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Miha Kokalj
Miha Kokalj
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After effects slow render

Nov 15, 2011 3:45 AM

Hello,

 

we are using a mac workstation and get really slow renders in After Effects CS5.5.

 

Our configuration:

Dual Xeon (2x 6 cores - 24 threads)

24GB RAM

 

Even when we set the cores to be used for render to 4 and RAM per core to 2GB we get chokes on one layer parts with no effects on it (which should render pretty much in real time). When we set it to 8 cores by 2GB RAM per core it stops entirely (OS also becomes very slow, even though it still has 16 cores and 8GB of RAM free).

 

It renders much faster on my home PC (i5 2500K, 16GB ram) with just 2 cores.

 

Is there any way to make it render faster on our workstation?

6481 Views   15 Replies   Latest reply: Todd_Kopriva, May 14, 2012 11:57 PM
 
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  • Dave LaRonde
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    1. Dave LaRonde,
    Nov 15, 2011 7:16 AM   in reply to Miha Kokalj
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    Here's a question for diagnostic purposes: do you have large stills in your comps?  What are their horizontal & vertical dimensions?

     
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  • Mylenium
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    2. Mylenium,
    Nov 15, 2011 7:18 AM   in reply to Miha Kokalj
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    we get chokes on one layer parts with no effects on it (which should render pretty much in real time).

     

    And why do you think so? Footage needs to be loaded, rendered files be written to disk. More MP instances = more file I/O = slower rendering. It's as simple as that. There are limits to how much data even the fastest harddrive can handle and things liek limited bandwidth on external drives, slow local disks or network dfiel access don't make things better.... So try the exact opposite - render with only 2 cores just liek on your home machine and things may be considerably faster.

     

    Mylenium

     
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  • Todd_Kopriva
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    3. Todd_Kopriva,
    Nov 15, 2011 8:01 AM   in reply to Mylenium
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    Mylenium is pointing you in a useful direction. Tell us about your hard disk setup, as well as details of your source footage and composition. Hard disk throughput is very, very often the bottleneck for performance, especially if someone is trying to use one disk for everything.

     

    See this page for resources about making After Effects work faster, including suggestions for troubleshooting poor performance: http://adobe.ly/AE_PR_performance

     
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  • Miha Kokalj
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    4. Miha Kokalj,
    Nov 15, 2011 8:06 AM   in reply to Dave LaRonde
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    Its a full hd composition with one part of 4K footage scaled and cropped to fit in and part just regular prores HD that was placed on the timeline (layers dont ovelap eachother). The render speed doesnt increase when it gets to the "easy" part.

     

    Mylenium: I think so because when i render the same thing on a weaker computer with fewer cores it works faster. I doubt the hard drive is a bottle neck since its a high performance rack raid. Its not like the render is slow, it starts out pretty fast, then gets really slow and inconsistent (as in: renders 3 frames, chokes for 20 seconds, writes 2 more, choke for 25 seconds etc). It works better with 2 cores, but does it make sense to use 2 out of 24 cores to render a project?

     

    I think the problem is in the way how after effects handles multiprocessing in general. I guess at some point it starts jugling data between hard drive cache and ram which causes the system slow down and huge chokes on render, while the CPU is pretty much idle.

     
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  • Miha Kokalj
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    5. Miha Kokalj,
    Nov 15, 2011 8:31 AM   in reply to Todd_Kopriva
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    Thanks for that information, i will check out the link.

     

    Disk system is a rack mount raid 5 (16 1TB drives) which has read/write over 1GB/s. The project is on that drive as well as the disk cache for AE.

     

    The reason why i think its not the disk is because, how much IO operations could it be to load a frame from a prores file, process it, and write it back? Putting an HD clip in final cut, put a filter on it, and export works faster than real time (and final cut is only using a few cores at full capacity). I understand after effects works different, but the render engine needs an update.

     
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  • Mark Linthicum
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    6. Mark Linthicum,
    May 7, 2012 7:39 PM   in reply to Todd_Kopriva
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    I have the same problem and am really starting to hate after Effects and Adobe.

     

    Ever since CS3, AE is just an inefficient hog, choking my whole system. I keep hoping the next version will be better but it never happens. Watching Activity monitor, nothing is being pushed even close to it's limits, not the processor not the hard drive ye the system is choking. I can not even surf the web when rendering with AE. When watching a flash video and rendering in AR it is even worse. I think I can honestly say Adobe makes the most in efficient software in the world, wasting days weeks and months of peoples valuable time!

    The dam thing just took 2 minutes to save and quit!

     

    Watching your "Performance Tips" video is another waste of time, It starts with auto save and planning your work!!!! This is adding insult to injury! WTF!!!!!!

     

    Photoshop is slow and is just as in efficient.

    Adobe please do something about this!

     
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  • Dave LaRonde
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    7. Dave LaRonde,
    May 7, 2012 7:57 PM   in reply to Mark Linthicum
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    Mark Linthicum wrote:

     

    I can not even surf the web when rendering with AE.

    Oh, boo-hoo. 

     

    Apparently you think that AE should work just like an editing application when it's an entirely different thing.  Apparently you haven't been using AE for very long, either.  If you had been, you would have remembered when it took an overnight render to do a 30-second spot.  In SD.

     

    I doubt you would tolerate that.

