cabinet vision

[Rosco]

Background

Had a client contract me to build a custom system early last year. The company builds and designs custom kitchens. Plus uses the computer run an automated saw. They use cabinet vision to design the kitchens and Tigerstop to cut the wood(same company as the saw). The saw is a whole other story though. Anyway other than a few small things haven't heard them. They have been very pleased so far.


Computer Specs

*ASUS P8P67 DELUXE
*Intel Core i7 Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (Quad Core)
*Crucial Ballistix sport 16GB DDR3 1600 (4 X 4GB)
*180GB SATA II (SSD) Hard Drive
*1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s(2 of them)
*LG Blu Ray burner
*LITE-ON DVD Burner
GeForce GTX 560 2GB 256-bit GDDR5
*Windows 7 Pro 64 bit edition
*Rosewill 1000watt 80Plus Bronze Certified


Reason for Post

Last week the client called me and said there cabin vision was taking a long time to render even a small job in 3D. They also said that every once in a while the resolution changes at bootup and is back to normal next boot. Cabin vision has there own tech support which you pay like 1000 per year. The client does. They cant not figure it out. I found that when i needed there help with the setting i would have been better off call a pizzia shop.

I set up a mem test x86 over the weekend. ran for to 2 days and 18 passes no errors. I have been busy so i can not get over to finish diagnosising the problem till friday but my question was any ideas what it could be/what diagnosis tools would be best. This is one of my best clients and very busy so i just want to be completely prepared. Thanks everyone.

 

[Tab Alternatives]

Have you double checked that all of the drivers are installed? If so, completely up to date? Try reinstalling the video drivers, completely removing the old ones first. If all of that fails, try installing the monitor's drivers. Sometimes that will fix oddities, you'd be surprised.

 

[Rosco]

thanks this was on my list of things to check. he said the video driver was up to day but i want to see it for myself... lol

 

[Boston Pro Comp Serv LLC]

Might as well test the HDD too.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

Love Asus, love Crucial.....I don't know who makes the power supplies for Rosewill...but based on their other stuff..usually very...erm..."budget". Fan of Antec and Seasonic for power supplies. Seasonics at the top of the list.

I would suspect power strain on the system.

Also for a tip, let Windows manage the pagefile and put it on all 3 drives....heavy graphics workstations benefit greatly from having multiple pagefiles on multiple spindles.

 

[techpitt]

The resolution change may be caused by a startup item. I've seen this happen when application updater software that runs in the background gets set to run in compatibility mode @ a certain resolution/color depth. It can be tricky to catch, especially if the updater itself isn't the one in compatibility mode but is calling another EXE that is setup that way. Don't ask me how this happens, but I've seen it a few times... not sure if users do this in effort to fix another issue or what.

Of course, the resolution change coupled with the mysterious slow rendering issue does point somewhat to heat issues. Might be worth the effort to check GPU and CPU temps during a render while the issue is occurring.

The last thing that I can think of would be to check for updates to SSD firmware, intel rapid storage driver, and SATA controller driver. With the SSD on my personal computer (Crucial m4, Asrock 970 Extreme3) I've had similar symptoms that occur intermittently upon reboot (such as NIC driver or Matrox GXM failing to load) that did not happen before my SSD upgrade.

 

[techpitt]

Love Asus, love Crucial.....I don't know who makes the power supplies for Rosewill...but based on their other stuff..usually very...erm..."budget". Fan of Antec and Seasonic for power supplies. Seasonics at the top of the list.

I would suspect power strain on the system.

Also for a tip, let Windows manage the pagefile and put it on all 3 drives....heavy graphics workstations benefit greatly from having multiple pagefiles on multiple spindles.

I agree on Seasonic being tops and Rosewill being swill (at least in PSUs), but the load of that system is between 400-500w. Unless the PSU is out of spec on voltage or otherwise flakey, it should handle that load easily.

Good tip on having the pagefile on multiple spindles, but I'd be rather scared to put it on SSD given the limited write cycles of flash based SSDs (which I assume is what he is using).

 

[OfficeTechs]

sounds like a dodgy graphics driver. Occasionally Windows will show an 'update' to a graphics driver as an optional update and i've had users apply this and then their graphics is shot (resolution and running like a lame dog). Re-apply the correct driver for the card and educate the customer to only apply critical and recommended updates.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

I agree on Seasonic being tops and Rosewill being swill (at least in PSUs), but the load of that system is between 400-500w. Unless the PSU is out of spec on voltage or otherwise flakey, it should handle that load easily.

Good tip on having the pagefile on multiple spindles, but I'd be rather scared to put it on SSD given the limited write cycles of flash based SSDs (which I assume is what he is using).

I'm focused on the "roseSWill being out of spec/flakey".
Good point about keeping the pagefile off of the SSD. Following that logic...I'd want to know how Cabinet Vision manages its "workspace/swap directory"....and be sure to relocate that too.

 

[Rosco]

rosewill never gave me a problem. plus it is a 1000w which is plenty to handle this setup.

Thanks for all the tips.

I have cabinet vision installed on the ssd would it make a difference to move it HDD? and why?

Thanks everyone a feel a lot more prepared.

 

[techpitt]

rosewill never gave me a problem. plus it is a 1000w which is plenty to handle this setup.

Thanks for all the tips.

I have cabinet vision installed on the ssd would it make a difference to move it HDD? and why?

Thanks everyone a feel a lot more prepared.

Is the power supply this model?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182188

If so, there are no professional reviews on the unit, but it is believed to be a rebranded Hiper M1000, which isn't a terrible unit but doesn't provide 100% of the rated power and apparently is right at the edge of what the ATX spec allows...

"Ripple and noise is high, the mesh casing once more hinders cooling, the capacitors on the secondary side are questionable quality, and the voltage regulation is only so-so."
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=132​

I'm glad you've not yet had a problem with Rosewill and I'm not knocking your preference (I like some of Rosewill's other products), but I feel I'd be remiss if I didn't share the above info.

On the SSD front, I think what YeOldeStonecat was getting at is that Cabinet Vision probably has its own swap file (much like photoshop and other image/rendering apps) that should probably be moved off of the SSD if possible to prevent it from using excessive write cycles (which leads to early SSD death). What's more, if there is a problem with the SSD, moving the app and/or its swap file to an HDD would be a good litmus test to help isolate whether or not the SSD is the problem.

I really look forward to hearing what you find when you get hands-on with the system again. I love to hate elusive issues like the ones you're up against, and get a lot of vicarious pleasure from hearing about their resolution. Good luck!

 

[Rosco]

Update

So on friday spent 2 hour running a full battery of tests. everything you guys had mention plus a couple of other things. nothing. worried about it all weekend.

The client called me this morning. Doom enter my stomach. But it was great news the company that makes cabinet vision admitted it was a problem with the software. it does not mix well with window 7 and are working hard to resolve it. the client is happy with me and i can relax. Thank you everyone for your support.

 

[Tab Alternatives]

Glad you got it all sorted out!