 Mac Pro Quad Xeon expecting a huge speed change from the default GT120 card in there.
SOMETIMES YOU JUST NEED A LITTLE EXTRA CONFIDENCE WITH NEW HARDWARE and all I found online were a bunch of lovely geeks who were too egotistical to speak normal English and/or forgot a few MAJOR points for this installation. It's a simple install and this is to help those out who don't speak tech and just want to get back to working with their new card.
The brilliant people at Applemacanix sent me some great instructions with the GTX285, which I chose for price and after effects compatibility reasons but I still wanted a little more confidence and the interweb didn't deliver.
•• SPEED DIFFERENCE and "What Do To With Your Old Graphics Card"
Straight away with only the GTX285, there was a notable decrease in rendering time; My usual pile of 34sec animations became 19-23 second renders.
After the GTX285 was all working good and proper, I then re-installed the original GT120 card in addition to the 285. After Effects WILL use both cards (conditions apply) and now my renders have been cut from 34sec to 14seconds. Huge difference. I've also noticed a smaller speed change in previewing at full resolution but I have no provable way to measure and describe the difference but with a 4k Squared 3D Comp (In SD) with moving elements, lights, moving shadows and roving camera with depth of field turned on, I can view a full res frame in about 2 seconds. Previously I had to work in half or third res to see a change in less than 3 secs.
•• INSTALLING THE GTX285 | !! Read the manual (1min)
• Keep power plugged in • touch the case to discharge static • remove screws/plate that hold the cards in at the back of the Pci cards • (touch the case to discharge static) Plug in the 2xAux power cables into the two 6-pin power ports on the motherboard (near the CD drive or at the bottom and left of the motherboard) • (touch the case to discharge static) remove or move your old card up to PCI slots 2,3 or 4 • install the new card • install the plate that holds the back of the card in, slotting it bottom first then sliding it in under the 'lip', then screw it in • (touch the case to discharge static) Plug in the Aux power cords to the card • close up and restart.