     
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  • ctakah27
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    8. ctakah27,
    May 14, 2012 2:11 AM   in reply to Dave LaRonde
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    If you are on a mac verify disk for errors using disk tility

     
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  • bogiesan
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    9. bogiesan,
    May 14, 2012 7:56 AM   in reply to Dave LaRonde
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    Dave LaRonde wrote:

     

    Mark Linthicum wrote:

     

    I can not even surf the web when rendering with AE.

    Oh, boo-hoo. 

     

    Apparently you think that AE should work just like an editing application when it's an entirely different thing.  Apparently you haven't been using AE for very long, either.  If you had been, you would have remembered when it took an overnight render to do a 30-second spot.  In SD.

     

    I doubt you would tolerate that.

     

    But you know what, Dave? I've noticed CS5 really IS a resource hog. Part of this could be that I'm doing full 1080 work these days but I cannot use Safari very well when rendering. It's very frsutrating. My current Mac is a billion times larger and faster than the last one adn I don't remember this same degree of sloggy and sluggy behavior using CS4 on the older, first generation Intel, even when doing 1080.

     
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  • Pharther Phurther
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    10. Pharther Phurther,
    May 14, 2012 2:15 PM   in reply to Miha Kokalj
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    I have been complaining about this issue for over a year!

     

    I have a case number #183217604

     

    Read this:

     

    Todd .. As your to familliar with  .. I have been complaining way too much about my issues with my 12 Core Mac Pro and the Master Suite 5.5.

     

    Im sure you dont care to much for some ( or most ) of my posts .. them being more crass than to the point.

     

    My frustration is now more defined .. and the accuracy of my situation is now transparent.

     

    I have filed a case number based on my complaint:  That the poor 64 bit multicore processor ( and hyperthreading ) / memory use in AE ( and between PP and AE via Dynamic Link ) in the ( Mac Version ( specifically ) Master Suite 5.5 ( in particular AE ) causes extrememly poor performance compared to other similar machines .. and is more apparent in multi core Mac Pro machine depending on the amount of cores. This inefficient use is unbearable .. and quite the opposite to the documented Adobe adverstiment of the Master Suite "Features".

     

    Now .. instead of this issue being updated .. the Suite 6 considers this a feature .. as you have also added in your posts in this Forum.

     

    Encore runs great ... uses all the hyperthreads .. and encodes fast. You have mentioned before the limitations of AE and the use of memory in a very descriptive way last year .. which make great sense.

     

    My professional question to you is:

     

    Don't you think that this "Global Performance Cache" borders on a serious performance update vs. a "New" feature?

     

    I think I have enough proof with my previous case number ( that never got solved ) from a year ago .. and all my posts in the Forum I have enough information that should allow me to have the update with being asked to "Buy Now" in my email .. which I find insulting.

     

    Again .. I know you dont 'enjoy' my posts .. but I am so frustrated I am will to bet my whole system ( I would send it to you at Adobe if you dont have a 12 Core to test ..  ) that I am 100% accurate that 'this sucks .. and there is a problem.

     

    I talk with tech .. and the call centers dont know what I am talking about .. and of course they are not using a 12 core Mac Pro.

     

    I hope someone can answer me .. and that Jeff leaves me alone.

     
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  • Todd_Kopriva
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    11. Todd_Kopriva,
    May 14, 2012 2:18 PM   in reply to Pharther Phurther
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    > Don't you think that this "Global Performance Cache" borders on a serious performance update vs. a "New" feature?

     

    It is a new feature. The cache was completely rewritten to cache more things in a smarter way.

     
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  • Pharther Phurther
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    12. Pharther Phurther,
    May 14, 2012 4:07 PM   in reply to Todd_Kopriva
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    In a smarter way?

     

    Please define if you can.

     

    I am proposing that it never worked correctly in the first place .. and the "rewrtten" version is actually how it should have been authored in the first place.

     

    Is it not what I described as an serious issue in a prior Forum post that you replied to?

     
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  • Todd_Kopriva
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    13. Todd_Kopriva,
    May 14, 2012 4:22 PM   in reply to Pharther Phurther
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    This video explains how the Global Performance Cache works:

    http://www.video2brain.com/en/lessons/global-performance-cache-and-per sistent-disk-cache

     

    If you don't like the performance or features of previous versions of After Effects, I can't argue with your opinion.

     
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  • Pharther Phurther
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    14. Pharther Phurther,
    May 14, 2012 8:40 PM   in reply to Todd_Kopriva
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    Todd: Would you agree that my previous posts months ago about this issue hit the nail directly on the head ... and you replied my posts .. that this issue was being examined and implimented in a updated version of AE?

     
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  • Todd_Kopriva
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    15. Todd_Kopriva,
    May 14, 2012 11:57 PM   in reply to Pharther Phurther
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    Pharther Phurther,

     

    No, that is not a accurate characterization.

     

    Yes, we have for several versions sought ways to make After Effects faster. The Global Performance Cache is one way to do that, and it is a very effective one, using caching to prevent After Effects from needing to re-render things that is has rendered already.

     

    You have repeatedly pointed out that you are unhappy with how After Effects handles threading and other processing.

     

    Stop spamming this forum with redundant complaints. You have added this complaint to many threads, and doing so is confusing those threads and derailing them from the respective original issues on those threads.

     

    You have made your point. If you are unhappy with how After Effects works, I won't argue with you. If you don't want to use After Effects because of the issues that you perceive with it, I won't argue with you.

     

    If you want to talk more about this, start your own thread and keep the conversation on that thread. I will delete any messages from you that are added to unrelated or tangentially related threads, as well as deleting any posts that are merely repetitions of the posts that you've already made.

     
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