GPU for video editing in OSX VM

[VelcroBP]

I'm looking to try my hand at setting up an editing VM with OSX. Trouble is I've not been paying much attention to hardware lately and have never really understood GPU specs. Add to this the limited space in my chasis for a GPU and I'm not sure what to be looking at. I'm hoping for advice on what GPU would be sufficient for decent performance in a small form factor. I'm running on a 

SuperMicro MBD-X10SLL-F-O mobo w/ a Xeon E3-1246 v3. The trouble is due to the dual Norco 5x3 mounted in the front that cut my real estated down. 

 

Basically, what is the minimum level of performance I should be looking at and which specs are most important? I can then try to compare workstation GPUs or other small FF options to see if this is even viable. Or should I really just be shopping for a new tower that can accommodate the Norcos and a full-size desktop GPU?

[tr0910]

It will depend on the software you will use for video editing. Some of it takes no advantage of the GPU at all. High end GPU are most important for gaming. The other issue is the number of monitors required

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[VelcroBP]

1 minute ago, tr0910 said:

It will depend on the software you will use for video editing. Some of it takes no advantage of the GPU at all. High end GPU are most important for gaming. The other issue is the number of monitors required

 

Final Cut Pro. I won't be connecting a monitor directly to the server but instead using Splashtop or some equivalent most likely.

[tr0910]

I don't run Mac. Isn't FCP legacy now. Apple dropped it?

Check the FCP forums to be sure, but I don't think you'd get any benefit from high end GPU. Start with simple and cheap and try it out.

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[JonathanM]

33 minutes ago, VelcroBP said:

I won't be connecting a monitor directly to the server but instead using Splashtop or some equivalent most likely.

I could be wrong, but I think you may need a monitor emulator dongle to accomplish that.

[VelcroBP]

I could be wrong, but I think you may need a monitor emulator dongle to accomplish that.

I'm not familiar with that bit. Is that to do with the GPU acceleration?


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[VelcroBP]

2 hours ago, jonathanm said:

I could be wrong, but I think you may need a monitor emulator dongle to accomplish that.

Well I just looked into that and you may be right. I can re-think my plans and make a workstation work at the server location.

I'm still unclear as to what to look for in a video card for this application though. 

[1812]

I use a gtx 1050 for fcp editing but send all my video exports via compressor to a render cluster that uses CPU for the workload.

 

Fcp x uses opencl for rendering. Amd cards work better for gpu rendering with opencl than nvidia BUT some say that they are more difficult to get difficult working in a vm (I've only ever worked with nvidia cards)

 

There are certainly better cards/more powerful to use, but mine was under 100 bucks and my render frarm has a combined 40k passmark, which is where I emphasized my build.

 

look into nomachine for Remote Desktop use. You will probably need this emulator for gpu acceleration http://www.fit-pc.com/web/products/fit-headless/

[VelcroBP]

7 hours ago, 1812 said:

I use a gtx 1050 for fcp editing but send all my video exports via compressor to a render cluster that uses CPU for the workload.

 

Fcp x uses opencl for rendering. Amd cards work better for gpu rendering with opencl than nvidia BUT some say that they are more difficult to get difficult working in a vm (I've only ever worked with nvidia cards)

 

There are certainly better cards/more powerful to use, but mine was under 100 bucks and my render frarm has a combined 40k passmark, which is where I emphasized my build.

 

look into nomachine for Remote Desktop use. You will probably need this emulator for gpu acceleration http://www.fit-pc.com/web/products/fit-headless/

Thanks! I'll have to look into the cluster approach, but this info certainly gets me heading in the right direction for my initial dabbling!

[1812]

49 minutes ago, VelcroBP said:

Thanks! I'll have to look into the cluster approach, but this info certainly gets me heading in the right direction for my initial dabbling!

 

And a heads up, all the cluster vm's all require a video card present, otherwise they get an error. They don't use the card for processing (and all cores get maxed transcoding instead) but something else in the program requires it. I used cheap gt 710's for that. And those are not powerful enough to edit in fcp x.  I have been unable to find a workaround.

[VelcroBP]

8 hours ago, 1812 said:

 

And a heads up, all the cluster vm's all require a video card present, otherwise they get an error. They don't use the card for processing (and all cores get maxed transcoding instead) but something else in the program requires it. I used cheap gt 710's for that. And those are not powerful enough to edit in fcp x.  I have been unable to find a workaround.

Do you have any links to more information regarding cluster VMs?

[VelcroBP]

So I have a line on a cheap Zotac GTX 650 ti amp! edition card from a buddy. Can't seem to find any threads about OSX compatibility. I know I should be looking at AMD but this would be a cheap stop-gap.

[1812]

4 hours ago, VelcroBP said:

Do you have any links to more information regarding cluster VMs?

 

No, and apple is sketchy about how it is suppose to work. This is the basic breakdown:

 

fcp x does no clustering.

 

to use compressor for clustering, the app needs to be loaded onto any other networked osx machine (or vm.) in the compressor preferences of each machine, you set it  to be able to be used for network transcoding. on the main controller machine, in compressor you set your batch groups by selecting those other machines it sees on the network as available. then once you are ready to trancode, you select the cluster you have made. it then ends it out.

 

I've found that I can saturate a gigabit connection with just 2 other machines on the network transcoding. So i went to a 10gbe card on the server and run the vmxnet3 adapter on the main conroller/compressor server to be able to feed more mouths at a time.

 

 

it's not hard to setup, it's just a pain to troubleshoot when it doesn't work right because there is scant info about it online. I stumbled on the video card requirement by accident when I couldn't figure out why 1 server worked and the other one didn't when they were nearly identical... the difference was the presence of a video card. I added one to the machine that didn't have one, it worked without issue.

 

[1812]

2 hours ago, VelcroBP said:

So I have a line on a cheap Zotac GTX 650 ti amp! edition card from a buddy. Can't seem to find any threads about OSX compatibility. I know I should be looking at AMD but this would be a cheap stop-gap.

 

look on the hackintosh forums. It probably has some built in osx abiltiy/drivers, and you could also end up trying the web drivers. I don't know for certain since i've never used that card. I did have a gtx 760 sc but it got too hot and died.